Combat fatigue - rifle firing

[jdr]

Hi

I put 100 rounds through my 1916 SMLE today and have just noticed a rather large bruise on my front shoulder and a bit of aching. Normally I shoot only about 20-30 rounds through a No. 5 and don't notice it so much.

Anyway I just thought what about life in WW1 in the trenches. Soldiers must have fired hundreds of rounds through this rifle every week? As I shot more and more rounds, my aim got worse. And I had the comfort of a shooting mat and a hot cup of tea!

Anyway food for thought...

[jubilationtcornpone]

Hi,

I would say that, at some point, you did not have the butt of your rifle snug against your shoulder. I did this trick once with a semi-auto M-14 and had the same result. As a bolt action doesn't have an operating rod spring to absorb some of the recoil the impact is a lot more. Ouch!

As far as shooting a rifle all that often in the trenches, at what? Any one foolish enough to stick their head up to look around would soon learn the hard way not to keep making a target of themselves. There was a reason for the trench periscope. If soldiers were told to fire so many rounds per week, just to keep morale up, I don't think they would have bothered to aim.

Don

[CftD]

In my opinion, you didn't adjust your position as you continued to fire rounds. Bruising only results from a slackening-off of the hold position and a failure to recognise that the butt should be re-adjusted occasionally to reach the optimum recoil position. The condition is common where the shooter is too tense and doesn't integrate with the weapon - irrespective of which type and model. Speaking from experience - usually of shooting my Brown Bess. Regards and sympathy. David