Rifle Courses
The two classic rifle tests are the Rifle Ten and the Rifle Bounce. When either is combined with a snap shot drill they constitute a pretty complete test of one's skill. With these courses, unless indicated otherwise, the shooter starts with the rifle loaded and slung on the shoulder or at port arms, with the bipod, if any, closed.
Rifle Ten
This is one of the classic drills used by Jeff Cooper. A single IPSC "option " target is placed at 300 yards. There are five firing points, one each at 300, 275, 250, 225, and 200. The shooter stands clear of his firing point at 300 yards.
On signal the shooter moves to the firing point , assumes any position he chooses and engages the 300 yard target with two rounds. He immediately moves to the 275 yard position firing two more shots, then advances to the 250 yard position, fires two more rounds, and then to the 225 yard position where a 2 foot high baffle precludes prone or supine position and fires two more rounds. He the moves to the 200 yard position where a 3 foot high screen eliminates any position but off hand or standing and fires two rounds.
Score is based upon the hit values divide by your time in minutes, with a par time of 2 minutes. To prevent someone throwing away the two 200 yard shots you can use a separate target for the 200 yard stage. The option target is scored 5, 4, 2. A score of 40 in two minutes is considered very good.
Snap Shot Test
Target used is the IPSC "option" target at 25 yards. Shooter stands ready with butt on hip and is allowed 1.5 seconds to make a head shot. This is repeated for a total of 5 shots. Shooter then moves back to 50 yards where the exercise is repeated with the same time limits but this time shooting for the center of mass 10" ring. Misses score -10.
Rifle Bounce
This course is best run using steel reactive targets like the "pepper popper" with a 8" center. The shooter is limited to firing a total of 6 rounds.
Three firing points are set up side by side about 2-3 yards apart, with the targets placed at 100, 200, and 300 yards. The shooter starts at the first firing point and on signal the shooter engages the 100 yard target until it is knocked down. He then moves to the 200 yard firing point and engages the target until it is knocked down, and then moves to the 300 yard position and engages the target until it is knocked down. Any shooting positions may be utilized, but the shooter is limited to firing only 6 rounds. The score is the time it takes to hit all 3 targets. If all three targets are not hit, no score is given. An excellent score is all hits in 20 seconds or less.
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"One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that 'violence begets violence.' I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure - and in some cases I have - that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy."
-Jeff Cooper, "Cooper vs. Terrorism", Guns & Ammo Annual, 1975
