Friday, November 29, 2013

Immature Defensive Mechanisms

Here are the most common immature defensive mechanisms.


1. Acting out

2. Fantasy
Retreating into fantasy in order to sort out inner or outer conflicts.

3. Wishful Thinking
Making a decision based on what may be pleasant to imagine regardless of actual practicality.

4. Idealization
Perceiving another individual as flawless, or as having more positive qualities than is actually the case.

5. Passive Agression

6. Projection

7. Somatization
Transformation of negative feelings toward others into negative feelings toward oneself.


These mechanisms are often used to reduce stress or anxiety caused by the perception of other people as threatening. These defenses are often seen in depression disorders and personality disorders.


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Get In Shape!

So you ate too much for Thanksgiving yesterday. Not to fear. Getting in shape is 80% diet, 15% mental (persistence), and 5% exercise.

Some good general guidelines:

1. Eat lots of meat!
Up to 80% of our ancestors' caloric intake was by way of animal meats & fats. 

2. Ditch the carbs!
Specifically grains (wheat, corn, etc.), starchy (potato), and processed sugar.

3. Dairy if you can.
Don't do it if you are lactose-intolerant.

4. Fat is good!
See point #1

5. Water, coffee, tea as drinks.
No sugar. Milk / cream OK if you are not lactose-intolerant

6. Walk a bit.
30 minutes a day, 5 days a week as a minimum.

7. Lift something heavy.
Don't overdo it, but weekly / biweekly is good.

8. Vitamin D!
Get out in the sun when you can, and take supplements when you must.
Vitamin C is good too as a daily supplement.

9. Single-ingredient foods are best.

10. Cheat one day a week.
Or once every 5 days.



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Collar Chokes from Back

Here is a lightning-fast read on my objectives when I am attempting collar chokes from back control:


1. Standard sliding collar choke (okurieri-jime)
2. Single-wing choke (kataha-jime)
3. Hell choke (jigoku-jime)


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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Fundamental Marksmanship 103

Happy Thanksgiving!

Final topic: standing position. There are many places online to get some pointers. Use them. Also, learn to brace on objects (much like sitting). Here are the drills you should master for perfection:

Basic Drill
20" target at 50 yards. 10 rounds, all in the black.

Intermediate Drill
20" target at 100 yards. 10 rounds, all in the black.

Advanced Drill
10" target at 100 yards. 10 rounds, all in the black.
20" target at 200 yards. 10 rounds, all in the black.


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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

JBT2

We are living in a police state. This is not at all what the Founding Fathers envisioned.

In this story, police shot a man for holding a water hose nozzle.
Police said they thought it was a gun.
They fired on the man, before ever even observing or asking a single question.

The tragedy was the loss of innocent life.
The second tragedy is that none of those officers are behind bars for the murder they just committed.


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Back Position

Here is a lightning-fast read on what I am trying to accomplish from a Back Control position:


1. Rear naked choke (RNC)
2. Straight arm lock.
3. Remount if they unhook a leg.
4. Collar chokes when sparring. 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Obama on "Faith"

Here is an article about Obama on his personal faith. The reporter interviewed him just after he had won the Democrat party nomination for the US Senate seat he eventually won.

Fascinating read.

My take on it? 
We already knew this, but the man has a god-complex. I'll quote a couple of lines that back up my point of view:

Talks with God... or is that himself?

GG:
Do you pray often?
OBAMA:
Uh, yeah, I guess I do.
Its’ not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I’m constantly asking myself questions about what I’m doing, why am I doing it.


Did you see that???
"I have an ongoing conversation with God... I'm constantly asking MYSELF questions about what I'm doing, why I'm doing it."


Getting into Heaven because he is true to his own beliefs.

GG:
Do you believe in heaven?

OBAMA:
… I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.


Forget meeting an established criteria. "...aligning myself to my faith and my values..."


Obama defines what is sin...

GG:
What is sin?

OBAMA:
Being out of alignment with my values.




Did you spot any others?
Notice any Universalist teachings?


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JBT

We are living in a police state. This is not what the Founding Fathers envisioned. Jack-Booted Thugs abound in police departments everywhere, and it has got to stop!!!


Man legally carries gun.
Cop goes "fishing."
Cop ignores man's 4th Amendment rights, because he doesn't like man's 2nd Amendment rights.
Man sues police department.
Man wins lawsuit.

Suit costs police department thousands.




...


Maybe police department learns its lesson and stops supporting jack-booted thuggery?
Not likely.   :(


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Modified Mount

Here is a lightning-fast read on what I am trying to do if I am in a modified mount position:


1. Straight arm lock
2. Take opponent's back by rocking back.
3. Take opponent's back by pushing forward.
4. Collar chokes in sparring / punches in self defense.


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Monday, November 25, 2013

Sermon Notes

From the sermon on 11/24/2013:

1. The Gospel we preach is the Gospel we live.
(people believe what you do, if it opposes what you say)

2. Intimidation and fear are destroyed by a Biblical view of God's bigness.

3. Suffering and brokenness must be embraced as a gift from God.


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Damned Lies

"I recently received a letter from a woman named Jessica Sanford in Washington state. And here's what she wrote: 'I am a single mom, no child support, self-employed. and I haven't had insurance for 15 years because it's too expensive. I was crying the other day when I signed up, so much stress lifted'."
- President Obama, October 21, 2013


A few days later, Sanford received documents saying she would get no tax credit, and the price for Obamacare was not something she could afford. Link to CNN's story on this


"It was a huge disappointment, especially since I had, you know, my story had been shared by the president. ... and so at least for right now, I don't -- I'm not going to be getting insurance."
- Jessica Sanford, November 19, 2013



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Americana Mount

Here is a lightning-fast read on my strategies from Mount when trying to secure the Americana arm lock:
(assuming I cannot get the Americana arm lock)

1. Twisting arm control.
2. Modified mount.
3. Straight arm lock on opposite (defending) arm.


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Saturday, November 23, 2013

Disagreement Heirarchy

Found this the other day. It summarizes well what types of arguments you will see. Online, when I've found someone that disagrees with something I stated, they usually fall into the bottom two categories: name-calling or ad-hominem attacks. Once or twice, I've seen someone "rise to the level" of responding to my tone (which is so very often sarcastic).







My personal agenda is to refute the central point.
If a person doesn't understand, then I will refute.
If they still don't get it, then I will make a counter argument.


Beyond that, if a person still doesn't get it, I know it is a case of ignorance, stupidity or knowing false-belief. At that point, there is no reason to continue communication.


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Friday, November 22, 2013

Screwing the Pooch

Yesterday, the Senate passed the "nuclear option" measure such that filibusters will now be a thing of the past. Link to a story on it. The measure was passed mostly on the votes of the Democrat Party Senators, who are currently in the majority.

How are they going to like that when Republicans seize the majority? Could be as soon as next year.


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Pathological Defense Mechanisms

Most common pathological defense mechanisms. These defenses allow an individual to rearrange personal experiences so that they do not have to cope with reality.


1. Projection
Ascribing one's own unacceptable attributes to another person.

2. Denial
Refusing to accept a reality.

3. Conversion
Expression of a mental conflict as a physical symptom.

4. Distortion
Gross reshaping of an external reality.

5. Splitting
Separating external experiences into extreme categories of "good" and "bad" without any room for ambiguity.

6. Superiority Complex
Feeling superior to conceal internal feelings of inferiority.

7. Inferiority Complex
Feeling lack of self-worth, not living up to society's standards.


People who exhibit one or more of these traits are often seen as insane by society. 


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Mount Checklist

A brief list of what I am trying to do from the Mounted position:

1. Punch (self defense) or collar choke (sparring in class)
2. Americana arm lock (ude garami)
3. Straight arm lock (juji gatame)
4. An inexperienced opponent will roll over (face down), so I am prepared to let them.


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Thursday, November 21, 2013

Top Lies About Obamacare

Top Lies About Obamacare


1. If you like your current health insurance plan, you can keep it.
2. The ACA will reduce health insurance premiums.
3. The health insurance plans being cancelled are not good plans.
4. Those without insurance will now be able to have insurance.
5. The "fine" for not purchasing insurance is not a tax.
6. The ACA protects Medicare.
7. The ACA will not increase the deficit.
8. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.
9. The ACA will create jobs.


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Fundamental Marksmanship 102

You have a 20" AR15 rifle (or some acceptable variation). You can make shots on a 4" target at 100 yards consistently. You can make shots to 500 yards on a 20" target. You do all this with your rifle, and with bulk type ammo, M193 or M855.

So far, we have worked primarily from the prone position. Now, it is time to add another position... Sitting.

Use the guide linked above to show you how to rest the rifle on your body. Also, if you find a table, tree branch, or some other object to rest the rifle on while you are sitting or kneeling, use it!

Modified bracing
If there is a tree (but no low branches) or a post or a wall nearby, use it to steady the rifle:
  • Form the shape of the letter L with your non-shooting hand. 
  • Brace your flat palm against the wall/tree/post. 
  • Rest the rifle on your open thumb, which is forming the letter L.


Basic Practice
From your stable sitting / kneeling position, fire ten rounds at a 20" target set at 100 yards. When you can consistently place all ten in the black with ease, you are ready to move on to the next step.

Intermediate Practice
From your favorite sitting position, fire ten rounds at a 10" target set at 100 yards. When you can consistently hit all ten in the black, you are ready for the next step.

Advanced Practice
20" target at 200 yards. 10 rounds. All must be in the black.

Expert Practice
4" target at 100 yards. 8" target at 200 yards. 20" target at 500 yards. All shots must be in the black.


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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Perverted Laws

"No animal's life is worth that of a human's."

That is one of the many lessons my mother taught my siblings and I when we were growing up.

Today, with the mish-mash of laws on animal cruelty (many of which blend property law with laws designed to punish the harming of other people), it is possible to go to jail for failing to take a stray dog to a veterinarian.

Indeed, two NFL players - Donte Stallworth and Leonard Little, spent less time in jail combined (0 days - just probation) for two combined counts of manslaughter than Michael Vick served for hosting dog fights where dogs died (two years).

YES - you can go to jail longer for letting dogs kill each other than for killing a human being.

This is a total perversion of justice.



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Conflicting Commands

In the Bible, there are many statements that could, on the surface, be interpreted as conflicting with other verses. To complicate the matter, some people go so far as to say a suggestion from Paul is a command from God. Let's take one particular set of verses as an example.

1 Corinthian 11:4-6
Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.
If I were a calvinist with an agenda, my exegesis might conclude that God, through Paul, is ordering women to:
A) Pray and worship aloud in church.
B) To do so with their heads covered.


1 Corinthians 14:33-35
As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
Again, if I were a calvinist with an agenda, my exegesis might conclude that God, through Paul, is ordering women to:
A) Not speak, sing, or otherwise make noise in church.
B) Seek all Biblical knowledge from their husbands.

< sarcasm font off >

OK, now let's analyze for real...
First - Paul is the author. And these verses are not very far apart in the same epistle to the Corinthians. Barely had Paul stated that women should pray and prophesy in church when he turned around and said they should remain silent in church. 

Since God is not the author of confusion, we must logically assume that neither of these is a command, for if it were, then the other would be a suggestion which clearly violates the command. Therefore, teh only logical conclusion is that both are suggestions.

A more realistic exegesis, as appropriate for today, would include the fact that the culture of the time prohibited women from speaking in public places in many instances. Therefore, women refraining from speaking in public was clearly a suggestion that was time-sensitive and location-sensitive. Similarly, the other suggestion - to keep women's heads covered - was a time-sensitive and location-sensitive suggestion. 

Conclusion
The Bible has many suggestions that are as true today as they were thousands of years ago. Similarly, there are some culture-specific suggestions. To go around, making one suggestion out to be a "command" is, by definition, taking the Lord's Name in vain - which is specifically mentioned as a sin (directly mentioned in the Decalogue) in Exodus 20:7 -
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."
Cafeteria-Christian is the term for someone who takes only specifically selected parts of scripture as commands, even though they are never labeled as such. People who do this often have an agenda. At the root of it, the person's pride is what is coming through. 

Christians who elevate specific suggestions to the status of a command (failure to comply is a sin), are taking the Lord's Name in vain. This is a sin, that is not disputed by any follower of God. Don't do it! In other words, if I call you a Cafeteria-Christian, then I am saying you are sinning by taking the Lord's Name in vain!


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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Primal Shepherd's Pie

Primal Shepherd's Pie

Another recipe that is low-carb, and really tasty.


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
3 teaspoons rosemary

2 tablespoons  Worcestershire sauce

2 pounds ground lamb (may substitute ground beef for all or part due to cost)
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup grated cheese of choice (cheddar, Monterrey-Jack, etc.) 

2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 cup beef broth



Preparation:
On medium heat, saute the onion, garlic, and carrots until the onion is clear.
Add the ground lamb, and brown. Add half the salt and pepper while the lamb is browning.
(I like mine minced up into small crumbs of meat - stir a lot for this)
Drain and remove the excess grease. 

Add the beef broth, tomato paste, and worcestershire, and mix well.
Simmer for 2 minutes, then add to the meat.

Add the peas, broth, and the remainder of the spices and mix well.
Allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.


Serving:
Traditional Irish shepherd's pie is served topped with mashed potato and topped with grated Irish cheese.
To keep the low-carb theme, simply serve the pie topped with a grated cheese of your choice.
Alternately, top with cooked cauliflower which has been blended up in a food processor, and top that with the cheese.

This will serve four grown adults.


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Sloppy Seconds

A while back, I found an article that described what the author called "sloppy exegesis." The funny thing was that the author's exegesis was the sloppy part. Real second-hand stuff. At the heart of the matter was Galatians 6:1 (quoted here in the ESV, as was used by the author in question) -
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
I will refrain from directly quoting this author, as it might enable a person to find that source directly. This would be against my better judgement as I do not like to send traffic to sources of misleading information unless my specific goal is to show the media lies on a topic. This is clearly not such a case.

Failed Logic
Nevertheless, the author in question suggested that this verse was commanding Christians to confront brothers (and sisters) in Christ who were caught in sin. My take on it reflects the opinion of the majority of Christian exegetical experts: that Paul is warning that if a person confronts another, the point is to do so gently, lest the confronter also be tempted to sin.

The author in question gave the idea that the verb "should restore" is an imperative, and is somehow, therefore, the command. It was also implied directly that to fail to do a command of God is a sin.

< sarcasm font on >
I wonder if this would fall into the 667 sins a Cafeteria-Christian must avoid?
Or is that 124 sins?
Or is it really 67 sins?

Another Command?
If the author's logic was sound, then another potential for sin would be failing to give one another a "Holy Kiss."
Romans 16:16 -
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
1 Corinthians 16:20 -
All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
2 Corinthians 13:12 -
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
1 Thessalonians 5:26 -
Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
Four times, Paul directly commands that Christians shall greet one another with a holy kiss. Not once... but four times! Therefore, it is clearly a sin to fail to greet another Christian with a "holy kiss."

And Another?
What about the command for women to wear head coverings? 1 Corinthians 11:5-6 -
but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.
By the way, this verse also clearly commands that a woman with short hair is disgraceful. That is sin!
< sarcasm font off >  

What it really means
Paul is making suggestions in each of these cases. 
1. To confront sinners gently.
2. To greet each other with love. 
3. To abide by the local customs within reason. 

These are not commands of God, the failure to keep is "sin." 
By the way - the list of other "commands" issued by Paul would be quite long!


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Monday, November 18, 2013

Sermon Notes

Philippians  1:19-25 


It's foolish and arrogant to say you'll die for Christ, if every day you don't live for Christ.

Death is the Extension of the power & presence of God. Life is the Enjoyment of the power & presence of God.

We must remain completely focused on the task of serving others.



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Liberal Lies

The man who was the architect behind Obamacare called healthy people "Genetic lottery winners" and further suggested they have been paying "artificially low insurance premiums."

I wonder if he believes this BS?

It's like saying a driver is paying "artificially low" auto insurance premiums because they have excellent credit and have no accidents or tickets.


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A bit on diet

I'll put a thing or two up about diet from time to time. First off, I follow the Primal Lifestyle with regards to diet and exercise. I still need to sprint more often, and remember better to lift heavy things. And I do have an occasional sweet tooth. Nevertheless, It stands that within less than 18 months, I went from 310 pounds to about 220 pounds.

I have maintained my body weight for over two years. What's more, my blood sugar levels (fasting blood-glucose of 240 and an A1C of 11) have gone from full-blown diabetic levels all the way down to regular (fasting blood-glucose of 93 and an A1C of 5.8). How did this happen?

80% diet, 20% exercise.
Diet - meat, vegetables, some fruit. No grains (almost no wheat, corn, or potato).
Exercise - 30 minutes of walking daily. Martial arts 2x per week.

With all that meat, many people ask how my cholesterol is. Glad you asked! When I was diagnosed with diabetes (remember - sugar was 240 and A1C was 11), my cholesterol was 205. That's seriously high for someone who was 36 at the time. These days, my cholesterol hovers in the 120's. Yet, I eat more than twice as much meat as I once did. How can that be?

Read here - the Straight Dope on Cholesterol.
Funny thing - from the article:
"Eating cholesterol has very little impact on the cholesterol levels in your body. This is a fact, not my opinion. Anyone who tells you different is, at best, ignorant of this topic."

A little more evidence on the topic. This guy was in the NFL and is currently a trainer for NFL athletes who wanted to increase lean body mass (gain weight, not fat). He himself was once 308 pounds at 8.6% body fat. That's 280+ pounds of lean body mass. He advocates virtually the same diet:
- For an athlete requiring 5000+ calories a day to train and gain weight, he advocates 300+ grams of carbs only a few days a week. (USDA recommends that for everyone every day)
- Most days, he advocates 100 carb grams or fewer.

In short? Ditch the carbs and increase the protein and fat.


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Saturday, November 16, 2013

Keeping The Sword Sharp

I go shooting fairly frequently. Here is a review of a recent range session. At each range session, I begin by warming up. As a warmup, I take an Army Target - used to zero their M16 or M4 at 25 meters - and make sure I can still hit 10/10 shots in the black.

For this range trip, I started with my Marlin 795 (with 4x scope):

First, I shot from prone with a sling:


That turned out OK, so I tried from sitting:


At this point, I felt fairly warmed-up, so I decided to shoot a string of 10 with my AR15... which is set up like an M16A4 clone.

It shot OK:
(yes - the "head-shot" was on purpose, not a "flyer")


At that point, I remembered that I had recently purchased a box of ammo that I'd never tried. The ammo was American Eagle 62-grain (M855 clone) in a 150-round box and sold for $69.95 at the local Wal Mart. Cheap enough for bulk use, but I'll only bulk up on it if it shoots straight.

One of the main reasons I haven't bulked up on 62-grain ammo in the past is that it is rarely as accurate as 55-grain ammo. So, an experiment was in order! The 55-grain ammo above was Monarch brand from Academy sports, which is usually 3 MOA ammo on average. The American Eagle is sub-2 MOA, and is harder to find these days, so I do not shoot it up. So I decided to test the American Eagle 62-grain ammo.


OK, not bad at all...


Side-by-side comparison at 100 yards:

The right-most shot on the right target was a called jerk to the right - shooter's error and is mine alone. It is my opinion that this ammo is capable of keeping 2-MOA, just like its 55-grain counterpart from American Eagle. Also, nice to know it holds the same point of impact (POI) as the 55-grain stuff. I prefer not having to adjust the ACOG.

After running those tests, I decided to shoot an AQT as a final test:


218 is not my greatest score, but you can see from the prone shots that the ammo groups well. The rifle I shot with (M16A4 clone) has churned out a 250 with me behind the wheel - and American Eagle 55-grain ammo.


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Friday, November 15, 2013

Calvinist Corner - November 2013

Calvinism is not Biblical Doctrine. It's a human philosophy that appeals to proud-minded individuals.

Calvinists erroneously teach that free will has nothing to do with salvation. They claim that mere acceptance of the Free Gift is in itself a work. They point out, correctly, that salvation is not by works.

So let's keep this "logic" consistent...

...

The notion of having to be a believer to accept the Free Gift of Salvation. Believing is a work, if one uses the "logic" of the Calvinist. Therefore, believing would have nothing to do with salvation.

However, the Bible states on multiple occasions that believing in God is required for one to be saved. So, it becomes clear that yet again, Calvinism does not stand up to it's own set of rules, much less actual Biblical teaching.


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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Fundamental Marksmanship 101

You have an AR15 rifle. Preferably, you have a 20" barrel. It should be capable of holding 2" - 3" groups at 100 yards with M193 clone ammo. Alternately, it should be capable of 3" - 4" groups at 100 yards with M855 clone ammo. Let's dig into marksmanship so you can make that happen.

Resting the Rifle
A steady rifle is required to make a precise shot. Resting your rifle on a stable surface is the most advantageous way to steady the rifle. There are a couple of ways to make that happen:
Bipod.
Field bag rest.
Magazine rest.

I am not going to discuss bench rests here, as they are not typically carried with a person into the field. We want practicality.

Also, I will not discuss sling use here. Slings are a holdover from sport shooting, and are not the ideal way to steady a rifle in the field. Any sling you have on your rifle should be for carrying purposes exclusively. Again, the key word is practicality.

Goal
Your goal is to be able to make a 500-yard shot on a 20" target with your rifle consistently. By "consistently," I mean 10 times out of 10, not 3/10 times.

First Step
Place a 20" target at 100 yards. Assume a prone position (see below).

  • Make sure to rest your rifle on your bipod, field bag, or on the magazine. Get a steady position. 
  • Fire five well-aimed shots at the middle of the 20" target.
  • You should do this until you can manage a group of 6" or less, with all shots in the black. 

Second Step
When you can consistently make a 6" group or smaller at 100 yards, with all shots in the black; it is then time to make the game more difficult! Place a 10" target at 100 yards. Assume a prone position again. Fire ten well-aimed rounds at the target.

All ten round should be in the black.


Third Step
When you can consistently put all ten rounds into a 10" circle at 100 yards, it is is time to make the game more difficult! Place a 4" target at 100 yards. Assume a prone position again. Fire ten well-aimed shots at the target.

All ten rounds should strike the target.

When you can do this, you are capable of hitting a 20" target at 500 yards.


Final Step
If you can get to a 500 yard range (or longer) do it! Get out there on a day with little wind and make shots at a 20" target at the full distance.

If you are using an adjustable iron sight, make sure to set it at the 500 yard setting!
If you use a BDC scope, then use the 500 yard hash mark!
If you use a red dot zeroed for 50/200 yards, your holdover is about 48" (M193) or 47" (M855).
If you use a scope zeroed for 100 yards, take 9.5 MOA up in elevation.
If you use fixed iron sights zeroed for 50/200, try to guess 4 feet high and aim there. Alternately, rotate the front sight post 10 MOA up.