Please explain (from "The Patriot") "Aim small, miss small" (vanity)

2/4/04 | self

[rudy45]

I saw the movie Sunday night on TBS. Early in the movie, Benjamin Taylor (the Gibson character) enlists his two younger sons to rescue Gabriel (the oldest son and Heath Ledger character). As they wait in ambush, Taylor asks the sons to repeat what he had taught them about shooting. They reply, "Aim small, miss small."

What does this phrase mean? Thanks.

[Charles Martel]

Translation: Aim for a small spot on your target, like a uniform button. Even if you miss that tiny spot, you still hit the target.

[AdamSelene235]

Normally when shooting one picks a sub-target on their main target. I.E. you don't shoot at a man, you shoot at a button on his shirt. In engineering-speak, you want to make the error signal as small as possible.

Get Thee to the Range !!

[sean327]

What he said!

[TomGuy]

One interpretation is here:

"Aim Small - Miss Small": A Lesson In Proactive Goal Setting

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Pick a small point on your target and aim for that. If you aim at a covey of quail, you will probably miss them all. If you aim at one bird in the covey, you have a much better chance of connecting.

[krb]

Benjamin Taylor (the Gibson character)

That was Benjamin Martin...

[The KG9 Kid]

Careful, deliberate marksmanship ensures that a missed shot will be closer to the point of aim than a hasty and erratic discharge.

'Aim Small, Miss Small' might mean the difference between a hit through the head, and a hit through the neck ... both of which bring the desired result.

'Aim Small, Miss Small' is the opposite of 'Spray And Pray'.

[VMI70]

It means that if you take your time and aim accurately at a small area of the target, like the bullseye on a paper target ("aim Small"), then any inaccurate shot will obviously not hit the bullseye, but chances are it will still hit somewhere on the intended target ("miss small").

[AdamSelene235]

you want to make the error signal as small as possible.

Correction...you wish to make error as small as possible and the err. sig. as large as possible....

Many nitpickers lurking here.

[Atlas Sneezed]

(small) bang

[cyborg]

That was a great article!

[Calvin Coolidge]

Of course, the characters in the movie are firing with smooth-bore muskets. Most were not even equipped with gunsights, as it was an exercise in futility. Not that this stopped the movie from showing Mad Max firing from the hip, while running, and bringing down multiple targets crouching behind cover in the middle of a forest. Ah, Hollywood.

[Bob]

Excellent link. Thanks.

[dljordan]

Yea! Go thou and become proficient!

[John H K]

I especially liked some of the ridiculously long range shots with pistols...those were a hoot.

"The Patriot" was as historically inaccurate as any supposed historical picture of the last 10 years, but because it was "politically correct" from the FR point of view, it usually gets a free pass around here.

[cyborg]

No movie is free from poetic license. IT'S A MOVIE. Sheesh... I'm going to see Gods and Generals, but I know not everything is going to be accurate. You think ANY movie is really accurate on any point?

Some people are never satisfied.

[AnAmericanMother]

Is there any chance that some of these guys had rifled muskets? I know that Dan Morgan's riflemen had rifled muskets and were picked marksmen. I know a "Kentucky" rifle when I see one, but is there any reason that you couldn't fit a rifled barrel to a musket?

I'm not a coal-burner, but it seems possible to me.

[Jason_b]

bump read later

[onedoug]

Maybe it's some kinda movie lingo too. Gibson seems like a swell guy, but that film, frankly, stinks.

Oh, I know I'm gonna get it now....