Mad Minute Marksmanship — The One-Minute Lee-Enfield Drill
British Lee-Enfield Model SHT’22/IV Rifle, courtesy www.iCollector.com.
Our friend Dennis Santiago was a technical advisor for History Channel’s Top SHOT TV show. One of the notable Top Shot episodes involved the “Mad Minute”, a marksmanship drill practiced by the British Army in the decades preceding World War I. Dennis observed that the Top Shot competitors didn’t fare too well in their “Mad Minute” attempts, not scoring many hits in the alloted one-minute time period. That prompted Dennis to give it a try himself — seeing how many hits he could score in one minute with an authentic Lee-Enfield rifle. So, a while back, Dennis ran the drill at a range in California.
Dennis, an active high power rifle competitor and instructor, enjoyed his “Mad Minute” exercise, though he assures us that this takes practice to perfect. Dennis tells us: “Here is a ‘Mad Minute’ drill, done using a period correct Lee-Enfield (SMLE) No.1 Mk III rifle and Mk VII ammo. I got to the Queen’s Regulations (15 hits in one minute) on the second run and put a good group on the target at 200 yards. This is ‘jolly good fun’ to do every once in a while. This is ‘living history’ — experiencing a skill from a time when the sun never set on the British Empire.”
Dennis Does the Mad Minute
British Lee-Enfield Model SHT’22/IV Rifle, courtesy www.iCollector.com.
Lee-Enfield No. 4 Rifle (1943), courtesy Arundel Militaria.
“Mad Minute” was a pre-World War I term used by British Army riflemen during training at the Hythe School of Musketry to describe scoring a minimum of 15 hits onto a 12″ round target at 300 yards within one minute using a bolt-action rifle (usually a Lee-Enfield or Lee-Metford rifle). It was not uncommon during the First World War for riflemen to greatly exceed this score. The record, set in 1914 by Sergeant Instructor Alfred Snoxall, was 38 hits. (From WikiPedia.)
Want to See More “Mad Minute” Action with a Modern Tubegun?
In 2012, Gary Eliseo ran a “Mad Minute” exercise using a modern, .308 Win Eliseo RTM Tubegun of his own making. Gary ended up with 24 hits on a bull target set at 300 yards. (Gary actually had 25 hits in 25 rounds fired, but the last round hit just after the 60-second time period expired.) Note how Gary pulls the trigger with the middle finger of his right hand. This allows him to work the bolt faster, using his thumb and index finger. CLICK HERE for Eliseo Tubegun Mad Minute story.
Watch Gary Elesio Shoot the ‘Mad Minute’ (Starts at 4:47 on Video)
NOTE: In an interesting coincidence, Dennis Santiago was actually in the pits pulling targets for Gary during Eliseo’s 2012 “Mad Minute” exercise.
History of the Mad Minute
Commentary by Laurie Holland
The original military requirement of the “Mad Minute” saw the soldier ready to fire with a round in the chamber, nine in the magazine, safety on. This course of fire is still followed by the GB Historic Breechloading Arms Association and other bodies in their recreated “Mad Minute” competitions.The first 10 would go quickly, but reloads were critical, this not done by a magazine change as Gary did with the RTM or in a modern tactical or semi-auto rifle, but through slick use of ‘chargers’. It is this aspect which fouls so many of my colleagues up as it is very easy to cause a jam and a large part of 60 seconds can go in sorting it out!
Charger clips were selected for those that just held the rounds firmly enough to stop then falling out, were sand-papered and polished with a stove / fireplace polish called ‘Zebrite’ so that the rimmed rounds would slip through the clips like corn through a goose.
If you’re unfamiliar with the cock-on-closing Enfield action, it seems clumsy. With intensive practice it is very smooth and can be operated incredibly quickly. The trick is to whip the bolt back onto its stop and initiate a rebound movement that takes it and the cartridge well into the chamber thereby reducing the effort required to close the bolt and chamber the round.
Similar Posts:
- Santiago Does the ‘Mad Minute’ with Authentic Lee-Enfield
- Running the “Mad Minute” with Lee-Enfield — Historic Gun Drill
- Sunday Gunday: “Mad Minute” Drill with Classic Lee-Enfield Rifle
- Dennis Santiago Shoots the Mad Minute with a Lee-Enfield
- Reliving History — Dennis Does “Mad Minute” with Lee-Enfield
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Tags: Dennis Santiago, Gary Eliseo, Lee Enfield, Mad Minute, Speed Shooting, Tubegun
A couple of things:
Probably easier to do when sitting, standing etc.
The trick with the chargers is that you only need to flick one out by hand if you are gong to load a second charger. As soon as the second charger is emptied into the mag, just run the bolt forward to chamber the first round; this will kick the charger clear as it moves.
If you grasp the bolt-head between thumb and forefinger, as per correct drill, and keep them there, you can simply roll the index finger down to operate the trigger.
This is a method of expending ammo in the general direction of a target, not bench-resting. An entire battalion doing this will put a LOT of bullets down-range in short order.
With a half-dozen chargers and a supply of dummy rounds ( NOT the red alloy ones, but properly weighted and shaped ones), you can hone your technique in safety;(all rules about pointing firearms and knowing your back-stop etc. apply, of course).
Then try it with a full-length Gewehr 98 as per WW1 vintage
If you grasp the bolt-head between….AAAAAGHHH..
BOLT HANDLE KNOB…………
Getting better at typing faster than I should.