Boot Camp/TBS Shoot Range and Targets

[LCpl Lamm]

Okay, what are the targets like? I know the closest one is at 200 yards and the farthest at 500 yards. But, are they the pop-up targets or the ones that, hard to explain, but are they the ones that slide up and down and where there are recruits behind them marking your hits? Also, are all the targets and distances the same at boot camp/TBS? And correct me if I'm wrong, there is no target shooting at OCS, onyl blanks, correct?
Thanks,
Lamm

[LCpl Lamm]

Yeah, I know, I messed up the title.

[Vulture6]

The rifle range is the same across the Marine Corps. For rifle qualification, you are shooting at a 6’ by 6’ target. Centered in that target is a black bullseye, shaped either like a circle or a silhouette of a torso (head, shoulders, and chest). If you hit the black, it is a hit. If you hit a quarter of an inch or more from the black, it is a miss (Chesty Puller once said “you can’t hurt ‘em if you don’t hit ‘em”). Even at 200 yards, the bullseye looks pretty small. At 500 yards, you are centering your front sight post on a speck. These are the targets that ride up and down or carriages with personnel in the butts marking and scoring your targets.

You shoot from the 200, 300, and 500 yard lines.

At OCS, you may do a FAM fire at the range – but don’t expect to get much out of it other than knowing that the M-16 doesn’t recoil much. You only shoot a handful of rounds, and for all I know, they may have done away with the FAM fire. In my opinion, pretty much a waste of half a training day. You'll go through a full two weeks of marksmanship training during TBS - the exact same program as the recruits get at MCRD... only they aren't as lenient on lieutenants who go UNQ more than once.

[LCpl Lamm]

Thanks for the info.
Lamm

[Grimmy]

No matter how much you've shot as a civvie DO NOT assume you know how to shoot. The worst, I mean most totally fubar unquals I've seen are those that thought they had it goin on and tried to do it their way. Pay attention, assume you know squat and PAY ATTENTION. Listen to the instructors, do the drills as instructed. take them seriously.

One thing you can do now tho is this drill:

get yerself a good flashlight. get yerself a cloths pin. put the cloths pin against the shaft of the flashlight with the closed "nose" of the pin towards the light end of the flashlight. Tape the leg of the cloths pin that's against the flash light to the flashlight.

now, lay on yer back in a dark room. Turn on the flash light and hold it in the air (dont rest the butt of the light on anything) with the light shining on the ceiling. wrap yer trigger finger around the bottom of the cloths pin and squeez it like a trigger. Dont let the light circle on the ceiling wabble, shake or otherwise move. Practice that as often as you can to develop a good smooth trigger pull. Once you get a good smooth pull going, you can work on your breathing..as in ..dont breath while yer pullin on the trigger

[LCpl Lamm]

clothes pin, as a pin you would have on a clothes line, rigjt? Also, when you say shaft, what do you mean by that. I forgot what that means.
Thanks for the advice,
Lamm

[Grimmy]

cloths pin like what you use to hang wet laundery on cloths lines with. The wooden ones with the spring clip in the middle, specifically.

shaft = the barrel of the flashlight. The part yer hand wraps around.

[LCpl Lamm]

Roger, I got it. Thanks!
Lamm

[SpongeJuan]

OO-RAH pizza box!!!