August 7, 1997 - Pre-qualification

970808 - Yesterday was pre-qual. I passed.

As I said before, rifle qualification involves firing from the 200, 300, and 500 yard lines in various shooting positions. If memory serves, this is what we did:

• 200 Yard line:
• 5 rounds, slow fire, in the standing position
• 5 rounds, slow fire, in the kneeling position
• 5 rounds, slow fire, in the sitting position
• 10 rounds, rapid fire, in the sitting position
• 300 Yard line
• 5 rounds, slow fire, (I don't remember the position; either sitting or kneeling)
• 10 rounds, rapid fire, in the prone position
• 500 Yard line:
• 10 rounds, slow fire, in the prone position

By "slow fire," I mean that, after each shot fired, the recruits "pulling butts" would pull your target down and mark where the round hit (assuming that it did), as we as your score for the shot. Each shot earned 0-5 points, depending on where it hit. After marking the shot in the logbook, the recruit would make any necessary adjustments to the rifle's sights and fire again. Once again, the shot would be marked, scored, etc.

For "rapid fire" shooting, the recruits had 2 magazines (we don't call them clips, FYI. The last rifle to use a clip was the M1 Garand), each filled with 5 rounds. The recruit then fires all 10 rounds within 60 seconds, including the time needed to reload the second magazine. Then, all 10 shots would be marked and scored.

Since you fired 50 rounds and each could earn up to 5 points, the maximum score you could earn is 250. The minimum score you could earn and still pass is 190. Earning a score between 190-209 earns the "Rifle Marksman" badge. A score of 210-219 earns "Rifle Sharpshooter," and 220 and above earns "Rifle Expert."