I got back from Camp Perry last night after completing the Small Arms Firing School - Rifle, training. You have to love a government program specifically set up to train citizens in the use of the M-16A2 service rifle and basic marksmanship techniques.
The training was very good, on the whole. We shot at 200 yards on Saturday and 300 yards on Sunday. All the shooting was done from the prone position with the use of the sling. I especially enjoyed shooting at 300 because the farthest I've ever been able to shoot so far has been at 200 yards. I was pleasantly surprised to find that 300 yards really isn't that different and was well within my skill range. The targets look the same size in the sights and the effects of the wind are just a little more noticable.
I was lucky enough to be able to shoot the 300 yard portion twice. There was no shooter on my position for the last relay, so as soon as I realized that I asked my coach if I could shoot it again. He said they had plenty of ammo, so why not. I'm glad I did that as he was able to build on the coaching he'd given me during the last string and I was able to work on keeping my eyes open during the recoil to improve my follow through and calling my shots. I noticed some real improvement during that second string.
I discovered that I REALLY like the M-16A2. As soon as a finished shooting on Saturday I very relunctantly set down the rifle and said "I gotta get one of these." I asked my coach if I could just take this one home, but he said he'd signed for it and couldn't let me have it... Oh well.
"My" rifle was made by Harrington & Richardson in the '60s as a M-16A1 and later rebuilt to A2 standard and overstamped "A2." The "Auto" was also overstamped to "Burst." There was a lock-out on selector to keep us from inadvertantly (or not) firing a burst. The firing position next to me had a even older rifle, a Colt AR-15, also rebuilt. Based on the wear patterns, I'd say these were some of the first rifles rebuilt to the new standard.
This was my first time using a shooting jacket and mitt and spotting scope. I bought the jacket and mitt first thing when I arrived at Perry and was able to borrow a scope on the line. I seem to be getting used to the jacket already and it really does help your position. The mitt is essential when using the jacket to allow you to get a really tight sling up without burning your hand on the rifle or cutting off your circulation.
(The funny thing is even though I bought a new jacket, I wound up not being the first person to wear it. The guy I borrowed the scope from needed a jacket for his son so we arranged for him to borrow my jacket and for me to borrow his scope. He shot on relay 1 and I was one relay 4, so he got to wear it before me)
The whole Camp Perry experience was a hoot as well. I got one of the last two or three huts that were available. My hut was one of the ones that hasn't been refurbished yet and the mattress dated back to WWII. But hey, if it was good enough for German P.O.W's in WWII, it was good enough for me, right?
I met some nice people and made a couple of friends. One shooter on my relay is from Ann Arbor and I think were going to arrange to meet at the range sometime for some 600 yard practice.
There were a few rough spots: The classroom portion on Saturday contained a lot of good material, but the shooting team members who did the instruction aren't really used to presenting in front of groups and it showed. Almost every one went through their presentation too quickly and it was hard to follow the material at times and nearly impossible to take notes. I finally decided to just let the material wash over me and hope the high points would stick. The good news is that this year they gave us all the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit shooting guide instead of T-shirts. This guide contains most of the same information that was in the lectures and makes up for my inability to take notes during the class.
I did get one really good thing out of the classroom portion though. Before the lectures begin I asked one of the instructors for help on my sitting position because I can't shoot sitting with a darn. He took me outside and in about 10 minutes was able to diagnose the MAJOR flaws in how I thought I was supposed to shoot sitting and show me the correct way to do it. Since we only got to shoot prone I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I now know what I'm suppossed to do. Having a clue helps...
On the range there was a little disorganization wtih a bit of the standard army "hurry up and wait" showing through. We got a late start on Saturday, mainly due to shooters arriving late, and didn't start shooting until an hour after the scheduled start time. There was a significant amount of confusion in the pits as well and the pit captains had a hard time getting things organized.
Things went smoother on Sunday though. Partially because they warned the shooters at the end of the day Saturday that we WOULD start on time Sunday, no matter how many shooters were there, and partially because it was the second day and everyone had a better idea of how thing worked.
I'll be headed back to Perry early Thursday morning for the M-16 EIC "Leg" match. I'm officially still on the wait list, but I'm number 13 on the list and was told that I'm pretty much guaranteed to shoot if I show up. Since I live only two hours from Perry, I'm just going to drive down even if I'm still offically on the wait list Weds night. This will be my first official match that will count towards my NRA classification. I think I'm shooting in the Sharpshooter range, but it will be nice to start getting officially classified.
I'm already looking forward to next year. It looks like my wife may come with me for SAFS and maybe the Garand match. Wonder what she'll think of the huts?
The training was very good, on the whole. We shot at 200 yards on Saturday and 300 yards on Sunday. All the shooting was done from the prone position with the use of the sling. I especially enjoyed shooting at 300 because the farthest I've ever been able to shoot so far has been at 200 yards. I was pleasantly surprised to find that 300 yards really isn't that different and was well within my skill range. The targets look the same size in the sights and the effects of the wind are just a little more noticable.
I was lucky enough to be able to shoot the 300 yard portion twice. There was no shooter on my position for the last relay, so as soon as I realized that I asked my coach if I could shoot it again. He said they had plenty of ammo, so why not. I'm glad I did that as he was able to build on the coaching he'd given me during the last string and I was able to work on keeping my eyes open during the recoil to improve my follow through and calling my shots. I noticed some real improvement during that second string.
I discovered that I REALLY like the M-16A2. As soon as a finished shooting on Saturday I very relunctantly set down the rifle and said "I gotta get one of these." I asked my coach if I could just take this one home, but he said he'd signed for it and couldn't let me have it... Oh well.
"My" rifle was made by Harrington & Richardson in the '60s as a M-16A1 and later rebuilt to A2 standard and overstamped "A2." The "Auto" was also overstamped to "Burst." There was a lock-out on selector to keep us from inadvertantly (or not) firing a burst. The firing position next to me had a even older rifle, a Colt AR-15, also rebuilt. Based on the wear patterns, I'd say these were some of the first rifles rebuilt to the new standard.
This was my first time using a shooting jacket and mitt and spotting scope. I bought the jacket and mitt first thing when I arrived at Perry and was able to borrow a scope on the line. I seem to be getting used to the jacket already and it really does help your position. The mitt is essential when using the jacket to allow you to get a really tight sling up without burning your hand on the rifle or cutting off your circulation.
(The funny thing is even though I bought a new jacket, I wound up not being the first person to wear it. The guy I borrowed the scope from needed a jacket for his son so we arranged for him to borrow my jacket and for me to borrow his scope. He shot on relay 1 and I was one relay 4, so he got to wear it before me)
The whole Camp Perry experience was a hoot as well. I got one of the last two or three huts that were available. My hut was one of the ones that hasn't been refurbished yet and the mattress dated back to WWII. But hey, if it was good enough for German P.O.W's in WWII, it was good enough for me, right?
I met some nice people and made a couple of friends. One shooter on my relay is from Ann Arbor and I think were going to arrange to meet at the range sometime for some 600 yard practice.
There were a few rough spots: The classroom portion on Saturday contained a lot of good material, but the shooting team members who did the instruction aren't really used to presenting in front of groups and it showed. Almost every one went through their presentation too quickly and it was hard to follow the material at times and nearly impossible to take notes. I finally decided to just let the material wash over me and hope the high points would stick. The good news is that this year they gave us all the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit shooting guide instead of T-shirts. This guide contains most of the same information that was in the lectures and makes up for my inability to take notes during the class.
I did get one really good thing out of the classroom portion though. Before the lectures begin I asked one of the instructors for help on my sitting position because I can't shoot sitting with a darn. He took me outside and in about 10 minutes was able to diagnose the MAJOR flaws in how I thought I was supposed to shoot sitting and show me the correct way to do it. Since we only got to shoot prone I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I now know what I'm suppossed to do. Having a clue helps...
On the range there was a little disorganization wtih a bit of the standard army "hurry up and wait" showing through. We got a late start on Saturday, mainly due to shooters arriving late, and didn't start shooting until an hour after the scheduled start time. There was a significant amount of confusion in the pits as well and the pit captains had a hard time getting things organized.
Things went smoother on Sunday though. Partially because they warned the shooters at the end of the day Saturday that we WOULD start on time Sunday, no matter how many shooters were there, and partially because it was the second day and everyone had a better idea of how thing worked.
I'll be headed back to Perry early Thursday morning for the M-16 EIC "Leg" match. I'm officially still on the wait list, but I'm number 13 on the list and was told that I'm pretty much guaranteed to shoot if I show up. Since I live only two hours from Perry, I'm just going to drive down even if I'm still offically on the wait list Weds night. This will be my first official match that will count towards my NRA classification. I think I'm shooting in the Sharpshooter range, but it will be nice to start getting officially classified.
I'm already looking forward to next year. It looks like my wife may come with me for SAFS and maybe the Garand match. Wonder what she'll think of the huts?
