Marine Marksmanship Training

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Congratulations!

Seems I'm seeing more and more stuff about the Corps lately...makes me want to join even more. Watched a borrowed recruiting video(titled Marines, Earning the Title) a few nights ago.

Too bad my wife is totally against it. :(
 
Marine M-16 training in Basic is quite a bit different (expected of course) than Air Force M-16 training in Basic. Our M-16 training lasted 1 day. In the morning we did all the safety and shooting fundamentals; in the afternoon we did the actual shooting and qualification. When I did the qualification the 1st and 2nd times we did one round with the gas mask and didn't wear a flak vest. This third time we had flak vests and that was a good bit harder.
Also, I don't know if the other services are doing it but this last qualification they sent a few officers to get trained on the M-16 since the M-16 would be more effective than the M-9. A poor LT did put her magazine in upside down during the fundamentals portion of the course, though.
 
I'm surprised theres no handgun training. I'd feel naked without one. Even with a rifle I'd want back up.
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There's just no time to learn an entirely different weapon at boot camp. The schedule is very full as it is. Besides, the vast majority of Marines won't be issued a handgun. If you're going to have one issued to you, then they'll train you.

Most of boot camp really isn't about weapons training at all. It's about making you a Marine.
 
Most of boot camp really isn't about weapons training at all. It's about making you a Marine.
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The Marine Corps I was in, you sure as hell weren't a Marine until you were effective with your rifle. It was that way when I went through Boot at PI in '66, and later when I was a DI in Hollywood.

Fired the M14 at PI, then went to ITR (Infantry Training Regiment) with everyone for 6 or 8 weeks IIRC. FAM fired the 1911, but carried the M1 Garand for training the whole time in ITR, then went to BITS where we used the M14 again. (BITs Basic Infantry Training for the infantry). By the time I got to the Drill field we were training the turds with the Matty Mattel widow maker. Along with virtually everyone else I served as a Hat with, we were pretty uniform in our distaste for that rifle. Most of us had lost or even bagged and tagged buddies because of it.

I was in the Corps for 10+ years, and fired expert every year with the M14, then the M16 and the 1911A1. I had gone through NRA JR programs as a boy in the 50's. So I had some knowledge of shooting. But the Corps took me to a whole new level. In fact I enjoyed the two weeks we stayed out on the range. They were the best time in boot camp.

I enjoyed ITR and BITs too. Got to shoot a lot of kool old weapons.

For our new Marine, welcome aboard and good luck. Hang on for the ride of your life.

Good Luck and God Speed.

Fred
 
JackBurtonJr.:
There isn't much firearms training I would suggest giving him before hand other than maybe teaching how to disassemble an M16/AR15 and to pound the four rules into his head. If you are a safety violator on the range you can get dropped back two weeks into another platoon, that's every recruits worst nightmare.

Other than that, make sure he knows his general orders forwards and backwards and make sure that he's mentally prepared. Boot Camp 90% mental.
 
I would agree with Crazy Uncle Al Gore, mental preparation is the most important part. Make sure he knows to do what he's told and NOT argue/backtalk, etc. Also knowing things like rank insignias and customs and courtesies (when to salute, etc) before getting to basic means there's that much less he needs to worry about learning in basic.
 
He's had no firearms experience at all.

1) Should he prepare himself beforehand?

2) How?
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I would say, clean his ears out reeeeel good, and that's it. ;)

I went through MCRD San Diego in 1987. WE did KD, but no A-line training. I personally think BOTH are important. While the tactical shooting is what they'll be using out in the catbox, I'm glad to hear they've kept the KD portion intact, as it teaches pure marksmanship.

Incidentally, we did do pistol fam-fires while at the range...I think we were some of the last to get to do that on the 1911.
 
When my nephews went into the services( 1 Marine, 1 Army) I took them to the range and taught them to shoot the KD range. I also taught them to field strip and propery clean a AR-15!! Brought back a lot of memories from PI!!!
They both exelled in basic, both shot Expert in basic, both got thier second stripes in 2 years!!
Both served 2 tours in the sandbox, and were not harmed.
Both are now stateside, one gets out of the Corps at the end of the month, the other reuped for another 4.
I am proud of both, and believe that the training I gave them helped them to survive.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas
 
The Marine Corps I was in, you sure as hell weren't a Marine until you were effective with your rifle
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And that's still completely true. Nobody will hesitate to drop you back in training if you fail the rifle qualification. The point I was trying to make is that boot camp does not focus on weapons training, but more on breaking civilians down and "re-programming" them as Marines.
 
My son graduated from Parris Island in 2004, and although the recruits were taught the "correct way" to shoot, they had enough wisdom and flexibility to allow them to do what worked for them whether it was orthodox or not (one recruit was able to qualify only by turning his back to the target and twisting his upper body around to fire). The Marine DI's were impressive in every way, and as a testament to their training skill they taught at least one recruit in my son's platoon who had never fired a gun in his life to qualify as expert.
 
I don’t remember a whole lot about the rifle range at boot camp. It was such a blur. The only thing that sticks in my head was graduation day. To preface this, I was 3rd Bn., it will matter in a minute… My dad wanted to go to the rifle range and see if it had changed since he was there. I just wanted off that damn island, I REALLY wanted a can of snuff, and the rifle range was like 15 miles away. That’s how far we marched with all our stuff to get there. Dad just laughed.

We jump in the car and start heading to the rifle range. Things are going through my head. I want that can of snuff. I just want to get to the motel room and spend some “quality time” with my girlfriend. I want to sleep in a regular bed.

And then 2 miles down the road we pull up to the rifle range…

I don’t know what made me more mad. The fact that we had to do this or the fact that it takes Marine Corps Drill Instructors 15 miles of humping to go 2 miles.
 
On Qual day on Parris Island back in '83, we had a nasty rainstorm blowing through, and nearly the entire platoon failed to qualify ( and it might have been the whole company) .I was one of about 3 people to qualify, and i actually shot expert somehow. They told us that they were going to nullify the results and have everyone re-qualify. Had i not been such a timid,brainwashed little recruit, i would have pressed the issue, but didn't and somehow ended up only shooting "sharpshooter" the next day. Decades later, I'm STILL pissed !! ;) But i did get "expert" on subsequent attempts.
Another thing, it took YEARS before I realized a weapon didn't need to be "clean,white Q-tip" clean .
 
I graduated from 1st Bn, A Co, Plt 1037 in May of 2006.

The KD (Table 1) range sounds like it hasn't changed at all. The table-2 strings haven't changed either. Do they still use the terms "Hammered Pairs" and "Controlled Pairs"? I still use the flash sight picture method when doing quick shooting!

When I was on boot leave, I took my AR-15 to the range and shot soda cans at 100 yards. I told one gentleman that I had just graduated boot camp and that they taught us to shoot a LOT farther :)

Good times!
 
Envious

Navy Boot camp in Great Lakes in December. An hour in the classroom, 10 rounds of 22 with a single shot bolt action rifle, (My favorite gun by the way), couldn't hit paper at 50' because the sights were so far off and we weren't allowed to make sight corrections. One man qualified as marksman in the entire company. A year later I was on the pistol team shooting the 22 caliber 1911's, what a difference. Funny thing about boot rifle training was at least half of the company were from the country from small town or farms and all of us were experienced shooters with a 22. This was before the build up in the south east hemisphere and I suppose the thinking was that we had marines to shoot so sailors didn't need to.
 
greetings from the 6th ESB
congrats marine, welcome to the family.

hope you love the training, and what exactly is your mos?
 
Hey Gore. My daughter just graduated Parris Island and during training she wrote home with the following:

"I can hit consistent head shots at 500 yards with iron sights. So, are you proud, or afraid?"

I got such a kick out of that. Her favorite was the SAW. Turns out she was pretty good with weapons.

My training was in the AF in the early 70's and one of the things they kept asking was if we had ever taken any drugs! Turns out one of the instructors had a troop that had a flash back on acid and emptied his M16 in the air as he slumped against a wall.

All I can remember is that I had to qualify with 20 rounds on my target. I must have been really good because I finished with 21!

I am proud of my daughter and all of you new Marines.
 
Congrats on graduating. Enjoy your time in, it goes by quick!
The thing I liked best about the M16 was how quick you could reaquire a target between shots. You will notice this if you run any type of assault range, like the ones in
29Palms.
 
Sounds like it's much the same as it was when I went through basic in 1973. Since I was a Hollywood Marine, our range was in meters instead of yards. Semper Fi.
 
SEMPER FI
Welcome aboard Marine.

It sounds like Basic Marksmanship has not changed much. I was at PI in 1960.
We had M1's. we shot 200,300and 500 yards. we fired 1911's for famalizaration. My last duty in 1964 was a PMI at Camp Mathews. I took top aggragate in my last match. Cleaned the 1000 yard. We had M14's then.
No I don't like AR's.

Semper Fi
God Speed
 
Semper Fi Devil Dogs!!!

Welcome aboard Marine!!
The training sounds the same to what I went through too back in the late 80's. Didn't have flak jackets but we had our gas masks on for the moving targets. We did have one very lame day shooting pistol. I just wish there was more of both. I think I only fired 2 shots out of the 1911 before it jammed.

Michelle
 
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