Rifles are truly fine!.

[Sleeping Dog]

i just wanted to know, just how many of us started on .22lr

me. Well, that was my first "fire" arm, at about 12yrs. Before that, started with .177 "air" rifle.

A .22LR is fine for learning marksmanship. We used plenty of Mossberg .22's to train troops in ww2.

Don't worry too much about the particulars of the M16. The Army is real good at teaching that stuff. And reinforcing the training with pushups and the front-leaning-rest position. Whatever AR you could buy, the service will come up with something different. I see NG officers once in a while training at a DNR range, being yelled at by a sergeant. They are using museum pieces - M16A1. Somewhat different sights than the newer A2 or A4.

But don't just get a 22 and blast boxes of ammo. Find an NRA instructor who can coach you in position shooting.

It sounds like the best "weapon" to prep with is a broomstick with a sandbag taped to each end. Hold it like a rifle and run 2 miles. Do that often. The one thing that stands out in my memory about Army training is all the running. And the chin-ups - I hated the chin bar at the mess hall door.

Have fun at camp.

 

[another okie]

Join the NRA and take a rifle course from them. They might even provide the rifle. I would strongly second what the others said about shutting up when you make it to the range at camp. Your guiding philosophy should be to be as inconspicuous as possible, not just in guns, but in everything.