Smith Range is an old bunker at the north end of LSAA. It's open at one end and filled with dirt to catch bullets. There's a series of hescos (dirt filled wire-mesh baskets) that form barriers around the range. Regardless of weapon (9mm, M4, M16) the targets are 25 meters away from the shooter. Silhouette sizes are varied to simulate varying distances. With the 9mm we fire scenarios from the standing, crouch, kneeling, and prone positions. It basically boils down to this - 40 rounds fired at a 25 meter target. The qualification is based on the total number of hits. I must say that the unit running the range today wasn't very well organized. The safety briefing was nothing more than asking who was ready to fire. Some of the magazines provided to us had the wrong number of rounds for the given scenarios. When we finished firing nobody was "rodding off the range" (a process where a cleaning rod is run down the barrel with the weapon bolt to the rear. It ensures there are no rounds in the chamber). I was not happy with the conduct of the range at all. Fortunately I didn't have to stay there long. Since I got there early I was on the first firing order. Twenty minutes later I was leaving the range. By my observation I qualified expert (37/40). The range NCOIC handed the score card off to my unit. Normally I enjoy the range but today was different. They gave us the option of shooting more but I declined. Some of my team elected to stay and pop off a few more rounds (that's one of them shooting in the photo). That was cool with me.
It was a dreary day. I can't figure the weather here. Just a few days ago I was lamenting the heat. Today it was cool and damp. By damp I mean the "dirt rain". After shooting I was content with hanging out in my office the rest of the day. By the time I went to the gym there was a steady drizzle of slimy rain.
This is one dreary posting isn't it? On the optimistic view this was another day complete. I got to scratch another day off the calender. It felt great to climb into the "fart sack" at the end of it all. "NFL Live" was on AFN sports so I settled in to watch. Instead I fell asleep maybe five minutes into the show. I woke up a couple of hours later to find the TV still on. Day over! Next!
2 comments:
Keep up the good work Sam. Is that State of RI flag proudly hanging in the hooch? If so, send pic. Brian B.
37 out of 40 ain't too bad for a hillbilly! I've always had poor ammo quality, and the slugs start to stray after 20 rounds. Do you have any tumble weeds over there? You can drag race them in the high winds of the desert for fun. Cuz
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