The Rifle Range and Grass Week at Marine Boot Camp
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Marine Boot Camp Grass-Week and Rifle Range
During Recruit Training, you will be introduced to the M16A4 Service Rifle. You will become intimately familiar with this weapon long before you ever put a live round through it. About mid-way through training you will move out to the rifle range to begin learning about the fundamentals of marksmanship and the characteristics of the M16A4.
If you are at MCRD San Diego, you will load busses and move up north to Edson Range aboard Camp Pendleton. This is about 45 minutes north of MCRD on the I-5 Freeway. If you are at MCRD Parris Island, you will hike across to the other side of the base to Weapons Training Battalion. Either location, the endstate is the same. When you leave the range two weeks later, you will be qualified on the M16A4 Service Rifle as either a Marksman, Sharpshooter, or Expert.
The first week is called Grass Week. During grass week you will receive extensive instruction on the weapon, shooting positions, breath control, bone support, natural point of aim, and all the fundamentals of Marine Corps Marksmanship. You will practice making a loop sling. You will rehearse the prone, sitting, kneeling, and standing positions. You will spend many hours in each of these positions with the loop sling tied tightly around your arm. Your arm will go numb, and your limbs will fall asleep. This is perfectly normal. The intent behind grass week, besides teaching you how to shoot, is to get your body used to assuming the positions you will be shooting from the following week.
The second week is called firing week. On day one of firing week you will BZO your weapon. BZO is Battlesight Zero. This is the equivalent of "sighting in" or "target practice" for those of you who have fired weapons in the past. The intent is to bring rounds on target based on your point of aim. Once you have a "zero" on your weapon, you will confirm the zero at the 200 yard line. After confirmation, you will fire Table 1 of the Known Distance Course of Fire. You will fire from the sitting, kneeling, and standing on the 200 yard line. You will shoot slow fire from the sitting, kneeling, and standing, and rapid fire from the sitting. Next you will move to the 300 yard line where you will fire from the sitting and prone. You will fire slow from the sitting, and rapid from the prone. Next you will move to the 500 yard line to shoot slow fire from the prone.
As seen below: Rifle Marksman Badge, Rifle Sharpshooter Badge, Rifle Expert Badge
Table 1:
200 Yard Line: You will fire from the sitting, kneeling, and standing on the 200 yard line. You will shoot slow fire from the sitting, kneeling, and standing, and rapid fire from the sitting. You will fire 5 rounds sitting, 5 rounds kneeling, and 5 rounds standing. Then you will fire 10 rounds from standing to sitting in a time limit of 60 seconds.
300 Yard Line: Next you will move to the 300 yard line where you will fire from the sitting and prone. You will fire slow from the sitting, and rapid from the prone. You will fire 5 rounds from the sitting position. Then you will fire 10 rounds from standing to prone in a time limit of 60 seconds.
500 Yard Line: Next you will move to the 500 yard line to shoot slow fire from the prone. You will fire 10 rounds from the prone in a time limit of 10 minutes.
Table 1 has a total of 50 rounds. On Table 1 course of fire, your score is based on where your rounds impact the target. Each target has a 5 point ring, 4 point, 3 point, and anything outside those rings on the paper is worth 2 points.
Table 2:
Table 2 is short range shooting with a combat load. You will shoot Table 2 while wearing your flak jacket and Kevlar. Table 2 is shot from the 25, 50, and 100 yard lines. You will shoot at green Ivan targets, which are outlines of a human silhouette. From the 25 and 50 yard lines you will shoot at stationary targets. You will shoot single shots, controlled pairs (two shots with a pause in between each shot to regain your sight picture), and failure drills (two shots to the chest, one to the head or groin). You will move from the standing to the kneeling. At the 100 yard line you will shoot at moving Ivans from standing to kneeling. Table 2 has a total of 50 rounds. On Table 2 Ivan targets every hit within the chest, head, or groin boxes is worth 2 points. Every other hit on paper is worth 1 point. Any misses are worth 0.
Your score from both tables are added together for one total score. The scoring system is as follows: 305-350 for expert, 280-304 for sharpshooter, and 250-279 for marksman.
During Recruit Training, you will be introduced to the M16A4 Service Rifle. You will become intimately familiar with this weapon long before you ever put a live round through it. About mid-way through training you will move out to the rifle range to begin learning about the fundamentals of marksmanship and the characteristics of the M16A4.
If you are at MCRD San Diego, you will load busses and move up north to Edson Range aboard Camp Pendleton. This is about 45 minutes north of MCRD on the I-5 Freeway. If you are at MCRD Parris Island, you will hike across to the other side of the base to Weapons Training Battalion. Either location, the endstate is the same. When you leave the range two weeks later, you will be qualified on the M16A4 Service Rifle as either a Marksman, Sharpshooter, or Expert.
The first week is called Grass Week. During grass week you will receive extensive instruction on the weapon, shooting positions, breath control, bone support, natural point of aim, and all the fundamentals of Marine Corps Marksmanship. You will practice making a loop sling. You will rehearse the prone, sitting, kneeling, and standing positions. You will spend many hours in each of these positions with the loop sling tied tightly around your arm. Your arm will go numb, and your limbs will fall asleep. This is perfectly normal. The intent behind grass week, besides teaching you how to shoot, is to get your body used to assuming the positions you will be shooting from the following week.
The second week is called firing week. On day one of firing week you will BZO your weapon. BZO is Battlesight Zero. This is the equivalent of "sighting in" or "target practice" for those of you who have fired weapons in the past. The intent is to bring rounds on target based on your point of aim. Once you have a "zero" on your weapon, you will confirm the zero at the 200 yard line. After confirmation, you will fire Table 1 of the Known Distance Course of Fire. You will fire from the sitting, kneeling, and standing on the 200 yard line. You will shoot slow fire from the sitting, kneeling, and standing, and rapid fire from the sitting. Next you will move to the 300 yard line where you will fire from the sitting and prone. You will fire slow from the sitting, and rapid from the prone. Next you will move to the 500 yard line to shoot slow fire from the prone.
As seen below: Rifle Marksman Badge, Rifle Sharpshooter Badge, Rifle Expert Badge
Table 1:
200 Yard Line: You will fire from the sitting, kneeling, and standing on the 200 yard line. You will shoot slow fire from the sitting, kneeling, and standing, and rapid fire from the sitting. You will fire 5 rounds sitting, 5 rounds kneeling, and 5 rounds standing. Then you will fire 10 rounds from standing to sitting in a time limit of 60 seconds.
300 Yard Line: Next you will move to the 300 yard line where you will fire from the sitting and prone. You will fire slow from the sitting, and rapid from the prone. You will fire 5 rounds from the sitting position. Then you will fire 10 rounds from standing to prone in a time limit of 60 seconds.
500 Yard Line: Next you will move to the 500 yard line to shoot slow fire from the prone. You will fire 10 rounds from the prone in a time limit of 10 minutes.
Table 1 has a total of 50 rounds. On Table 1 course of fire, your score is based on where your rounds impact the target. Each target has a 5 point ring, 4 point, 3 point, and anything outside those rings on the paper is worth 2 points.
Table 2:
Table 2 is short range shooting with a combat load. You will shoot Table 2 while wearing your flak jacket and Kevlar. Table 2 is shot from the 25, 50, and 100 yard lines. You will shoot at green Ivan targets, which are outlines of a human silhouette. From the 25 and 50 yard lines you will shoot at stationary targets. You will shoot single shots, controlled pairs (two shots with a pause in between each shot to regain your sight picture), and failure drills (two shots to the chest, one to the head or groin). You will move from the standing to the kneeling. At the 100 yard line you will shoot at moving Ivans from standing to kneeling. Table 2 has a total of 50 rounds. On Table 2 Ivan targets every hit within the chest, head, or groin boxes is worth 2 points. Every other hit on paper is worth 1 point. Any misses are worth 0.
Your score from both tables are added together for one total score. The scoring system is as follows: 305-350 for expert, 280-304 for sharpshooter, and 250-279 for marksman.