Preparing to fire the M-1 rifle for qualifications. DI Sgt Kling instructs a member of the platoon on safety and loading OF the magazine. Up to the time we "snapped in" on the range we had never before loaded our rifles. Snapping-in was a week of learning the discipline of getting into awkward firing positions and staying in them for long periods to acclimate us to disregard discomfort. We’d snap-in in the morning and fire in the afternoons; from the 200 yard in the "offhand" position; 300 yards in the kneeling position; 400 yards in the sitting position; and 500 yards in the prone position.
The targets were hauled down and marked by Marines working the butts, so that each shot could be recorded in the Marine's record book, and adjustments made to windage and elevation. A compete miss was called "Maggie’s drawers" and a red flag was waved from the butt to indicate it. The bulls-eye was 20" at the 500 yard distance. On qualification day, each Marine's record was marked not by him but by a fellow marine and verified by the range observers.
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- USMC - 1960-1964 Camp Pendleton & Camp Lejeune
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