Should I start shooting?

[Wm226]

I have a question for those of you who are or have been in the military.

I am currently a high school senior and plan on taking Army ROTC so that I can become a commissioned officer. I want to learn how to properly handle and fire a firearm. Do you think that I should wait and learn when I am in ROTC or start now?

Thank you!

[Adam]

HA, don't worry about it, they will teach you, in fact its probably better if you learn the way you want to learn. Unless you want to be a sniper or something along those lines.

[Eagle]

you will be taught the military way to shoot, and you will not need to Unlearn bad habits.

[Mike Lewis]

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you will be taught the military way to shoot, and you will not need to Unlearn bad habits.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. One thing they taught us was that at many shooting ranges, you are told to collect your brass, place it in a bucket, and then reload. Our instructors told us of some CHP officers who were in a shootout, and they took the time to empty their chambers into their hands and stick the brass in their pocket (because that was how they had been trained), and that time cost them their lives. So they just had us empty our chambers onto the ground and quickly reload (yes, I am old - we still had .38s when I qualified).

Plus, shooting is as much a hazing-type training experience like the rest of military training that they will find a way to make you unprepared for it.

However, if you have never fired a firearm before, it might be worthwhile just so you are used to the kick, feel, etc. I had never fired a revolver before, and so it was a new experience for me when I trained, and I did pretty well at the course.

[C650CPT]

Wm226
I have a great story about this, when I did basic training we had a guy in our plattoon, we called him RADAR, because he reminded us of RADAR on MASH. He had thick, really thick glasses, and when we got to the rifle range he was haveing alot of problems. He kept telling the Drill Sgts. that he couldn't shoot the ARMY way, after not qualifying for 3 days and in jeapordy of being set back the Drills finally said allright shoot your way. He shot 38 out of 40, shocked us all and was the best qualifier in our company. Go fiqure!

I agree with the recomendations to get some experience and confidence locally before you need to qualify. I would recomend you talk to a local sporting goods store, they may know of a program that would serve you well. Good luck.

[Eagle]

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(yes, I am old - we still had .38s when I qualified).


[/ QUOTE ]

was that one of those "Flint-Lock" .38s ?

[Mike Lewis]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
(yes, I am old - we still had .38s when I qualified).


[/ QUOTE ]

was that one of those "Flint-Lock" .38s ?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, and you had to use a muzzle loader...

[MikeD]

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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
(yes, I am old - we still had .38s when I qualified).


[/ QUOTE ]

was that one of those "Flint-Lock" .38s ?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, and you had to use a muzzle loader...

[/ QUOTE ]

Now, now guys, let's not begin knocking the tried-and-true S&W Model 15 .38 revolver. Nice weapon and a hell of a lot more reliable than the current P.O.S M9 Beretta.

[Mike Lewis]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
(yes, I am old - we still had .38s when I qualified).


[/ QUOTE ]

was that one of those "Flint-Lock" .38s ?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, and you had to use a muzzle loader...

[/ QUOTE ]

Now, now guys, let's not begin knocking the tried-and-true S&W Model 15 .38 revolver. Nice weapon and a hell of a lot more reliable than the current P.O.S M9 Beretta.

[/ QUOTE ]

If I ever had to actually use it to defend myself, I would want an M-16. But, I was told, the pistol is the classical weapon of the officer, and therefore, I couldn't get qualified on the M-16. However, if I ever actually had to use a firearm, the war would be going very, VERY badly...

[Eagle]

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if I ever actually had to use a firearm, the war would be going very, VERY badly...

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah I can see it now, the bad guys storm the compound..

Hey Captain, STEP AWAY FROM THE COFFEE POT!!!

Personally that would have fought to the death over the Coffee...

[MikeD]

[ QUOTE ]
[If I ever had to actually use it to defend myself, I would want an M-16. But, I was told, the pistol is the classical weapon of the officer, and therefore, I couldn't get qualified on the M-16. However, if I ever actually had to use a firearm, the war would be going very, VERY badly...

[/ QUOTE ]

Being a Batallion-level Air Liason Officer/Ground FAC as an additional duty, I've have to maintain qual in the 9mm, M-16/M-4/GAU-5, and have additional qual in the M-249 and M-60 for kicks. Fun stuff. Am looking to get 60/81mm mortar qual.

[C650CPT]

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(yes, I am old - we still had .38s when I qualified)./quote]

Point about the .38s, they were designed to operate with only one hand, the Army went with the 9mm it is NOT designed to be operated with one hand, you need two hands to work the slide to chamber the first round. I had a good friend shot down in Somalia (not the Black Hawk Down incident) and because of a hand injury was NOT able to lock and load, he said it was a very long and scary night, unable to protect himself. Thank God he was rescued early the next morning.

[Center_Mid]

I'd go to a range and at least experience shooting a weapon. Don't worry about proficiency, since the military will want to teach it their way. Still, I wish I had had a little experience. I qualified in the M9 and M16, but just barely missed the "expert" ribbon on the 16. Maybe a little prior experience would have made the diff.

[Eagle]

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just barely missed the "expert" ribbon on the 16.

[/ QUOTE ]


Expert = Able to hit broad side of barn.

Sharpshooter = Able to hit broadside of barn with one eye closed.

Marksman = Able to hit broad side of barn from inside

[Wm226]

Thanks for the advice and great stories guys.

Hey, C650CPT, what branch did "RADAR" end up getting assigned to?