Range Fail

Tuesday February 12, 2013- Today was a stressful day. It was a range day, Pre-Qualification for BRM and we got bussed out to the range at around 0730. It was about 0900 by the time we started firing and it was perfect shooting weather. No wind, overcast sky, not too hot and not too cold were the conditions we were in for the first of two days that would determine whether we qualified for BRM and continue on to the next part of our training. Having just received a few white phase restarts (people who actually got further than us in BCT but can't shoot the broad side of a barn) we were are a little nervous and everyone wanted to qualify today in case the weather returns to being crappy tomorrow. It was drilled into our heads lately: Remember your fundamentals of shooting. We had been instructed by some of the best shooters in all of Fort Jackson on the technique and now, it was up to us to implement that instruction.  I went up in the first firing group confident after the previous day's shooting and ready to qualify. And then I promptly blew it. Lol. The qualifying score was 23 targets hit out of 40. My first time, I shot 17 and the next time I shot 15. I was so upset with myself that I didn't get it done the first time and tired my best not to stress out, which was difficult considering the importance of the task at hand to my future as a soldier.

At first, I thought that maybe my rifle had not been zeroed correctly. Zeroing is the process of adjusting the rifle's sights to the shooter and the particular way they hold the weapon. It is vitally important to have a proper zero in order to maintain accuracy and precision. When I went to the drill sergeant in charge of zeroing, he got upset because he said I was changing the way I shoot. After a LOT of him swearing at me and then making me wait an hour (to "think about how much I've wasted everyone's time being there as well as the Army's ammo") I finally got another chance to zero. During the wait, I had studied my shooter's manual to find out what had changed since the first couple days of firing and realized that I had definitely changed my aim. Once I moved back to my original position, I got into the very last group of shooters for the day. Keeping my breathing under control, I went up and laid down 26 targets. I passed! I walked off the range with the biggest smile I've had since we arrived here at BCT and it didn't go away for about ten or fifteen minutes. I was so relieved. And it's a good thing I passed on pre-qual day because the forecast for tomorrow is rainy and cold! One more hurdle surpassed.