Weapons and Marksmanship Fundamentals
Weapons and Marksmanship Fundamentals tests safe weapon handling and the basics of firing accurately: the four safety rules, the cycle of operation, loading and clearing, malfunction reduction, and steady position, aim, breathing, and trigger control.
Core rules
- Treat every weapon as loaded; never point it at anything you do not intend to destroy; keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire; know your target and what lies beyond it.
- The cycle of operation includes feeding, chambering, locking, firing, extracting, ejecting, and cocking.
- For a malfunction, use SPORTS: Slap the magazine, Pull the charging handle, Observe the chamber, Release the charging handle, Tap the forward assist, Squeeze the trigger. If the weapon still fails, apply immediate action again or seek assistance.
- Marksmanship fundamentals are a steady position, proper aim, controlled breathing, and smooth trigger squeeze. Use the natural respiratory pause for the shot.
- Zeroing aligns the sights with the point of impact at a chosen distance; qualification then tests performance across positions and distances.
Worked example
Your rifle fires once and stops. You slap the magazine, pull the charging handle, observe a spent case, release the charging handle, tap the forward assist, and squeeze. Reasoning: the sequence clears the spent case and seats the next round; each step addresses a likely cause without randomly disassembling the weapon.
Traps that cost marks
Flagging others with the muzzle, placing the finger on the trigger before the sights are on target, jerking the trigger, and holding the breath until you shake. In malfunctions, candidates often omit “Observe” or perform the steps in the wrong order. Remember that “tap” seats the bolt; it does not clear a stuck case by itself.