Gun Control

I don't know why I picked this topic today. Must be something subliminal in the air. There might be some value in knowing the subject matter, but since it deals with knowing how to kill people, aka 'reach out and touch someone', I sure hope nobody ever needs it.

I do not believe in violence to solve problems, although it does feel good sometimes, but I absolutely do believe in self defense and in getting them before they get you.

This video is a little long at almost 17 minutes, probably longer than it took the Primary Marksmanship Instructors to teach us the same thing, but the PMIs had a slightly less gentle technique. So 'less gentle' in fact that I still remember it, and can still do it, after 45 years. The acronym is BRASS:

B - Breathe. Take a breath, let half of it out and hold it.
R - Relax. If you're tensed up the rifle will not be steady.
A - Aim. Sight picture and sight alignment
S - Slack. Take the slack out of the trigger.
S - Squeeze. Squeeze, do not jerk, the trigger or anticipate the shot. Jerking will cause the round to go high and to the right. Anticipating the shot, or 'bucking the round', will cause the round to go low and to the left. It should actually sort of surprise you when it fires.

If you do all this correctly, the person who is trying to kill you won't any more.

We practiced this and the various firing positions (standing (offhand), sitting, kneeling, and prone), sometimes with the instructor literally sitting on various parts of our bodies if we had trouble assuming the positions. We used a sling around the arm for further steadiness, and some guys got 'sling palsy' from the tight sling cutting off blood flow to the left arm. We 'snapped-in' in this manner for two weeks and then we fired every day, probably hundreds of rounds total, for a week. And not with that pansy little M-16, either. Back in the day, men were men and rifles had wood in 'em and weighed ten pounds. We used the Big Iron, the M-14. If you weren't a little careful, that sumbitch'd hurt ya, and it left your shoulder and cheek sore in any case.

I can not over-emphasize the importance the Marine Corps places on marksmanship. The phrase "Every Marine A Rifleman" is not just a motto. Artillery and tanks and air strikes are nice things, but their purpose is to get the infantryman into position to close with the enemy and kill him. That's called 'offense'.

There's an element of 'defense' as well. If the enemy assaults the chow hall to try and steal some food, the cooks and bakers need to know how to shoot too, for the infantrymen might be out doing something else. And the chaplain's assistant must always be ready to defend the chaplain's organ from attack as well.

Thanks to PublicResourceOrg. Posted 6 June 09.

You can always run out of ammunition. We will save bayonet training for another time.