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Old September 22, 2005, 09:12 PM   #15
USP45usp
Junior member
 
Join Date: May 17, 2000
Location: Eugene, OR
Posts: 3,427
I've been shooting (all firearms) both eyes open for about 10 years now.

On my last qualification on the CATM range, the range officer was surprised that I was doing so. He came over to "help me" with my shooting and said that I could do better with one eye closed (I was starting to miss, I'll explain below). But I tell you what, if I hadn't had both eyes open, I wouldn't have qualified.

Okay, the story:

It was our shops turn for a rotation to SA (Prince Saltan AB). The guy that was supposed to go (and he knew months in advance) "suddenly" had a family problem, a freakin week before ship out date.

I was the next in line, so guess what... I was tagged to go.

I had to run butt all over base getting my stuff together (paperwork), getting the home front taking care of, including care for my cat, the paperwork for the city (town) to give me the deployment rates on power (the base min. is waived), water, and to make arrangements for the apartment that I was renting. You know, the reason that the military tells you MONTHS in advance that you are going... I still highly dislike that SOB (and I'll quit my description of him now).

So, the first opening that they had was on Friday to get me to the range to qualify. I was shipping out on Saturday (the next day, not the next week). And guess what, they only gave the Yellow Fever shots.... on Fridays only.

So instead of getting the other shots and then the YF shot on friday, I was slated to get all my shots... on Friday. Remember, that was the day that I was to qualify.

So I sit in class for the first part of the day. Learning how to take apart the M-16, how to load it ( , like I didn't already know), how to take it apart, blah, blah, blah.

At 11am, when everyone gets to go to the range and eat lunch and then get ready for the qualification, guess where your's truly goes... yep, the shot clinic.

So I get Hep A, Hep B, and GG because I was going the next day and the Hep A (IIRC) wouldn't kick in for a couple of weeks. Then I get the Yellow Fever and one other shot, I'm not sure if it was the antrax one or not.

So here I am, with a heavy butt (GG shot), aching arms, and no lunch (so far it's just gravy ).

Get to the CATM range and go into the classroom, get a briefing on the gun rules and range rules, takes about another 45 minutes. Butt hurts, arms hurt, I'm not doing well.

Take my M-16 and then go to the range. We have 40 rounds to "sight in". Doing great, everyone is impressed by my groups. Rifle is spot on (which is abnormal, just got lucky).

Set up for the qualifying course. First 10 rounds, not a problem.

The sky's open up (this is Moody AFB, GA) and the rain pours. Still have to fire, no matter what. No problem. Second course, 10 rounds. Then the rain stops, butt and arms hurting, the sun comes out, steam.

I wear glasses, steam and glasses = steamed up glasses, under a time line here, they hit the stop watch, you fire in the pattern that they expect, and you don't have time to wipe off your glasses.

Fourth round of ten shots, last set of rounds. Have time to wipe off glasses, reload, butt and arms now feel as if they are lead, get into position, set to fire, and then again under a time line, glasses fogging up again, fire.

I am not ashamed to say that I barely qualified. You had to hit 20 out of 40 rounds, I hit 20 out of 40 rounds. Being only about 50% okay myself, I don't feel bad that I only hit 50% of the time.

And yet, I truly believe that if I hadn't learned and used both eyes open, I wouldn't have qualified that day. I had everything going against me, yet I pulled it off.

I got to qualify with the M9 on my forth day at Prince Saltan, I owned many butts that day (of course, my body didn't ache, no rain for steam, and I was feeling pretty good). I outshot all the MP's and the only other that outshot me was this big grinned LT (and he was a butter bar ). I hit 37 out of 40, he hit 39 out of 40. Can't hold it against him though, he was from the backwoods state, either Wyoming or Montana IIRC .

Wayne

Sorry for the long post, just thought that it fit in here.
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