Ghost Gunnin' the AF Qual

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On the eve of my son's 16th, he wanted to shoot the AF rifle qualification course of fire. That immediately put me into search mode for the applicable AF Instruction, and for a couple of less-than-30-round mags ('cause even in the AF, unsupported means unsupported :lol:). I also needed to come up with some reduced-size targets, because the Lackland AFB trainee range is 25 yards. He wanted an apples to apples experience to see if he could out shoot the younger me.

So...into the car went the shooting mat, a sand bag, the AR (carved from an 80% lower and driven by a heavy military trigger), a box of Federal 5.56 55 grain ammo in 10 round clips, some targets, and plenty of water. After a week or so of triple digit weather, the 98 degree afternoon felt pretty comfortable, at least in the shade.

I did my best to play the part of the military training instructor while following my notes for the course of fire. After setting up the range, he loaded a mag with four rounds and waited for the command to fire. (Is the line ready? The line is ready. If you have a malfunction, raise your hand and wait for assistance. Load four rounds and fire when ready!) ((Apparently basic leaves some tracks in long term memory. That's not what I was thinking in 1983 when I was shakily pulling 5.56 rounds from stripper clips for the first time. I guess it's not about thinking. :lol: ))

Zeroing was fire four, adjust, fire three, adjust, fire three, adjust if necessary, and fire three. The course of fire is 10 rounds prone supported (three magazines loaded 4, 3, and 3), 10 rounds prone unsupported, 10 rounds kneeling supported, and 10 rounds over a barricade. We got an opportunity to improvise the barricade, and got to use the LGC-tagged first aid kit on his bicycle-induced road rash.

He did well and I'm pretty sure he did out shoot the younger me. Maybe it was because he wasn't using a shot-out Vietnam era M16 with a .22LR conversion kit. Maybe it was because he had a better teacher. It's probably because he's just a good shot. Regardless, the outing gave me another set of memories that I'll treasure. I can't believe he's 16.
Last edited by AndyH on Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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