153 / 409
BASIC TRAINING
137
EIGHT
Practical training with the rifle began with a briefing on the technical details of the SLR
followed by others on identifying the parts, stripping and assembling the weapon by day and
night and cleaning and maintaining it. There were practical tests on stripping and assembling
within prescribed times and with all the SLRs available in SAFTI being of right hand
configuration, with the cocking handle on the left, the southpaws among the trainees were
at a disadvantage until they mastered their own personal techniques. Actual shooting, which
was eagerly anticipated, followed dry training on holding, aiming and firing. Rifle resting
on tripods, aiming discs and Figure 11 targets were used to see if the trainee understood
the alignment of the aperture rear sight with the tip of the foresight. That out of the way,
a coin was balanced on the foresight guard to see if it would drop off when the trigger
was squeezed (as opposed to pulled) while the breadth was being expelled slowly. Though
not fool proof, (the rifle rests were pretty rickety and would not remain as positioned), the
trainees generally got the hang of it and were ready and eager for their first range practice.
It was mandatory that the range be conducted by a commissioned officer who would stand on
a raised platform at the centre of the firing point and issue his commands through a loudhailer.
NCO instructors who were crack shots demonstrated firing from various positions at the
100-metre range. The demonstrations brought together the roles of Range Control Officer,
the firer’s assistant, pre-loading of magazines according to the firing configuration by the
loading detail, the collection of ammunition from the ammunition point, the sequence of
fire control orders—loading, firing, unloading, making safe, declaring—and moving forward
with the assistant to check targets and record scores. The 100-metre range was also used
for the introductory shoot by the first intake. For those who had fired the Enfield Mark 4
as a school cadet, the recoil of the SLR was not a surprise, but for those who had not had
any experience with rifles, the first round must have been a bit disconcerting. However, they
soon got used to it and it would make them grateful for the light recoil of the M16 when it
was issued later.
Combat zeroing their respective rifles to the trainees’ eyes was done at 100 metres after the
mathematics of zeroing was explained. The basis was that the flat trajectory of the rifle at
100 metres would result in the same fall of shot as the drop in trajectory at 400 metres. For
the zeroing, each trainee fired three to four groups of three rounds each from the foxhole
with support. They would move forward with the instructors to record the details of their
group after measuring the distances with a ruler and on their return to the firing point,
establish the Mean Point of Impact (MPI) and adjust the rear aperture and foresight post
by the appropriate number of clicks or half-clicks. The lessons then proceeded to field
firing at combat targets at 200 and 300 metres at the 300-metre range, where butt parties
were needed. Targets were made to appear and disappear at different locations according to
timed sequences controlled by an instructor at the 200 and 300-metre butts, for firing from
foxhole with support, prone without support and kneeling or squatting. Communications
between the firing point and the butts were by field telephones. Slow reactions by butt-party
personnel to the commands to raise and lower the targets promised many ‘takes’ (as in take
three extra armskote duties).