12-233 Garand Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

A rifle coach demonstrates the correct way to fire from the sitting position. This was a difficult position for many recruits. USMC Photo



Under the watchful eyes of range coaches a firing relay engages targets at the 500-yard line. Before the war, rifle coaches were the best of the best among rifle experts in the Corps. The exigencies of war forced many changes to how recruits were trained. Such was the need for coaches, that many were themselves recent graduates of recruit training held over due to their own high scores in rifle qualification. USMC Photo

In Goodbye Darkness–A Memoir of the Pacific War, famed historian and World War II Marine William Manchester recalled the experience of qualifying with the M1:


"On record day we fired sixty-six shots, all but ten of them rapid fire, at targets two hundred, three hundred, and five hundred yards away. Each shot was worth a maximum of five points, for a bull's-eye. Riflemen could qualify in three categories: marksman, sharpshooter, and–very rare, requiring 305 points out of a possible 330–expert rifleman... My M1 was zeroed in to perfection. I had steady hands; I could hold my breath indefinitely, steadying the muzzle; I could fold my right ankle under my buttocks for kneeling shots; and I had 20/10 vision... I was also clever in adjusting my sling... [I]t can be extended and looped around the left arm, locking the butt to the right shoulder. Record day was clear and windless. I hardly missed anything. My score was 317."


Cover of N. M. C. 42-DP, the score book issued to Marines for keeping track of each shot during practice and qualification. In this book the shooter recorded the wind direction and speed, light, and other conditions that affected firing. He also recorded the strike of each round fired and other information to help him with marksmanship.

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