FSX
I don't know what was there first, the Rifle Range or 2nd LAAMB. I suspect they put the LAAMB where they did because it was the only place in-range of the base they had available to them. I also suspect the RR was there before LAAMB. It's OLD. MCAS was an Army base before it was given to the Corps for an MCAS, and that the RR was an Army range before the Corps took over. Since the Corps requires a 1km range, with 200m, 300m, 500m, and 1000m firing lines, I suspect they left it where it was, not having any place else in a reasonable distance around the base available.but are the Marine Corps range standards so vastly different than the Army, Navy or Air Force ranges?
I don't know much about the other services, but I don't believe they shoot at the ranges the Marines do, so I believe their ranges are somewhat shorter overall, and probably have higher berms in the butts, relative to range length. The Navy has it easy. They just put to sea a few miles, and they can turn loose without any concerns. They have unobstructed views to the horizon all around them.
Also, you are absolutely right. Short bursts are a vastly better method of automatic weapons utilization. Having said that, almost invariably, you get a shooter that freezes on the trigger their first time on full auto, emptying the magazine or belt towords the butts. And their muzzle climbs, every time. This was back before the 3 round burst capability developed in the M16A2. All we had were the M16A1, and they were all older than dirt. Sometimes, the sear would break, and no matter what the shooter did, the weapon would empty. You should have seen the failures we had with the pistols and shotguns!
We would try to teach them the proper way to hold the weapon for full auto, but you know as well as I do that every Marine thinks they're John Wayne, walking along firing a .50cal M2 from the hip, in their minds, at least. That's why we kept the first few mags and belts down. 10 rounds in the magazines, 20 round belts for the M60's.
All of them had also qualed with the M16A1, on slow fire only, no auto-fire training back them, at least once in boot camp, and once once they got to Yuma, so every one of them "knew how the thing kicks". In their minds at least. No matter how much instruction we gave them, they would never lean into the recoil properly. Their grip would be wrong, they wouldn't sight correctly, the list is endless. The exceptions, naturally, were the former grunts that had cross-decked to the airwing. THEY got automatic weapons training in ITS, right out of boot camp. We could qual them easily.
All these reasons are why we were out there. To teach them the proper way to utilize the weapons, and what to do in the event of a failure or stoppage.
Sadly, we invariably got a few rounds go over the berm in the butts, and 2nd LAAMB was at the perfect range to catch them. They didn't get every over-shoot, just a round or two, and they always called and let us know immediately if they took fire. Oddly, they could get pretty hostile
Finally, Yuma being what and where it is, there are always people hiking around out in the desert, shooting at "stuff" just for the fun of it. Them we had no control over, and they don't always check the down-range for possible humans when they go out shooting. All we could do was see if the Sheriff's Dept or the Border Patrol had anyone they could send down the line the rounds would impact along, to try and find, and stop, the hikers from shooting that direction. Usually, they were long gone by the time we got someone out that way. The Mexican border is right there, as well, and while the hikers didn't usually pay much attention to it, the Sheriff and Border Patrol did.
I just realized how long I'm running. I apologize to all. I was just trying to explain the why's and wherefores of what went on.
Have fun all!
Pat☺
Fly Free, always!
Originally Posted by PhantomTweak
....my other Stryker is a 2019 Challenger Hellcat Redeye.....
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