Chapter XVI: Part I: will, if they qualify on first or second repetition, fire the

whole of Part III., or, failing that, Practices 19, 20, 23, 24, and 25, according to the amount of ammunition available.

(iii) Any man who qualifies in Part I. on the first, second, or third attempt, and completes the practices of Part III., will be classified according to the standards of Part III., but not below Second-Class shot. Those who complete Practices 19, 20, 23, 24, and 25 only will be classified as Second-Class shots, provided they have qualified in Part I.; those who fail in Part I., or who, having qualified in Part I. for any reason do not complete these five practices, will be classified as Third-Class shots. Any ammunition unexpended will form a surplus for further instruction.

=7. R.A.M.C. and A.V.C.=--Recruits of the R.A.M.C. and A.V.C. will fire Practices 1 to 4, Table B (Royal Artillery, etc.). The following standard will be required:

_Practice 1._--All shots in a 12-inch ring. Those who fail to attain this standard will repeat Practice 1 until they do so, or expend the full allowance of ammunition. Ammunition not required for the above practices is to be expended on preliminary training on the 30-yards range, as considered necessary.

Section =62=.--Recruits’ Course, Regular Forces, Cavalry, R.E., and Infantry.

=1. Part I.=--Part I. should be fired intermittently during the latter part of preliminary training, and may be repeated as often as is considered necessary. The conditions may be varied, with the object of removing any particular defects observed in previous shooting.

=2. Part II.=--On the completion of Part II., recruits will repeat once those practices of Part II. in which they failed to reach the Grouping Standard, or, if they obtain less than 90 points in Part II., they will repeat, once, the whole of Part II. before proceeding to Parts III. to VI.

=3. Elementary Field Practices.=--Recruits who have completed their course of instruction in range practices will fire elementary field practices before joining their companies in the trained soldiers’ course in order that they may realize the true function of elementary shooting as a means to an end and a preparation for field firing--not as an end in itself.

Section =63=.--Execution of Tables A and B in the Same Year.

=1.= Soldiers of the cavalry, Royal Engineers, and infantry of the Regular Forces who complete Table A will be exercised in the whole of Table B (sappers of the Royal Engineers the prescribed practices only), with their own companies, if possible, in the same year; but their scores in Part III. will not be included in the company or battalion averages. In special cases, which should be exceptional, commanding officers may direct that backward men shall repeat Part II., Table A, instead of firing any portion of Table B in the same year.

=2.= If Part II., Table B, has been commenced before they are available, they will begin firing at any practice which their companies are executing at the time they become qualified, and will then complete the remainder of the table. If all the companies in the battalion have completed Part II., Table B, before they are available, the brigade commander will decide as to whether they shall be exercised as casuals.[28] They will be awarded marksmen’s badges if they attain the necessary standard in Table B. In any case, they will receive such further practice in firing as may be considered by their company commanders to be necessary.

Section =64=.--Trained Soldiers’ Course.

=1. Object of Range Practices.=--Range practices are fired by trained soldiers in order that they may revise their knowledge of elementary and timed shooting before entering upon more advanced practices. Soldiers who have missed the whole or a portion of the range practices and have become available to commence the field practices with their companies may, if they are known to be good shots, be allowed by their commanding officers to execute the field practices, and fire the range practices subsequently.

=2. Programme of Instructional Practices.=--Considerable latitude is allowed as regards the programme of instructional practices. Officers commanding companies may vary the number of rounds to be fired by individuals, or they may alter the order of the practices in Part II. Officers commanding battalions may, with the approval of general officers commanding brigades, vary the instructional practices in any way calculated to further instruction; but it is not permitted to design practices, or to vary the details of practices in Part II. with the object of assimilating the conditions to those of the classification practices.

=3. Uncompleted Practices.=--If a man has fired one or more rounds in any range practice, and is prevented from completing it, the points made will not count, and the whole practice will be recommenced when his training is resumed. _Every soldier not exempted by Musketry Regulations or by the King’s Regulations will execute the full course of range and field practices yearly._

=4. Correction of Sighting.=--Correction of sighting in individual firing is rarely possible in war. It is therefore all-important to estimate the elevation and deflection for the first shot. When a reasonable standard of skill in trigger-pressing has been shown in grouping practices, and the principle of application is understood, further practice in deliberate fire should aim at successful application of fire from the first shot, and less importance should be attached to correction of sighting, according to the signalling, of a series of shots.

=5. Sighting Shots.=--For this reason skilled shots should fire two or three shots at each of several ranges for sighting practice rather than long series of shots at one or two distances. Only a few rounds in all should be devoted in their case to deliberate shooting; a high standard of snapshooting should be developed. Officers and sergeants may fire sighting-shots at ranges beyond 600 yards, but as a rule such training should be reserved for the fire-direction practices.

=6. Allowance for Wind.=--It is convenient to memorize the effect of right-angle winds at some one distance, as a guide in estimating deflection allowance for winds of similar strength at other distances. Five hundred yards is a satisfactory range for this purpose, and the approximate effect of right-angle winds blowing ten, twenty, and thirty miles per hour may be studied with advantage. _The use of elaborate wind-tables, and dependence on flags, telescopes, or sighting-shots, is prohibited._

TABLE A.

RECRUITS’ COURSE--REGULAR FORCES (CAVALRY, ROYAL ENGINEERS, AND INFANTRY).

N.B.--Royal Engineers (Sappers and Pioneers) of the Regular Forces will fire those practices only which are detailed in the Instructions for Royal Engineers (see Sec. 61, para. 6).