In continuation of our chronicles of the 2017 Reserve class, we find the men and women at the firing range. Before one can run, they must walk, and the instructors spent hours ingraining the class with safety and proper handling of firearms.

 

If it ain't rainin', we ain't trainin'!

When it was time for live fire, Mother Nature thought it would be interesting to give the reserve class some of the worst training environment one can experience to qualify. It was a toad-strangler at some points, misting rain, stinging rain, and yes...we quoted Mr. Gump a couple of times during the day. The troops were unphased by the rain, even the targets were wearing rain jackets.

Just before night fire began, the rain stopped, and we were blessed with the most exotic sunset. That's when the light show began. For those of you who are lucky enough to hold witness to night fire qualifications, you know what I mean by light show. For others who are not as well versed to the engineering of a gun, this is an abridged version of how it works. The mechanics of firing a gun is rather simple, but elegant. When you pull the trigger, the firing pin strikes the primer, which ignites the powder and causes an explosion. This expels the bullet from the gun, and the cartridge is ejected. At the same time the bullet is expelled, the ignited gasses escape the barrel, and a brief flash of fire explodes from the barrel of the gun. Boom, flash! It's pretty spectacular to see at night. We were lucky enough to time some of the photos to capture some of the muzzle blasts.