I’m with Formy.
I’d say of the thousands people I knew in the military, I’m in the top 25% of shooters.
Of the hundreds of people I know who compete, I’m easily in the bottom 25%
Shooting a lot (.mil) and shooting good are different things.
My experience is over 4 decades old, but I do not remember most units shooting a lot when I was active duty. I was in a military police unit at Ft Bragg. My first CO there was very enthusiastic about training and did spend unit funds to advance and encourage marksmanship. And we had a First Sergeant who knew how to make things happen. There was actually a waiting list of guys from other units who would beg to shoot with us.
And we weren't the only unit who did this, but it didn't happen everywhere. I was able to get some range time on occasion with a couple of companies from the 505.
My best military shooting came about through the auspices of the Ft Bragg AMTU, which was just a couple of buildings from our barracks. Every unit in my battalion sent troops each time AMTU offered classes or shooting opportunities. And with a letter from AMTU our units allowed us to take either our weapons, or drawn weapons from their arms room out to range 10, as activities and range space allowed.
Range 10 had some real talent and a more relaxed and instructive atmosphere. Those were good days.
But to reiterate, most units did range quals maybe once a year. And even in combat arms units it didn't seem like much of a priority. There was an organized range at McKellars Lodge, on post that was often quite busy, but mostly with guys shooting their hunting rifles.
Same story with a couple of the unofficial ranges. Lots of troops getting trigger time with their personal arms either at a place out on Little River called the Moore County Dunes, or the abandoned armor firing range just outside of Spring Lake.
A guy could spend a half day at the dunes and fire more rounds than he would in a couple of years with some units.
