M-1 Rifle Firing and the DCM
In 1970 San Juan High School obtained 20 M-1 rifles on a long term loan from the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM). This allowed schools in the San Juan Unified School District to take advantage of the available surplus 30’06 ammunition that was available for issue to junior rifle marksmanship programs. Because of security concerns, the rifles were stored in the arms vault at a National Guard Armory. (Remington 40X target rifles were also obtained on a long term loan from the DCM to support the competitive rifle marksmanship program.)
The rifles and free ammunition allowed cadets to fire a high power qualification course which consisted of eight shots each in the prone, sitting, kneeling and standing positions with a time allowance of one minute per shot. The final phase of the qualification firing consisted of two rapid fire exercises, one in prone and one in sitting. Cadets were given 50 seconds to ire 2 shots, reload a clip of eight rounds and then fire them at their target. The qualification firing allowed cadets to earn Marksman, Sharpshooter and Expert M-1 Rifle qualification awards. Schools also presented a marksmanship medal to most outstanding high power shooter each year.
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