JROTC – Rifle Team

North Central High School JROTC has an eight-man marksmanship team to include the Rifle Team Commander that practice from 3:15 – 5:30 after school on Tuesdays during the first semester of school.  Students that desire this type of activity must pass an extensive safety course on the proper handling of firearms, the components and function of the parts in a firearm, and be able to recite and demonstrate the range safety rules.   Students compete during the first semester demonstrating their skills with the pellet rifle.   The competitions include shoulder-to-shoulder matches as well as postal matches.
Each match has two rounds.   Three shooters from our team against three shooters from the opposing team who fire in the first round.   The second round has another three shooters, ones that did not fire in the first round, against three shooters from the opposing team who also did not fire in the first round.   There are a possible 300 points for each shooter.   100 points for each position (standing, kneeling, prone).   Each match takes approximately an hour to finish.

There are three positions used for firing; Prone, standing, and kneeling.   In prone, you lie on your stomach on a mat, holding the rifle with both hands, resting both elbows on the mat to stabilize the rifle, with a sling on your arm.   Laying your body at an angle to make it more comfortable.   At standing, you are standing with your hip out, with one of your elbows positioned on it, No sling is used in the standing position, though gloves are optional.   At kneeling, you kneel with one knee resting on the ground, while the opposite foot is slightly in front.   Which knee you kneel on, or which elbow goes where all depends on what your dominant eye is, be it left or right, or which is your firing hand.   Your dominant eye and/or hand have an impact on how accurate you shoot.

You have two to three minutes to fire at two ‘zero’ targets to get sighted in. These two targets do not count for or against your score. And then ten minutes for each position, firing from ten meters (approximately 33 feet). The rifles used are Daisy .853’s and .753’s with pump action for beginning shooters.   As you become more experienced, you use Avantis, which are high-precision air rifles.   The items we use are slings, mats, kneeling rolls, stands, pellets (.177 caliber), and rifles.

There are opportunities to earn different marksmanship awards.   The three awards are; marksman, sharpshooter, and expert.   They are awarded to cadets for their scorings.   You also get a rifle team cord to wear on your uniform.   There are ribbons and scrolls available as well.   For large competitions, there are also trophies that can be won.