LESSON 3. The states of weapon readiness. Unload, Load, Action, Instant.

Standard safety preparation. Trainees will require rifle complete, charger clip and 5 rounds of drill rounds DP. The exercises will start in the prone position and progress to kneeling and standing. The aim of this lesson is to teach a safety system for use in scenarios and skirmish so that control can be maintained over when to load and cock the rifle.

Lesson to begin with CLEARING OF WEAPONS.

EXERCISE 1. Loading the weapon. The insertion of 5 rounds into the magazine and the easing of springs. The chamber is empty the magazine is charged. The rifle is said to be LOADED. Note, the loading of 5 rounds into the magazine and closing of the bolt may not be possible with all rifles.

EXERCISE 2. Progressing to the ACTION phase. The bolt is worked, a round is fed into the chamber and the safety catch is applied. Sights are set to the required distance Finger is kept of the trigger. The instructor may give the command for example ACTION 400. 400 the distance in meters

EXERCISE 3. The safety catch is removed; the weapon is ready to fire. The rifle is at INSTANT. Depressing the trigger with cause the weapon to discharge. If on a rifle range a site picture is obtained

EXERCISE 4. UNLOAD. The magazine is emptied and the action remains open for manual and visual inspection. by an NCO. On command UNLOAD open the action and undo the magazine release catch. The magazine will empty. Close the magazine and wait for inspection. Sights should also be zeroed.

The degrees of weapon readiness are practiced in different postures.

The lesson ends with CLEARING OF WEAPONS.

LESSON 4. BLOCKAGES, MISFIRE, STOPPAGES

This lesson deals with the IMMEDIATE ACTION DRILLS taken when a rifle malfunctions. Be aware that surplus ammunition is aged and misfires will occur. In this mode a rifle is at its most dangerous. Standard safety preparation. Trainees will require rifle complete with cleaning rod, cleaning kit and drill rounds.

Lesson commences with clearing of weapons.

EXERCISE 1. A MISFIRE occurs when a chambered round fails to fire when the trigger is depressed. The primer may be faulty causing the round to either not fire at all or to hangfire when the charge ignites after a delay. Declare MISFIRE keep the weapon pointed in a safe direction and wait 30 seconds. Re-cock the weapon and fire again. If it fails to fire wait another 30 seconds, fire. If the round still fails to discharge unload and destroy the round.

EXERCISE 2. A BLOCKED BARREL occurs when the muzzle is pressed into the ground and blocks. If fired the barrel may burst causing death of serious injury. If this occurs declare BLOCKAGE. Immediately CLEAR the weapon and with the assistance of a cleaning rod clear the obstruction from the breech end. Swab the barrel. A NCO will inspect the weapon and when clear you can continue.

EXERCISE 3. A rifle that is immersed in water should be immediately cleared and taken out of service pending dismantling and thorough drying and cleaning. During heavy rain the rifle is carried muzzle down, exercising caution to keep the muzzle out of the mud. Period muzzle and breach covers are available for various armies represented.

EXERCISE 4. A STOPPAGE occurs when a round fails to feed from the magazine to chamber. This can be due to mechanical failure or a bent or damaged round. Some blank will also fail to feed if not full length and single loading directly into the chamber may be required. If it is due to mechanical failure CLEAR the weapon and remove from service. If a round is faulty place the round to one side and continue. A stoppage may also occur if a fired round will not extract. A broken extractor or a corroded chamber can cause this. CLEAR rifle. Extract the round by passing a cleaning rod down the barrel from the muzzle. Remove the rifle from service.

Lesson ends with the clearing of weapons

BLANK AMMUNITION

Blank ammunition is used to simulate the noise and flash of ball ammunition in skirmish and demonstrations. Despite the lack of a projectile it can be deadly at close range due to the shock wave produced.

Blank ammunition is just not a live round with projectile pulled and cases crimped. The characteristics of powder and primer, burning at different rates, will give different effects from a pop to a full report. Blank for theatrical use is carefully crafted to achieve audio and visual effects.

Some problems with blank:

Once fired cases, particularly military cases are unsuitable to convert to blank due to the weakness in the neck due to wear and age. The weakened crimp may come loose and act as a projectile.

Military primers are usually corrosive. Inadequate cleaning will lead to barrel damage. After firing clean the barrel with ammonia and hot water. Windex or Sweets solvent is suitable.

Plastic black is dangerous as plastic particles are expelled from the barrel. Bore restricters on bolt action rifles minimise this effect by cycling gas back to burn the particles and close the case.

The longer the case on a crimped blank, the better it will cycle in a bolt action rifle. Shorter cases such as 7.62 x 54R (Russian) are prone to jam or misfeed. Work the bolt slowly to ease the problem.