The Marine Corps Shooting Team is testing new pistol targets and relays at Wilcox Range during the Western Division Matches while emphasizing two new qualification requirements -- shooting one-handed and from the kneeling position. Silhouetted targets will replace the circular nine- to 10-point targets with a one- to two-point scoring scheme within the next year. The team is visiting all Marine Corps ranges to ensure the new relays are taught correctly. Teams competing in the matches, which conclude March 29, are evaluating the new range to offer suggestions on making it better.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Phillip Rucks, chief range officer for Marine Corps Base, said the new targets are designed to emphasize killing as much as scoring. "The Marine Corps is constantly looking for better ways to do things," Rucks said. "The old targets gave shooters something to aim in on. The new course will force shooters to not concentrate on hitting a bull's eye, rather to shoot groups."

The new targets, also being tested at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, Okinawa, Japan, and Camp Lejeune, N.C., leave little room for error, according to Rucks. Shooters must hit the center of the chest cavity or head for two-points, or the rest of the body for one point. "They get two points for a kill shot or a shot that will do a lot of damage to the enemy, and one point for the shots that slow the enemy down," Rucks said. "It is hit or miss, points or no points. If someone is coming after you and you have shot him in the chest, you should be able to raise the weapon a little and shoot them in the head real quick."

The green silhouette on future target models will allow a shooter standing on the firing line to see small, drawn-in critical-impact areas, Rucks said. The cardboard-cutout targets should be cheaper than current targets made of thick plastic, Rucks said. Future targets will include green paper with "kill" areas marked with black rings. For now, rings are drawn on by range personnel.

"The enemy will not have targets on their chest," said Gunnery Sgt. Dextar Conrad, instructor/competitor for the Marine Corps Shooting Team, explaining the logic behind the migration. Adding to the range's difficulty and realism, Marines must now shoot in a kneeling position and one-handed, according to Master Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Burke, staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the MCST.

"We have to ask ourselves, "How is this benefiting the guys in Afghanistan?" Rucks added. The shooting team evaluates the new targets and techniques by firing numerous relays, then reports the results to Headquarters Marine Corps. "We test to make sure the course runs smooth -- to see if there should be changes in loading procedures or anything to make the experience more realistic but safe," Rucks said.

The evaluating Marines have seen some problems -- not with the new targets, but with the shooters. "The new course is going to require Marines to know what is going on before they get to the range with live rounds," Burke said. "They need to get adequate training time in beforehand to keep from making mistakes." The week before firing, Marines are required to log 16 hours of "snapping in" -- or time getting into shooting positions and practicing firing fundamentals such as muscle relaxation, breath control, trigger control and sight alignment. "Many times, commands try to load a lot of training in during the week Marines are snapping in, but now more than ever, they are going to need that snapping-in time," Burke added.

Rucks, one of the Corps' elite shooters, said the range can humble anyone - especially when new twists are added. "It doesn't matter if you are a warrant officer who has shot expert every time at the range," he said. "If you do not get proper instruction before you get on the range, it will be very hard to qualify, if you can pass it at all."

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