US Marines out shoot the British

Photo By Sgt. Tabitha Bartley | A British Royal Marines fist bumped a U.S. Marine after he shot at the skeet shoot competition here, April 28. The U.S. Marines took home the gold medal with 723 targets shot, only 20 more than the British.  

QUANTICO, VA, UNITED STATES

04.28.2012

Story by Lance Cpl. Tabitha Bartley 

Marine Corps Base Quantico

QUANTICO, Va. — The British Royal Marines’ skeet team shot against the Quantico team, Saturday, April 28, at the Quantico Shooting Clubs ranges. Four squads spent the morning shooting for score after three days of practice. The U.S. Marines took home the gold medal with 723 targets shot, only 20 more than the British.

“I think it went well,” said Mark Harvey, chair of the shotgun committee for the Quantico Shooting Club. “Everyone has been having a lot of fun and improving their skills.”

Throughout the three days of practice, the best shooters from both teams gave advice to team members and the competition on how to improve their shooting.

“We were able to see those improvements today,” said Harvey. “I wasn’t expecting the scores to be as close as they were.”

The principles of skeet shooting are similar to what the Marines are doing in combat. Marines aren’t just standing still shooting paper, they are moving around and shooting at moving targets, said Harvey.

Col. Timothy T. Armstrong, the commanding officer for Weapons Training Battalion, attended the competition and gave the awards to the top shooter, the top squad and the top country.

• Date Taken: 04.28.2012
• Date Posted: 05.01.2012 13:05
• Story ID: 87668
• Location: QUANTICO, VA, US