Viet Nam is no place for the traditional American rifleman, who prides himself on long-range sharpshooting and an unerringly steady hand. Though infantrymen do get some chances for this, most firefights occur at ranges of 50 ft. or less, in dense jungle that offers only a fleeting glimpse of the enemy. To hit so elusive a target requires "instinct shooting" of the highest order, and last week the U.S. Army was hard at work honing that instinct in its infantry trainees—using, of all things, Daisy BB guns.
BB With a BB. Known as "Quick Kill," the program is currently being taught to some 1,300 recruits each week at Fort Benning, Ga., by late fall will become part of the basic infantry course in all twelve U.S. Army training centers. "Quick Kill is for the shot you've got to make when you don't have time to line up your sights," says Colonel William Koob, 47, director of weapons at Benning. "When it's either kill or be killed." After a day of instruction and the expenditure per man of 800 BBs (which cost only as much as two M-14 bullets), half of the trainees can hit a penny in midair. An impressive 5% get sharp enough to hit a BB with a BB.
Based on instinct-shooting techniques developed by a Georgia snuff salesman and trick shot named Bobby Lamar ("Lucky") McDaniel, 41, the Quick Kill method was developed for the Army by McDaniel's former business associate, Promoter Mike Jennings, 50, a dabbler in horse races, prize fights and shooting matches. Behind the method is the same principle that a small boy instinctively adopts in a game of Cowboys and Indians. When he sights his foe, he flicks his index finger toward him and, without really aiming, hollers "Bang! You're dead!" His hand is an extension of his eye—and in instinct shooting, the key is to make the weapon an extension of the eye.
To do so, the rifle must be locked solidly into the shoulder, with the stock flush along the jawbone. The left hand is almost fully extended, holding the barrel, and the right hand snaps off the shot. The gunner keeps both eyes open and on the top of the target, since most shooters instinctively shoot low. He does not aim. "That's a dirty word around here," says a Benning sergeant.
Human Silhouettes. Starting with 31-in. aluminum discs flipped into the air, the shooter can be hitting regularly in ten minutes .(McDaniel once taught a ten-year-old girl to crumble Alka-Seltzer tablets). Next he moves to miniature silhouettes of humans on the ground 15 ft. away—maximum BB-gun range. The Daisy 199 air rifles used in the program are modified with heavy, military stocks to give a true feeling of weight. After a few hours of training, the recruit moves to M-14 and M-16 automatic rifles whose sights are blocked with strips of tape to prevent aiming.
Though few Quick Kill graduates have yet reached Viet Nam, Colonel Koob is certain that their training will pay off in combat. It has certainly paid off in enthusiasm. One Benning non-com claimed last week that recruits actually sprinted back from a ten-minute break to be in time for BB-gun drill.