The Australian military needs to keep records of how their soldiers perform at the rifle range just like any other army. Annual qualification is a standard part of a soldier’s life and is an opportunity to practice and prove they have mastered the basic requirements of safely and accurately using a rifle. For infantry troops this is just part of a continual process of rifle practice, but for other branches of the army it might be the only opportunity they get in a year to fire a weapon. To record each soldier’s performance, they are issued with a plastic folder marked up as a shooter’s log:

This example is dated 2006 and has been used by a soldier and has a selection of pages inserted into it. The rear of the cover has some notes on the correct use of a rifle, written in black marker and presumably added as an aide memoire by the soldier himself:

The pages include a space to record notes on the soldier’s positioning before firing and offer any advice he should take on board to improve his stance:

A double page spread gives some advice on points of aim and adjusting for windage:

Another page illustrates standard range targets:

Finally there are lots of pages to record the fall of individual shots on target and to allow the range team to record the soldier’s proficiency, groupings and marks:

Range time remains an essential element of life for all servicemen and women in the Australian military and cadet forces, marksmanship being an essential military skill: