Firing a 50-caliber machine gun

"Today’s task is to fire a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on a HMMWV at pop-up targets at various ranges. Temperature is about 39 degrees and the wind chill makes it feel colder. We don all of our battle rattle and board a school bus to get to the range. I used to enjoy riding the school bus until now. School buses are designed for kids, not grown adults packing 50 pounds of gear. We all squeeze into the tiny seats and groan as we endure a 20-minute ride to the range. The task seems simple enough. We are supposed to fire 150 rounds of ammo at the targets. The targets are human silhouettes positioned at 400, 600, 700, 800 and a truck target at 1000 meters. I will let you do the math, 1 meter = 3.28 feet. So imagine shooting at a person 8 football fields away and trying to hit them. Oh yes, the weapon uses open sights. The weapons are surprisingly accurate. Besides even if you miss the enemy, having 50 cal rounds zinging by their heads will make them think twice about engaging."
Afghanistan my last Tour