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GTRich - The fundamentals of marksmanship can be learned with ANY firearm. You can even do it with airguns. The only thing you miss out on is recoil and muzzle blast while you gain on cost, simplicity, and safety. It does not matter what you shoot - the only important thing is that you shoot (a lot) and that you get competent coaching. When the time comes for you to shoot a particular rifle/pistol, you will be starting from a solid skills base (applicable to EVERYTHING) and the only thing you will have to do is learn the nuances of that weapon. (Yes - I'm setting myself up to "incite comment" from the diehards.) Does your ROTC unit have a marksmanship team? Even postal air rifle will work. Most do but I noticed your school is in DC. (You will need to check out the local laws about possesion and storage of weapons BEFORE you buy anything.) You are also within striking distance of the NRA headquarters where they have a world-class indoor range and information on all of their programs. Check out the competetive programs, especially High Power - Service Rifle if you want to learn to really shoot. The action shooting games are lots of fun but without a good grasp of fundamentals you'll get bad habits and waste time and money. Might be more info than you asked for but now you have another opinion. The good news is - at least you're trying. Good Luck - Peregrino
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