Two publications, two jobs.TC 3-22.9, Rifle and Carbine (2016) covers marksmanship fundamentals
and technique. TC 3-20.40, Training and Qualification – Individual Weapons (Nov 2019, Change 1) covers
the actual qualification course of fire and standards — that content used to live in the older marksmanship
manual but was moved out. If you're only looking at one of these, you're missing half the picture. Always
verify current round counts, scoring, and course-of-fire structure against the current publications, since both
have been revised more than once.
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OVERVIEW
How we got to today's two-publication split, and the core philosophy behind it.
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A Bit of History
FM 3-22.9 (2008) was the original combined marksmanship manual. It was replaced by TC 3-22.9 (2016), which cut the page count nearly in half and shifted the focus from "pass the qual" to actual field marksmanship.
TC 3-22.9's first few chapters cover the weapon system and accessories; the later chapters cover employment and marksmanship elements
A later change to TC 3-22.9 removed the qualification-course content entirely — that now lives in TC 3-20.40
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Overmatch
The concept of applying learned skills, equipment, and technology to create an unfair fight in the Soldier's favor — the organizing idea behind the current doctrine's approach to direct-fire engagement skills.
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Three Principles
Accuracy, precision, and consistency — treated as three distinct qualities. Accuracy and precision are often used interchangeably in casual speech, but the doctrine is explicit that they're not the same thing.
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Weapon Condition Terms
Common terminology for weapon status and handling includes weapons hold, weapons tight, and weapons free — standard vocabulary for range control and safety.
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MARKSMANSHIP FUNDAMENTALS
The building-block skills every Soldier drills before ever pulling the trigger for score.
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The Four Fundamentals
Steady position, aiming, breath control, and trigger squeeze — the core skills that every other technique in the manual builds on.
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Aiming & Center of Visible Mass
Doctrine emphasizes aiming at the center of visible mass (CoVM) — whatever portion of the target is actually visible, whether that's a head over a wall or a full torso in the open.
Weapon orientation, sight alignment, and sight picture are trained repeatedly until they become muscle memory
The manual covers sight pictures for each of the various aiming devices a Soldier might be issued
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Preliminary Marksmanship Instruction (PMI)
The first phase of basic rifle marksmanship (BRM) training — building fundamentals before live ammunition ever enters the picture.
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Remedial Action
The continuing effort to determine the cause of a stoppage or malfunction and clear it once identified — starting with placing the weapon on SAFE before troubleshooting further.
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QUALIFICATION (TC 3-20.40)
The actual course of fire Soldiers shoot for record — this has changed noticeably from the old 40-round "whack-a-mole" pop-up range.
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Grouping Comes First
Before zeroing, Soldiers now fire a grouping exercise — 3 strings of 5 rounds (15 total) at a fixed point of aim, sights unadjusted, to confirm the Soldier and weapon can shoot to standard.
4 of the 5 rounds in a string must fall under the dispersion standard to pass grouping
This step was largely absent from older qualification practice — it gives coaches a way to catch consistency problems before the Soldier ever gets to zeroing
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Zeroing — Now 5-Round Groups
The old standard used 3-round groups to zero; the current standard uses 5-round groups, aiming for 4 MOA or less — a better indicator of true point of aim and shot dispersion than a 3-round group ever was.
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Engagement Events
Later engagements confirm zero and build distance skills — for example, a 300-meter confirmation engagement (5 rounds, 4/5 hits to pass), followed by engagements applying hold-offs at 100m and 200m.
Hold-offs matter because a 25m/300m zero has a trajectory that sits well above the line of sight at 100–200 meters — Soldiers have to learn to compensate
A typical 100m/200m engagement requires 4/5 hits at each distance to pass
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Classification Standards
The commonly cited classification bands: Marksman (23–29 hits), Sharpshooter (30–35 hits), Expert (36–40 hits), out of 40 target engagements.
These bands reflect the traditional 40-round qualification structure — since the course of fire itself has been restructured (grouping, revised zeroing, engagement events), confirm the current scoring breakdown applies exactly the same way before citing it as gospel
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TRAINING STRATEGY & STRUCTURE
How TC 3-20.40 organizes the whole training progression, not just the final qual day.
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Integrated Weapons Training Strategy (IWTS)
A progressive, gated structure — each table/step has to be completed before moving to the next, rather than jumping straight to qualification.
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Publication Structure
TC 3-20.40 is organized into nine chapters and five appendixes, tailored specifically to individual Soldier use of the M4/M16 series weapon — covering the weapon itself, aiming devices, and qualification standards.
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Basic Firing Positions
Prone supported, prone unsupported, and kneeling are the standard positions used across qualification and training — each one is supposed to be observed and enforced, not just assumed.
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Who This Applies To
TC 3-20.40 applies to the Active Army, Army National Guard, Army Civilian Corps, and U.S. Army Reserve unless otherwise stated.