During his Marine Corps service in December 1956, Oswald scored a rating of "sharpshooter" (twice achieving 48 and 49 out of 50 shots during rapid fire at a stationary target 200 yards m away using a standard issue M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle), although in May 1959, he qualified as a "marksman" (a lower classification than that of "sharpshooter"). Military experts, after examining his records, characterized his firearms proficiency as "above average" and said he was, when compared to American civilian males of his age, "an excellent shot".