soldiers can practise firing their rifles year-round.

There are also plans to build a concrete bullet-catcher on an out-of-use shooting range at Warwick Camp.

Regiment commanding officer Col. Allan Rance said yesterday safety concerns triggered the plans.

He said it was important soldiers learned how to use their rifles before using the shooting range at Warwick Long Bay where they fire real bullets. The Regiment is allowed to use Long Bay in the off-season only.

Col. Rance said last week's accidental shooting on the US Navy base had nothing to do with the Regiment's plans.

"It (the shooting) was just a coincidence, but it emphasises the importance of safety,'' he said. "We all know that an accident with a firearm can be lethal.'' The injured marine accidentally fired a bullet into his lower belly while putting the pistol he was practising with back in its holster. He was flown to a military hospital in the US over the weekend.

Col. Rance said the Development Applications Board has already given the Regiment permission to build the bullet-catcher.

However, he said the Regiment needed the Finance Ministry's approval before it could buy the equipment needed for the indoor range, which will cost thousands of dollars.

"The laser-type equipment will enable soldiers to shoot at a projection screen on a wall with rifles loaded with a compressed gas that gives off a light beam,'' Col. Rance said. "The equipment will simulate the process of firing a firearm.'' He said the Regiment wanted facilities where its members could learn to use firearms all year because "it has the greatest concern'' for their safety.

Col. Rance said the plans were "not something new'' and had been on the drawing board for at least ten years.