Which statement best defines grazing fire?

• A. The center of the cone of fire does not rise more than 1 meter above the ground on level or uniformly sloping terrain.
• B. The center of the cone of fire rises more than 2 meters above the ground.
• C. The center of the cone remains at ground level.
• D. The center of the cone rises and falls with terrain.

Answer: (A)

Grazing fire is a very low firing path where the center of the cone of fire stays close to the ground. On level or uniformly sloping terrain, the center of that cone should not rise more than about 1 meter above the ground. This keeps the bullets traveling near ground level, creating dense coverage for targets at ground level and providing a predictable, compact trajectory.

If the center of the cone rises more than 1 meter, the fire is no longer grazing fire because the trajectory climbs too high to effectively suppress targets at ground level. Saying it remains at ground level or that it simply follows terrain would either be inaccurate given bullet trajectories or fail to capture the defined maximum height that characterizes grazing fire.