By NYDailyNews.com

Prince Harry started his three-day visit to New York with a bang yesterday at West Point, where the camouflage-clad lieutenant shot target practice with American cadets.

Before heading to Manhattan, Harry, third in line to the British throne, landed at the military academy by helicopter.

He hopped in the back of a Humvee and went straight to the firing range for live-ammo exercises.

The red-headed royal, 25, who has settled down after some youthful hijinks and served in Afghanistan in 2008, fired an M4 rifle alongside cadets at popup, silhouette targets as far as 300 meters away.

“He clearly knows what he’s doing,” said Col. Casey Haskins, an academy instructor. “He clearly knows how to shoot. He clearly knows how to move.”

“He seems like a really down-to-earth guy,” said Cadet Kristen Griest of Orange, Conn.

From West Point, Harry traveled down the Hudson to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

The prince – who said it was “a bit of a ‘pinch yourself’ moment” to stand on the Intrepid’s flight deck – spoke about the long military ties between the U.S. and the UK.

“American and British forces have fought shoulder-to-shoulder for 100 years,” he said, adding that the countries should forge stronger links between their veterans.

“We in Britain can learn from the American culture of charity, and from the great pioneering work in the fields of care, prosthetics and rehabilitation,” he said.

Harry will throw the first pitch at the Mets game against the Minnesota Twins today. Tomorrow, he’ll visit with wounded vets in Central Park and attend the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic on Governors Island.

Related posts:

1. Prince Harry on official visit to New York .!. NEW YORK (CNN) — Prince Harry, the younger son...
2. Harry Potter star ‘had swine flu’ Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint is recovering from a “mild...
3. Prince William and Kate Middleton together again Good news at the royal level, Prince William and Kate...
4. Critics laud love-laced Harry Potter film LONDON (Reuters) – It may have had one of the...
5. “Harry Potter” tops North American box office LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The sixth “Harry Potter” movie worked...