Shooting Practice by L-CPL Preece
On Sunday 10th of February, Lance corporal Preece, Lance corporal stone, Lance corporal V. Rensburg, Corporal Mellor and Corporal Lawlor travelled up to Buxton to learn how to shoot ready for our air squadron trophy. On the first session we sat in a class room and learnt about:
- How to do a NSP (Normal Safety Precaution)
- How to Dismantle a rifle ready for daily cleaning
- How to put a rifle back together
- How to complete a stoppage
- How to clean a rifle
- How to shoot in the prone position
- The marksmanship principles
- Basic handling drills
- What different components of a rifle are
- When to carry out a NSP
At the end of the day all five of the cadets had to go into a room on their own and complete a test, we all passed.
Then on Sunday the 24th of February the same five cadets travelled up to Buxton to shoot a L144 small-bore training and target rifle on the shooting range but first we sat in the classroom and learnt about grouping and zeroing. Then we all went on to the shooting range two at a time and shot five rounds each at four targets, then we all shot nine rounds each at a single targets and then we all shot three rounds each at another single target and after Lance Corporal Preece finished shooting his three rounds at the single target he was told that he successfully passed.
At the end of the day Lance corporal preece, Lance corporal Van Rensburg, Corporal Mellor and Corporal Lawlor were chosen to shoot at the AST competition on the 16th March at Queen Mary’s. And to make the day even better H.Preece was awarded the Trained Shot Badge for the L144A1. To achieve this he achieved: A grouping size of 38mm in the first practice and a grouping of 25mm in the second. The badge awarded is bronze rifle to signify it is L144A1.
Shooting Practice by Corporal Mellor
Some of our cadets who are attending the Air Squadron Trophy where chosen to attend fire arms training. This took place over 2 full day sessions. The first day on February 3rd 2019 consisted of basic safety around fire arms also how to hold and position yourself properly while using them. We also learned how to clean the rifle before and after use. This is to ensure that the rifle is always safe before shooting. The cadets surprisingly found this very interesting and all enjoyed learning about how rifles actually work to gain a better understanding of what they will be handling. Towards the last part of the day a test was held to make sure everything we had learned had sunk in. As a result of the cadets hard work through the day it was no surprise that everyone passed the firearms safety test allowing the cadets to move to stage 2 where they will be firing live rounds on a range.
Two weeks later on February 24th 2019 the cadets returned looking confident to get onto the range. During the first hour we learned about groupings and zeroing. In simpler terms we learned how to aim at the target and hit it consistently. After that we moved onto the range where throughout the day we all were able to fire 32 rounds each. In pairs, we went into the range and were able to have a go at shooting the rifles. While in the range the cadets followed orders from the range commander and were complimented on how well they followed the commands given. We also had Sgt Bew beside us on the first time shooting to run us through the steps. He also helped all the cadets to tighten there groupings and even got the chance to adjust the scopes on the weapon to personal preferences. These were all noted down by each cadet in preparation for the air squadron trophy. Overall the cadets really enjoyed the experience and are looking forward to the next time on the range.
