Have you shot out to 600 yards? Of course you have, and then some, but have you done it at Bisley? Probably not, to be fair to US readership, but we did back in the halcyon days of the '80s. Picture the scene, a lot of kids (Cadets) up at the firing line with .303s. "Adjust your sights!" bellowed our RSM, who'd fought at Arnhem, and we did.
Not hard on the Lee Enfield Mk. IV #1, just dial up the rear sight to the required distance. No sooner said than done and there we were, waiting for the firing order. Ah, but not so fast boys. A Navy Chief walked in front of us and our RSM cried out, "Alright there, Chief!" They were contemporaries, let the reader understand.
Then, after this short Army & Navy excursus, we received an order to fire. A big black silhouette, your .303, and that was that. I did alright, scoring around center mass, and it was a heckuvva thing shooting out that far for the first time at the age of 15, with iron sights no less.
More memorably, it was a chance to see an Arnhem vet Para get collegial with his Naval counterpart. History, and then some. You'll note I haven't forgotten the scene.
Bridge too far? You be the judge.
Semper Paratus,
LSP
PS. The RSM Para featured above had a Colt 1911, which he kept in the armoury safe, he loved it. This was taken from him by UKGOV in the late '90s, when it banned pistols. You can't scorn the Left too much, to say nothing of their rainbow corporate overlords.
SP RN sez, 600 yds?? Me ‘n my lever gun are good to 100 yds. Beyond that be dragons.
ReplyDeleteHey, RN, the old Lee can shoot right out there in the right hands, irons to boot.
DeleteA story to go with --
ReplyDeletehttps://bobrohrer.com/sea_stories/end_of_an_era.pdf
LSP, oh to have those young eyes again, wot?
Most definitely, RHT.
DeleteCrusty Old TV Tech here. In Army JROTC in High School, we shot something like that range with the M-14, probably less. Don't recall the actual range distance. I qualified, but not the best shot in the bunch, that would have been an old friend of mine, dead shot at any range. I do know me and my mates would go out shooting our own personal weapons on weekends, me with my SMLE 3* chambered in good ole .303 Brit (as we called it), later on hand-loaded by me and me buds. Still have that SMLE. 8mm Mauser, Remington 742 in 6mm, other long rifles and shotguns. A good time was had by all, except the cottonmouth snake who happened to cross the road in front of us once...
ReplyDeleteI was good with a .303 when I was a kid, Tech, the SLR/L1A1 seems very easy afterwards. M14? Wish I owned one...
DeleteIn the USA we have boating accidents.
ReplyDeleteI've heard they happen in the UK too, LL. Tragic.
DeleteThe first thing you do is learn the fundamentals (sight alignment, breathing, trigger control, yada-yada-yada). If you can't be bothered with those, hire a golf pro and go waste your time annoying him instead. The next two things you do are, get yourself a rifle and ammunition combination that are accurate and learn their zeros at the various distances. Then you learn how to build a solid and repeatable position. Once you have those down, it's all about the wind. Always the wind. Direction. Velocity. Changes. At 200 the wind is not much of a bother; it becomes of concern at 300 and beyond that, the wind rules your life. Or makes a monkey of you. So, learn it. Embrace it. Make friends with it. The wind is what separates the sheep who can shoot and the goats who should take up golf.
ReplyDeleteSpot on. Earned my Highpower Rifle Master card in 1990. Am embarrassed to admit how long it took me to learn that reading the mirage against the target butts is fine, but pay attention to the breeze on your face too.
DeleteWild, what can I say? Great advice. Me? I learn all that stuff and work on it, ballistic charts and all, then I get on the range and excitement takes over. Huh. Obvs more discipline needed.
DeleteRHT, it was a real pleasure to shoot with you and wow, your Trap outshot our scoped up etcs... what a lot of fun.
DeleteGreat story Parson, and what a great memory because in the end memories are all we can really make
ReplyDeleteThanks, BC, that afternoon's stayed with me after all these years.
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