Friday saw our first training over all 3 match distances since arriving in Australia, at the Stawell Rifle Range. The morning started off wet and the sandy conditions on the range reminded some team members of summers on the British beaches. Fortunately the Australians like shooting in the rain even less than we do so at 1000 yards while the rain was fairly persistent we were provided with gazebos to shoot under.
The range at Stawell is a very different challenge to that of Bisley. With trees running down both sides of the range there is little chance of getting the strong winds coming across the range that we see on Stickledown. However, this does not reduce the difficulty as we discovered. With a tail wind coming down the range flicking between left and right wind during the morning, the smaller Australian Match Rifle target size and V bull showed us just how much a small change in the wind can impact the fall of shot.
After a brief tea break it was time to fall back to 1100 yards and the gazebos to be put to one side as the sun made an appearance. The temperature difference and slightly unusual firing points did lead to some interesting elevation rises between 1000 yards and 1100 yards. But these were dealt with in the usual fashion of “Hmmm that’s interesting, oh well that’s what sighters are for”.
The education for coaches and shooters continued at 1200 yards with the wind still coming from behind us but with a general righthand direction and increased strength (a little). Finding a comfortable position on some of the firing points was key factor for many shooters, with some suggesting a shovel may be required to allow them to get their rest low enough to actually see the target and others discovering that kicking the sand to try and flatten it a bit may result in a significant number of large black ants appearing (and yes they do bite…).
Following shooting, tea and cakes were once again provided by the brilliant Australian match rifle partners. Once team members had replenished their sugar levels (some exceeding the recommended daily amount….) a team range walk was the final order of the day. This provided the opportunity to gauge just how far along the range the flags were and if they were tucked into gaps in the tree line or protected by taller trees in some way.
This also gave us the opportunity to have a look in the butts, see the counter-lever action of the targets and get a view up the range from the top of the stop butt, giving us a good sight of the undulating terrain of Stawell Rifle range. Walk complete it was back to base camp for a debrief and team dinner (Chicken Schnitzel expertly produced by Si and Fi and their team of sous chefs). Two days of R&R now to reset the batteries and see a bit of the Grampians and the activities (energetic or not) they have to offer.