This weekend saw two trips to Bisley, on Saturday for the final of the Grand Prix (English Universities Shooting) at the Lord Roberts Centre, and then again on Sunday for some proper shooting :p (7.62mm fullbore)
If you haven’t heard of fullbore before (someone is usually talking about it in the range) the classic explanation is “shooting at targets at much greater distances with a larger bullet or bore” How I would describe it is “shooting outdoors in the fresh(!) air with rifles that go “Bang!” a lot louder and more satisfactorally, hitting targets with extreme precision from 300 to 1000 yards.
This Sunday saw the first proper practice of the season, in preparation for the BUCS final held at the end of the Imperial Meeting during the summer. Last year Southampton fielded a team of four for the first time in a few years, and came a respectable fourth. This year we intend to build on our abilities and put forward a strong team to rival those of universities who focus more on fullbore than smallbore.
It was good to see a couple of freshers attending, allowing the experienced members to hone their coaching skills and explain the ins-and-outs of fullbore shooting, in addition to bringing new life and vibrance to the group – keep it up, it’s always good to get new people involved!
Despite the rain a good time was had by all, with some respectable scores attained – I was especially happy with my best score ever – a 49.8 in a 2/10 at 300 yards. A combination of good coaching, calm nerves and a strong will to improve has resulted in some much better scores for me this season – I hope that some of this enthusiasm rubs off onto other members of the club 
Thanks must go to Tim and Charlie for their help coaching, and to Mike and Tim for organising the day for us all.
