AirTrainingCorps

Whatever level you are as a cadet, you'll have the opportunity to try your hand at military skills and drills. That means rifle shooting and field craft. For the nervous or apprehensive amongst you, be assured that there are three golden rules we always follow, and they are:

Safety!

Safety!

...and safety!

At close range

Marksmanship goes a long way back in the history of Air Cadets and is one of our most popular activities. Think you can concentrate on distant targets and fire with consistent accuracy? It's not easy. It requires focus, agility and a very steady hand.

We'll teach you to handle a variety of weapons safely. Firing is always done lying on your stomach (the prone position) at static targets. Progress through the course and you'll experience different types of weapons and could even take part in shooting competitions if you really prove your skills.

Ranges come in different shapes and sizes but all are in controlled conditions with full training on any weapon that you handle - safety is our top priority. To start with you'll be firing at targets that are fairly close - around 25m away. As you advance through weapons and your skill builds, you will fire at targets 100m or more away.

First up is the No.8 bolt action rifle. This is the weapon you'll begin with. It's a great all rounder that started life as the Enfield No 4 rifle, used as far back as World War II. Modified to have a shorter barrel and fire the .22 long rifle round, it no longer takes a box magazine holding 10 rounds - you feed in each round manually. It makes little noise, although ear defenders are always worn on the range, and is a great first step for your marksmanship skills.

'Dry training' is the first thing you'll do - exploring the No.8 in detail, and learning the commands and safety practices used on the range. After you've successfully passed the Weapon Handling Test (WHT) you'll be ready to progress.

Aiming high

Over 14? Then you can handle the L98A2 Cadet GP rifle (L98) - modified from the Enfield L85A2 which is currently in active service. It is re-cocked by gas from the previous round fired. Rounds are contained in a magazine fitted to the rifle. You have to be re-trained on this new weapon - as it uses high velocity rounds they make a louder noise when fired and give a more robust kick in your shoulder!

It's planned to replace this rifle with a semi-automatic version of the Enfield (the rifle will load the next round itself after firing) in the future. The L81A2 Cadet Target Rifle is very much like the No.8 rifle in operation, but scaled up with higher calibre ammunition and advanced accuracy.

After you've familiarised yourself with your weapon and passed the WHT, the goal is to hit your target accurately and consistently. Sounds easy doesn't it? Try it for yourself and you'll understand why practice makes perfect. As a cadet shooter you'll be typically firing in one of four types of practice:

Grouping - You select a single point on the target and fire a number of rounds at it. The aim is for all rounds to form the smallest group possible. This is excellent for concentrating and perfecting your technique. There's no limit to how long you can take when firing.

Deliberate Fire - Firing at a target with marked scoring rings, your score is marked depending on how near to the centre of the target you manage to get. For this you use either a large, single target or a card with 5 or 10 separate targets marked on it. When firing at a card with multiple targets, you aim to place one or two rounds on each of them. Take as long as you need - the goal is accuracy.

Rapid Fire - Just like it sounds, speed is the thing here. Get the round within the target area, but within a time limit. For instance, you may need to fire 10 rounds in 40 seconds with a No.8 rifle - not too easy when you have to reload manually after each shot.

Snap Fire - Now it gets more challenging. For this you have to get all rounds to fall within a target area. But, the targets only appear for a short time before vanishing again. You must hit it before it disappears. By the end of the practice the target may have appeared - for perhaps 5 seconds - and disappeared up to 5 times. Just to make it even more difficult, it'll sometimes appear at random time intervals - so you can't anticipate it!

Do well on all of these and you may find you have a talent for marksmanship. Starting to feel competitive? Why not enter one of our shooting competitions? Whichever weapon you are trained on our instructors will ensure you feel safe and confident handling it.

Shooting with 20 Squadron

We usually shoot the No8 (.22) rifle on the first Thursday of every month at the TA Centre indoor range in Barnstaple, and periodically use the outdoor range at RMB Chivenor (L98 5.56mm rifle). Although you are welcome to attend as an enrolled Cadet (or member of Staff), we do not allow non-Cadets (or other members of the public) to take part in any activity that involve the use of firearms.