Life: Rifle Shooting
Author: Rafie

On the 15th and 16th of March 2008, I went to National Rifle Association (NRA) in Bisley, Surrey, UK for a rifle shooting experience. It was a day and a half trip and it was my first trip with Cardiff University Rifle Club.

A little bit background - Since October 2007, I had join Cardiff Uni Rifle Club and I am an active member of the club. So far, I shot .22mm small bore rifle and my current average is 92%. I’m now trying to push myself to get an average of 94 this Spring. Just to get myself into the top 60 in this year Appleton Tournament on 26th April 2008.

First Day @ Bisley - I went to the 200 yards range to try all the WWI and WWII rifle available. Before each rifle being shot, Bob will give a brief history about the rifle. It was awesome. And the best part is after that. You can’t image how anxious and nervous to pull the trigger of a rifle with a live bullet. Right up next, you can feel the recoil effect - first hand! I’ve shot about 7 different rifles and my favourite is Schneider rifle. A long rifle which operates a bullet with the length of approximately 7 cm and I’m not amazed that it smacked by shoulder. Truly an experience! BANG!!!So, here are the list of some of the rifles that I’ve shot that day:- Schneider (Unable to find any picture of description about it)- French Berthier- .303 British- Lee-Enfield- Gun Powder Rifle (Unknown type)- 7.62 Bolt Action rifle (Unknown type)- Gun powder Pistol

There was one time while I was waiting for my turn to shoot. Suddenly, I thought that … who knows one of these kind of rifle being used during the World War II in which my country, Malaysia was one of the colonized land for (Portugal, Japan and British) - Sad but true.

Second Day @ Bisley - It was raining and it was really really cold. I wore waterproof jacket and tracksuit just not to get wet. Then, with the Cardiff Uni mini bus, I went to the 900 and 1000 yards shooting range. Yes, I repeat… 900 and 1000 yards shooting range. Almost 1 km! You can’t barely see those targets far ahead.

Monolog: I didn’t actually get to shoot 900 yards. I’ve waited for my turn but I’m a bit unlucky that day. But hey, I’m OK. I got to shoot 1000 yards after that.

Owh.. I forgot to mention about the noise. Please wear earplug or else you will hurt your ear drums. It was LOUD that day. You can hear the rifle shot from distance away. I can’t imagine how soldiers during the war can stand this.

Well, that’s all for now. I know this is rather personal. I just want to share that even as a designer, you can enjoy doing something else. I do shoot for fun, but I guess I will get serious in it soon enough. I’ll fully utilize 3 more years that I have in UK to train as shooter. When I get back I will try to join any rifle clubs and shoot for them. Win competition and represent Malaysia in Commonwealth Games and who knows Olympic! If God’s willing~

*Images used are courtesy of Cardiff University Rifle Club