One Weekend, Two Seasons AKA August in Britain! - Field Report

Preparing for two World Championships means getting creative with one's time and taking advantage of every opportunity to get gear lined out and practice processes. This past weekend was one of the most challenging yet! Saturday began at 4:30 a.m., as we loaded up the car and headed to Wales for a Rimfire match. The weather forecast was for light showers that would finish late morning. If you've never visited Wales before, a top tip is to always pack waterproofs… even in the Summer! Following this advice paid dividends, as the "light" showers were somewhat heavier than light and constant throughout the day. This created a heavy mist, which only blew away when the wind picked up!

I'm not a fan of shooting in waterproofs (rain gear), so unless it's very heavy rain, I'll take my jacket off to shoot and put it back on when I finish. This way, I've not got drawstrings getting in my way, and the rifle feels familiar. Constant rain also brings with it gear management challenges. One good practice here is to take pictures of the matchbook on your phone so there's always a reference to the stage brief, even if it disintegrates! It also makes writing your data and stage plan more difficult. I keep a Chinagraph pencil and a 'write in the rain' notebook in my match pack for these occasions to use instead of my usual marker pen and masking tape. Rain on your lenses can cause problems spotting and finding targets. A simple solution is a rubber air bulb to blow the raindrops from your optics.

Despite persistent rain and strong gusting winds, we all had a great time shooting rimfires. It was good preparation for the upcoming Rimfire qualification match in Northern Ireland, another place where it's always a good idea to pack wet weather gear!

Sunday started off in a similar fashion: loading the car early in the morning and heading off to shoot. This time, the venue was the home of British Shooting: Bisley Shooting Ground in the South of England. The Great Britain Precision Rifle Association has been working closely with the NRA to successfully introduce Precision Rifle to Bisley, and the NRA had set aside a portion of the iconic Stickledown range to allow the team members traveling to Cameo for the World Championships in September an opportunity to train together.

The weather forecast for Bisley was at the opposite end of the spectrum: high summer temperatures, low wind, and lots of sun! Rather than rain gear and Chinagraph pencils, sunscreen, and cold drinks were the order of the day. Bisley has no shade on Stickledown, so it was interesting to see how everyone had prepared for this. Luckily, we were able to park cars behind the firing point, so tailgates gave us some respite, as did the welcome sight of the Ice Cream van driving up to the firing point. One of the team members had the genius idea of attaching a pram fan to his tripod so he would be cooled while spotting!

Compared to the day before, when the direction of rainfall was the primary indicator, Bisley treated us to an absolutely stunning mirage, which at times made the targets look like they were swimming. However, this provided an excellent training opportunity for us all to learn how to deal with shooting in the higher temperatures expected at Cameo.

Keeping cool and well-hydrated allowed the team to work together, with the more experienced shooters helping the less experienced. Everything from reading plates to rifle setup and positional advice was covered. Everyone began to bond, and the team spirit is building towards a trip across the world and, for many of Team GB, their first international shooting match!

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COMPETITION RESOURCES FROM MDT

• NRL Hunter Gear Breakdown
• NRL Hunter Stage Breakdown
• Tricky Props | PRS Stage Breakdown
• Getting The Most Out Of Your Shooting Bag
• How To Run A Sub-30-Second PRS Barricade
• A Pro's Approach to Complicated Stages | PRS Stage Breakdown
• How To Clean A PRS Stage: Francis Colon Stage Breakdown
• How PRS Will Make You A Better Hunter
• How Pro Shooter Francis Colon Sets Up His Rifle
• 12 Essentials For Match Shooting In The Rain - Precision Rifle Tips
• Mastering The Mental Game Of PRS: An Easy Way To Achieve A Higher Score
• Advanced Target Acquisition - How to be a Better Shooter
• How To Shoot From Vehicles

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ryan Charlton is a well-known member of the U.K. shooting community, having worked in the U.K. Gun Trade for over a decade. Ryan is a proficient rifle hunter who loves predator control at night. He has competed in Precision Rifle matches since 2019 and is known throughout the U.K. precision rifle community for his willingness to help new shooters. Ryan was awarded the first Outstanding Contribution Award for his role in growing the sport within the U.K. Ryan was part of the British team for both the Centrefire World Championship in France in 2022 and the Rimfire World Championship in Italy in 2023. He will be representing GB again in Colorado this year. He also has a regular column in the British shooting magazine Rifle Shooter, focusing on all things Precision Rifle.