Tuesday, July 08

Tuesday, July 08

On Tuesday, we fired Match 7, The Attack Match (also known as the Roberts). It is fired on the Drouet electric target range, and includes an approach run, followed by an “Attack and Reorganization” with 30 shots fired in a combination of rapids and snaps, then a “Counter Attack” with a “ripple” of targets at 300, 200, and 100 meters, and finally a “Patrol Encounter”, a double-tap snap from the sitting, kneeling or squatting position.

Top Canadians in Match 7 were Sgt McKillop and Cpl Kennedy, tied with a score of 192. Hot on their heels were CWO Atkins and Sgt Walsh with scores of 188.

In the afternoon, we shot Match 17, the Urban Contact (FIBUA) match. This is a 40-shot continuous fire and movement match, under conditions likely to be encountered fighting in an urban environment.

Top Canadians in Match 17 were MCpl Savard and MCpl Benvie with 181 and 179 respectively. The picture shows the start of the match with the shooters using cover from 100 meters.

The Australia-New Zealand reception was held on Tuesday evening, a terrific BBQ and marvelous companionship. The picture shows the NZ team captain and coach presenting Maj Ali Aitken with a plaque.

Monday, July 07

On Monday morning the team was at Drouet Range for Match 2 – The Defence Match (also known as the Roupell Cup). This range has “electric targets” set in the field at 100, 200 and 300 meters. The match starts with a respirator run and then a series of snap shoots from the prone, from the fire trench, from the kneeling around cover, from the standing or kneeling unsupported. Top Canadians were CWO Atkins and Sgt Walsh, tied with a score of 136.

In the afternoon, we fired Match 6 – The Fleeting Encounter Match, commonly called The Mover. This is a moving target match, with fast and slow runs from the left and from the right. Top Canadians were Cpl Leduc and Sgt McKillop with scores of 44 and 42 respectively.

The picture shows a range officer watching one of the Canadians shooting the Mover. The target can be seen just emerging from the barricade into the shooter’s firing lane.

Sunday, July 06

On Sunday, the team fired two matches. Match 4, the Rural Contact match, involves sharpshooting from 500 yards, then fire and movement from 500 to 100 yards, as well as rapid fire and snap shooting at 300 yards. Top Canadian shooters in this match were CWO Atkins and WO Verch, tied with a score of 172.

Match 3, the Advance to Contact Match (also known as the Whitehead), involves an approach run and then a continuous fire and movement match, with a 400-meter “Attack” (an agony snap on fall-when-hit targets), a 300-meter “Consolidation” (a snap shoot from the trench), a 200-meter “Patrol Encounter” (a snap from the standing, kneeling or squatting positions, returning to a standing alert between exposures), and finally a 100-meter “Close Quarter Battle” (a double-tap snap from the standing position). Top Canadian shooters in this match WO Verch and MCpl Savard, with 152 and 148 respectively.

The pictures show some of the Canadian team members returning from the approach run. (Yes, they are still wearing 48 lbs of equipment.)

Saturday, 05 July - The fun begins...

On Saturday, we completed our final day of training. The rest of the time here at Bisley is wall-to-wall competition.

We inaugurated the main portion of the competition with the Cheylesmore Cup – the falling plates – a very popular and hotly contested match. We entered four teams and we swept the match, finishing the top four and ending the 9-year Omani winning streak.

Friday - We get our feet wet...

On Friday, we had a nice training day on Ash-4… we did a few match work ups and enjoyed the outstanding weather. Later in the afternoon we went over and spent a few hours on Drouet Range trying to get a few of our NRA shooters squadded by infiltration… after quite a few phone calls, they were able to fire Match 2. The rest of the team fires that match later in the week.

But the really big news of the day was that our re-supply of ammo arrived! We all breathed a big sigh of relief to know that we would have enough to complete the mission.

Thursday, July 03 - "Day Off"

Today, the team visited Windsor Castle and finally had enough down-time to do some laundry! The coaches spent the day catching up on paperwork… the picture shows their “office”.

Wednesday - "Day Off"

It’s hard to call such a busy day “a day off”.

The team had a little sleep-in this morning, with breakfast being at 0800. Then they visited the Brookwood Cemetery, where many Canadian soldiers are buried.

After a quick lunch in downtown Brookwood, the team returned to Canada House to prepare for a visit from General Romses and Colonel Cotton. The team honored the General with a Quarter Guard and during these formalities, MS Browne was given his promotion to PO2 Browne. Following, the General and the Colonel stayed on for the daily team meeting, during which time the ARA/NRA teams were announced.

Mid-afternoon, the team went to get through the required “weapons check” for the competitions.

Finally, we went to one of the ranges where we could look at the obstacles that would be used for Match 34 – Combat Snaps. The picture shows Nic trying out one of the obstacles.
With about two hours left before dinner, the team finally had a little down time.

Tuesday Evening - Canadian Reception

The Canadian Reception was great! We had a large turnout of teams and the food and fellowship were excellent.

In the first picture, Jason dips the first serving of the famous Canadian “moose milk”, a marvelous concoction of cream, ice cream, rum, Bailey’s and perhaps a few secret magic ingredients.

In the second picture, George (of the Oromocto Volunteer Fire Fighters) watches carefully at the BBQ. The meal was delicious, with lots of steak, chicken, salad, and sweets… oh yes, and lots of fresh strawberries.

George was also given the honor of being the first person to fire the cannon, and Neal was the second person.

Tuesday - Canada Day at Century Range

Happy Canada Day! We had a full day on Century Range and only had to share our firing points with the Omanis and one British team. We practiced Match 8 and Match 4 which are ARA matches and which will be used this year as concurrent matches for the NRA’s Queen Mary, the Bisley Bullet, et al.

Monday Evening at Canada House

Our daily team meeting included lots of positive feedback on the day and on the stretching program that George has been leading. Everyone is finding it a lot easier to drop into a kneeling position now that the stretches are shooting-specific.


After our usual splendid evening meal, the team inaugurated the latest team sports equipment… the pool table on the deck and the darts board in the bar. The pictures show our LO and our host (Gary) giving the pool table a function test, and one of our shooters checking the accuracy of the darts.

Monday Afternoon at Langley Castle

In the afternoon, we were back at Langley Range, training the Moving Man match (ARA Match 6). Since we had already done work-ups on our last visit to Langley, today we focused on match conditions. Most of the team members were getting seven hits and more, good work on a target that moves variously at 4 mph and 8 mph across a 30-foot frontage.

The picture shows the Range Officer clearing the shooters from the range at the end of the day.

Monday Morning - Ash 2

First thing Monday morning, our ever-helpful LO Paul Williams arrived with the long-awaited body armor. Up until now, in order to have everyone train with armor, we have been sharing ten sets around to all sixteen team members. Our relay changes look like a clothing bazaar, with a scramble to exchange armor before the next call to the firing mound.








We then moved out to Ash 2 Range, where the team spent the morning doing “match work-ups”… specific practices for components of matches. Today, these work-ups were for the
100-yard Standing-Kneeling match (1 shot standing and 1 shot kneeling in a few seconds on a Figure 12C target) and for the 200-yard rapid (from the standing alert to the sitting, kneeling or squatting position, 10 shots on two targets in 25 seconds). The team enjoyed the progressive nature of the work-ups and the training value showed clearly in the mini-match fired immediately following.

Sunday Afternoon at Nelson Range

In the afternoon, we were back at Nelson Range, training the FIBUA match (ARA Match 17). We had an excellent session, taking the time to do work-ups for the 100-yard practice and for the 75-yard practice, as well as rehearsing the competition several times. Due to a shortage of Canadian ammo, we trained with British ammo and it appears to work very well.

The team members are getting into their stride… everyone saw significant improvement over last week’s scores, with the team average rising over 15 points per shootere, and the high score of the day was a 188… congratulations, Ryan!

Sunday Morning - Canada House

Sunday Morning – Canada House

The team spent the morning “at home” in Canada House, listening to a lecture about “Mental Marksmanship”. It was an excerpt of key points from the seminar that Keith and Linda regularly give to both professional and recreational shooters.

The team is now thinking about giraffes… you’ll have to ask one of them what that’s all about!

Saturday at Pirbright (Hutchings and Drouet)

On Saturday morning, we were on a competition site, Hutchings Range. Since this will be the location of the International Match in a couple of weeks, we set up a rehearsal of the match in two 8-person teams. Both teams shot very well, finishing only about 100 points apart (on a 2400-point match).

On Saturday afternoon, we were on another competition site, Drouet Range, the Electric Target Range with pop-up targets at 100, 200 and 300 meters. Here we practiced ARA Matches 2 (Roupell Cup) and 7 (Roberts Cup). These matches also include an approach sprint (one with a gas mask).

Friday in Portsmouth

On Friday the team traveled to Portsmouth to visit the Naval Museum and other historical sites.

Lord Admiral Nelson’s flagship, the Victory, is a cornerstone of the reconstructions. It has been mostly refitted to represent the conditions at the time of the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) although it saw active service into the 20th Century.

We were also impressed with the large number of current day warships in the Portsmouth basin.

Thursday at Canada House

We slept in! We loved it! A late breakfast at 0800, followed by a leisurely day of catching up on personal admin. Okay, maybe a few naps, too! After seven straight days of very active combat-style match training, while carrying 48 lbs of equipment, every member of the team needed a break, earned a break, and enjoyed a break! One of the team members is carrying 40% of her body weight, everyday, all day and has successfully finished every practice.

Tomorrow we will be off to Portsmouth for a PD day, learning about some of the British naval history and looking for traditional English fish and chips.

Wednesday at Pirbright

On Wednesday, we spent most of the day on Langley Range, practicing the Moving Target match. Here, a pair of Figure 20s are mounted on a rail system and moves across a 30-foot gap. The shooter fires at the leading figure, alternating targets as they move from right to left and then left to right. The match includes mixed runs of slow and fast speeds. The shooter has to identify which speed and therefore which point of aim to use and then he has to fire his shot before the Figure 20 disappears behind a barricade. During a fast run, the target is exposed for 2.5 seconds.

The team enjoyed the practice very much and even though we were sharing the range with two other teams, we still had more training time on the movers than any of the experienced shooters could remember.

Late in the afternoon, we moved to Nelson (the next range over) to run through a few practices of the FIBUA match. The range was full and it was outstanding training for our team.

Tuesday Evening at Canada House

As it was St. Jean Baptiste day, our Team Captain ensured that the team respected our Québec-based team members by observing the occasion with the traditional bonfire.

Tuesday at Ash

Due to the many slip-ups that occurred in the range bookings (mostly caused by an unexpected change in ARA personnel), the team arrived at Ash Ranges first thing in the morning only to find that we had no range! With the kindness of strangers and the negotiating skill of our Liaison Officer, we ended up with Ash-1 (a short range) in the morning and Ash-2 (a better range) in the afternoon.

So, in the morning we practiced the 100- and 200-yard phases of Match 8 and in the afternoon we practiced the whole of Match 8 (5 phases). Most of the team was glad not to have any sprints longer than 100 yards as their legs had apparently turned to cement overnight.

At the end of the afternoon, we set up the falling plates and enjoyed a rare opportunity to practice the plates match.

Monday Afternoon at Stoney Castle

On Monday afternoon each member of the team donned 48 lbs (about 22 kg) of kit and participated in a match rehearsal of Match 28, the Para Cup. The approach is a 2 km approach march, to be completed in 20 minutes. The fire teams then have 2 minutes to organize and present themselves on the 600-yard firing point. The team then moves in bounds to the 500-yard mound, where the gunner shoots a 5-shot snap.

Over the next few minutes, the team moves to and shoots from each of the 400, 300, 200 and 100- yard mounds, firing variously 5, 10 or 15 shots per firer from the prone, kneeling and standing positions, including a 5-shot snap and a 5-shot rapid wearing gas masks.

It is hard to describe just how hard the shooters have to push themselves to get through the approach and the run down and still focus and fire good shots from positions. We are proud to report that every member of the team completed the course of fire.

Monday Morning at Canada House

We successfully negotiated to swap range times with the Omani team so that we could start training for ARA Match 28, the Parachute Regiment Cup. This is similar to CFSAC’s Soldiers’ Cup, a continuous fire with movment fire-team match.

We spent the morning out on the lawn in front of Canada House (our quarters) doing dry training.

In the picture, Nic's team is giving a demonstration.

We will be going out to Stoney Castle Range this afternoon to do a live walk-through, followed by a complete match rehearsal, including the 2 km approach run.

Individual ARA Matches

We have now practiced all of the individual matches that we will fire here at Bisley. This has been a jam-packed time and the team is absorbing the information very well. They have studied the red “Yellow Book” and the MaaGs (Matches-at-a-Glance) the night before and once they have seen the match, they have a good grasp of the conditions their first time through. The groups and scores reflect their hard work and in four short days, we are well positioned to make good use of the next four days before we take a one-day break.

Sunday Afternoon at Pirbright (Langley)

On Sunday afternoon, we were booked on Langley Range. This is the Running Man range, where a Figure 20 runs along a track across the frontage. We worked on tactics (ambush and tracking) and establishing points of aim for slow runs from both directions. Since it was Sunday, the range closed early and we will have to complete the training on our next visit to Langley Range.

Sunday Morning at Pirbright (Allred)

Sunday morning we were booked on Allred Range. This is the site of the Whitehead (ARA Match 3), which starts with an approach run of 1 kilometer in full fighting order (including 7.5 kg LBV plus body armor with plates). The firing is a rundown from 500 yards, with 10 shots fired every 100 yards. It is an ETR and the targets are fall-when-hit. The course of fire includes snaps and double-taps, all on Figure 12s.

Saturday at Pirbright (Nelson and Drouet)

On Saturday, we were very fortunate to have training time on two more competition ranges.

In the morning we were on the FIBUA range, where we practiced ARA Match 17 (which includes 4 practices, a total of 40 shots). This match features a continuous firing and movement from 100 yards on down, using the standing and kneeling positions.



In the afternoon we were on Drouet Range, the ETR (Electric Target Range) which has electric targets set to pop up at 100, 200 and 300 meters. ARA Matches 2 and 7 are both shot here, both involving a run (one with the respirator). The matches feature snaps and rapids, some with one-shot (fall when hit) targets, and some with double-taps and very fast rapids. Adding to the challenge is the requirement to adjust the point of aim to accommodate both the distance and the wind.

Friday on Century

On Friday, we were lucky to have access to six firing points on Century Range, which is the competition range for ARA Matches 4 and 8. These matches each include 4 or 5 “practices” (a ten-shot string) with snaps, rapids and run-downs from 100 to 500 yards. At various times, they require the prone, sitting, kneeling and standing positions.

First Day of Competition Site Training

Today was the first day of competition-site training and it went very well indeed. The rifles held their zeroes well during transport and both the Canadian and the British ammo produced nice little groups.

BBQ, Travel & PD

We traveled from Gagetown to Halifax by coach and enjoyed a wonderful send-off by the team’s friends in Halifax, featuring a BBQ hosted by Brad and his family.

The team spent the first few days in London acclimatizing, while the HQ element started putting things in place for them at Bisley Camp. We all met for a day of PD at Dover Castle, an historically important site from about 100 AD through WW2.