Day 7 - Countdown to the match

The start for today was the now normal routine of getting up at the same ungodly hour to be able to leave the accommodation by 7:00am. We arrive at the range at what we think is early but all the parking spaces have already been taken by the locals. There is a “shooter shuttle” which consists of a number of flat trollies pulled by a tractor to convey the shooters with kit from one end of the range to another. Every morning we have the usual rituals such as the “Colors Ceremony” and roll call. A cannon is fired and then the American Anthem is played with those in uniform saluting and everyone else standing still. Perhaps something to consider for Bisley?

The other morning routine of someone leaving kit was not missing, with the Adj having to go back to ‘base’ to collect a certain team members rifle!

The course of fire for today was 2 sighters and fifteen to count at three distances, 300, 600 and 1,000 yards, with a tie shoot for Nigel Ball at 900 yards. The shooting starts with a “blow off” period which is slightly unconventional compared to Bisley, as blow off shots at Perry are allowed to be taken whilst standing, an exciting novelty for most and particularly appreciated by the Adjutant who, still being unable to shoot prone, loosed off a few rounds from shoulder and one from the hip and can now say that he has shot at Perry!

300 yards was plain sailing for most, as the wind was almost negligible. However, Dominic de Vere still managed to find himself in difficulty as his first sighter only scored a ‘hit’ and his second sighter was cross-fired onto the wrong target… This didn’t prevent him from putting in a 75, however: a good lesson in damage recovery. It turned out that Dom had decided to lower his rear sight by 5 minutes for a better head position and instead of raising his foresight to compensate, he lowered it by 5 minutes. The first shot must have been a ricochet. In his defence the marker boards are difficult to read on this range.

The range conditions at 600 yards were more tricky, presenting a minute and a quarter left to three quarters right wind (enough to blow you out of the bull every now and again). At this stage, the weather started to warm a little too, making shooting seem more labored in the heat.

Lunch followed after which Nigel Ball completed his tie shoot at 900 yards, unfortunately dropping his last to count, leaving him in third place. We then settled down to the 1,000 yards match, where once again the mirage seemed to create a bit of difficulty for many of the shooters, as it distorted sight pictures, making it harder to hit the V bull. This aside, the team in general performed better than yesterday.

Before dinner, team selection for the Commodore Perry Match the next day was announced. A team of eight, one of four and a loan of three shooters means that everyone was going to shoot or coach and have an opportunity to excel. The rest of the evening was spent finding food (by either going out or cooking in house).