After waking at various stages during the night, partly due to the diarist’s body clock being extremely confused and partly due to the necessary but unpredictable air conditioning in the diarist’s room gurgling and chuntering away, the team convened for breakfast. The location for the sumptuous all-you-can-eat buffet, put on by our hotel every morning, in the previously mentioned atrium/greenhouse (see photo below).
Some readers will be familiar with the cornucopia that is the Best Western buffet breakfast, however, for those who are not, particular highlights include the DIY waffle machine and access to unlimited amounts of syrup. Discussions between team members at breakfast centred mostly on what zeroes would be required for shooting at distances in metres, rather than in yards, what golf course David Calvert, Chris Hockley, Graham Nelson and Simon Carson would be playing on later and whether the “live music”, advertised as being on in the bar that evening, would be any good.
Loaded with carbs, the team then dispersed, beginning individual preparations for the afternoon’s zeroing. Stephen Penrose discovered that, unfortunately, both his rifles had suffered damage, whilst in transit, one at the front end (sights bent) and one at the back (butt bent). Fortunately, Dave Crispin was able to demonstrate his skills as an engineer, by delicately rectifying the damage with a hammer, allowing Stephen to shoot. In order to uphold the team’s immaculate image, Kate Penrose also very kindly offered to put a wash on of all white polo shirts, some of which were looking a little the worse for wear, after being worn for nearly twenty-four straight hours…
In the early afternoon, a convoy of GBRT vehicles, laden with shooting equipment, departed our hotel for the range. The road to General Vokes Military Range runs alongside the Chilliwack river, which flows down a steep sided valley, the sides of which are densely covered with various trees, including firs, pines and cedars. Upon arrival, visitors are greeted by what is arguably one of the most beautiful settings in the world for a rifle range. The six hundred-metre range is set against a backdrop of snowy peaks and green-forested hillsides, which almost make shooting feel like a secondary concern. As one Canadian shooter put it, “When I get a four, I just look at the mountains.”
Zeroing happened at 500 metres with ICFRA target faces, four shooters being allocated to each target. Two details of two shooters saw one pair head down to the butts for competitor marking, before then swapping over for the second detail. Most of the team found that, due to atmospheric conditions, their 500 yards Bisley zero put them into the centre of the target. Wind conditions, during our brief exposure to them, appeared tricky, flags disagreeing with mirage and, indeed, with each other.
Zeroing completed, the team gladly left the heat of the range for the air conditioning of the vehicles, making the journey back down the valley to the hotel, where newly arrived treasurer, Colin Skellett, and a tired but excited Ian Ashworth were waiting. Dinner was taken at the “Jolly Miller,” a local Chilliwack pub, popular with visiting shooters. Some team members attempted to visit the hotel bar afterwards for a couple of drinks but the aforementioned live music, unlikely to have been an act on Canada’s Got Talent, made conversation nigh on impossible and so the team retired to bed, in preparation for an early start and the first day’s competitive shooting.
Lollipop awards (Day 2):
Good – Jeremy Tuck, for giving up his afternoon to collect Colin Skellett and Ian Ashworth from the airport.
Bad – Graham Nelson, for leaving his car unlocked at Bisley and having to call in a favour, in order to secure his vehicle and belongings contained therein.