Oliver Kidman sets his sights on some smallbore.22 rifle shooting with the Western Miniature Rifle Club, and finds his competitive instincts are triggered from the first card
THE HISTORIC Western Miniature Rifle Club were the ones to host this week’s edition of Tryout Tuesday, as I went prone and tried out smallbore .22 rifle shooting.
Located behind St Peter’s Parish Hall and just opposite the parish’s Youth and Community Centre, the Western Miniature Rifle Club has been operating for over a century.
All able-bodied men under the age of 35 were required to serve for a period of time in the Jersey Militia throughout the 19th century, so soldiers were regularly stationed at Fort Regent.
As shooting and drill were two of the disciplines for which competitions were held, a degree of competition between the various parishes arose, culminating in the formation of various small-bore rifle clubs at the beginning of the 20th Century. Western Miniature Rifle Club was one of the first to come about, founded on 9 September 1907.
Over its extensive history, the Western Miniature Rifle Club has enjoyed much success, winning countless trophies and breaking many records over the years to really make a dent in Jersey’s shooting community.
With plenty of experience under its belt in developing quality shooting talent – who better than the Western Miniature Rifle Club to introduce me to the sport?
Let’s find out more about .22 shooting
Smallbore shooting – also known as miniature rifle shooting – is a set of disciplines that use smaller-calibre guns, including .22. Competitions are usually contested at ranges that are 100m or shorter, either indoors or outdoors.
Indoor competitions are contested at distances of either 15 or 25 yards, whereas outdoors distances are 50 yards, 50 metres or 100 yards. Traditionally, paper and card targets are used, but electronic targets, which automatically calculate shot placement and display the resulting score on a screen, are increasingly common.
This here is a sport steeped in history, with organised rifle shooting for sport largely developing in the 19th century.
Switzerland was among those leading the charge, and was one of the first countries to set up a national shooting federation, in 1824.
However, smallbore shooting only became possible in 1845, when French gun-maker Nicholas Flaubert developed the first .22 calibre rimfire rifle cartridge. Although it was originally seen as just recreational and considered the poor cousin of fullbore shooting, this began to change in the UK from the turn of the 20th century.
Since then, the sport has come on leaps and bounds to present a strong level of competition, forming part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as having its own world championships, hosted by the International Shooting Sport Federation.
Jersey boasts a “unique” shooting scene, with a packed weekly schedule offering plenty of opportunities for aspiring shooters.
“It’s all good here in Jersey at the moment,” said Jerry Hart, vice-president of the Western Miniature Rifle Club. “We have eight clubs that shoot .22 on the Island, and we all compete shoulder-to-shoulder every week during the season, which is unique and isn’t really seen across the UK,”
“Having that weekly competition really allows us in Jersey to punch above our weight in competition, as the quality of shooting is excellent. It is hard to compare though, as we have to go out and shoot in national competitions, which only a group of them do.
“With this, there’s a great social side to shooting as well. When we compete in the league on Thursday nights, there’s food laid out and everyone’s socialising. It’s a nice environment.”
As well as the Western Miniature Rifle Club, St Brelades, Leoville, Vinchelez, St John, Grouville, St Helier and St Lawrence compete in the .22 format, whereas Air Rifle is contested at Jersey Air Rifle Club and Eastern Air Rifle Club, as well as Western and St Lawrence.
An excellent standard of shooting certainly accompanies the stacked schedule of competition, as three of the Island’s finest young female shooters in Elizabeth Hart, Paige Fryer and Kaia James have made their mark to earn a spot on the GB shooting pathway.
Hart himself has been involved with local shooting for a number of years, so he shared his journey in the sport: “I got involved when I was really young, when I was about 12 or 13 years old. Although I stopped for many years, the shooting never really leaves you, so I got back into it with the kids.
“What appealed to me about the sport was its precise nature – especially indoors, where there aren’t any other elements apart from yourself and the rifle. Also, no matter what level you’re at, there’s competition – whether it’s against yourself or against your friends, you always want that bit of competition.”
A big part of shooting’s appeal is its inclusive nature and accessibility, as Hart continued:
“Shooting is a hugely inclusive sport, which is accessible for those from 12 years-of-age all the way through to 90 – as long as you can hold the rifle, you’re ready to go.
“It’s a level playing field between all ages and genders, it has no play in competition whatsoever. In fact, females make terrific rifle shooters. There’s even someone at our club well into his 70s, who is shooting terrifically at the moment, showing that it really doesn’t matter.
“As it’s not overly physical – it’s a lot more mental and focused on technique – shooters are able to carry on and keep competing at a decent level well into their later years, unlike other sports where you hit a peak.
“Accommodation can also be made for factors such as eyesight and posture, all approved from the governing body to ensure shooters can keep competing.”
If anything could exhibit the sport’s high level of inclusivity, the Western Miniature Rifle Club’s upcoming initiative with EYECAN is a perfect example.
“We’re about to start VI (visually impaired) shooting, which will be fundamentally air rifle,” Hart added.
“With the collaboration of EYECAN and the One Foundation’s support, as well as a private donation from a club member, we’ll be offering this to EYECAN’s members every Wednesday.
“Once the equipment arrives, it’s going to open up so many opportunities for the visually impaired, including the chance to enter competitions. EYECAN’s survey shows there already is interest, but we think it’s going to only increase once everything gets here.
Jersey shooting’s reputation is in a strong place at the moment, with the Island’s hosting of British Shooting’s Air Series making a statement and opening up opportunities.
“Our hosting of the Air Series really did make an impression upon British Shooting – they were very impressed with our facilities and they had a cracking weekend,” said Hart.
“I think it will open up opportunities for Jersey, There have already been discussion since about the GB Paralympic team coming over for an outdoor training camp. Since then, we’ve managed to secure Jersey as a region, allowing the Island to compete in British Shooting’s schools national air-rifle competition.”
When asked why people should get involved, Hart responded: “Come and get involved in a hugely inclusive, competitive sport where you can just continue to improve and keep going, no matter your age. To make your start, find out where your nearest Parish club is and have a go – they’ll be more than welcoming and have access to plenty of kit, meaning minimal outlay when you start.
“It’s such a well-regulated sport, we just want to raise shooting’s profile and encourage more people to take part, so anyone is more than welcome to come down and have a go.”
Time to get on the range
This time around, I was super-excited to try this as it’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before. Looking back, I have to say it was nothing like what I expected – it certainly topped expectations.
After I got kitted out in what Jerry compared to a straitjacket, I was taught how to do the first step, which was getting into position.
Going prone looks easy enough, but when you’re trying to handle a rifle at the same time, it can get tricky.
I was told that there’s usually a whole lengthy process to introducing one to shooting, so we did our best to pack that whole experience into the one session, and it must be said that Jerry did an awfully good job at it.
Once the position was in an acceptable place, it was time to get out on the range and test my skills – maybe I was a natural marksman?
Lying down with the target in sight, I was told a simple process – lock the target in the sight, breathe slowly out and then squeeze the trigger, which sounded easy enough.
When I locked on, I was in no rush – I wanted to make a strong impression. After a few practice shots, I was off to start on the main card. My opening shot was near the middle – what a start, I thought. However, that quickly fell off as I completely missed the second.
We were back on a roll to hit the next two, before unfortunately missing again on the fifth – somehow, when I moved angle, my position went astray.
I tried to gather back some form to hit the next target, before hitting the central zone on the third-from-last one, completely surprising myself.
I had another couple shots to ride out an opening score of 58 – not bad at all. With the second card in Jerry’s hand though, I was ready to go further – I already had caught the competitive bug and I had been shooting for less than 30 minutes.
My second card got off to a flying start, with the first three targets being hit in the exact same area, talk about consistency. However, disaster struck on the fourth, as I completely missed yet again – what happened?
I managed to hit the rest of the targets though and I produced a steady score of 63 – already showing improvement. I have to say, even though my score was nothing compared with those by my side, I was absolutely chuffed to see the improvement.
What made it for me was the great community down there, everyone was so welcoming and accommodating, I even saw an old teacher of mine which was completely unexpected.
Everyone was so happy to be down there – it was the cherry on top of what was a positive experience.
Thank you to everyone at Western Miniature Rifle Club, you were all amazing.
