Sports reporter Oliver Kidman sets his sights on another new sport – pistol shooting – and finds a warm and inclusive community offering an experience like no other…
A RETURN to the shooting range was on order for this week’s edition of Tryout Tuesday, as the Jersey Pistol Club helped introduce me to the sport of pistol shooting up at Crabbé.
Although major organised pistol competitions date back to at least 1892 – when revolver competitions made up a part of the Jersey Rifle Association’s annual prize meeting – Jersey didn’t have a dedicated pistol shooting club until 1963, when the Jersey Pistol Club was formed.
Pistol shooting then began to grow rapidly in Jersey during the 1970s and ‘80s, giving way for more pistol clubs – or pistol sections of existing rifle clubs – to come about, such as: Regent, Leoville, the Muzzle Loaders, Modern & Military and St John’s.
After my positive experience at the Western Miniature Rifle Club saw me pull off some credible scores in miniature rifle shooting, at .22, I was curious to see how I’d do with the pistol – so let’s get into it.
Let’s find out more
So, what is pistol shooting? Well, it’s a form of competitive or recreational target shooting conducted with pistols, contested over a range of distances, calibres, formats and pistol types. This can be done at various levels, from recreational use all the way to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“Pistol shooting is a very open sport – open to all generations. We normally take in shooters from the age of 12, dependent on competence and behaviour,” said range officer Ben Videgrain, who himself is the Fullbore Pistol Island Champion and a nine-time Island Games medallist.
“But, once people start and get into pistol shooting, they tend to keep at it – it’s one of those sports where you can keep going well into your 80s. As long as you’re able to keep shooting, you’re welcome here and we’re open to take all ages and generations.”
Videgrain has gone on to achieve some great feats in the sport, but he had to start somewhere, as he detailed his beginnings in the sport: “When I moved to St Mary’s, which is where the pistol club is, I could hear the shooting on a Sunday and the shots were echoing across – I had no idea there was shooting of this calibre.
“So, I came along and had my introduction with John Sawyer, who got me straight into it and I enjoyed it from the off – I moved to shooting and it found me.
“After less than a year, I was telling my dad all about how good it was – he shot rifle when he was younger, so he came up, tried it and fell in love with it as quick as I did. Now, we’re a father and son duo who’ve entered Island Games competitions together, as a team, and we’ve brought back gold and silver medals.”
Over a decade on from his introduction to the range, Videgrain’s love for the sport is still going strong, as he added: “I’ve been a member of the Jersey Pistol Club for about 12 years now and I started competitively shooting after about three or four years. You start off with what we call “blinking”, where you come up each week, shoot a few rounds and try to better yourself.
“When I realised how much I was enjoying it, you end up buying more equipment, getting more invested and then entering the competitions – once you have that competitive feel to it, it’s very hard to get out of, as you really get hooked on constantly trying to better yourself.
“The journey from recreational to competitive is different for everyone. Personally, I found I was quite good at it as you start to see your scores beating the guy next to you and others at the club – but there’s others who aren’t too fussed about progressing and just enjoy the competition, even if they’re not in the top 10 each week.”
If you’re the competitive type, then the Jersey Pistol Club’s stacked calendar of competitions and events ensures that there’s always something going on.
In the competitive space, Jersey certainly punches above its weight – with many medals to show for it.
Club secretary John Sawyer commented on this, saying: “The standard we have here is just as good as most. Most of these competitions aren’t possible to be shot in the UK anyway due to the gun ban, so we have French, Germans and shooters from the UK coming over to challenge us – and we’re more than capable to equal or beat their performance.”
Jersey’s current gun laws certainly help with that, as Videgrain added: “Jersey’s current firearms law allows us to shoot regularly at a competitive level, as we’re not restricted on very small amount of ammunition. If you can afford the ammunition, then you can shoot very often and, as with any sport, it’s about practice, practice, practice.”
Now, alarm bells may go off for some people at the very mention of firearms – how could it possibly be safe? Well, the disciplined approach and “strict supervision” taken by the Jersey Pistol Club ensures the range is safe at all times, taking time to really drill in safe handling of a firearm until it’s “second nature”.
With this safety comes the sport’s immensely open and inclusive nature, as the Jersey Pistol Club remain “committed” to accommodating everyone and anyone to try the sport and enjoy what shooting has, as it “has something for everyone”.
“The one thing I’ve noticed and heard from many people is that they come up to the range full of problems in their mind and all sorts – but once they get on that range they have to concentrate on the sight, their breathing, their stance, there’s a lot of factors,” Sawyer continued.
“Because they’re focusing on so many factors, everything that was going on in the mind goes away and, after a full box of ammunition, they leave the range feeling relaxed.
Everyone who’s come up has left the range smiling and they’ve always enjoyed themselves – we never really get any negative feedback.”
This is a sport which offers a unique experience, so to give it a go and find out all the required information to make your start, visit the club’s website: jerseypistolclub.org.
Time to get on the range
Now, it was time for me to test my ability on the range – is the pistol my strong suit, or the miniature rifle? We started off with a safety briefing delivered by none other than John Sawyer, whose light-hearted but disciplined approach helped settle me straight into the environment, while also drilling in the simple – yet vital – measures to ensure everyone’s safety.
It wasn’t a crowded class in attendance on the day, with photographer Guarin Clayton and a visitor from the UK – who came to Jersey specifically to try pistol shooting on the range – shooting alongside me in the introductory session.
When handed the empty firearm to demonstrate and exhibit how it should be done, it wasn’t long before I made a slight error and pointed it up – hopefully that wasn’t a sign of things to come!
The club’s approach of smaller introductory classes does help, as it makes way for a calmer, more controlled environment which made a difference – especially when shooting for the first time.
Once everyone was certain on everything discussed on the briefing, we stepped on the range, with a pistol and 50 rounds of .22 ammunition waiting for us. Under the guidance of Ben, I started off by shooting with a two-hand grip, trying to follow everything to the letter. When you have a champion shooter giving you tips, you listen!
I took my first five shots, reloaded and then took five more – which is how the shoot was conducted in its entirety. My hopes weren’t too high, but all I could do was lock on the sight, line it up, control my breathing and gently squeeze the trigger.
At first I definitely felt a bit shaky, as you’re so focused on getting everything right, but before I knew it I settled in nicely and became quite comfortable. My first walk out to the target ended in success I’d say, as I scored a respectable 85/100 – not bad for a first effort!
Ben then pointed out that he thought I was ready to try it single-handed – talk about an ego boost. I felt good! So, now was the time to try it the proper way, with the arm out and rigid while the non-shooting arm was in the pocket to balance the body out – once again taking Ben’s advice.
I knew there’d be a slight drop from the initial score and there was, as I scored 77 on the second run. Next door, Guarin scored a 79, meaning that it was now 1-1 between the two of us.
With that scoreline, this third run had some stakes on the line, acting as a conclusive tiebreaker. Who would end on top in this JEP contest? My ten shots earned an improved 81, while Guarin fell just short by one or two – victory!
As Guarin had to then head off, I got the opportunity to try out his gun for a couple more runs, scoring 81 again and then 80. I thought that was my lot, but Ben asked: “How about trying something bigger?” – keen to try everything, I instantly said yes.
The next gun for me was a fullbore revolver and the weight difference was already more than noticeable – it wasn’t quite Dirty Harry’s .44 Magnum, but it was a step up. I made extra sure that I was following Ben’s every word on this one, as I slowly loaded up the cartridges and took the shots – even slower this time as it had a bit more of a kick to it – but it was such a cool experience.
Looking back on the whole experience, I think it’s something that everyone has to try at least once in their lives – there’s not really an experience like it. Everyone down at the club was so warm and welcoming, everyone gets on incredibly well down there and you can tell it has a great community.
I’d certainly recommend everyone give this a go – there’s no need to be intimidated or anything as they walk you through at a comfortable pace and ease you into it, and you’ll always leave smiling.
