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Penrith Air Cadets
Shooting
 Cadets at all levels of the Air Training Corps have the opportunity to participate in the sport of rifle shooting. Since the ATC was originally a recruiting organisation for the Royal Air Force it made good sense for marksmanship to be on the training syllabus. Shooting remains one of the most popular cadet activities.
A "range" is a location designed so that people can take part in shooting under controlled conditions and ranges come in many shapes and sizes. Initially, shooting takes place with the target 25m from the firer, either on a 25m indoor range or a 25m barrack (outdoor) range. As the firer advances through the weapons they will start to shoot at ranges of 100m or more.
Safety is paramount with all ATC activities and shooting is certainly no exception. Training is an integral part of the system and each cadet is fully trained in whichever rifle they will be using. Supervising staff are similarly trained to deal with any eventualities and to ensure that the range is run safely and efficiently. All rifles are fired from the prone position (the firer is lying on their stomach) at static targets.
Hitting the Target
Although initially each shooter will concentrate at becoming familiar with the weapon, the eventual goal is to hit the target accurately and consistently. Shooters with the ATC will typically be firing one of the following four practices:
| Grouping: |
The firer selects a single aiming point on the target and fires a number of rounds at that point.
The aim is for all the rounds to fall as close to the aim point as possible and it is measured as the diameter of a circle encompassing all of the holes in the target. Grouping practice is excellent for concentrating on perfecting your technique. There is no limit to how long the shooter may take when firing groupings.
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| Deliberate Fire: |
This practice is fired at a target with marked, concentric scoring rings. The shooter aims at the centre of the target with the intention of placing the shot as near to the centre as possible.
The shooter's score is marked depending on how near to the centre of the target they manage to get. Common targets for application shooting are a large, single target or a card with 5 or 10 separate targets marked on it. When firing at a card with multiple targets, the shooter will aim to place one or two rounds on each of the targets. The shooter can take as long as they like to make the shots as the goal is optimum accuracy.
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| Rapid: |
All that is required is that the shooter gets the round within the target area. However, they now have a time limit - for instance they may be required to fire 10 rounds in 40 seconds on a No.8 rifle and that really isn't too easy.
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| Snap: |
Again, all the shooter needs to do is get the rounds to fall within the target area. However, the targets only appear for a short time before vanishing again and the shooter must typically hit the target with two rounds whilst it is visible. A snap practice might be for the target to appear and disappear 5 times, each time for 5 seconds. It will appear at random intervals so the shooter cannot anticipate the target.
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 You can find the dates of shooting that will be conducted at either a range of 25m or 100m as well as of weapons "dry training" sessions organised for 2006 in the Schedule of Events by clicking here.
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PENRITH AIR CADETS
