Thursday 5th September | Written by Rob Edwards
Finally, the start of shooting! The first of many early starts left many thankful they hadn’t fully adjusted their UK body clocks, no alarms were missed and everyone was awake on time. Whilst many could only muster the enthusiasm to rustle up a muesli or at best toast Charlie Sykes produced a flourish of poached eggs and Margherita inspired guacamole for breakfast in his wing of our accommodation (hereafter known as 308 Div. Sykes BDE HQ).
We swiftly loaded the cars and after a brief photo headed out to the Tubb range for registration and safety brief. Once the admin was completed the Opening Ceremony was held, this included a canon salute and the USA National anthem to accompany raising the USA flag, followed by those of England and Scotland.
The running order for the day was planned to be 300, 500, 600, 900 and 1000 yards with competitors in the pits marking for the other detail. Our captain maintained his usual inspirational approach to the tour, leading by example to score a perfect central X for his first shot on the range. The transport to the pits allowed people to have a small taster of high school life, albeit a damp cloth was well advised to avoid too much dust on your clothing.
The final shoot of the morning was 600 yards. With the temperature rapidly falling forestalling a coming storm we finished promptly with a few minutes to spare before the heavens opened.
Lunch was very much a DIY affair for most, each team member had a natty cool bag to fill with their sustenance of choice, although there weren’t any takers for the “ham” and cheese combination meat. The bald eagles also treated us to a BBQ for those that wanted hot food.
With Rick Hunt the soothsayer forecasting a decent break in the weather we all headed out early from lunch eager to get shooting again without dampening out kit. Alas it was not to be and the heavens opened again. Our hosts didn’t fancy emulating the F-class Euros and so that marked the end of shooting for the day. We look forward to a welcome reception this evening and the start of the competition in earnest tomorrow.
