Ashburton Day at Bisley dawned bright and clear and we set off in good spirits. After last years’ torrential rain we were more concerned about the heat haze, which can make the targets at 500 yards appear to be floating in mid-air.

On arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to find perfect conditions with a constant gentle cross wind. Yet again, the NRA had double booked the Siberia Range so rather than shooting the John Squire Cup ‘in house’ competition at 200 yards with our match weapons we had to settle for the indoor 50 yards range using .22 rifles.

With only six veterans available this year, we entered one team of five for the National Schools Veterans Competition.  Although Matt Coombs qualified in the top five, he graciously stood down to allow Phil Pote to take part. Phil did his best, with big brother Dave spotting for him, but using a weapon he had never seen before and having not competed at 500 yards for over fifteen years left us ten points down on our predicted score.

We finished ten places down in the rankings but we still beat Blundell’s by two places/four points. Many thanks to Sean Beer for organising the competition, providing .22 weapons and Phoebe and Anne Beer for providing delicious lemon drizzle cake for tea, and to all veterans who made the effort.

Chris Wilson (67-72B) Captain WBSVRC