You will start off with the Lee-Enfield No.8 Mk I .22RF rifle (don't worry, all those little symbols and abbreviations in the name will be explained!).
Its technical name, for techno-speak buffs, is the Rifle, Number 8, .22", Rim-Fire. This began life as the world-renowned No.4 .303" rifle, before being hacked in half and having a .22" sleeve inserted into the barrel. The MoD (ministry of Defence, the nutters supposedly taking care of the Army, Navy and Air Force) originally wanted it as a training rifle, then said, "Hey, we like this weapon, we want to use it as a match rifle," used it as a match rifle and then went back to using it as a training rifle, this time for cadets, after the advent of newer training weapons for the regular forces. Basically, it's got history behind it, so don't abuse it.
The first thing you'll go through is the basic training on the rifle before they let you fire it. This is a militrary requirement, before anybody fires a rifle in HM Forces, they'll have done the training course AND PASSED IT! You will spend a grand total of 8 hours with a drill-purpose (DP) No.4 rifle. This is a regular No.4 which has been "neutered," that is to say, with a different bolt (I'll talk about serial numbers etc later) inserted, with the hole in the bolt face for the striker welded shut to ensure the striker will never fire another cartridge, the striker itself hacked in two to ensure it can never be used even if you find another bolt body, the magazine welded in place so you can't load it ever again, and finally a bloody great hole drilled in the barrel just forward of the chamber so even if you find a working bolt and ammunition and put them together, you'll just blow hot gas out of the top of the rifle.
So why a DP rifle just for little old you? Because a) nobody in the Forces seems to care about these lovely old bangers, b) they therefore dont give a monkey's if you break it. Well, they do, but not as much as if you break the working rifles. Oh, and c) just to be certain you can't actually go on the rampage and try to kill people.
Where were we before I started rabbiting on about the DP weapon? Ah yes, training. You're gong to spend 8 hours taking the bolt out, putting it back in and pointing the rifle at the wall. Why? So you can pass the Weapon Handling Test (WHT) at the end of it. If you can't pass the WHT by th end of the course, then you're stupid. Nearly everybody fails the first time round, because they forget one litle detail, to wit, the safety catch.
The test itself tests you on how hard you've listened to the instructor. It's a practical "hands on" test, so you don't go to sleep writing stuff out. The examiners [instructors] ask 3 random questions and then let you get on with obeying what they shout at you. It's a case of being able to remember what to do, so unless you've got a VERY bad memory it's fairly easy.
After you've passed the test, you're officially qualified on the rifle, which means you're allowed to turn up and shoot on a range day.
Shooting types
Grouping
This is where you get 5 rounds and are told to fire them at a diagram in front of you. The aim is to get all 5 shots as close together as you can. The distance between them is called your group size. The smaller this is, the better a shot you are. It improves with practice, like all shooting disciplines.
Rapid
This is where you have a few rounds of ammunition and targets whihc are exposed for a couple of seconds at a time. Exact times vary depending on the range staff. Tricky but fun.
Deliberate
This is the military name for real target shooting. Unlimited time, typically firing at a 10-spot NSRA 25-metre target. Scoring well on these is a good achievement.
The L98 Cadet GP rifle
This will be added as soon as I know what they do on L98 courses/shooting.
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