NRA Journal - Summer 2003 - National Rifle Association

Before moving to the National Meeting at Bloemfontein,the team spent two nights in the Drakensberg Mountains.Amid the stunning scenery and dramatic storms, wewere able to relax a little before the start of the businessend of the tour. The adventurous minority braved thechain ladders and gale force winds to be rewarded withspectacular views of the amphitheatre and valleys thatfall away from it. The less intrepid had their walkenlivened by John Howard Davies’ attitude to deadsnakes. Lou Lou Brister and Chris Hockley’s attempt atgolf was foiled by the course’s dereliction andencroachment of the township. Indeed the drive fromthe Witsieshoek resort to Bloemfontein revealed theextent to which this area of outstanding natural beautyis juxtaposed by the uglier side of man’s settlement andsocial iniquity. Despite this and problems with theresort, it was a worthwhile stay ahead of theBloemfontein meetings.BloemfonteinThe team’s drive to Bloemfontein went well despite the‘Wing Commander navigation system’ spontaneouslybreaking down any time our convoy went anywherenear a golf course. Team spirit was guarded by theregular refuelling stops at guest houses (and in somecases the addition of “a nice bottle of cold white wine”).Arrival at Reyneke Park coincided with the meeting ofthe remainder of the party who had travelled solely toshoot. Once supper had been organised there seemed aclear sense that the tour had begun in earnest.This determination was rather dimmed the next morningby the absence of ammunition with which to practice.Some of the team were able to borrow RG from the GreatBritain Under 19 team and participate in the pairs sectionof the Free State Provincial Meeting. Fortunately therest of the team were supplied by the afternoon andeveryone was able to contest the individualcompetitions. Unfortunately, for most of the team, thisagain demonstrated the strength of local shooting andalso the particular challenges of the General de Wetrange. Unlike in the UK, the vast majority of windcoaching in South Africa has to be based on the miragereading. For those of us accustomed to the flags at Bisleythis, and the different size of flags overseas, meant thataccurate assessment of what the locals dubbed ‘theweather’ was extremely challenging. A trip to the BeefBaron in the evening provided some with an opportunityto drown their sorrows. Chris Watson failed in hisattempt at a one kilo steak and Al Haley demonstrateda unique singing talent on the way home.The Free State Meeting was followed by a series of teammatches in which the Welsh experimented with a varietyof coaching combinations. The Friendly Internationalwas marked by a combination of personal and collectiveerrors that contributed to a thorough defeat by a welldrilledSouth African Palma team. The smaller teammatches the following day were more instructive in thepotential for the coming week. Overall, however, thescale of the challenge in the Protea Match was starklyclear. Nonetheless, the clutch of respectable scoresachieved in the team shooting at least demonstrated thefuture potential of many newer team members.The 67th South African Bisley Union (SABU) Meetingwas marked by an intensity in the shooting program notnormally seen in the UK. With five or six ranges a day,maintaining focus in the heat, which regularly reachedthirty five degrees Celsius, was a real challenge.Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the most consistent successcame to locals or British firers used to the conditions,such as regular visitor David Calvert. Eight years ofconsecutive visits was rewarded with a third consecutivevictory in the Grand Aggregate with 650.60. Althoughthere were pleasing moments, individually none of theWelsh managed to string these shoots together into anaggregate of note. Much more successful was the teamreception organised at Reyneke Park on the Wednesdayevening. The food was superb and the staff excelledthemselves in facilitating a superb evening and anopportunity to thank the South Africans for the welcomethat had been extended to the Welsh team and otheroverseas guests.Aside from the individual shooting the main focus ofthe tour was the Protea International Match. Followingthe second stage of the State President’s, the match wasshot in challenging conditions that were rarely typicalof what had been encountered in the preceding week.Being pitted against the South African Palma team, thecurrent World Champions, on their home range was aformidable challenge. Wales elected to use two of theirthree targets to maximise the coaching talent availableand relied on slick team organisation to fit into theallotted time. Despite some initial nerves this approachappeared to be working until the South Africans pulledaway at 900 metres. Though defeated, Wales hadperformed creditably against strong opposition; they hadalso developed younger firers who were notably absentfrom their opponent’s side. Indeed the margins mayhave been smaller had the Welsh not suffered a rifle andtarget malfunction in the vital closing stages of the match.Final result: South Africa 1759.163 to Wales 1672.96.With the team shoot over, the remaining fixture was theState President’s Final for the top hundred firersqualified over the previous two stages. Four Welsh firershad qualified, notably of a younger vintage, but werenot able to make an impression at long range. DavidCalvert was eventually crowned Open Championdespite only finishing second in the Final. At the team’sreturn to the Beef Baron, Yorke O’Leary and Taff Wilcoxshowed Chris Watson how to finish a one kilo steak andso earned wall plaques. The late finish to the eveningflowed relatively unimpeded into the early start as thetour headed for home. For the party leaving directly,the loss of a passport and ticket was overcome withrelative ease while discussion among the Sun City partycentred upon methods of defying gravity. Eventuallyall participants returned home safely and with greatgratitude to Chris Hockley, Paul Gray and Russ Jacksonfor their efforts in organising the tour.29