NRA Journal - Summer 2003 - National Rifle Association

BARBARIANS IN BLOEM!(OR ‘SOUTH AFRICA WITH KNIFE, FORK AND RIFLE’)by Sally RootsThe Team: Richard Bailie, Peter Coley, Sally Roots,Cliff Mallett, Jim Scobie, Garnett Faulkner, Rory White.With the inviting prospect of a few days acclimatisationahead, the Barbarians left Bisley on a bright springafternoon, en route for the hot days and balmy eveningsof sunny Cape Town – or so we thought. On arrival, thereality was a little different however, and the persistentrain left some of us regretting our packing strategies andheading for the shops to buy more suitable clothes. Butit takes more than a spot of water to dampen Barbarianspirits and, fully-trousered, sightseeing continuedundaunted. On reflection, the full hour’s harbour cruisemight have been a little ambitious, but at least the lesshardy souls were able to retire below to the bar whenconditions (think arctic whaling season) got too much.A day’s wine-tasting in Paarl and Franschoek, courtesyof Rory’s cousin, was much more convivial and providedSally with the opportunity to meet cheetahs up-close andpersonal at the Spier estate.Evenings were spent in putting in a little practice forthe serious eating ahead, with Garnett apparentlyembarking on a personal challenge to eat his own weightin steak within two weeks. The gastronomic highlightwas a serious crustacean frenzy at Panama Jack’s – anexcellent seafood restaurant housed in an outwardlyunimpressive wooden and canvas building in thecontainer port. The booking was made on Cliff’srecommendation, but left the team with someunanswered questions – just how exactly did Clifforiginally stumble on this small shack down a dark alleyin a less than salubrious part of Cape Town?After a shaky start, the sun finally emerged on our lastday, although Table Mountain was still shrouded in mist.Breaking out the Factor Dulux sun cream, Richard, Sallyand Garnett headed for the Cape of Good Hope, viaSimon’s Town and the penguin colony at Boulders, whileCliff and Jim took Peter for some light exercise on thegolf course. The forecast for the next few days wasexcellent, but our holiday was over and it was time toget down to the serious business of the tour.Having flown back to Johannesburg and collected theteam vehicles, the next step was to retrieve our riflesfrom Richard van Lingen, who had met us on our arrivalin Africa and kindly agreed to rifle-sit during our visitto Cape Town. Despite having taken extensive notes toenable him to retrace his steps back to Richard’s house,team navigator Vasco da Coley still managed to take uson a tour of some of the more dubious parts of centralJohannesburg. Proving the truth of the old adage ‘Ifyou want to know the way ask a (ex) policemen’, Rorytook over after an hour or so, and we eventually reachedthe van Lingen residence in safety, shortly before theefforts of maintaining his fiercest ‘don’t-mess-with-me-I’m-a-chartered-surveyor’ expression proved too muchfor lead driver Richard.Fortunately for all our nerves, the remainder of the driveto Bloemfontein was uneventful and the team settled intothe comfort of the City Lodge Hotel, where half the teamfound they were able to watch TV from their baths andthe other half were jealous. The first of several visits tothe local steakhouse ensued, and kit was sorted readyfor the zeroing.The Barbarians had arranged to buy hand-loadedammunition from Cherryll and Chris van Niekerk andintended to compress rounds to suit individual chambersizes, using a borrowed hand press. However, the firstmorning in Bloemfontein led to the discovery that thepress contained the incorrect die and a morning ofserious Team Captain phone calls ensued, resulting inPeter spending the afternoon in a cupboard at the backof an obliging local gun shop, compressing sufficientammunition to cover the first few shoots. A morepermanent solution was swiftly found in the form ofSouth African shooter (and Dungannon RC member)Brian Smith, who loaned the appropriate equipment. Fora considerable part of the weekend, Peter’s hotel roomcould easily have been mistaken for a clandestine armsfactory, with relays of Barbarians feeding and operatingthe portable press and counting rounds into batches. Theeffort was worth it, however, as the ammunitionperformed well in everyone’s rifles, as proved by theelevations achieved during the initial club team matches– shame about some of the wind calls!Much has been said previously about the conditions onthe range in Bloemfontein, so it will suffice to say thatthe Barbarians experienced (and enjoyed) the wholegamut; from cool and blustery through to extremely hotand apparently still, via all points in between. Significantchanges frequently occurred while the shooter was inthe aim; interpreting the combined meaning of flags,mirage and fall of shot could be challenging to say theleast. (Having collected a particularly fine waterlineouter, Garnett remained adamant that his call of 1 rightwas perfectly reasonable at the time, despite his plotindicating that 7 left would have been far moreappropriate!) Only Cliff appeared master of theconditions, achieving consistently respectable scores inspite of an unanticipated change of rifles halfwaythrough the week.The pros and cons of cleaning one’s rifle duringcompetition are frequently discussed, but rarely lead toviolence. Late one night, however, the peace of the hotelwas disturbed by loud thumps, bangs and Meldrewesqueexclamations of “I don’t believe it” emanating fromthe direction of Cliff’s room. Notwithstanding Garnett’sreassurance (“Ah, he’s probably just adjusting hissights”), the noise was sufficiently alarming that thereceptionist felt obliged to confirm that Cliff was OK.Sadly the same couldn’t be said for his rifle, from whicheven brute force had failed to remove the wedged, andby now rather battered, cleaning rod. Cliff spent the55