Lessons from Bisley

I cannot really regret the decisions I made in QII. I did the absolute best I could in reading the wind, and barring the elevation issues, it would have been quite a decent shoot. The cut line was 144-13, the lowest cut line in quite a few years.

Several shooters of some note said to me later over beers that it was the toughest QII in the last 20 years.

Both David Calvert (who won the last two Queen's Finals) and Jim Paton also failed to progress to the Final. Had everything gone my way, I would likely have still missed the Final by a single point so I cannot fool myself that I have much more to learn.

However, I had a great deal of fun and everyone I lay down with at all distances was a friend - is there more one could ask for? I've talked to shooters who have never progressed to QII in 20 years of trying - so I should recognize both my skill and good fortune.

I plan to go back every year that I'm able and keep trying to make that Final.

I've got lots to improve on:

• Taking up a good position every time and not compromising. Keep working until it's completely solid.
• Learn how to dismount and re-mount the rifle perfectly every time.
• Always keep how fortunate I am to be in this sport in mind. Shoot with joy!
• Make each shot perfect. Don't accept firing a less than perfect shot.

Queen's II: 600 yds (2+10)

We moved progressively left on Century range, from butt 17, to butt 15 to finish on butt 13 (the next to left-most).

This was possibly the most difficult butt, other than 12 to shoot on as one has little warning of wind changes. You can see the angle change fairly clearly but reading the wind here required reading angle, speed, and the general gestalt of the wind - summed as it was down the entire length of the range from firing points to butts.

One of my shooting partners was the famous Scot, Angus McLeod, and he was quite mystified by the wind we were seeing, losing three points downwind. I was reading the wind very well indeed, losing only two points to wind. However, the light was very changeable in late afternoon with a storm coming in and the wind kicking up a lot. Everyone on my target lost 1-3 points for elevation, which was quite unusual for shooters of this quality.

Had I been able to control my elevation I would have come off with a 48 which would have been very creditable. When I handed in my card, the majority of shooters had finished and there were only two 48s and one 49 on the entire range.

Queen's II: 500 yds (2+10)

Going into 500yds my shooting partner was Jim Paton, Canada's current best shooter (and winner of the Queen's Prize 20 years ago).

He holds very well and reads the wind better.

Before we lay down, I chatted with the lovely Emma Canning and got completely distracted in setting my sights. I set my front sight the 600yd distance rather than 500yds, resulting in a miss over the top for my first sighter.

Fine, I would just have to make do with a perfect 2nd sighter. My first sighter was a perfectly level inner, just a bit downwind. I was reading the wind quite well now and my first on score was a dead-center V-bull. Obviously my elevation wasn't quite perfect as I lost shot 2 a wee bit low and had to come up a 1/4 minute. Felt very good about the rest of my shooting, with the exception of shot 9 - which I cannot explain as I didn't call it high.

Wind reading was really quite good as the changes involved both direction and speed. One cannot tell from the true wind values how complex it really was. Let's just say that for the first time ever, I beat Jim Paton while he shot with me under the same conditions on the same target. Given his reputation, it really was an excellent match for me.

Queen's II: 300 yds (2+10)

I pretty much gave away any hope of a progression to QIII with the first three record shots at 300yds.

I don't think I've ever been quite so confused at 300yds by the wind. I started on 3 minutes left wind and was within the bull for the wind (though low). Came up 3/4 minute to level the next shot and took a bit off the wind as I saw it dying and left it a good 1.5 minutes left for the second sighter.

Not quite understanding this, I took off 1.25 minutes and still left it out for an inner 4. Completely flummoxed! True wind was zero and I could see the mirage streaming left to right.

So I put on a 0.5 minutes left and left it out very far right for a magpie 3. Pretty much done from that point of view. I did not see the wind. Corrected wind would have been 2.25 minutes left on the previous shot, so staying inside that limit I put 1.75 minutes left wind on a took a magpie out the other side. At this point, my Queen's II was absolutely toast.

I finally determined that I shouldn't be watching upwind flags as I obviously could not judge the wind angle cleanly from them and started watching a downwind flag (against my training). This worked quite well and my wind management got far better using this method - too late to salvage my Queen's II I thought but I'll give it a solid try to do well.

From this point, I just resolved to hold as well as I could and have fun.

Imperial 13: Prince of Wales (600yds), 2+15

This is a slightly sad tale. Oddly enough, the score doesn't stand up badly as a lot of people got beaten up during this match. In spite of losing 5 points, I only lost 11 places in the Grand Aggregate (normally, I would have lost 150 places!).

It's a bit frustrating to me that I lost 3 points low (poor light) as a 73 would have been very creditable given the tough winds. I really wasn't far off on the winds, and saw fellow competitors much further out. Thus the low shots were really concerning.

This was the last match in the Grand Aggregate and I finished 414th overall. Not much better than last year but I had two noticeable failures. One the debacle with the binder clip, and the other with a sight set far too far forward. Without those, I would have been up in the 130s which would have been very good indeed.

So I leave feeling that I'm "almost there" and eager to come back next year with renewed enthusiasm.

Queen's II!!

Happy dance.

Looks like I made it through by the smallest of margins. They just announced 102.10 was the cut line and I finished with a 34.2 and that was above that line.

Official confirmation tomorrow when they publish the list, but I'm in the top 300.

Now to make the top 100 and make it into the Queen's Final!

Me preparing for the Conan Doyle match

I was listening to some tunes on my headphones.. just chilling.

Imperial 12: The Conan Doyle (900x), 2+15

I felt quite good shooting the Conan Doyle. I had a very good initial read on the wind and was able to convert both my sighters. This is essential in my experience in order to shorten the length of one's shoot and reduce risk. Again, light changed dramatically after my sighters and I lost two points low. Basically, I think I could have not lost the points if I had read the wind exactly right. Failing that, if the light had not changed, they would still have been in with another 1/2 minute of elevation.

Be that as it may, I came up 1/2 minute, read the wind like a Zen master, and fired Vs for the last five shots. The RO later told me that only a couple of 49s and 50s had been recorded in my detail so I was likely in the top 2%. I'm ok with that, even if I left a possible 50 out there.

Imperial 11: Queen's I (600yds), 2+7

I felt pretty good going into 600yds. I had a good read on the wind and was shooting with a good friend, Alwyn McLean. I was holding well and seeing well, however the light conditions were quite poor because it was the end of the day and rain clouds darkened the sky. Wind was fairly steady from the left, running between 2.5-3.0 minutes.

I lost one low as the light died and came up a bit to ensure I didn't lose more. Folks on the mound left of me starting talking loudly after finishing their shooting and I had to tell them to shut up. That definitely raised my pulse a bit - I should have just ignored it - and the last few shots were quite dicey.

If I make it through to Queen's II, I'll count this Bisley trip as successful, in spite of all my difficulties.

Imperial 10: Queen's I (500 yds), 2+7

This was a bit dicier. I read the wind very well but still lost one to wind. However, what peeved me was losing the one to elevation, which I definitely didn't call. A real gut blow as I wanted to try and get to 600yds with a cushion of 2-3 points. Losing two points removed most of my cushion.

Forecasts for the afternoon were 17-20mph winds so it was looking like the Conan Doyle (900yds over the hill on Stickledown) and the 600yd stage of the Queen's would be quite difficult.

Imperial 9: Queen's I (300yds), 2+7

A frankly brilliant 300yd detail set me up for a good start for Queen's I. This match (for those who don't show) is a three-part match. One has to fire seven record shots at 300yds, 500yds, and 600yds. Typically, the "cut line" which culls out all but the best 300 shooters from the 1000+ shooter field is about 102 with 12Vs.

However, this was a quite tough year for wind and the rumour going around Camp is that the cut line is likely to be 101 or even 100. I'm hopeful I'll make it through to Queen's II (which is shot on Friday).

That's also a set of three matches (10 record shots at 300, 500, 600 with the top 100 firers making it through to the Queen's Final). I'm shooting quite well now that I've moved my sights back so if I make it through to Queen's II, I have a reasonable hope to make the Final. That said, making it through to the final 300 shooters is definitely one of my goals for the year.

Off to explore

After my somewhat-crushing debacle in the St.George's yesterday, I decided to take myself off into the countryside and find a good English pub to have a bit of quiet time. After driving around for about an hour, I found this one in nearby Chobham. Given how I felt it should probably have been called the Four Horsemen!

Surrey being very horsey country (which I really appreciate it), they had an ingenious take on the mobile food truck:

Finally, my lunch was a Red Leicester (cheese) and tomato sandwhich with triple-cooked chips (with truffle oil!). And a pint of Guinness.

£11 and quite satisfying.

Off now to shoot. Hopefully, some good news later today and how brilliantly I read the wind and shot!

Some Bisley Camp photos

For those who haven't been to Bisley yet, the place is replete with nearly 150 years of shooting history. Many of the structures on Camp are quite old, some approaching that 150year mark.

This is the first Panorama photo I've ever taken of the NRA reception area:

And now, from the other side of the street, looking at the new food vendor tents (new last year and very, very welcome). My second Panorama:

Imperial 8: The St. George's (300yds) 2+15

Normally, 300yds is my bread and butter. I hold as well as most of the best, see very well, generally have a good release. I train a lot at 300yds as it is a testing distance, especially on a small ICFRA target center (the target centers here are quite a bit bigger, both in total diameter and the size of the v-bull).

Of course, we have nothing like these winds at home, but that's what makes it a challenge.

I think the mistake I've been carrying forward in this Imperial is that when I changed to my blue action (normally found in my Gemini), I left the sight mounted in the same position as the Gemini. This is at least one notch further forward than it would normally be on the Mastin stock.

I was aware that it was further forward (the sight picture changes) but given that I've been hit by my sight in previous years because it was too close, I decided to continue with it as is. For 90% of the shoots, this is fine. It still allows me a fine line of white around the front sight tunnel (essential for vertical alignment).

Well, the mound in the St. George's yesterday was sufficiently toward one end of the spectrum that I couldn't get a solid sight picture. Or rather, I didn't strain every sinew in my neck to push my head forward to get a proper picture. And I paid dearly for that in my first four shots. As you can see from the below plot, I gave up three points in the first two scoring shots (knocking myself out of advancement) before I realized I had to really, really stretch into the gun.

I did so on subsequent shots and held a lovely elevation but too late to be of any good. Since the cut line was 73/75, I likely wouldn't have made it but I think I would have had a reasonable shot if I just focused on wind and execution rather than straining forward against the rifle.

It appears I continue to have a lot to learn. Nothing to be done about it now other than to go out and do my best today.

My team captain (if I make the Palma squad which right now looks unlikely) gave me a very nice pep talk last night which made me feel a bit better. I hate not shooting to my potential and I think I've made a lot of mistakes here.

Today is the Queen's Final, Stage 1. That's 2 sighters and 7 shots to count at 300, 500, and 600, interrupted by a long-range match at 900yds sometime in the day. Very tiring day if one doesn't manage one's energy. So I'm off for the first shoot (at 300) in about an hour. I get there quite early to watch the wind and talking to shooters coming off the point to find out if there are any tendencies in wind behavior.

Imperial 7: The Corporation (1000 yds), 2+10

Occasionally one gets lucky. The last two years I had a 38/50 and a 32/50 at 1000. The first year, my foresight aperture broke in the middle of the shoot with inevitable adverse consequences. Last year I had heat exhaustion on the point from not drinking enough water and the 34C heat.

This year however, my detail kicked off at about 4:45pm. Typically the wind kicks up on Stickledown in the morning about 10:30-11:00 and continues very fiercely until 4:00 or so. So I was expecting reasonable winds (others who shot earlier in the day lost quite a few points.) As you can see from the plot, the wind bracket (the range from highest to lowest) was a very reasonable 1-1.5 minutes.

The one high shot out of my group (3) was because I believe that I "cooked" the round in the chamber. It was quite a hot day yesterday and my shooting partner, an elderly gentlemen from Yorkshire, was very very slow in the aim. The rule is 45 seconds from the confirmation of score on the last target and I swear he was taking closer to 3 minutes. This being early in the shoot, I hadn't quite figured this out, and I chambered a round when he went into the aim - so I could trust my wind call and shoot quickly when his shot value was displayed on the target.

But I waited and waited and waited. Whether I was impatient or I really did cook the round (overheat it and it's very sensitive to heat with the powders they use), I went very high, costing me a point.

The next to last shot (9) I left low because I was quite tired and when I saw the perfect sight picture I "snapped" the trigger rather than squeezing it gently and that left it predictably low.

That said, it was a pretty decent shoot for 1000 that really should have been a 49 without the errors. I continue to learn that this sport is about patience. On the plus side, I was well hydrated yesterday and seeing well - and obviously holding well.

Imperial 6: The Wimbledon (600yds), 2+ 10

This a bit painful and a great lesson in "do not accept a less than adequate position". I had a very solid position (and it was probably about 78F with the sun burning down so pretty warm indeed). However, I was just a wee bit far from the sight and didn't have my usual white limn around the foresight. This was a fairly disastrous error, as evidenced by the two shots lost to elevation. Needlessly lost.

I still haven't figured out how to address this. I'm loathe to move the sight back and I crept up as much as possible on the sight but I think it wasn't good thinking.

Imperial 5: The Times (300yds), 2+10

Not a bad elevation despite my being very nervous after last night's debacle (the crossed shot).

I obviously shouldered two out - just nervousness. Quite frustrating as a 50 out of 50 was definitely very possible here. Indeed one of my shooting partners and coaches made just such a 50. The third person on our target, my friend TLB dropped two as I did but his lost points were misreading the wind.

Taking care of oneself at Bisley

So this is the start of the fourth week of the tour. My left shoulderblade has been quite shore (along with the trapezoid on that side) for a couple of weeks. I think it's the shooting just about every day in either a pair or a triple of shooters. This means one is in position a LOT longer than in American "string-style" shooting, where we lay down, mount the rifle in the shoulder and then fire 20-25 shots without dismounting the rifle.

The huge advantage this has in matches is that one can make the initial read of the wind, correct with your sighters to get into the center of the target, and then just pile on shot after shot very quickly, tracking the hopefully small changes in the wind.

In contrast to that most international shooters have to shoot as a pair or as a threesome. So shooter 1 fires (lying in the right-hand position) and then shooter 3 calls out the score and records it. Then shooter 2 fires (within 45 seconds nominally) and shooter 1 calls out the score and records it. Finally, shooter 3 fires, and shooter 2 calls out the score and records it. If there are no objections during that sequence and the target marking is decent, it is about 3 1/2 to 4 minutes between shots.

So a 15 round shoot (with an additional 2 sighters) will likely take over an hour lying down in position. In the rain, or the broiling sunshine, whilst wearing a heavy leather jacket and sweater. So fitness and hydration are hugely important.

This also, implicitly, requires you as a member of this triple to have to re-read the wind on every shot. The delightful thing about Bisley that the winds on Stickledown (long range) and Century (short range) are fickle and sometimes quite strong. So their strength and direction will change frequently requiring the firing of what is essential a series of "sighters".

Sighters are your initial best guess of the wind value, applied to your first and/or second shots. Once one knows the value, it's not too difficult to keep the bullet hitting the bull. But if you have to read the wind on every shot, that is a true challenge.

But I digress. After several weeks of shooting, my left shoulderblade definitely needed help. I found a young physio student (and coincidentally excellent shooter) working over at the Army Club yesterday and she worked on my shoulderblade for 1/2hr for a fee. Much better afterward. Then, as the evening wore on and I had gone to the Surrey Club after our Canadian Team Reception, one of my friends who is an MD (and massage therapist) also worked on the shoulder. This time for free (I owe him a pint!).

I seem to have more mobility and less pain today (thankfully it hasn't affected my shooting at all - no excuses there).

I do find myself pretty tired but that's the point of long competitions I think. Shooting requires tremendous mental energy. To that end, other than being up last night (I don't start shooting until nearly 12 today), I've been going to bed at very reasonable hours and working to get 6-8 hours sleep every night. Alcohol consumption is very low, averaging 1-2 drinks per day maximum - and lots of water.

It's two hours until my next competition (2+ 15 rounds at 300yds) so I think I'm going to give my rifle a very light cleaning and head out.

Imperial 4: Daily Mail (500yds), 2+15

This match was a bit of a tragedy. Because of the previous issues with my jacket, I attached a "bulldog" clip to the collar of my coat to help me identify exactly where to place the butt in my shoulder (since the new rifle butt/jacket combo is a bit harder to put together properly).

Here's the offending clip:

See that little arm. Guess what happens when it lies flat under the butt of the rifle (and you don't notice). This:

The ruination of a perfectly good shoot. All on me. The tiny knot of three shots in the upper left are a result of the very very odd recoil of the rifle when it lay across that spring clip. After the 2nd time it happened (shot 6) I was still wondering whether I had "shouldered" the shot into the high left. But I saw the movement in my sights in recoil and it was very dramatic (rocket-propelled even).

So I took very careful aim, let off a perfect shot and put it in the center v-bull of the next door target - scoring a zero.

All in all, I was down 8 points for this error. I have dropped in the standings from my very creditable 200th place (with 7 points lost over two days) to 484th (about mid-way in the order). One of my goals had been to earn my "A" card - top 150 in the Grand which would seem about right for me in an decent year with no big mistakes.

Well, I've had my big mistake and there is still some very tough shooting to come. Nothing to be done about it but pick myself up and (1) learn from the experience, and (2) try to do as well as I can in the remaining 9 (minimum) matches.

This will be a test of my "new" attitude - that Bisley is about the people and the experience and not just the score. I guess the Universe just gives you what it thinks you need to grow..

Battling jacket and buttplate

My Truttmann jacket (very expensive, custom fit) does not fit well, even though I was fitted by Herr Truttmann himself.

So I've fallen back to my Anschutz jacket which I have used over much of the winter (because I can fit a heavy sweater under in when shooting in the Seattle winter). It fits much better (off the rack).

Also, I am really concentrating on mounting the rifle butt in the shoulder the SAME way every time. So I've clipped a spring clip to my collar near the shoulder pad in preparation for my last shoot of the day (in about 75 minutes) and hope this helps me with positioning. I've been able to hold very well with this ammunition at all distances but not consistently.

I think this will help a great deal. Of course, I have to continue to read the wind well.

Imperial 3: Duke of Cambridge (900yds)

This was a very difficult wind shoot with both strength and angle changes on Stickledown (our 1000 yd range here at Bisley).

I had two execution flaws that cost me two points. Which is a very good lesson because a 49 would likely have won me the 'O' class tankard (in three details, only one person earned a 50 out of 50 (one of my teammates). So, something to improve on. I fired the last shot far too quickly and didn't pay attention to my followthrough, hence the low right shot.

Imperial 2: Alexandra (500yds)

Had another good shoot to start the day this morning at 500yds. Don't really bad about losing the one point. Did at the time but got over it. It was quite twitchy unlike at home.

Imperial 1: Daily Telegraph (500x)

A quick note. We start the Imperial Meeting with a 75pointer at 500yds in somewhat difficult conditions. I read the wind very well from a solid position and came away with a very decent score.

A revelation

So I'm taking a long shower this morning in preparation for my 8:30am 1000yd match (no breakfast but likely little wind, so I can live with it) when I'm thinking about what makes Bisley special. I think it's, by now, all the people I know here and am friendly with. No one gives a damn about my politics (being Liberal) and if we talk politics it's very civil.

I lie down on a point next to two people I don't know (and they can very in age from 14 or 15 to 80) and we all get up feeling a bit more friendly toward one another because of the shared experience. I find the cadets and school kids are more nervous than I am - and that calms me down. :)

But I think my point is that I realized this morning that Bisley is the experience, not my scores. If I let it be my scores, and I'm a very goal-oriented person, I'm just screwing myself up. If I have a tough match, Bisley is still a wonderful place with great friends. That doesn't change.

Making a Final is not just being a great shooter. It's also having the right amount of luck - on any given day, a detail (what in America we call a relay) could have terribly tough winds flipping about making it hard to shoot a 45 or a 46/50. Or it could be beatific (like 500yds last night) and people walk off with a lot of 50s.

You just don't know what you're going to get and if one bases one's happiness on score, you'll risk being unhappy much of the time.

So, will try to continue to enjoy my time and separate that enjoyment from my scores - come what may. What matters is how I feel I perform on a given day - did I give it my "best effort"?

Yesterday's matches

I had a very fine start to yesterday's matches with a 49-5 at 600yds. It was very twitchy wind on a coldish day with little or no mirage. So I had to depend on reading the faces of the other targets (looking for any preponderance of shooters leaving shots right or left out of the bull) and reading the wind flags. My one lost point was so close I almost challenged it. And I beat a friend of mine (who is an X - which is the top class here at Bisley, restricted to those who finish in the top 50 in the Queen's, the Grand Aggregate, or the St. George's). He said I earned it. Nice accolade.

The 900yd Admiral Hutton was a bit of a disaster. I moved off another shooter's mistakes (I was led to believe he was quite good and he couldn't read the wind worth a damn!). My mistake and will not do that again unless I'm fortunate to make one of the Finals (where everyone is about guaranteed to be a fine shot). I remained quite cheerful though - in spite of a 38.1 (out of 50!). This was the event that I nearly won last year and this year I'm likely to be in the bottom 20%. C'est la vie.

The final shoot of the day was late evening (7pm) at Century range (the short range which varies from 300-600yds). I had very little pulse and very little flag movement so was expecting a pretty good shoot. Indeed, it started that way with two Vs (highest possible scores) for my first two shots. About shot 5, I put one low right for a 4 (loss of one point). Thought maybe it was a triggering flaw - yanking the trigger - and tried extra double hard on next shot. And.. hit my previous spotter! So obviously something had changed in my position.

I brought the sights up half a minute and finished in the maximum points for a 47.4. A creditable score earlier in the day when it was very windy, but a bit of a tragedy at this time of day in these conditions.

However, this has pointed out a wee flaw that has been plaguing me now for a couple of weeks - sudden changes in elevation in an otherwise lovely group (you'll see when I post the plot sheets in an update). One of my coaches, a well-known Canadian shooter, has suggested that I should re-position my sling every few shots. The stretching out of the jacket and movement of the sling that comes with dismounting the rifle with every shot may be gradually altering my position. So I'll try that this morning at the final couple of preliminary shoots and see if it helps. I pray it does as the alternative is that the changing light here affects my eyes in a bit of an unpredictable fashion. So I'm fine if it's cloudy, or if it's bright, but shadows on a bright day can play hob with my vision (cataracts).

RAF/WALES match results

We won going away! Somebody said it's much better being the bottom shooter on a winning team rather than the winning shooter on a losing team. I was in the bottom half of our order, but the win still feels good.

The Imperial starts today

After two weeks here, the Imperial starts today. The first five matches are individual matches, which are not in the Grand Aggregate. We shoot at each of the individual distances used in the Imperial - 300, 500, 600, 900, and 1000yds. Then tomorrow afternoon is the first match of the Grand Aggregate.

My times are a bit difficult (as far as eating). 1445, 1600, and 1900 for my three matches. Then off to my friend Andrew's caravan for dinner with him and his partner.

Up earlyish in the morning to continue with an 0830 shoot. Feel like I'm shooting well and my cold symptoms have largely abated (thankfully). Looking forward to starting, and planning for a good start.

If not, I'll remain cheerful, work out the problems and focus on getting better with every match.

BARBARIANS match

The team shot against the Barbarians yesterday (I was a non-shooting Adjutant to the Team Captain for this match) and we won again. That's makes four out of five victories for our team so far - losing only to the North London, which is the best-shooting club on Camp. All in all, a good series of matches over this week.

RAF/WALES match results in question

We don't know the results yet but we had some adverse results for our shooters at both 500 and 600yds.

One of our best shooters had a malfunction with his rifle at 600, halfway through the shooting (his bedding has given up the ghost). I had pulse issues at 500yds and gave up 4 points. Death against such quality opposition as the RAF team.

I redeemed myself at 600yds with a very nice 74-8 (out of 75) and I end the day feeling much better. Still putting too much pressure on myself but it's a constant learning experience.

RAF/WALES match

Yes.. selected to shoot against the RAF and Wales this afternoon. Today is a morning practice with friends..