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Shooting practice is undertaken with both the No 8, .22 rifle and the L98
service rifle. All shooting is aimed at increasing marksmanship competency and
is carried out by fully qualified and authorised staff.
Flt Lt Bell and Mr Rayner are both range
conducting officers in the squadron. They both hold certificates of training
having been qualified and authorised by the RAF.
The photos below show the Squadron Range, firing a .22
small bore rifle, and an outdoor range firing the L98 full bore rifle which is
the Cadet equivalent of the service rifle.
 
Although initially each shooter will
concentrate at becoming familiar with the weapon, the eventual goal is to hit
the target accurately and consistently.
Shooters with the ATC will typically be firing one of the following four
practices:
| Grouping: |
The firer selects a single aiming point on the target and fires a
number of rounds at that point.
The aim is for all the rounds to fall as close to the aim point as
possible and it is measured as the diameter of a circle encompassing all
of the holes in the target. Grouping practice is excellent for
concentrating on perfecting your technique. There is no limit to how
long the shooter may take when firing groupings.
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| Deliberate
Fire: |
This practice is fired at a target with marked, concentric scoring
rings. The shooter aims at the centre of the target with the intention
of placing the shot as near to the centre as possible.
The shooter's score is marked depending on how near to the centre of the
target they manage to get. Common targets for application shooting are a
large, single target or a card with 5 or 10 separate targets marked on
it. When firing at a card with multiple targets, the shooter will aim to
place one or two rounds on each of the targets. The shooter can take as
long as they like to make the shots as the goal is optimum accuracy.
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| Rapid: |
All that is required is that the shooter gets the round within the
target area. However, they now have a time limit - for instance they may
be required to fire 10 rounds in 40 seconds on a No.8 rifle and that
really isn't too easy.
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| Snap: |
Again, all the shooter needs to do is get the rounds to fall within
the target area. However, the targets only appear for a short time
before vanishing again and the shooter must typically hit the target
with two rounds whilst it is visible. A snap practice might be for the
target to appear and disappear 5 times, each time for 5 seconds. It will
appear at random intervals so the shooter cannot anticipate the
target.
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