degrees. Light rain in the morning, dry sunny afternoon. Winds gusting 10 –

30mph all day.

The day started at 08.00 with a light breakfast at the Elan Hotel Rhayader. Having seen various reviews

and adverts for WMS Firearms Training facility in the shooting press we had taken the plunge and on the

The facility is a private range extending to approximately 5,000 acres operated by Andrew Venables

proprietor of WMS Firearms Training. Andrew met us at the main road and soon we were heading to the

hills to begin our day.

After a brief safety chat the it was onto zero check target. Steel targets of various dimensions were placed

at 190m to make sure we on zero. Zeros checked it was a short walk with our kit to engage the first set of

more challenging targets.

Taking up prone positions the first target was a white armour plate of torso dimensions’ placed at 300m.

Ordinarily not too challenging but the detail exposed us to the full force of a gusting 30mph full value wind

form left to right. It seemed this would be the order of the day.

We were all shooting 308 Winchester running various home loads ranging from 155g Lapua Scenar, 168

A-max and 168 Sierra Matchking. With approximately 7 moa of left correction, the plate was relatively

easy to connect with. Elevation calls either from ballistic software data, iPod or actual established drops

generated from Barton Road were generally accurate all day.

The next targets were yellow painted silhouette crows and rabbits of roughly life-size dimensions on the

same bank next to the torso target. The skill in setting out this course of fire is placing the targets in

locations where the bullet splash can be spotted and corrections called. Missing the steel and placing a

bullet into the vegetation would almost be impossible to call especially at longer ranges even with a good

spotter.

Having missed the crow to either size by inches I eventually dropped my crow much to the delight of my

two team members who dispatched theirs with relative ease. Three rabbits remained and 3 shots later all 3

rabbits were flattened, call it luck but at the time it was quite cool.

Further down the same bank at 400m was a life size steel roebuck silhouette. Ringing the steel at this

distance was again relatively straight forward from the stable prone position but hitting the beast in the vital

zone with the precision as hunters we would demand was an eye opener. I persisted in holding for wind all

day rather than dialling in correction, a strategy I’m not sure I would employ again. Aiming at the very edge

of the left hand side of the deer’s rump would send the bullet into the heart area. When the wind slackened

the round would go into the gut, shoot when the wind peeked and the round would go into the brisket area.

Lesson learned on this target.

The final target in this detail was an 6 inch yellow suspended square plate at 500m. In the wind this proved

a very challenging target with possibly 1 in 3 -4 rounds finding its mark. This prompted Russ to bring out

the “big gun” his recently completed 300 Remington Ultra Magnum sending 208 A-max rounds at 3250 fps

which improved the hit ratio considerably.

Bassingbourn Rifle & Pistol Club Vol 6 Issue 1—June 2009

Page 3

Through this first detail we each took it in turn to shoot. Andrew and generally one or both non-shooters

would call the shots and corrections for the shooter. Communication was vital to make sure accurate

adjustments were made. This was my first time shooting in a team environment like this and one I found

enjoyable as rifle shooting generally is quite a solitary sport.

A short drive up the hill from the first firing point revealed a range of targets at approximately 400m shooting

down an incline of approx 25 Degrees(???) This detail was probably the most fun, comparable to air rifle

plinking with a centrefire rifle. Targets ranged from painted rocks at the roadside, silhouette foxes set in the

reeds, suspended steel plates and 4 inch swinging targets that would fall backwards when hit. Behind these

swinging targets was a small body of water that would reliably highlight the misses. The detail involved

shooters identifying the target they wished to shoot, while the non-shooters watched through the scope. A hit

resulted in a cheer while a miss prompted the next shooter to take up the same target.

The wind during this detail was much less intense as the targets were placed in the lee of a valley, misses in

this detail were far more the fault of poor shot execution as peer pressure began to build. The painted rocks

would explode, the swinging target would clank back and forth and the 2 silhouette foxes soon bit the dust.

This was what we came for and made a welcome change from perpetual paper punching.

After approximately 30 minutes of laying waste to most of the targets a rock 800m on the screen face

adjacent to our position caught our attention and was the focus of our attention for a further couple of rounds.

This was the beauty of the facility, the space, scope and flexibly of the area really lends itself to relaxed

challenging shooting.

After a short break for lunch we had to pick up the pace to get in 3 more details.

A relatively close set of targets at 270m, a 6 inch suspended steel plate, a steel

hostage target consisting of a torso with the swinging head of a bad guy appearing

over the left shoulder. Again the wind in this detail was relatively light due to the

targets location within a valley. This course of fire called for precision aiming at

specific points on the steel rather than being content just to connect with the target.

Again this is what we came for, shooting over a valley at a life size steel torso at

700m at a slight incline. Having had the morning to get to grips with the wind and

how the rounds performed we scored several first round hits on this target which was

pleasing. The wind while strong seemed to be more consistent in speed and direction

during this detail. The rain had stopped and while the wind was cold the shooting

conditions were very pleasant.

Not content with simply connecting with the target Russ embarked on a rapid fire

sequence. Sending 7 rounds downrange in as many seconds, Andrew reported

through the spotter that all 7 rounds had connected all be it a little low but in a group

of approximately 1 moa!

At this range the 308 is clearly within its comfort zone and all 3 of us were proficient

at scoring more hits than misses. That was soon to change.

Two steel torso targets, one set in a screen of loose stone the other in the grass,

distance 950m. The location of the firing point exposed us to an almost full value

wind from the left. Speaking personally I had to aim 3 mils off the centre target to

connect. When the wind speed increased I had to aim at the left-hand edge of the

target. When everything came together the delayed ring of steel would resonate

Vol 6 Issue 1—June 2009 Bassingbourn Rifle & Pistol Club

Page 4

back to the firing point 1 in 3 shots. Should anything disrupt the break of shot and follow through and “miss

over the shoulder right” would be the most frequent call from Andrew.

At this range the 308s would create a splash and audible ring through the wind, the 300 RUM on the other

hand generated a much bigger splash and seemed to visibly rock the plate through the spotting scope.

It was impossible to call misses on the target in the grass and highlighted the skills required to reliably

connect with targets accurately at this distance. “Walking” shots onto targets after you see the splashes,

while still challenging is cheating by comparison.

To bring us down to earth after the long range detail the final target was a life size roe silhouette set in

realistic hill settings at 300m. The target has a flap down resettable kill zone which was a nice touch to end

the day

We shot all day from 09.30 – 17.30 with approximately an hour off for breaks. The

pace of the day was about right with enough targets to challenge our individual

ability. Overall the day was well organised and lived up to expectation. The cost was

£100/gun per day for 3 of us which we agreed is good value. It is likely we will go

again but will probably give a little more consideration to the courses of fire we would

like to shoot. We each shot approx 150+ rounds and could have easily shot more.

Andrew was a great host with the right balance of instruction and letting us get on and shoot what we wanted.

Overall we wish Andrew well with the success of his venture and it would be encouraging to think the club

could support him with future organised visits. Three – four pairs of shooters/spotters from the club taking up

the “Steel Challenge” I’m sure would be a refreshing challenge from the norm.

time is wasted getting between details/firing points.

Andrew Venables

+44 (0) 1654 710312

+44 (0) 7767 365804