As a kid, I had a fascination with all things that can launch a projectile with sufficient energy to hit a target, if pointed in the right direction. Airguns, catapults, crossbows, marbles launched from copper pipes using a banger as propellant other such bizarre homemade contraptions all fed my interest. Left home at 17 and dalked into an Army careers office in 1981 the day after my 18th birthday without a clue ... about anything. My vague thoughts where that I wanted to either join the infantry or RMP. Went to Sutton Coldfield that Christmas (proper snow) and was found to be 'interesting'.
To cut a long story short, I found myself in basic training having all previous liking and expectations about learning to shoot knocked out of me on the ranges by JNCOs who thought marksmanship coaching was best achieved with beatings and pissing on the recruits heads. Following Phase 3 training and on my first posting I was lucky to find myself in a unit where the training wing staff - and one brilliant sergeant in particular - kindled in me a desire to learn how to shoot well. Back then, I'd been trained on SLR, SMG, LMG, 9mm pistol, and BIC Biro (in the right hands, they're deadly) with SMG as personal weapon. As an aside, the SA80 was being trialled by the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment out on the Akamas ranges - they loathed it as it kept falling apart.
As I went on and my confidence increased I used to enjoy all types of shooting competition and eventually joined the local team for minor units. By that time, the SA80 was my personal weapon. By then it had been improved and with iron sights (we didn't merit SUSAT), I found it a reliable, accurate weapon. The dust cover was still a sod, though.
After leaving regular service, I spent some time in the TA and carried on shooting as and when I could and then after leaving the TA, did nothing for many years. In the end my work led me to have some outside involvement with forces shooting and an many occasions I found myself sat down with SASC personnel or out at Brecon. In the end I decided it was time to get back to it and managed to lay my hands on a HW100s in 2015 and haven't looked back since. I've still got the HW - plus others - and consider myself extremely fortunate to not only be able to shoot at ranges but also out on permissions where I love wandering around in the countryside, taking in all that nature has to offer and stalking quarry which often ends up in the freezer.
I'll never be able to thank that SNCO enough for what he did to compensate for the shit standard of training I received in basic which nearly put an end to an interest that always seemed to be there. He also kindled in me a love of sub-aqua diving which lasted decades and added another dimension to life. Unfortunately, he met an untimely end which was a real shame, he was one of the good guys.
I don't recall we did it again after that, or I missed them.
