Life as a BASC airgun volunteer
Gethin Jones
Gethin Jones was a BASC volunteer at the Royal Welsh Show in July and, despite battling record temperatures, he can’t wait to do it all again, as he explains.
‘That’s a bullseye!’ I’m not sure how often I used that phrase over the five days of the Royal Welsh Show (or ‘Y Sioe Fawr’ as it’s widely known in Wales), but each time I did, it put a big smile on my face as well as on that of the budding rifle shot sitting next to me.
Air rifle range
My ‘office’ during the show was the BASC Air Rifle range, where I helped instruct all comers during the show. These included adults and youngsters, boys and girls, many of whom had never fired an air rifle before, and all were shown how to safely handle and fire an air rifle at paper targets on a 10-metre range.
The air rifle range, staffed by a team of BASC volunteers, was run with military precision by Richard Fussell with a strong emphasis, and quite rightly too, on health and safety.
Before the range opened for business on the first day, Richard gave everyone a thorough briefing on the safe operation of the BSA PCP air rifles we would be using during the show. The volunteers then got to zero the rifles on the range so that we would be used to loading, unloading, and working the bolts, safety catches and triggers ourselves so that we were entirely familiar with the safe working of the air rifles.
The rifles themselves, a mix of the larger and heavier BSA Ultra SE model, suitable for teenagers and adults and the smaller and lighter BSA JSR model, more suited to children, as well as the paper targets and non-lead ammunition, were kindly donated to BASC by BSA.
Imparting knowledge
After the briefing, we were ready to welcome our visitors. What none of us had expected, however, were the record temperatures we experienced that first day!
34 degrees in the shade made for thirsty work and we were all very grateful for the cold drinks to hand. The extreme heat may have kept visitor numbers lower than usual on the first day, but nevertheless, we had a steady stream of people lining up to try their hand at the rifle range.
It was a real pleasure to be there as an instructor and impart some of the basics of technique, encouraging our visitors to take their time on each shot, teaching them also to keep the rifle still and steady and aimed the cross hairs of the scope at the centre of the target when it came to squeezing the trigger.
Beginners luck?
A fantastic number of the first-timers did themselves credit by listening intently to the instructions and shot some very respectable scores with tight groupings and a good number of pellets hitting the bullseye.
Shooting an air rifle for the very first time, as with any other firearm, is an experience which will stay with one for life. It was such a pleasure to see the smiles of satisfaction on the faces of everyone, particularly the youngsters, who came along and tried their hand at hitting the targets. This was especially true as they walked off proudly with their paper targets and certificates as souvenirs of their shooting prowess.
The pre-charged BSA air rifles were ideal for both novices as well as more experienced shots to use; they are extremely accurate and have absolutely no recoil.
I'll be back
The BASC Wales team had clearly put a lot of effort into planning their participation in the Royal Welsh Show. Everything ran like clockwork, and everyone took great care of us during our time at the event.
As well as all the refreshing drinks we were given – essential with temperatures in the 30s – we were treated to a delicious lunch every day, expertly prepared by our on-site chef, Matt Gisby.
Best of all, the menu comprised some of the most delicious game meat I’ve ever tasted. Matt worked wonders with some mouth-watering ingredients including Chinese water deer, muntjac and woodpigeon. The lunches we were served quickly became the highlight of everyone’s day, giving us all a chance to relax and chat other team members including those who were on the main stand each day.
This was the first time I’d volunteered my services for such duties with BASC at one of their flagship events in Wales and it’s definitely something I’d like to do again.
The feeling of satisfaction I had at the end of each day as well as the memories of the youngsters’ smiles when they’d completed their 10 or 20 shots at the targets was absolutely priceless. Hopefully, a positive experience in shooting air rifles might encourage some of those youngsters to take up shooting as a sport in the future.
Get involved
If you are interested in becoming a BASC volunteer at one or more of our events during the year, click here to contact your regional BASC office. I guarantee that you’ll find it well worthwhile as well as a highly enjoyable exercise.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Steve Griffiths, BASC Director Wales, as well as the whole of the BASC team; Richard F, Wenonah, Eric, David and Richard W. for all their hard work in organising a very successful event and for their kindness and hospitality in looking after me and the rest of the volunteers. Here’s to the next time!
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