Cadets at
Carmarthen Squadron are lucky as they have use of the firing range in the
adjacent TA building.
Safety is paramount with all ATC activities and
shooting is certainly no exception.
Training is an integral part of the
system and each cadet is fully trained in whichever rifle they will be
using.
Supervising staff are similarly trained to deal with any eventualities
and to ensure that the range is run safely and efficiently.
All rifles are
fired from the prone position (the firer is lying on their stomach) at static,
paper targets.
The first rifle that a cadet will be trained on is the Enfield
No.8 bolt action rifle, which started life as No4 rifle during World War II. It
was modified to have a shorter barrel and altered to fire the .22 long rifle
round instead of the .303; each round must be fed in manually.
Once
cadets have successfully passed the Weapon Handling Test
(WHT) they can fire live rounds on the range, and have the
opportunities of firing on outdoor ranges and using other weapons on camps and
visits.