Charlie Group Day 12

It is difficult to describe the sensation that comes with the use of a firearm for the first time; part shock that melds into thrill, with a side of exhilaration. It is in the small, sharp movement of the cocking of the gun. It is in the moment when you realize that “ha! I have the target in my sights!” It is also in the slide of your hand up the barrel, feeling the lateral grooves accentuating the smooth contours of the cold metal—the stark contrast exudes a subtle air of deadly power. And that moment, the moment of perfect silence, when you take aim and everyone else waits with bated breath, you can feel the aura of anticipation; yet, you are calm—just as subtly powerful as the firearm in that one moment. Silence…. Then you squeeze the trigger.

Well, ladies and gents, today was our day at the shooting range. We spent a total of about seven hours there. However, we were unable to make full use of the pistols as the designated range was in use by professionals who were there for training. So, instead, we focused our attentions on the rifles. We shot many practice rounds using both types of rifles available—and by “many,” I mean more than $10,000 worth of ammunition.

After we had a chance to practice on both the assault rifle and the sniper rifle, we began our Alpha team vs. Bravo team competition. With twenty shooters, we created a lineup of 20 targets, all arranged neatly in a row. The rules were as follows: Each team has ten people; Only the top 5 scores (top five targets) for each team will be counted, the other five not being added up in the total; each shooter receives three rounds for the sniper rifle; and only the 3 highest scoring shots on the target board will be counted. As of such, both teams figured out strategies for scraping up the most amount of points. The prize for the winner? A nice dinner at a restaurant. As for the loser? Hot dogs. In the end, Bravo team prevailed with 107 points, winning over Alpha team’s 91 points.

The next competition was for the use of the apartment—the loser would have to sleep at HQ (with only cold showers, might I add). Each team had 4 rounds to split between however many shooters as they wished. Coincidentally, Alpha team called forth Justin and Jacky, while Bravo team had Andrew and Calvin—the younger siblings competing against their elder siblings. Bravo team, one again, claimed victory. The final competition was a chance for Alpha team to redeem themselves and earn a restaurant meal as well. They simply had to choose six people, with a round each, competing against Billy who only had one round; it was a challenge of accuracy, ergo the team with the single highest shot would win. Alpha team won with a shot that was very near the middle—9 points! And so, we all won our delicious dinner at a restaurant.

The range was in St. Catherines, so it was a quick drive down to Niagara Falls for a little detour on Kannis’s behalf. We were able to see the falls very clearly, as well as the famous attractions of Clifton Hill, and to top it off, there were no less than three magnificent rainbows. Kannis seemed to enjoy the sights very much. We then stopped at Mandarin for dinner, staying right up until closing time. We ate a lot—so much that we almost cleared out their buffet tables—but that’s the beauty of a buffet, isn’t it?—trays that are refilled with food when they empty! We made the long trip back, arriving almost at midnight, and so all of the following student blogs are written on August 21^st, 2012 (the following day).

Andrew

Yesterday was filled with a huge consumption of bullets and fun. It was really enjoyable. It was the first time in my life that I got to shoot a real assault rifle and snipe with a sniper rifle. The moment I pulled the trigger, an amazing sensation came; it felt great! Unfortunately, I didn’t get to use the handguns because we were low on time. Nonetheless, I finished the day off by having dinner at Mandarin.

Brian

I did shotting

I sit on the siting

I go on the van

I go to the highway

I see waterfall

I go to sleep

Calvin

Today went very well. Everyone had a great time and gained a bit of experience in firearms. It was slow but everyone didn’t mind since it was so special. This was probably the longest firearms training that I have ever been in. It lasted from around 11AM to at least 5 PM. After we finished we went back to HQ to sleep, but not before we took a special detour for Kannis towards Niagara Falls. The dinner was pretty interesting and the things that happened afterwards was just horrible for me. I’m thinking about asking Billy for some time off sometime this week. I just want to be alone for a while.

Jacky

Yesterday was a full busy day, this is why the bog is written now. We had an awesome day, we took a long drive but in the end it was worth it. We fired 2 firearms one sniper rifle and one rifle, it was niec to fire again. We did many practice rounds and many missed rounds. I scored many shots but while we were competing I missed some because I was rushing myself. After e finished I learned that we needed precession and patience. After we finished fireing we left to eat at a nice buffet. We had many laughs and a lot of food. It was very fun today.

Jason Wang

Today we went to the silverdale gun club to shoot live rounds. The day started off by us waking up at 7 or so in the morning then we ate breakfast which consisted of tuna, beans, corn and bread. After breakfast we paked everything up to go to St. Catherines as the shooting range was there. When we got to the ranges we stated to set up our gear but apparently we got double booked with a group of police officers which we let take our range. We then moved onto the rifle range which we shot the 5.56 round and the 7.62 x 51 round which was fun. The 5.56 had less recoil then I remember but the 7.62 had much more power. After we left the range we went to Mandarin for food.

Lemuel

Day 13. We went to the shooting range early in the morning. The shooting range was located in St. Catherine’s, so the drive took about an hour and a half. We first went to the far end of the shooting range, but it turned out to be double booked, so we ended up on the other side for rifles. We were allowed only two shooters at once since none of the students have a liscense. When everyone had a turn to shoot, we had a competition. The prize was a dinner at a restaurant, which we lost. Fortunately Billy let us have another shot at having dinner by beating him. We won, but I was pretty sure he let us win. By the time we finished all the competitions, it was already six, so we didn’t have a chance to shoot any of the pistols. For dinner we went the Mandarin and finished at around 9:30. The drive home took another hour and a half so we got back at around twelve. Bed time.

Ryan

Yesterday we did marksmanship at a range so far away it was actually really close to Niagra falls. In this range we did a lot off various marksmanship stuff taking turns of course. Midway through we had a breakfast of instant noodles, luncheon meat and sausages. After the marksmanhip we drove to Niagra falls to see the sight once more. After that Billy surprised us by going to Mandaron. My happiness was dampered however because of something that occurred which cannot be told.

Matthew

Yesterday we came back late, so we couldn’t write the blog. What we did that day was amazing! We went to a shooting range in St. Catherine near Niagara falls. We were there for about 8 hours. But we only used the rifles. Then went to Niagara falls for a drive by. We did this for Kannis who’s never been to Toronto. Afterwards we went to “Mandarin” for dinner! I was so full in the end, four main dishes and two desserts. We came back to HQ around 12 and that was basically the day for us. Quite an amazing experience, shooting live rounds we real guns. AWSOME!!!

Justin

We were preparing for the shooting range and I was so excited. It’s the first time I will be holding a firearm with live rounds and I couldn’t wait until we got there. After reviewing ACTS and PROVE, we got everything ready and head off. The first fire arm we used was an assault rifle because others were training at the pistol range. The second fire arm was a sniper rifle which knocked me back a little bit. After practicing with the two firearms, we went to compete to see who would go to the restaurant for dinner. Apparently, we lost because one of our members shot the opposing team’s target but that’s okay. Billy gave us another chance by choosing our best six marksmen against him with one round. We ended up winning because Billy lost on purpose so I’m a bit ashamed about that. We went passed Niagara falls on the way back for Kanice which was really nice. From there, we went straight to Mandarin for dinner where I ate too much and couldn’t walk. This was a really nice day for me.

Andy

At last, today was the day we got to head down to the gun range and put our marks manship skills to the test!

                Handling the gun was not easy, not only because there was a risk of injury, but also because this I a new experience to me, totally It was my first time, but at least I was brave enough to tackle the competition which apparently we lost and had to eat hot dogs for dinner. In a by competition which apparently we lost and had to sleep at HQ. Then Billy challenged us, six men against him, and, as it turns out. We finally earned our trip to the restaurant (to be specific, Mandarin in Niagara Falls).

                After driving by the Falls, I enjoyed a meal in which I learned not to eat so much at a buffet. I received a fortune cookie which said, “Fight for it. You will come out on the top.” Turn out, it was exactly true of me.

Roman

Today was very fascinating, because we used all the knowledge we learnt about firearm & safety yesterday on the range. It was better than I thought it would be, because the recoil was weaker than I thought, and we got dinner at Mandarin. But sadly we didn’t get to shoot all of the firearms. If I get gun linces when I get a bit older, I would definitely go to the shooting range every day.

William

Today was a fun and exciting day. We woke up at 7:00 when Edwin turned on lights As we followed through our general morning routine, we stopped for a healthy breakfast that consisted of canned tuna, corn, beans and bread. After that scrumptious meal we headed to the shooting range. After a 2 hour ride to St. Catherine, we got to Silverdale gun club. At the shooting range, we got to use Billy’s various firearms. At the end of the day, we had a competition to see who would get the apartment. Today was truly a day to remember.

Jordan

Today was a very busy day. We had gotten the opportunity to go to a shooting range, since we had all passed the safety and handling test. So we packed all the gear and headed to the range, which was a 2 hour drive, near Niagra Falls. When we arrived we went to the 50 ft and 100 ft range for some long range shooting. We all had 5 rounds for 2 types of firearms, which we able to practice and experience it for the first time, at least most of us. After, we ate lunch at the site and were able to use the firearms with supervision. Later, we had a competition between Team Bravo and Team Alpha. We each had 10 members to determine who had the highest score in total shooting at a target. In the end, our Team, Bravo had won. After a long day of shooting, Billy treated us to eat Mandarin, where we stuffed our stomachs with food. With traffic along the way, we managed to return at midnight. I learned that firearms are dangerous and that you must be responsible on how it is used.

Jason Wong

We woke at 7 Today morning, we get our things ready to go to the shooting range. The place was near Hamilton but the tow was Grimsby. I get to shoot two different guns. My first try with the first gun went terrible I keep shooting high at the grass level. When I shoot the second gun I missed the target. We get to shoot twice each gun. After we had a competition, the best team with a combined core goes to a resturant and the losing team eats hotdogs at HQ. The second competition was for the apartment (same rules as first). Billy had one shot and they had 6, the alpha team won so they are eating with us. We packed off and headed to Niagra Falls for a small tour then headed to Mandarin for dinner. We went back o HQ to get stuff for the apartment. P.S. Bravo team won both competition!)!

Edwin Cheung

Today, Augest, 200, 2012. I woke up at 7:30. I Bush my teeth and ready for my days. We pack our firearm and head to fireplace. We have a shooting a compunction. The Bravck group Win. I learn that Shooting Not for game. It is good sport for training eye silsk.

Jonathan

Today, we drove an hour and forty-five minutes to a shooting range in St. Catherines after reviewing everything that we learned. It was a big place. And also very loud because of the firearms that were shot. When we arrived, we had to wait in the sprinter for our safety glasses and the spark plugs. We then arrived at the range and started unloading our personal belongings, the cookware and the firearms. The first thing we did was shooting rounds. We started with three rounds and later five rounds of bullets. When was my turn? At the end of the line. When my name was called, I was nervous because I never held one before. After the rounds, we had a little competition to see who sleeps at HQ and who sleeps at thee apartment. We lost the game (Alpha team) and the Bravo team won the apartment. But we had another chance to win. Our challenge was to shoot six rounds which was chosen. We won the challenge and went to Mandarin outside Niagara Square after having a little tour of Niagara Falls. I learned how to hold and shoot a firearm. Tomorrow, we are walking to Toronto from Markham.

Jennifer

What do you think of a dinner and a show? Well, try having lunch at a shooting range. Eating noodles at a shooting range has to be one of the strangest experiences ever for me. Sipping my spicy soup with rifles being fired all around me was such a wonderful feeling. However, the most brilliant feeling came from firing the sniper rifle. The recoil was more of a little push, rather than a full force knocking you back. Walking down the range when the green flag went up, and seeing the holes on the targetboard was an even better feeling—all of my shots hit and were high-scoring. I’m nowhere near being a sharpshooter, but I think with a little more practice, I could most definitely pose a challenge against somebody!