Page 81 - The Bugle 2018

adapt to the windy conditions of North Yorkshire. This clearly paid off and saw the A team walk away with an unprecedented 1st place at the 1 Div OSC beating close rivals 2RGR. Moreover, the B team would have finished 3rd were it not competing for honours.
Then it was onto the main event: The Army OSC, held, as ever on the Pirbright and Bisley ranges. Our being locally based had enabled a lot of worth- while training on the exact ranges for the specific competition shoots. Familiarity with the environment and conditions added to the marginal gains that the team looked to accumulate. Another gain was the recent loan of a batch of the new SA80 A3s, kindly donated by the Grenadier Guards. (Unfortunately, on turning up at Bisley we found that several other units had arrived with the new variants including both RGR battalions but at least the team was not at a disadvantage!
The team shot wonderfully throughout the Bisley week, which culminated in another extremely impressive 2nd place finish, narrowly losing out to 2RGR who had been bested at the 1 Division OSC. The team walked away with a mountain of silverware, winning several of the shoots as a team and a couple of the shoots with individual top shots. On the individual level a new high was reached with LCpl Stanton finishing 2nd in the Army, missing out on the Queen’s medal by a whisker. All of the team
finished in the Army 100, with LCpl Delport coming an impressive 10th and top novice, having won several shoots in the novice category.
Across the rest of the Regiment, 3 RIFLES finished 7th, 5 RIFLES 23rd, 2 RIFLES 36th and 1 RIFLES 41st. Several members of the 4 RIFLES team were selected for the British Army Combat Shooting Team (BACST) competing in the international competition in the following week and due to attend the equiv- alent competition in Canada in September. In fact, they all shot well enough for the BACST that there were individuals selected for the UK Armed Forces team who eventually finished runners up to the Omani team.
Whilst it was bitterly disappointing not to get the overall win at Bisley this was an impressive result and has added to the reputation of the Regiment and continued our upward trajectory. Indeed, at the prize giving Lt Gen Pope (Dept. Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas) made pointed reference to The Rifles closing in on that top spot!
The 4 RIFLES shooting team will now go out on the road and visit the other battalions in order to help improve marksmanship across the whole Regiment. Another selection cadre for the 4 RIFLES team will also be held towards the end of the year. Any keen shots should be encouraged to attend and with luck and the same dedication next year Bisley will ours... Capt Topham - OC Shooting Team
AT THE PRIZE GIVING LT GEN POPE MADE POINTED REFERENCE TO THE RIFLES CLOSING IN ON THAT TOP SPOT!
The shooting team complete at Bisley
THE RIFLES
FOURTH BATTALION 87