Special Farces. Shooting To One Mile At Orion UK

“it’s gonna happen, happen, it’s happens all the time” The Undertones. 

I’ve never been in the Special Forces, but I have been in a few Special Farces. How I have laughed at others, now not so much. 

Orion Shooting Ground  I’ve made this trip before, I’d come back from Madrid just before the first lockdown, but the trip had been booked and I wanted the opportunity to test my Tiktac at longer ranges.  We’d driven from the south coast, it took hours   

The british army have their Infantry Battle School at Brecon on the border between England and Wales on any given lane or hillside you’ll see squaddies being beasted along by their PT instructors.  There’s a saying in the Brecon beacons, “if it ain’t raining it ain’t training” After sighting in at 200m we’d taken a few pops at the 840m gong, the weather closed in and the 840 target disappeared, it rained and rained,  other targets disappeared,  eventually the 200m disappeared. 

The blogger known as The Bambi Basher gained a leg up in his military career one night in the brecon beacons, too tired to unpack, he lay panting on the ground, at that exact moment the inspector arrived and as he was the only one with his kit neatly stowed, was bumped up a rank.  

Preparation, it’s all about preparation. it’s drummed into us as school boys.  

Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Errr yes about that.

I’ve seen people make it half a mile to the highseat without their rifle’s bolt, I’ve seen people make it 80 miles to the stalking permission no ammo. 60 miles to Bisley without their bolt.  How I’ve laughed.

Now I’ve joined their ranks.   

My bolt is decocked. Can I cock it? Do I have a cocking tool? Do I have a set of grips? 

That would be no, no, and er no  

Fortunately I’ve bought my Lee Enfield with me. I kind of own an Enfield because I’ve got an English passport. I take one to a couple of events a year. It quite nice.  On a whim one afternoon  I’d swapped its predecessor, a No.4 two groove Lend/Lease Savage for it. In the mid 1940′s it had been hand picked then ‘regulated’ by Alex Martin of Glasgow as a target rifle.  Sadly, along the way, some goon has coated it in polyurethane varnish, but with all matching numbers, [for the time being], it’s quietened the OCD that the last enfield with its mismatched numbers aggravated. Might get one by Fultons to keep it company. 

Orion is a great facility, the firing point is undercover in shipping containers and the first berm is covered in clays and gongs of all sizes. beyond that there’s a one ended valley so wind calls can be challenging, its Wales so the only predictable thing about the weather is its unpredictability. The other ‘its Wales so’ element is sheep wandering about in the field of fire. Plenty of them. After the pissing rain of the last visit this time its blazing sunshine. 

Subject of which. Terry our instructor teaches long range in a way I’d not seen before. He no longer uses D.O.P.E Data on previous engagements, but instead once Dope is established moves on to D.A.T.T.  Data At This Time.

As for once it hadn’t rained in weeks there was dust where we’d usually only see mud. Much like, or exactly like tracking, everything you can see is a record of something that went before it. The glacier made the landscape, the wind polishes the landscape, the landscape swages the wind. The air cools the ground, the ground slows, speeds up, or negates the thermals. One mile is a bastard long way. 

The Target on a hillside, not far from the intersection of two valleys, one blocking the other, causing the wind to double back on itself. A cloud rocks up, and hovers, shading the ground, dust clouds that were rising now don’t have the thermal lift so move along at ankle height.  

Since you’re wondering. First one hit the big plate fair and square, the spotter said the second one hit the small plate, but I couldn’t be sure.

Epic day out, would recommend contact details here 

more soon

Your pal

SBW

  

A suburban dad blogging about: Gear Freakery, Prepping, Rifles, Archery, Deer Hunting, Fishing, Urban Hunting and Homesteading, Locavore Cooking, and some Storytelling.

Source: http://suburbanbushwacker.blogspot.com/2025/06/special-farces-shooting-to-one-mile-at.html