The annual School versus Old Greshamian small-bore target rifle match recently took place at Gresham’s. Traditionally, the match has been held on Winfarthing Rifle Range, in Suffolk, but this year, it was decided that the event would take place on the Gresham’s School Range. A total of thirty-five people competed, and for the first time in many years, both the School and the OGs were able to field two teams of eight for the match.

Within the match, each individual shoots two 10-bull deliberate cards to give the team a total out of a possible 1,600 points. The ‘A’ team’s match was a very close contest, with the School scoring a strong 1,542 points, just five points behind the OGs’ 1,547 points. 

Although the OG team have won this match for the past four years, the School team didn’t make it easy for them this year. The top shot on the day was from Ilana B, who scored a fantastic 199 out of 200. The top OG shot was by Ben D, who scored an impressive 198, having not shot a small-bore rifle since he left school five years ago. 

In the ‘B’ Team’s match, the OGs had a slightly more comfortable victory, by 26 points, against our younger School team. The top shot was Bertie B, who scored an impressive 195 out of 200. Matt F was top shot for the OG team, with a 193.

We also ran a Rapid competition, in which each competitor had just 90 seconds to fire 10 scoring shots. With so little time available, there is barely a moment for anything other than focusing on getting the best ten shots away as quickly as possible. Many shooters struggle simply to complete the course of fire, let alone achieve a strong score. That was not the case for Bertie B, who not only completed his shoot but also recorded his first-ever perfect score of 100. An impressive achievement!

The day ended with a debrief and an enjoyable Sunday roast for the OG team at The Feathers.