Originally Posted by
Willie Barnard
They started arriving on Thursday - the early birds who camped on site, attended the festival, and very often acted as range officers as well.
Everyone brought skills with. As this self taught, amateur welder was trying to make the steel tables for the junior range, a professional boiler maker came from the BASA campsite and completed the task with ease.
On friday, the treacle became a flood: BASA guys, SAS team, PMP team, Pinshooting team started to pour in.
Ranges were set up. BASA had a promising range with big game targets scattered in the bush.
Sports Adventure Shooting had the handgun range set up with barricades, gongs and even a "hostage" TV screen.
On the Boer and Brit range, the falling plates painted with the "Union Jack " of the British Empire on which the sun never set, and the "Vierkleur" of the brave "Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek" who dared to oppose it. The flags of the ZAR, OVS and British Empire fluttered in the wind.
As night fell, campfires was glowing all over the site. The campsite was buzzing with excitement and expectation.
From 18h00 to 20h00 early bookings for the ProAmm were taken, and relay Alpha to Golf was ready for the next day.
SATURDAY 26 AUGUST:
At dawn, "Grietjie" the Voortrekker cannon from the Battle of Blood River 1838, was set up to be ready for the opening shot.
A thundering BOOOM!, and engulfed in smoke, the ranges was now officially open!
The sound system was connected, and Boeremusiek and country started rolling from the speakers.
The first targets on the ProAmm range went up, and at 07h30 the first shots rang out. Relays Alpha , Bravo and Charlie were made up of range officers, who had to get their turn first, to be free to go and set up their ranges for the day. Shooting was done over sand bags on concrete tables, and the goal was to shoot the smallest possible 3-shot group over a distance of 100 m. There were 20 concrete tables, and each turn consisted of 2 targets per shooter. Seven cartridges were issued in the calibre and bullet weight of the shooter's choice. One shot was a warm up shot in the wall, and the other six were used for two 3 shot groups, on the two targets. Soon this range was running like a well oiled machine.
With relays Alpha to Charlie out of the way, the other ranges started up:
On the handgun range, Craig, Dirk, Ryno and three others, allowed people with their own handguns to have a go at the steel gongs. The Plasma screen survived quite well until "Williebees" made his appearance, and could not control the urge to perforate it!
BASA range was as always well set up, with crocodile, rhino, buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard threatening the health of the big game hunters. An action packed range.
Next door, our German hunter/ range officer (Hanna Hurst), allowed hunters the chance at a simulated hunting range with .22 rifles.
On the southern range, Bosveld Hunters supervised a CHASA hunting shoot at Warthog, Springbuck and steel gongs.
Clay pigeon range, got busy with a Trap and a Skeet machine. Even though there were challenges with power supply and overheating electrical motors, at the end of the day, they had burned their way through 750 shotgun shells!
On the junior training range, the SAHGCA officers were training the children in rifle safety and marksmanship.
On the pinshooting range, Humphrey and Elmari, two really dedicated shooters, allowed people the privilege to shoot a semi-auto .22 rifle.
At 16h00, most of the ranges closed and everyone drifted to the range of the Boer and Brit shoot. Due to popular demand, the traditional "Boer and Brit shoot" was now called :"Boer and Brit Anglo-Boer war" (Manual action, iron sights), and two categories were added:
"Boer and Brit WW2" (Manual action, any sights, including optical.)
"Boer and Brit border war" (Any action, including SLR, any sights.)
This was a most spectacular event, and watched by most of the people on the range.
(Some of our more technically talented Gunsiters will soon post some videos here.)
The day ended with a prize giving and venison dinner under the stars.
Our 20th annual Firearms Festival was a huge success.