Easter Bisley 2026

This year, CURA saw another successful start to the fullbore season with our annual Easter Bisley camp. We once again enjoyed healthy membership numbers, with almost 30 members in attendance, including 16 new and 15 returning. After arrival on Wednesday evening and a night of settling in for our newer members, we started the camp on Thursday with a day of talks, demonstrations and setting up novices with their first target rifles.

Friday kicked off, unusually, at 200 yards, allowing our new members to get used to their rifles at a slightly easier range, while seniors rotated between the firing points and butts. Under guidance from a number of our experienced coaches, groupings across the range rapidly tightened with a number of impressive scores being seen before the end of the morning. Despite a sunny start, the weather by midmorning had turned into what would become the standard for the next few days, and our novices quickly became familiar with wet weather procedures. The afternoon start at 600 proved no drier, although this did not stop many of our members from building on their morning successes.

Saturday morning saw first shots down at 900 yards, the first experience of long range shooting for many of our new members, and a reminder of Stickledown winds for our seniors. Despite the challenging conditions, our shooters and coaches fared well, returning promising scores despite wind brackets being frequently over six minutes across. At 600 yards that afternoon the conditions were barely easier, with sudden hailstorms adding to the already wet weather.

Sunday brought more shooting at 300 and 600, featuring our first highest possible score from a novice, with a number more impressive scores not far behind. Their first three full days of shooting completed, our members finished off the weekend with the inaugural CURA Easter Bisley dinner, featuring eight courses cooked by our very own members and representing a significant step up from our usual Bisley cuisine.
 

Monday, with the ranges closed, allowed for a day of talks and relaxation. Members enjoyed games of cricket and a demonstration of backgunning, as well as a number of presentations relating to Match Rifle and reading the wind. Monday evening also saw the return of the annual Captain’s Curry, as well as the selection of teams for the all-important Captain vs Secretary match.

Tuesday saw one more return to Target Rifle for the annual Cap v Sec match. For the second year running, this match saw the inclusion of a third, Vice-Captain’s, team, a testament to healthy membership numbers. As always, the match was highly competitive, shot across 300, 500 and 900 yards with the results decided very nearly by the final shoots. An early lead by the Vice Captain’s team saw them ahead going into 900 yards, however they were passed by the Secretary’s team who took the final victory with 1052.50v, followed by the Captain’s team with 1044.59v and the Vice Captain’s on 1042.70v. Special congratulations go to Will Bacon of the Vice Captain’s team for putting down the highest score of the match with 144.11v, as well as to Tom Bailey and Bruno Iwanczyk who top scored the Secretary’s and Captain’s teams with 141.11 and 141.12 respectively. Well done to all involved for a competitive and enjoyable match.

With target rifle concluded, Wednesday and Thursday saw our novices try their hands at Match Rifle, with most having the opportunity to try both backgunning and frontgunning. With the winds somewhat easier than earlier in the week, many novices also had the chance to experience coaching, with self-coached shoots also becoming common over the days as confidence increased. Under the guidance of our more experienced Match Rifle shots, the quality of both shooting and coaching showed a clear increase across the two days, a promising showing for the season to come.

Thanks must go to Chris Haley for his introductory talks, to Ashley Abrahams for his talks on Match Rifle and for his coaching on the point, and to Adam Leech for guidance on the range and for helping set up our many backgunners. Many thanks must also go to Alice Good for coaching and assistance on and off the range, and to Emily Wackan for her ongoing and invaluable help throughout the entire week.

(Photo credit: Alina Hu, Firas Aleem, Bruno Iwanczyk, Ho Lam Yiu)