Brief one from me. Bloody well done to the 15-yr-old female cadet from 1344 (Cardiff) Sqn who made it into the Queen’s Final at the Imperial Meeting.
The Imperial Meeting is the biggest target rifle meeting of the year. This year there were around 1100 entrants from all over the world, comprising everyone from first-time novices and cadets to international-level marksmen.
To get into Stage III of HM the Queen’s Prize - the Final - is a huge achievement for anyone at any level of the sport, never mind a first-timer whose first experience of solo target rifle shooting was (apparently) the British Commonwealth Rifle Club meeting about a fortnight before the Imperial.
Stage I of the Queen’s Prize consists of two sighting shots and seven “to count” (scoring shots), at 300yds, 500yds and 600yds. The top 300 competitors, out of a field of around 1,000, go forward to Queen’s II. Usually you need to score around 102-103, out of 105, to make the cut. That in itself is very good shooting, and not something the average shot manages very often.
Queen’s II is 2 sighters and 10 to count at 300, 500 and 600. Out of 150 points, you want to be shooting at least 146/147 to make it through. Only the top 100 make it into Queen’s III.
Queen’s III - the Final - is an exhibition event held at the very end of the Imperial Meeting. This consists of two sighters and 15 to count, fired at 900yds and 1000yds. The winner - whose score is the aggregate of Queen’s I, II and III - wins a cash prize, gets chaired around the camp, wins various bits of silverware and is generally regarded as a hero. The rest of the Queen’s Hundred are still feted as heroes just for getting there.
Remember, all this is shot with rifles not much different from the L81. Better barrels and sights, yes, but at the end of the day they’re all iron-sighted bolt-action rifles held up with a sling. It’s all self-coached as well, so you’re on your own throughout.
So, congratulations to the cadet from 1344 for making the cut into the top 100 TR shooters in the world, beating just under a thousand other competitors - adults and experienced shots alike - to that spot. I didn’t get her name, but long may she continue shooting.
I do hope HQAC and the comic give her the recognition she deserves.
- aethling in the making me thinks (if not so already)