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The sport explained
Marking
Whilst the shooters and coaches on the firing point are concentrating on the shooting, they could not compete without the markers at the far end of the range. In the USA, the shooters take it in turns to go down to the butts and mark the targets, however in Canada and the UK we rely on professional paid markers.
Markers stand in a long concrete gallery, some 8 feet below ground level, open to the elements on one side but covered by a concrete parapet.
They hear the crack of the bullet passing overhead and see the splash in the sandbank opposite. Looking up, (hopefully), a tiny shot hole has appeared in the paper target. |
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The target is then pulled down and a small spotting disk inserted into the hole. Along the bottom of the target, the scoring panel indicates the value of the shot. (See the targets page to understand the scoring system). The old hole is patched up and the target is raised for the next shot. Those back on the firing point can then see where the shot has gone on the target |
When necessary, messages are sent down to the butts from the firing point by radio. If you watch on the firing point, you will often hear the shouting of cryptic messages - below we have included a list to help you understand the most common ones:
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1 - Firing about to commence
2 - No spotting disc visible
3 - Spotting disc disagrees with scoring panel
4 - Shot has been fired please check the target
5 - Challenge for higher score
7 - Miss has been signalled, challenge for a hit |
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9 - Markers or shooter are slow (can be sent to either)
10 - Shooting has finished
11 - Suspected wrong shot hole has been patched
12 - Stand easy, pause in shooting
14 - Suspected another shot on target, please look |
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Cautionary tale by Arnold Clarke
Two shooters who had been friendly rivals for many a long year found themselves involved in a tie shoot for 1st and 2nd places in an event for which prizes in kind were to be awarded. However, neither of them was particularly keen on the prize associated with first place and, for once, therefore, both were at pains to try to avoid taking the top spot.
With one shot each remaining, it was still a dead heat but no sooner were the last shots to count on their way down the range than the man on the left-hand target turned to his neighbour and said, 'Well, that should settle it. You're going to win first prize because I deliberately shot to miss.' His friend was quite unperturbed. 'Good,' said he, 'I reckoned you'd do something like that so I cross-shot on your target.'
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