The Air Training Corps
Shooting
Cadets have the opportunity of firing a variety of rifles on firing ranges. Cadets first train with and fire either the Lee-Enfield No.8 .22 rifle or .177 air rifles. They can then progress to the L98A1 CGP, a manually operated variant of the 5.56 mm L85A1. The 7.62 mm Parker Hale L81A2 Cadet Target Rifle is also used at long ranges for competition shooting. Although safety has always been the main concern when shooting, with everything done by the book, recent years have seen the introduction of a wider range of training courses for staff involved in shooting to improve quality and safety even further. There are many competitions, from postal smallbore competitions to the yearly Inter-Service Cadet Rifle Meet at Bisley, the home of UK shooting.
There are currently four types of marksman award that a cadet can achieve, ranging from "Squadron Marksman" - the easiest to obtain, through "Wing Marksman" and "Region Marksman", to "Corps Marksman". To achieve these awards the cadet needs to undergo a special shooting "marksman" practice and then achieve a high enough qualifying score depending on the award specified.