Get hands on with…

Here in the Air Cadets, we love our target shooting. Across a range of rifles, from training to national (and international) competitions, as a Royal Air Force Air Cadet you’ll get hands-on and perfect your marksmanship.

Taking aim with weapons such as air rifles, the new L144A1 Cadet Target Rifle, L98A2 or if you’re a pro at 100 meters the L81A2 target rifle, Staffordshire Wing cadets are trained by highly-qualified instructors in the safe use of each piece of kit, progressing through lessons from the basic but key safety information, through to advanced marksmanship.

You’ll get the chance to hit the target at both your squadron (dependent on local facilities) and larger organised-events and training. The highlight of the year is the Staffordshire Wing shooting competition, where we pit teams from our 31 units against each other.

And there’s more. If you’re good, and we mean really good, then you could qualify to shoot with the best in the country at the Bisley and Pirbright competitions. The annual highlight is the Bisley based Inter-Service Cadet

Rifle Meeting (ISCRM), a target shooting competition where you get to compete against members of the ACF (Army Cadet Force) and SCC (Sea Cadet Corps). There’s also the Cadet Inter-Service Skill At Arms Meeting (CISSAM), which takes place annually on the ranges at Purbright. Like the rifle meeting at Bisley, it’s a top-level competition for teams and individuals.

Just when you thought we couldn’t do anymore, we ‘pull’ (goan) something else out of the bag. Staffordshire wing also boasts a number of qualified clay pigeon shooting instructors, meaning we frequently hold clay shooting experiences and competitions, with both staff and cadets getting hands-on with our shotguns.

The cadets don’t have all the fun either. We’ve mentioned all the qualified individuals, so if you’re an older cadet or interested in joining as an adult volunteer and shooting takes your fancy, you’ll be able to train and be full-qualified yourself.