Shooting in the Air Cadets

Flt Sgt Eardley

Shooting is one of the key activities in the Air Cadets because it is an activity that you might not get the chance to do in civilian life. As cadets you can fire 3 weapons, the .22 bolt action rifle, the L98A2 general purpose rifle and the L81 which is a high powered long range rifle. Before you can shoot you will be given full training by qualified staff and pass your weapon handling test.

When you start out you will be firing the .22 rifle in a 25m range and will probably be helped by the qualified cadet coaches and the shooting team to improve your aim and if you meet the standard receive a marksman badge. 1119 squadron has a 4 lane indoor range on site so we can shoot on regular parade nights which is more that other squadrons can say! Sometimes we use the outdoor 25m range at RAF Cosford to shoot the L98A2 which is a variation of the current weapon used by the forces, the SA80. If you reach the squadron shooting team then you might get the chance to shoot the L81 on ranges of 100m or more at a national level.

Shooting is a big part of the cadet forces because it is an activity that you cant really do anywhere else. At 1119 squadron shooting is our passion and our shooting team have won many competitions and represented the entire West Mercian Wing. Our squadron has been described by our wing shooting officer as the �marksman factory� and for good reason!