High Powered Air Rifle Shooting - Sussex

Following from the last experience I reviewed, there was a bit of a big leap between Pole Dancing and Shooting! That’s what’s great about Experience Days, so much variety. Heading up to Crowborough, Garry and I were on our way to meet another Garry from Corporate Buzz (two Garry’s with two R’s, who’d have thought?). This was Garry’s (Experience Days Garry) first experience with me, so he was pretty excited, and also keen to try out this activity to see if it’s something he’d like to do for his stag do.

The centre was supposed to have a balloon flying outside to guide us in, but unfortunately it had deflated meaning finding the centre wasn’t as easy as it could have been, but we still got there on time. Walking through a forest we met Garry (Corporate Buzz Garry) and two other gentleman participating in the experience. The target area looked great, there was a wide variety of things to aim at, from spinners to cans to circular targets, all set against a misty forest. The shooting area had a picnic area with these really cute carved wooden chairs, tables and a barbecue, then the actual shooting hut had benches, a table lined with guns of all shapes and sizes, and a roof overhead in case it rained (which it didn’t).

The gentlemen doing the experience with us went first, so we knew what would be happening. They’d clearly done some shooting before because their aim was very good, I was starting to think maybe this wouldn’t be so difficult! Between each gun, Garry would explain a bit about them, how to properly use them, and some history about what they’re used for. He was clearly very passionate about weapons and shooting techniques, which made what he was saying very interesting to listen to. Then it was our turn!

Garry (ED) and I alternated turns between shooting, first having a go on the Benjamin 22 sniper-like air rifle. Looking through a scope made aiming very easy, but the further away I pointed, the more I noticed how much my hands were shaking under the weight of the gun, which didn’t help the aiming. I did manage to hold it still for long enough to hit a couple of targets, but I can’t see myself becoming a professional sniper anytime soon! Up next was the James Bond handgun, the Walther PPK. I was pretty excited about this one because I could pretend to be a policeman and look really cool, same with the Walther PT85. Actually hitting targets was a lot harder with these guns because you don’t hold them up to your eye and aim, you just point and hope for the best, which I did, and I think I hit something, maybe once.

After the pistols it was time for the big guns (wahey). Machine guns! How exciting. We would be firing two, the Koch MP5 and the Koch G36, both could be either semi-automatic or fully automatic, and we would be trying both settings. If, like me, you’re unsure of the difference between an automatic and a semi-automatic weapon, basically automatic guns you just hold down the trigger and the bullets fire repeatedly until you let go, and semi-automatic you pull the trigger for each shot, but it reloads automatically. Slotting the magazine into place and switching the safety catch off, we were ready to fire. It’s tempting with machine guns to move the gun side to side, hoping to hit a wider range of targets, but actually this will make you miss more due to the kick back of the gun once you fire. Still, I did hit a few targets and it was so much fun! It’s slightly addictive, which could be a bit worrying if you think about it, but we were having a great time in a safe environment.

Arty photos

Once all the tin cans were thoroughly destroyed, we finished for the day. I can’t say thank you enough to Garry (CB) who invited us to come along, he was so accommodating and made the experience very interesting, making sure we got as much from it as we possibly could. Rifle and pistol shooting is an exciting activity that can be enjoyed by adults and children, as well as the perfect theme for a stag or hen do. I’d highly recommend it and I know Garry (ED) would too!

They call me Stacey, Evie Stacey.

Air Rifle and Pistol Shooting Experience in Sussex