Sighting in on being a better shot

Master Bombardier Taylor Greba certainly hit his target this summer.

The 13-year-old member of 2834 64th Field Battery Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps attended a three-week basic marksmanship course in Vernon, B.C. in July.

“They’re there to teach you how to become a marksman,” explained Greba, who admitted he is an avid shooter with the local corps.

“I practice a lot,” he said with a smile, adding “it’s something to pass the time.”

Shooting the Daisy air rifle is also something he is good at, thanks to all the practice.

Greba explained to even attend the summer course a Cadet “has to complete two years of training”, and then must apply for a spot. He was one of about 70 Cadets at the course from across Canada.

But even with local experience Greba said it was back to the basics at the summer course, with the safety of shooting and basics covered before Cadets were allowed to shoot the second week.

“It was as if we had never touched one, (an air rifle), before,” he said.

The course focused a lot of time on the safety of shooting, and always had a safety officer overseeing the Cadets.

So was there a key element Greba learned at the summer course?

“To use my natural body alignment,” he said, adding using what feels comfortable is better than trying to make adjustments using just his arms.

The actual shooting had Greba on course aiming at targets from different starting positions such as standing and prone. He said prone was probably his strongest as a shooter “because you can rest your arm on the ground,” adding the stability made it a favoured position of most participants.

Overall the course was highly successful for Greba who went in hoping to achieve his ‘Crossed Crowns’ badge, more formally known as the Distinguished Marksman’ badge.

“I was trying to achieve this,” he said, showing off the badge, noting it was the highest honour available to those taking the course.

In the future Greba hopes to be accepted into a higher level course, one where he would be shooting a higher caliber rifle at longer distances. The course is one he would again have to apply to take part, and if accepted he would head to Connaught, ON. next summer.