The Hastings & Prince Edward

 Rifle Team

---

---

The basic stock in trade of any successful military force is the marksmanship of its infantry.  All the 'smart' bombs,  guided missiles,  attack helicopters,  and stealth aircraft in the world cannot take the place of a well trained and equipped infantry.  Armies which allow marksmanship skills to deteriorate in peacetime are automatically at a disadvantage should those skills be suddenly required.  

There are only two ways to test marksmanship: Competition and battle...  Competition is the preferred way to test marksmanship skills as the price of inferior marksmanship in battle is likely death by gunfire.  In competition as in battle,  only hits count.  And the winning side usually has more of them...  Rifle teams and competitive shooting benefit armies by maintaining a 'hard-core' of highly trained shooters that are available to improve the marksmanship skills of the rank-and-file. 

It has been said that  'our kind of shooting is of no use to the combat soldier'.  This begs the question: how is 'our shooting' different?  Rifle team shooters do snaps....rapids....run-downs; all the kinds of shooting practised by infantry in training and Personal Weapons Tests.  And they usually do it far better than their non-rifle team peers.  Does a poorer shooter make a better soldier?  In the final analysis,  only hits count...

The Hastings & Prince Edward Rifle Team flourished in recent years with the firm support of the former CO,  LCol McLeod.   Born in 1995 under the tutelage of former RSM Howard Adamson and Captain D Blasko,   the Regimental rifle team was formed to address the fact that marksmanship was not at the level what one would expect it to be in an infantry regiment.   In 1997,  training of the team passed on to Captain Keith Cunningham. 

Captain Cunningham is self-employed as a gunsmith and operates a marksmanship training center with partner Linda Miller.  He,  together with Miller are also world class competition shooters.  The rifle team  benefited greatly from their experience and knowledge.  This was evident in the 1999 and 2000 competition years in which Captain Cunningham and Cpl. Engel won all four of the provincial service rifle competitions  they competed in.  Regimental rifle team members won more matches,  aggregate scores,  and team events than any of the other entries in those competitions.  In the 1999 CFSAC (Canadian Forces Small Arms Competition),  the LFCA rifle team was coached by Captain Cunningham.  Under his 'only hits count' training,  various team members won a number of matches and prizes,  including the top tyro award.  Captain 'C' retired in January,  2001 after a long distinguished career.   He will be missed....

 

 

Match News and Results: 2002

Two members of the Hastings & Prince Edward Rifle team joined up with shooters from 28 Service Battalion to attend the Spring Service conditions match in Borden.  1st place overall was won by Sgt. Gagnon (GGFG) with his match AR-15,  Second place by Cpl Engel with his service rifle,  and third place, Keith Cunningham.   The Hasty Pee/Service Battalion team placed second in the team aggregate.  Cpl Engel also won 200 meter snap,  300 meter rapid,  200 yard agg,  and 2ond place 500 yard agg.

This year once again saw the Regiment fielding a four man rifle team and four man pistol team to the 2002 ORA-LFCA Rifle and Pistol Competitions.   The pistols took their first award ever with Captain Culliton taking a bronze tyro medal in the 'surprise' match.  The pistol team was hampered by multiple pistol stoppages at key moments.   Not overly surprising when one considers that some of the pistols are older than the soldiers firing them...   
The Rifles had good success with Cpl Engel winning the Pellat trophy for top individual shot once again.  This marks the third time in four years that he has won the championship.   He also took home plaques for winning the two hundred meter snap,  500 meter deliberate,  200 meter aggregate,  and 500 hundred meter aggregate.   This year saw some very tough competition with some long time,  skilled competitors crowding the top 5 spots.  Engel squeaked ahead of MCpl K. Grant of the Brockville Rifles by one point after starting the day in 5th place.  Final top three individual scores were Cpl Engel with 386.25,  MCpl Grant with 385.25,  and Sgt S. Gagnon of the GGFG with 383.22.

 

Match News and Results: 2001

The Rifle Team has had to face reductions like many military functions do these days and as a result a smaller team had to contend with no practice time and preparation.   A hastily assembled team made it's way to the LFCA/ORA Service Rifle Competition in Borden at the end of May.   For the first time in many years,  a pistol team was also entered.   The rifle component had some modest successes with Cpl Engel winning the 300 meter deliberate (50.5),   300 meter rapid (50.8),  and 300 meter aggregate. 

Match News and Results: 2000

The Rifle Team attended the first competition of the year: ORA Spring Service Conditions Match on May 6-7 at the Borden Ranges.   Six team members were in on the shoot and the results were very gratifying with Hasty Pees taking 14 out of 17 first place positions.  Cpl Engel won 6 matches, the 200 and 500 meter aggregates, the Grand aggregate,  team, and silver for the 300 meter aggregate.  Cap.  Cunningham won 2 matches, the 300 meter aggregate,  team,  and silver in the 200 and 500 meter aggregates,  and silver in Grand aggregate.   Cpl Landry won the 500 meter deliberate match.  Our only junior shooter,  Pte Skuce, won second top tyro.....  Team Cunningham,  Engel,  Landry, and Lewington were the winning shooters  in the team event.  

The 33 Brigade SAC was cancelled due to search operations being conducted in the area.  It's not know at this time what the plans for it are.....

The LFCA/ORA Service Rifle competion was held May 27-28 at the Borden Ranges.  Corporal Engel successfuly defended his crown by winning the 200 meter snap,  300 meter deliberate, 500 meter snap after a tie shoot-off,  200 and 500 meter aggregates,  and Grand Agreggate.  Corporal Landry won the 500 meter deliberate match,  a very satisfactory win in the face of some stiff competition.   The four man team  (Engel,  Landry,  Skuce,  and Evershed) sorely missed Team Coach Captain Cunningham as it placed a second for Team Grand  Aggregate.  The Rifle Team wishes Captain Cunningham good luck in the upcoming Bisley matches held in Great Britain.  All in all,  another good win for the Hastings & Prince Edward Regiment as Hasty Pees took seven of eleven available individual first places!

CFSAC 2000 was held from July 27th to August 4 this year.  For LFCA,  training began in the first week of July.  Hasty Pees sent Cpl.  Engel and Captain Cunningham to the week-long competition.  Captain Cunningham won the 200 meter sitting snap,  3rd place Queens medal,  Elite 50,  and 1st place Canadian Sniper Championship.  Cpl Engel won 500 meter deliberate in Service rifle,  600 meter 'One shot,  One kill' sniper deliberate,  and together with Gunner M Cathcart,  the falling plates match.    CFSAC scores were severely skewed by a batch of the worst quality ammunition seen in some years...   Results were even more offset by the fact that the 'bad' ammunition wasn't evenly distributed throughout the issue.  Some known good shooters experienced as many as five misses in one match,  and ten good hits in the next.  (10 rounds are fired in a typical match) .  The general consensus was that this lot would make great ammunition for a C-9 LMG as it would cover the entire beaten zone without ever moving the weapon during firing!

 

 

The Regimental Rifle Team at the 1999 LFCA/ORA Service Rifle Championships.

 

 

---