A DOWNEND sharpshooter is preparing to represent England at an international competition in the Caribbean.
David Colegate is one of three target rifle shooters from South Gloucestershire selected to represent England in the West Indies Championships in Guyana and Antigua, in April and May.
David runs a property maintenance company and took up the sport seven years ago, after previously doing some small bore shooting with the Air Cadets as a teenager.
He will be joined by Matt Blythe from Filton and Daniel Studholme from Thornbury; all three have been shooting together for the Gloucestershire County side and have been selected after coming through national competitions.
Target rifle shooters use traditional iron sights instead of telescopic ones to shoot at distances from 300 to 1000 yards, lying in a prone position and using a bolt action rifle.
Each team has eight dedicated shooters plus five more people to help ensure each shot made is as accurate as possible.
David said: “We shoot as a team but only one at a time, while surrounded by a wind coach, a plotter and a main coach, who are all chatting using headsets with the sole aim of placing the shooter’s bullet into the centre of the target.
“The shooter’s job is solely to shoot a perfectly straight shot every time, like clockwork.
“The coaches are constantly adjusting your sights, taking into consideration the constantly changing wind and how your group is forming on the target. It is very technical.”
David spends around four hours a week during the winter training at a range in Hanham, using small bore and electronic systems, then in the spring trains using live ammunition every other weekend at the National Rifle Association headquarters in Bisley, Surrey.
He said: “We also do lots of mental training, which involves visualisation of every element of releasing the perfect shot. It’s all about consistency in everything we do and repetition of every element.
“It is a highly competitive sport and one that requires a level of precision that is rarely found in a sport.
“It does take commitment, and some lifestyle sacrifices to achieve and then maintain this level.
“My wife is very tolerant of me and the time I spend training and touring.
In the run-up to the championships David and his team-mates will undergo training to prepare for the anticipated high humidity and temperature, with specially developed clothing to help them keep cool under their regulation leather jackets.