Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Providence (Oct 14/05) - When the trigger was pulled for the last time, the silhouette targets riddled with the most accurate shots belonged to the Fort Providence Rangers.

A foursome from the community captured top spot among seven teams in the first southern NWT Rangers marksmanship competition late last month. Their combined 645 points put them comfortably ahead of second place Lutsel K'e.

Best individual shot

Master Cpl. Serge Levavasseur took home honours for the best individual shot, edging out Fort Smith's Hardy Freund by a single point. There were close to 30 participants overall.

The competitors fired their open-sighted .303 British rifles from standing, sitting, kneeling and prone positions 100-300 metres from the targets. The competition was designed to test the Rangers' accuracy, concentration and speed as a rapid-fire round was included.

Levavasseur, a Ranger since 1998, said the key to having a good shot is not to rush and to try to be consistent.

"It's like everything else, the more you practice the better you get at it," he said, adding that he takes a few deep breaths and then pulls the trigger after exhaling half way.

Being left handed, he finds it particularly challenging to operate the bolt on the right side of the rifle, he noted. "It's a little bit of a handicap, but I manage," he said with a chuckle.

The host Fort Providence Rangers engineered the shooting range at the gravel pits outside the community. The new range was described as the best in this part of Canada by Warrant Officer Ken Sollazzo, of the First Canadian Ranger Patrol Group.

Capt. Conrad Schubert added that the visitors were also impressed with the quantity and quality of the bison meat on the hoof in Fort Providence.