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HAY RIVER
Two Canadian Rangers from Fort Simpson have proven that they have a steady and accurate aim with a rifle.

Fort Simpson Canadian Ranger Sgt. Sandy Kidd steadies his .303 Lee Enfield rifle and looks through the sight during the 100-metre application event at the NT Territorial Small Arms Competition in Hay River last month. - photo courtesy of Cpt. Stephen Watton

Sgt. Sandy Kidd and Cpl. Randy Sibbeston represented the Fort Simpson Canadian Ranger patrol at the NT Territorial Small Arms Competition in Hay River from Oct. 13 to 14.

A total of 30 Rangers from 14 communities in the territory participated in the competition that challenged them through eight different marksmanship events.

Sibbeston finished third in the individual competition with a score of 122 out of a possible 165. Sibbeston and Kidd finished third in the team competition with 394, one point behind the second-place team from Hay River.

"It was quite a fun event," said Kidd.

First time in competition

This was the first time both Kidd and Sibbeston have been in the competition. To prepare they practised for about three hours over the course of three nights before going to Hay River.

"Getting comfortable and breathing is pretty much the key to the shooting," said Kidd.

The Fort Simpson patrol has an annual shooting competition, but it is much simpler than the territorial event. The patrol does two events – a grouping and a second event with eight rounds fired from kneeling, standing, prone and sitting positions.

In Hay River, there were eight events including hitting plates that would fall over when shot, target shooting from 100 to 300 metres and night shooting.

"The night shooting was the most hilarious. The ones we did the worst at were the most fun," said Kidd.

The night shoot was a timed event and involved lights turning on to illuminate a bank of targets. The targets had to be shot before the lights went out again.

The event was difficult because you couldn't see your back sight and line it up with your front one, said Kidd. During the event both Kidd and Sibbeston were about to shoot when the lights suddenly went out. The two Rangers fired simultaneously in the dark and still managed to hit their targets.

"It was uncanny," Sibbeston said.

The hunting adventure shoot was Sibbeston's favourite. During the event, Rangers had to shoot at a variety of animal targets including a plywood moose 300 metres away. Sibbeston said the event wasn't his strongest, but it was the most fun.

Given that the Canadian Rangers have a tradition of marksmanship the competition was pretty tough, he said.

"In the end, it boiled down to consistency," said Sibbeston.

The Sachs Harbour team of Christina Esau and Richard Carpenter, who finished first and second respectively in the individual competition and first in the team competition, were more consistent and shot better, he said.

"We did respectively well," Sibbeston said about the Fort Simpson team.

Territorial competition next year

Both Sibbeston and Kidd hope to return to the territorial competition next year. The Rangers who get the top two scores in the patrol shooting competition are normally chosen to go. It will challenge the other Fort Simpson patrol members to shoot better, said Kidd.

Kidd, the commanding officer for the patrol, also plans to incorporate some of the events from the territorial competition into the patrols. Shooting at the longer distances is a challenge, he said.

"It doesn't take much movement to miss."

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