Survival training 101 - Day 3

I had high expectations for today, as today was the day I would do my rifle training.
The boys did not have to start till 10 this morning so I was able to walk to UNIS on time (0720) and listening to some music on my i-pod. I got to UNIS in good time and decided that I would wait outside instead of going in taking my vast number of layers off only to put them back on again when the coach arrived in 5 minutes. Soon some of the other people from my group arrived and waited with me. Thomas and Karina showed us a strange Norwegian dance, and then I demonstrated whet Robert has dubbed my penguin dance. This involves you standing with your arms down at your sides, your hands pointed outwards, shrugging your shoulders up and down and, swaying from side to side, all the while having a very large grin on your face.
The coach soon arrived and we all hopped on and headed to the rifle range which was just out of town in the mountain behind the airport which, is really safe considering if you turned around with your rifle you would have a perfect clear shot of any planes that would be landing. We all piled into a small room that was slightly warmer than the outside which we were informed was -27 and down to -33 with the wind chill. So, pretty damn chilly! We went through the basics of the different situations you may find yourself in with a polar bear, (eye, eye!) and how and where you should use a rifle. We then all headed out to the range, and it was bloody freezing, to learn how to half-load a rifle. This consists of loading the magazine with four rounds then sliding the bolt across without loading the chamber and locking it in place. The group then split into two, I being part of the first group got to shoot first while the others went in for hot chocolate. We first shot eight rounds lying down, four at a top target and, four at a bottom target. Placing the ear muffs on we were instructed to fire all four rounds in the chamber as we pleased. The bolt-action rifle is really simple to operate and much lighter than the shotgun that Stuart taught me how to use which, I am very glad of as it came in handy. You lift the bolt slide it back and push it forward locking it again in one swift motion and, providing that the rifle has not frozen, can be done very quickly. We started with the first eight rounds in the lying down position, and I had decided that I would shoot left handed as it did not make too much difference with the type of rifle being used. Lining up the sights on the target and breathing out slowly I took my first shot, quickly reloading the chamber and making sure the cartridge had cleared the barrel I took my second, third and fourth shot on the top target. Standing up to show that you are finished and displaying your empty barrel to the instructor, you could start your star jumps and penguin dances, to get the blood back to your hands, a place where it had swiftly become estranged. We the half loaded the rifle again this time firing the four rounds, still in the lying down position, at the bottom target. When we had done this we all headed down to the targets to see what we had hit. I was delighted and astonished all of my shots had landed in the black circles, two of them hitting the bulls-eye. We then went for a run around the range to get our blood flowing again. The next eight shots were done in the kneeling position. This is slightly less stable but more realistic for a situation you may find yourself in. This time my eight shots did not reach the bulls-eye. They were, however, in much tighter groupings and still well within the black target circles. We then headed inside for our hot chocolate while the second half of the group went out to shoot. The lesson ended with a demonstration of a signal pistol and how to load it, very much like a shotgun. The lesson was good fun and I had a good chat with the other people in my group getting to know them much better.
After lunch we had a basic first aid course which, having been drummed into my head over the past 12 years and having taught it just two days before leaving Aberystwyth was fresh in my head. I did however manage to make it interesting by being a smart arse. So, all in all good fun! This did allow me to talk to a lot of other people in the class and we seem to get on really well which also helps with making things fun.
The boys waited for my class to end and we walked back to Nybyen together talking about Tom Lehrer and Monty Python, specifically trying to remember the words to The Penis Song. Getting home Stu started on the dinner which I was supposed to help with but ended up falling asleep on the couch while we were watching Open All Hours. After dinner we set up Blinky in the living room to watch some Blackadder trying to introduce awesome British humour to the Norwegians we share our flat with.
I managed to get a fair amount of revision done while watching Blackadder, however, that is only relative to what I have already done so not so much actually. After being informed that I act too much like Queeny sometimes we all headed to bed to prepare for tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will be jumping in some Sea-ice so we will see how well my back holds out. Fingers crossed.