Gillian 'proud' to be Wolverhampton's ladies shooting champ

But hey-ho, life works in mysterious ways, therefore I can now sit here proudly as the 2024 United Kingdom Association of Hunter Field Target (UKAHFT) Ladies Champion and smile, says Gillian McNab.

2020 was a year of change for so many reasons, but it was also the year I held and shot a rifle (specifically a 0.177 BSA Ultra Air rifle with a Hawke panoramic scope) for the very first time. As this was Covid season and it was mandatory to keep a distance of 2 metres separation, I was somewhat fortunate in that shooting was an open air activity. Meaning that I could continue to do it despite the various restrictions.

As time went on, as the months passed and there seemed to be no end to the then worldwide pandemic, I spent more and more time practicing at the shooting range. In fact, I came to enjoy it so much that I eventually ended up taking up membership at Furnace Mill (FM) Fishery and Air Gun Range, which was about an hour's drive. I remember vividly I would find myself spending my weekends for over a year sat under a covered area, practicing hitting stationary metal targets ranging from 8 to 50 yards.

However, as you can probably imagine, there came a time when I wanted more of a challenge. So, I pushed myself to go that little bit further, and for me, that meant shooting the HFT course at FM, for which I bought a BSA Goldstar and an Optisan CP scope. This gun is lightweight and adjustable for the shooter, aka, it was a significant upgrade.

Now, how an HFT course work is that they consist of 30 stationary metal targets of all varying shapes and sizes, ranging from 8 to 45 yards from the firing line. Within each target is a “kill zone”. The shooter stands at the firing line where there are pegs numbered 1 to 30, and a string leading to the target. The peg can be a metal, plastic or wooden post, or even a tree. Shots are taken either lying down on a mat (prone), kneeling or standing. Sounds simple enough… but there’s a catch. The shooter doesn't know the distance the targets are set at and takes a single shot to try to gauge the correct distance and knock the targets over by hitting the “kill zone”. If the target is knocked over, the shooter is awarded 2 points; 1 point is awarded if the target is hit and does not go over, and 0 awarded if the target is missed altogether (a dreaded "donut"). The target is then subsequently reset by pulling the string. The maximum score is 60 points.

Rules of regulation dictate that the air rifles used must be below 12ft/lb and the scopes on the rifle, once set at a distance at the shooter's discretion, cannot be altered once the shooter has started a competition course.

When I first started out at the HFT, I was scoring pretty consistently in the 40 to 45 point range, i.e. I was knocking over around half the targets. At this time I was also practicing for approximately 2 to 4 hours a week. Besides the love of the sport, I absolutely adored being outside. And I mean in the woods, be it sunny, cloudy, windy or snowy. In my eyes, there were just different opportunities to learn to adapt to my surroundings.

By the time 2022 rolled around I started to practice at more local clubs, and that same year I opted to enter my first World HFT. It was a 2 day competition down in Weston Park, Shifnal. The whole opportunity filled me with both excitement and dread. I scored about 70/120 in total, but either way, no matter how I felt it went, that was my first International competition, and I would made it through.

Over the coming months I competed in more and more local and national competitions with each course being unique, and having it's own set of challenges. Targets were set up in trees, peeping out of wheelbarrows,  in the darkness of a barrel, out in open windy fields, down in steep valleys, across lakes and even standing in flowing streams. I’ll give it to the course setters, they really used their imaginations, and as you can imagine, all these factors made it pretty tricky to gauge the correct shooting distance.

However, despite all of this, my greatest honour came in 2023 when I was asked to join the official FM team. For a community with a very small number of women attendees, I found the HFT community to be very encouraging and welcoming. No one was reluctant when it came to giving advice and of course, there was always great natured banter! We all bonded over chatting about the latest courses, rifles, scopes and travelling across the country for competitions. One of these being the World HFT 2023 competition, where I got to meet a former UKAHFT Ladies Champion. She told me how she saw my potential and encouraged me to enter the 2024 UKAHFT… which in my eyes, was a very big deal.

Following this massive high, I took part in some other club shoots. At times, I’ll admit, it did feel daunting to shoot with such experienced men and women, but it was clearly worth it as my scores began to gradually improve over time. It wasn’t long before I was consistently scoring 50+, with a personal best of 56/60. Not only that, but by the time the 2024 World HFT rolled around, I scored a pretty solid 101/120. A gigantic improvement compared to last year and I actually won the ladies 2024 Old Park competition in Crewe! 

Back to the UKAHFT 2024 competition which is comprised of 10 rounds of shooting held from April to October, across some of the top UK shooting courses. The top 7 scores count towards the final score and there are 7 categories: open, ladies, vets, sticks, springer, 0.22 and Juniors. I competed in the ladies category, and travelled to and entered 9 of the 10 competitions in total this year. I stuck with my ever supportive (and fun) Furnace Mill team all the way, shooting at courses I would never been to before. It was always good to see familiar, friendly, welcoming and warm faces.

The final stage of which was a 2 day event, 26-27 October at home my club, FM. I finished in first place in the ladies category over not just one, but both days! Actually, to speak truthfully, of the 9 competitions I entered, I came first place 4 times and second place 5 times. And and and, you’ll never guess what… I later found out that I had actually won in my category overall, crowning me the 2024 UKAHFT Ladies Champion!

There are so many people to thank for my success but not wanting to leave anyone out, I'll give a general shout out thanking those who introduced me to shooting, ranging and choosing the right pellets, those who have fixed my rifle especially when I didn't have a clue what was wrong, those who saw my potential when I couldn't and to the many who were always encouraging and supportive. And a special thank you to my closest friends who were willing me along, always believing in my success and of course to my family, who prayed for me in the background... no wonder I've achieved the seemingly impossible, thank you God!