I could tell from Dad’s body language that he was getting annoyed. We had been at the British Airways check-in at Manchester Airport since 4.30am and the guy at the desk was saying we couldn't check in for another 2 hours. I could hear Dad trying to explain we had a firearm and it would be a longer procedure, to no avail.
A few hours later, once we got to the check-in desk and Dad informed the lady on the desk we were travelling with a firearm, I could see the slight look of panic on her face, it was obviously something new to her, she called over her supervisor from another desk for help. When the gentlemen realised that the rifle was booked under my name, a 16-year-old boy, he questioned the legality of me owning a firearm.
We had been trying to check in for 4 hours at this point and I could see Dad visibly bristle! Dad kept his cool and calmly gave the British Airways staff a 2-minute lecture on UK Firearms licensing rules, they quickly glazed over and they started to check us in.
At this point, the check-in queue had grown very long, with two of the four staff on duty dealing with us, the other passengers were getting anxious like us that we/they wouldn't make our flight. After a flurry of phone calls, we were told Border Force were on their way. 20 minutes later three guys turned up and seemed quite excited as we discussed that I was going to the USA to shoot for Team GB in a World Championship. They asked to see my rifle to check its serial number, “wow that's a beauty” one of the guys exclaimed. After the paperwork was finished and they all wished me good luck we ran for the gate!
When we eventually landed in Denver, the air hostess casually announced that a “few items of baggage had not made it onto the flight from Heathrow”. I looked out of the window and could see several rifles being unloaded and spotted mine! It turned out “a few bags” was 130 and 3 of them were ours! After a couple of days sightseeing in Denver and eventually being reunited with our luggage, we set off for Grand Junction and the IPRF World Championships. 
The drive across the Rockies was spectacular, we drove up the I-70 slowly climbing into the mountains passing small towns that had sprung up in the Gold Rush of the 1850’s. We took a detour up the Loveland Pass for some great views and the opportunity to sit on the Continental Divide between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, then on past the fashionable ski resorts of Aspen, Breckenridge & Vail.
As we dropped off the western edge of the mountains, the scenery quickly changed into what appeared to be a semi-arid desert. Mum said it was like being in a “Clint Eastwood/John Wayne Western”, after a quick Google I knew what she meant! After a few more hours of driving we arrived at the hotel in Grand Junction, where the rest of Team GB were staying.
With the competition not due to start for a couple of days, we took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep the next day. In the afternoon we headed to the Cameo Shooting & Education Centre to check things out. Cameo had been built on the site of a coal-fired power plant and associated coal mine which after it closed had been turned into a very impressive range. 
Cameo was bustling with numerous staff and volunteers doing final preparations, everywhere we went we were met with beaming smiles and a warm welcome. As the competition had not officially started, we went into the range office to ask about zeroing & was met with “That's no problem it’s $3 for the day”. Wow, what a bargain, I could tell I was really going to like this place!
A few of the other UK team had also had the same idea so we all headed over to Bay 7. It was nice to get out of the sun with temperatures in the mid to high 30s (centigrade), we all set up on one of the numerous benches. Dad had already given my rifle a once-over in the hotel the night before, so I wasted no time and got a few rounds off. I couldn't have been more pleased! A combination of my Brock & Norris Rifle and Mike “Moose” Burdis ammo from Phalanx Arms, saw the first 5 rounds go through the same hole. A few more rounds to get my velocity, then dropping the data into my Kestrel, saw me spend the next hour shooting steels high on the cliffs that towered above us.
The next morning the holiday mood changed a little, as the whole UK team had its first Team meeting. The team normally runs a Buddy System, so that every member of the team gets support on their competition days from a shooter that’s not shooting that day. However, due to how the Course of Fire had been set up it saw the team split 80:20, with 80% shooting one day and only 20% the next, this left the team captains Joe Paske and Ben Mcilwaine with some hard choices, but the whole team agreed on the strategy that would be taken.
I had already dropped lucky, Ben Mcilwaine was already in my squad. Ben had been my buddy at the PR22 World Championships in Italy in 2023 and we had worked brilliantly as a team. The GB Factory shooters were seen by the rest of the team as one of the divisions that stood the most chance of coming home with a medal. So, Ben Mcilwaine was allocated Ben Wood as his buddy, I couldn't believe my luck! I now had two of the best shooters in the UK with me! I was conscious that Ben Mcilwaine would be competing and didn't want to take away from his concentration, but Ben, being Ben, I knew he would help me in any way he could.
After the meeting, everyone headed over to Cameo, as the UK team had been allocated a couple of time slots, one to officially register for the competition and one on the Long Range Precision facility, with targets from 100 to 2000 yards. After registration the team headed up the mountain on a dusty gravel road, the views getting more spectacular as we climbed. We had an hour to check our DOPE and do any final prep and any adjustments that were needed. I spent my time verifying my data out to 1000 metres, with Ben Wood on hand to help. He assisted me and a few of the less experienced guys in fine-tuning our data using our various ballistic calculators. It was a great session and I left feeling confident in my equipment and data, which is half the battle.
One of the things I’d been dying to do while in the US was to shoot handguns and fully auto AR15, as this isn’t possible in the UK. The organisers had set this up in one of the handgun bays, an opportunity not to be missed! My Dad and brother Nat were super keen, Mum not so. Nat, Dad and I all took turns with varying degrees of success and with a little bit of coaxing persuaded Mum to have a go. First up was the AR15, mum looked a little nervous but the instructor was excellent and talked her through everything. Next up was the handgun, mum looked surprisingly comfortable as she stepped up to the line and carefully listened to the instructor. Ding!..... Ding!.... Ding! ..... Ding! ..... we looked at each other as she proceeded not to drop a shot. Once she had emptied the mag, Mum turned with a smile on her face and said “I really liked that!”
Part 2 Coming Soon...
