The C&T session started with a safety briefing by Coach Cameron Morton outlining to the attendees how we manage biathlon rifles and magazine shooting in Australia. The rifles were then placed on the shooting mats and each un-licensed attendee supervised one-on-one by a NSW Biathlon licensed shooter.

The attendees started with prone shooting on paper targets using a rest, so they could learn to use the specially designed Fortner Biathlon rifle bolt. The design by German gunsmith, Peter Fortner, allows athletes to operate the bolt by their index finger and thumb without changing their hand position. This improves the speed of shooting which of course is very important in Biathlon.

Click here to learn more about the Fortner biathlon bolt.

The athletes learnt trigger squeeze, breathing control and when to pull the trigger as normally an athlete is at the Range after skiing anything up to a 4km loop.

Attendees were taught what it means to “group” in biathlon shooting and how to move their sights via “clicks” to tighten and centre their groups. After some great prone shooting, the attendees were given a demonstration on the biathlon standing shooting by 2018 Olympic Shadow Team member Damon Morton. This included position of the feet, using your hip to provide support for holding the rifle and when to pull the trigger once a certain % of the black standing target comes into view of the sights.

After 2hrs of concentration and biathlon shooting, the Snowy Shooters put on a sausage sizzle for lunch which was a great finish to the C&T session. NSW Biathlon would like to thank SSAA Snowy Shooters for their great support of our biathlon programs this winter. 

Further biathlon shooting sessions are planned for the Cooma/Jindabyne area and will include laser biathlon rifles for athletes under 12 and those starting out. For more information please email info@niswbiathlon.com.au.