It Isn't About the Range - Visiting a Chinese Shooting School

Today was pretty damn cool. I'm about 8 hours (by train) south of Beijing, in a city called Taiyuan, in the Province of Sanxie. Taiyuan has a population of about 4 million (Toronto is a runt), and instead of being built up, its spread out. The air and sound pollution is unlike anything I've experienced before and the drivers make Beijing look like Toronto's Sunday drivers. Its a crazy place.

But... it has a regional shooting school.

Actually, it has a sports school which teaches three sports: archery, fencing and shooting (just rifle and pistol - sorry trap and skeet enthusiasts). In Sanxie province, there are 11 regional sports schools and 8 of them feature shooting. As I said, Taiyuan has one of the regional shooting schools, plus it has the provincial shooting school. We'll be hitting the provincial facility tomorrow.

As you could imagine, I was pumped when we had this arranged. Not many people get the full guided tour, as well as having a knowledgable translator asking the staff questions. Avie had some questions, but she was prepared to work her tush off, asking questions and repeating responses. She is as intelligent as she is cute, so I was enthusiastic about the visit.

When we arrived, it didn't look like much. The building is a bit rough around the edges. While its funded by the government, they aren't living a lavish lifestyle. The grounds consist of a long building for the fencers, just wide enough for three fencers abreast to advance and retreat. There were about 4-6 archery butts at 70m, looking a bit run down. And then there were the ranges...

There was one running target range with two bays, which they still train athletes in. Then, there was the 25m range with about 20 positions (gotta check my photos), a 50m range with 22 positions and finally a 10m range with about 15 positions. Each were kinda the same: a little run down, a little dark, a little musty, and all in desperate need of a good scrub and some paint.This is an older facility, from the 1950s, and hasn't been updated lately. Some of the other schools have, but this is still on the waiting list. The equipment they had ranged from rusty FWB C10s, to shiny new Morini 161s. I saw one pupil training with a Margolin. I hate to say it, but in the West, people would turn their nose up and walk away, vowing never to shoot in such a place. Fools...

Upon entering the 25m range, I saw a row of juniors, between 10 and 18, lined up against the wall dryfiring. I was in heaven. These kids were training and training well. Notebook in hand, I started asking questions of the coaches. The coaches knew their stuff. (BTW: They're doing pretty much the same thing we're doing, but they're putting in the time to make it stick.) Each athlete has a gun which is fitted to him/her, and available solely for them all year long (unless they improve and warrant an upgrade).

And they produce shooters. Damn good shooters. Not because they have the prettiest range, the newest guns or electronic targets (all paper in Tiayuan). They have the ranges with the right distances. They have guns that met specs and are always available. Finally, they have coaches who are dedicated to their success.

It isn't the range: its what is inside it. The people and the desire to improve. My old club, the CNRA, was run down, but it had people in it who wanted to go to the Olympics. That's what makes a range great. Any range, especially your own, can experience that greatness. Its just up to you.