KUWAIT CITY, March 17: Filipino Action Shooting Team (FAST) adviser San Juan was on top of the world after winning the weekly Fun Shoot as Mayadeen Shooting Range in Subhan held another successful Tuesday evening with two events being held simultaneously.
The first one was aimed at honing the skills of shooting enthusiasts and at the same time teach the newcomers to become responsible gun handlers. This was done through holding a “Safety Gun Handling” seminar.
The seminar, which was one of a series, is seen to be an integral part of the overall plan of creating good shooters and the enthusiasm shown by the participants speaks of its success.
The second part of the Tuesday evening involved the weekly Fun Shoot Competition, aptly called the “Ghost Trail” shoot because of the difficulty most shooters faced in tackling the course of fire set for them.
Both the events were organized by one of the most recognized shooting organizations in the country, Filipino Action Shooting Team (FAST) - headed by its President Manny Cornelio, supported by Gen Ahmed Al-Saleem and sponsored by Western Union Transfer.

Seminar
The seminar involved a refresher course and was conducted by Eric Ragma, one of the most dependable Range Officers, with over 30 participants - both newcomers and veterans paying a lot of attention to all that was delivered to them in a bid to freshen their knowledge of weapons and at the same time provide them answers to some of the queries which had been troubling them.
There were 4 major safety procedures that were discussed: 1) Always assume that guns are loaded until you unload themselves; 2) Guns should always be pointed towards a safe area or down range; 3) Always keep your finger off the trigger and 4) Always keep a close watch for any movement beyond your targets.
Ragma also detailed some parts of the gun, the slide, trigger and trigger guard. The participants were also told how to achieve a proper grip and how to aim correctly by using the front and rear sights.
Ragma also said that the thumb should be pointed towards the target while explaining that the common mistakes while firing a gun were jerking and flinching. He emphasized that there is no definitive grip for all the shooters and it all depended on the shooter being comfortable with the way he was holding a weapon.
Ragma explained vaguely the difference types of guns and asked the participants not to confuse between the maker of a weapon and its caliber e.g. Glock is the name of a maker of a certain gun and 9mm is the size of the bullet. The latter, he added, should not be mistaken to be the name of the gun.
He also reminded the participants that the squeeze on the trigger should be constant with the focus on the target and not on the anticipated kick of the weapon as this would divide the focus of the shooter and invariably result in a bad shoot.
Ragma stressed that stance was also a very important factor. Going minutely into this aspect he added that it was advisable to open the legs as wide as the width of the shoulders and not put weight on only one leg. He said that pressure should not be put on the heels but on the balls of the feet with knees slightly bent to prepare for recoil which travels initially along the arms towards the shoulder and then to the body.
The difference between Pin and Dot sights was explained so that one can get a proper aim on the target. He also talked about alignment of the weapons, proper breathing to minimize movement and proper trigger control as this is one of the basis of a good shot. He said that the shooters should aim for having a gentle and constant squeeze of the trigger instead of one jerky movement.
Tips on how to load and release the magazine were given and the participants were reminded that it opened automatically after bullets were all used up and a new magazine had to be inserted.
Various questions were also posed e.g. what to do in case a gun jammed. Ragma explained that there were two types of jams: 1) Stow pipe jam - to fix this problem remove the bullet by swiping the barrel and letting the bullet drop; 2) Double feed - getting rid of this problem requires tapping the magazine and then loading. If the gun is still not firing, release the magazine and reload.
Another query involved the procedure inside the shooting range. Ragma emphasized that safety comes first and they should never touch any ammunition or magazine unless they were instructed to do so by the range officers.
Practical shooting
This event involves condition 1 being applied — both the magazine and pistol on top of the table. Upon an audible signal the competitors were required to start from a sitting position with 3 targets awaiting them and needing to be engaged by double tap.
Afterwards, the shooters were required to move towards the next stage and take a shot using the strong hand and then the weak hand from behind a barricade followed closely by the 3rd stage from a peeping position on a window. From this position 2 targets could be engaged in free style.
The 4th position was from inside a cubicle with 2 targets to be engaged while the final stage required the shooters going into a kneeling position with one target required to be engaged.
A number of no-shoot targets had been placed between the actual targets to deceive the competitors with various barricades and fences being located in a number of places that made it difficult for the shooters to gain access to an open area and subsequently a clear shot.
In the competition proper, FAST Adviser Danny San Juan returned to the range with a nerve-racking performance during which he showed that he had not at any point misplaced his grip, stance, speed and accuracy on the range as he had such a wonderful time exhibiting all the qualities of a top class shooter to take the driver’s seat by gathering 14 Alpha and 10 Charlie while taking only 40.06 seconds to complete the course and walk home with a 1.947 point average and with it the top position for the evening.
FAST Treasurer Orlando “Orly” Ancheta showed what consistency can achieve and he pushed himself to the limit, coming up with an excellent performance to finish 2nd best with the highest number of Alpha - 16 in total and 2 Charlie but he missed 2 shots while completing the course in 53.66 seconds that gave him a 1.229 point average.
One of FAST’s loyal members Jojo Arciaga proved that focus, discipline and a keen eye for the target always leads to an excellent performance which is exactly what happened during his shoot Tuesday evening. Jojo shot his way into the “Magical 3” when his passion for the sport resulted in a 1.177 point average based on 14 Alpha, 2 Bravo, 3 Charlie and one missed shot in 58. 59 seconds.
Jeffrey Sweet, who was celebrating his birthday on Tuesday, not only showed up to join the seminar but the fun shoot as well and although he had a lot of difficulty in shooting with his weak hand this did not stop him from finishing 4th best with 13 Alpha, 5 Charlie, 1 Delta and 1 missed shot in 63.99 seconds for a 1.109 point average.
FAST Tournament Director Raja Sulaiman displayed a lot of swiftness on the course when he finished the event in 48.90 seconds while getting 10 hits in Alpha, 1 in Bravo, 5 Charlie, 1 Delta but he missed 3 shots that saw him comfortably seated among the “Tough 5”.
FAST Tournament Director Lambert Bernardo, who possesses a strong heart, was the fastest on the course which he finished in 35.82 seconds. His speed did not affect his accuracy too much as he had 11 Alpha, 4 Charlie, and 1 Delta but he missed 4 shots for a 0.781point average.
FAST Assistant Secretary Cesar Isidro did not appear to be in his best form as he missed 4 shots but he still managed to hit 6 Alpha, 8 Charlie and 2 Delta in 46.88 seconds for a 0.341 point average.
FAST Secretary and recent Precision champion Diana Leonor pro, who was wearing “pump shoes”, proved that these could not stop her from competing and although she finished at the bottom of the class she confirmed that women can perform the same stunts as men and be as good as many of them was she gained a 0.152 point average with 9 Alpha, 1 Bravo, 3 Charlie, 2 Delta and 5 missed shots in 58.89 seconds.
On the other hand, there were some shooters - Danny Badjao, Abdul Rahman Abubakar, Ramil Locquiao and Mary Jane Baligod - who tried to the best their ability to compete but it seems that the course of fire was too tough for them as they failed to gather any points.
Meanwhile, Range Officer Eric Ragma displayed how it should be done as he took to the actual course of fire and once again proved that he is the best in the class when he shot 6 Alpha, 10 Charlie and 4 Delta in an excellent time of 27.30 seconds and claimed the highest point average of 2.344.But he was shooting out of competition and his average was not considered in the overall results for the title.
While Tuesday evening’s shoot was quite tough and proved to be a real challenge for most of the shooters more exciting fun shoots await FAST members and newcomers. In these shoots they will all get a chance not only to develop their shooting skills but also see a boost in friendship and camaraderie within the organization.
FAST organizers would like to thank Gen Ahmed Al Saleem and Vangie Gernale and Marimel Labastida from Western Union Money Transfer for their support in the success of these events.
FAST officials would like to invite everyone to their weekly Tuesday night Fun Shoot at the same arena. For details contact FAST President Manny Cornelio 6673-7298 and FAST Vice-President Chito Lamigo 9958-2781.
A very Happy Birthday to Jeffrey Sweet from the FAST Family and Jose Gabriel.