A shared passion for competitive shooting brings people together and helps make the world a smaller place. This was certainly the experience for six members of the United States National Rifle Team who traveled to Guyana to compete in the 2024 West Indies Fullbore Shooting Championship (WIFBC) from October 28 to November 2.
The occasion marked the first time the U.S. had ever competed at this tournament, after receiving an invitation while shooting in South Africa at the 2024 Target Rifle World Long-Range Championships in March.
We learned that thanks to the British, the history and passion for fullbore rifle shooting rivaled our own in America. In fact, the Guyana National Rifle Association celebrated its 157th anniversary in October as it was established in 1857 by the British Guiana Garrison. The WIFB Council is comprised of rifle associations representing the countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Granada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The West Indies Fullbore Championships have been conducted since 1953 with each country taking turns as the host. The rifle associations of these countries are affiliated with that of Great Britain and often send individuals and teams to compete in the Imperial Matches held annually in Bisley, England, as well as the Commonwealth Games held around the globe.
Our West Indies Fullbore Championship experience was unlike anything we had experienced before, especially in terms of social events and dignitaries. The president of the Guyana NRA is the head of the country’s defense force, so after a practice day on the range, all the teams were hosted at the Officer’s Club for a traditional meet and greet. We met both the Prime Minister, Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips, and Chief of Defense Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan, and were treated to an excellent performance by the military drum band.
The second social event was the opening ceremonies. These included an introduction of the team members to the President of Guyana, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, a flag raising ceremony and official remarks from both the defense chief and the president. Finally, the president fired the opening shots from the 300-yard line with a Palma rifle on a bipod. The president also invited the competitors to be his guest at the Diwali festivities the following evening. This was an unexpected honor, and all the teams participated. Diwali is a Hindu celebration and entertainment consisted of parades, fireworks and eating of curry sauces.
Back to the primary purpose of our trip, the competition. The West Indies Fullbore Shooting Championship was held at the historic Timehri Rifle Range, originally named the Atkinson Range by the American military who built it during World War II. Being a fullbore match, competitors shot two-to-a-mound (two competitors on the same point with firing alternating between them) at 300, 500, 600, 900 and 1,000 yards. Also, following international standards, competitors changed firing points and partners every yard line. An unusual aspect of this range was that the target number boards were three colors, alternating black, red and gold.
The days were quite warm and muggy—Guyana is in the tropics after all. Rain forced a cancellation of two long line strings so that along with the electronic targets inconsistently picking up the shots from the long lines—low velocities—resulted in the long line matches getting cancelled. Additional strings were added to the short lines to round out the individual championships.
Teams from the United States and Canada only had six firing members. The norm for this competition is eight, so we were unable to field a complete team. However, our Guyanese hosts introduced an “International Match” that ran concurrently with the West Indies Team Championship. The other countries competed alongside by naming six of their firing members as their International team prior to the first shot of the team matches being fired.
The final social event was the awards ceremony which included dinner, exchange of captain’s gifts and the presentation of awards.
The awards ceremony saw the U.S. National Rifle Team presented the top individual honors, as well as winning the International Team Match. Lucas Erwin (South Carolina) creedmoored Yvonne Roberts (Texas and the author of this article) to take the individual championship title. Nate Guernsey (Virginia) and Jerry Iliff (Texas) took third and fourth places, respectively. Rounding out the team were Eric Smith (Utah, U.S. Army Reserve team) and John Coggshall (Connecticut, U.S. Army Reserve team).
We had a wonderful opportunity to see and experience Guyana, its natural beauty, diverse culture and friendly people, as well as those of the West Indies nations competing alongside us. At the end of the week, many new friends had been made, a new country stamp was in our passports and we had a greater appreciation for the firearm ownership freedoms we have in the United States.
The U.S. National Rifle Team looks forward to fielding a full team at the 2025 West Indies Fullbore Championships being hosted by Barbados next May.
Learn more about the U.S. National Rifle Team at usnrt.com.
WEST INDIES FULLBORE COUNCIL ASSOCATIONS
- Guyana National Rifle Association, nragy.org
- Antigua and Barbuda National Rifle Association
- Barbados Rifle Association, barbadosrifleassociation.org
- Granada National Rifle Association
- Jamaica Rifle Association, jrajm.org
- Trinidad Rifle Association, trinidadrifleassociation.org
