Air cadets rifle?

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GBG

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I was in the air cadets as a kid back in the eighties. Occasionally we'd go shooting at the Burlington indoor range. We used single shot 22's. When you cycled the bolt the spent casing would fall into the empty magazine and you would chamber a new round by hand before closing the bolt. When you were done, you'd flip the rifle over and the casings would fall into your hand. Anyone know what that rifle might have been?

Incidentally, it was a real ordeal to transport the rifles. The rifles were in one vehicle, the bolts and ammo in another, us in a third!
 
GBG said:
I was in the air cadets as a kid back in the eighties. Occasionally we'd go shooting at the Burlington indoor range. We used single shot 22's. When you cycled the bolt the spent casing would fall into the empty magazine and you would chamber a new round by hand before closing the bolt. When you were done, you'd flip the rifle over and the casings would fall into your hand. Anyone know what that rifle might have been?

Incidentally, it was a real ordeal to transport the rifles. The rifles were in one vehicle, the bolts and ammo in another, us in a third!
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I was in #17 Squadron in Yorkton, Saskatchewan in the 80's. Ours were Anschutz , but I never found out what model. Those were good times.
 
I was in the Army Cadets in the '80s and we had an indoor range at the armouries where we trained every Saturday. I was on the marksman team and shot almost every Saturday, but I can't remember what make the rifles were. However, after looking at the link eos posted, I'm fairly certain they were, indeed, Lee-Enfield No. 7s.
 
Great stuff! I remember almost nothing about the rifle, but I've recently suspected it was an L.E. I do remember that rear site. Good work!
 
We also used the converted Lee Enfield 22s but they did not require the hand loading of the round or removal of the spent casings.
 
Was in 151 Chadburn Squardron in Oshawa and we used the Enfields as well. Have thought about buying one a few times but haven't gotten that far yet.
 
eos said:
You were shooting a Longbranch Lee Enfield Rifle, C No 7 .22lr rifle by the sounds of it.
http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_No.7-C.html
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I grew up on the other side of the creek from where the Long Branch Arsenal was (long ago but still long after arsenal work stopped) ... we used to go over and scour the field where they had the large cement wall structures - apparently for target shooting, and found lots of spent bullets. At the time I even had friends telling me of reports of finding large unexploded bullets (.50 cal?). Fun times.
 
I was in Air Cadets in the late 80's to early 90's. We shot the Lee Enfield .22 single shot, the Anschutz .22 single shot which was used for biathlon, and I was lucky enough to shoot the FNC1A1 with the .22 insert at Ipperwash one summer. Fun times. Too bad the cadets are only shooting air rifles now......
 
Our unit in Edson had a couple of the .22 cal enfields, 1 Anshutz, and a C1. That was back in 89'. The FN was a total blast and everybodys first experience with something other than a hunting rifle. I remember several of us already owning enfield sporters and being fairly profecient with them before any training from the cadet corps
though. Man, times have changed.
 
Whats with all these 22's?? I was in the Army Cadets in 1990 and we used the FN, first weapon I ever shot which I sadly can never own.
 
Now, Air Cadets only shoot air rifles. Daisy 850. They used our range at my former club and their officers told me it's air guns only for air cadets. Army cadets could shoot 22's, but it was getting more and more difficult to give firearms training to cadets because of the UN doctrine on "child soldiers".
 
Forcedair said:
Now, Air Cadets only shoot air rifles. Daisy 850. They used our range at my former club and their officers told me it's air guns only for air cadets. Army cadets could shoot 22's, but it was getting more and more difficult to give firearms training to cadets because of the UN doctrine on "child soldiers".
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I think the move to airguns has more to do with the lack of cadet officers and supervisors who have PALs and the fact there are fewer ranges to shoot in. My friend is a Scout leader and he takes his troop out shooting his 22's all the time. But they never get to touch a real firearm until they pass his safety tests and training with air soft guns first.
 
Cadets moved to air rifles in the late 90s due to concerns about lead exposure from shooting in ancient military indoor ranges that were rarely cleaned -- cadets are now prohibited from shooting in any indoor range (that I'm aware of in Central Region).

The Daisy 853C isn't the best air rifle for target shooting -- too hard to pump for younger cadets and too much moving around to pump in general -- but they're at least as accurate as the Anschutz 1403 rifles we used back in "the day" and definitely better than any C No 7.

As a cadet RSO and marksmanship instructor, I'm okay with the move as it's easier and more convenient -- not to mention cheaper -- to train cadets and run a competitive development program than it was with .22s.

Jason
 
I was in RCAS #395 We used the L.E. 7 .22 Single Shot... One of my little girls best friends is in Navy League the dang kid has a better air rifle out on the farm then what they use.
 
I was in Air Cadets from 1998-2001 in the GVRD. We shot No. 7 and single-shot Anshcutz .22s. The Anschutz were owned by the squadron and bought from funds raised by the squadron. We used to shoot at the Richmond Rod & Gun club as well as the Queen's park range.

A family friend in Sea Cadets shot No.7s up at PoCo just a few years ago too.
 
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