Inspection, cleaning and the practical test

The unit standard asks you to inspect the rifle for anything that could affect its safe functioning. First unload and check it. Then check the barrel is clear and dry: if your bolt comes out, look through the barrel from the breech towards a light. Work the bolt: it should move freely and lock firmly. Check that the scope mounts are tight and the stock is secure without cracks. Oil left in a barrel and a blocked barrel are both reasons not to fire.

Basic maintenance, in the unit standard's words, is cleaning and lubricating without the use of tools, though a cleaning kit is fine. Unload and check the rifle first, and take all ammunition out of the room: many accidents happen during cleaning. Clean the barrel from the breech end if your rifle allows it, with a rod or pull-through, patches and solvent. Put a light film of oil on metal parts, and wipe the barrel dry before you next shoot. Your rifle's manual says what it needs.

Where inspection shows something beyond basic maintenance, the unit standard says to take appropriate action, which means consulting or going to a recognised expert or gunsmith. Cleaning and oiling are yours. Taking the trigger apart, adjusting the trigger, a cracked stock, rust pitting or a bulge in the barrel are a gunsmith's work. Never try to fix what you are not trained for: a badly adjusted trigger can fire when the bolt closes.

Here is the practical assessment exactly as unit standard 119651 states it. Accurately means 10 out of 10 shots on an A5 target from 10 metres, with every shot accounted for. A hit means the bullet's first impact. The distance may be increased but never decreased, and the target size may not be changed. The rifle is fired unsupported: two hands are allowed, but no dead rest. And remember, the assessor watches your handling from start to finish, not only your shots.

One exception. For large-calibre rifles, where recoil makes ten shots hard on the shooter, the unit standard allows the number of shots to be reduced to five. Your assessor decides whether your rifle qualifies. Marike's .308 is not large calibre, so she fires ten.

Put the whole course together and you have the assessment. You handle the rifle safely the whole time. You load and unload in the right order. You shoot your 10 of 10. You recognise and deal with a malfunction, and your assessor will explain how they test that, for example with a dummy round. And you inspect the rifle and explain basic cleaning, and when it goes to a gunsmith. The knowledge test on the Firearms Control Act is separate, and comes first.

On assessment day Marike shows her rifle clear before she begins. She fires ten of ten on the A5 target standing, unsupported. When Anel's dummy round gives her a click, she keeps the muzzle downrange and waits before opening the bolt. She leaves with her training results, ready to apply to SAPS for her competency certificate on form SAPS 517.

Before you move on, do the exercise, You or a gunsmith?, and answer the four questions on screen. Then, in your own time: book your practical assessment. Then take the final quiz: ten questions across the whole course.