"Urge Needs Discipline" - by Roman Ahsan

  

URGE NEEDS DISCIPLINE:

PUBLISHED: ‘SUNDAY PLUS’ – THE NATION – JAN 04, 2009

S ROMAN AHSAN reports on the emerging sport Skeet Shooting as a diversion from some vicious instincts

The country’s descent into chaos continues leaving us with little air to breath. Though, we cannot close our eyes to the present mayhem, however a little escape is always desired from time to time, to provide us with some respite lest we suffocate. This Eid-ul-Azha, we proceeded to village Malikpur near Pakpattan city to complement the occasion with a different flavour. With the newly developed Multan Road offering a smooth drive, it took just about three hours to reach our final destination even though we mostly journeyed in the dark. Our stay was at the house of Mufti Haseeb-ud-Din, an educated agriculturist who has inherited the land from his father, and has been independently managing all affairs since more than twenty years.

Vacationing in the countryside away from the bustling city is a soothing experience due to the calm atmosphere it offers, even though one still has access to the latest amenities. Haseeb’s house or ‘haveli’ is situated in the midst of green fields with an adjacent colony of muddy houses where his loyal workers are living since generations. It is a Pakistani version of ‘A Little House On The Prairie’ though the house cannot be reckoned as ‘little’. Haseeb is not just an agriculturist; he is a professional who is very keen about experimenting and always looking for ideas to implement new cultivation techniques in the land to boost the yields of his crops. Not being afraid of technology is another one of his strengths, yet he has maintained a conservative profile by staying back in a village and supervising things himself even though the current trend is to move to the city, with lands being managed by contractors.

Recently, Haseeb has ventured into an altogether different area of interest in spite of many limitations, and has organized a Skeet Shooting Club in the domain of his land. Though, scores of shooting ranges have been developed by Pakistan Army and Navy that are grooming defence personnel for this sport all over Pakistan, yet this is the first Skeet Shooting Range that has been created in the private sector in Pakistan. Behind his motivation of setting up this club is a vision, which he shared with ‘Sunday Plus’.

Haseeb described how he often used to sit together with his friends who are agriculturists or small landlords from the neighbouring areas, and talked about wildlife issues in the villages. They used to discuss that illegal hunting of animals should be stopped and the urge should be diverted into some other forms of outlet. “Law alone cannot control crimes. In the olden days, in some Western countries, the state would announce very strict punishments for even small crimes. For example, if a little boy was found stealing bread he would be given death penalty, but still that did not result in decline in crimes. Early man must have killed an animal to have food, so the urge to shoot and kill is a basic instinct which should be diverted. Hence our team brainstormed as to how we can dilute animal instincts through psychological means.”

Haseeb also notes that aerial firing is very common, especially in cities during ‘Basant’ and wedding functions, sometimes even resulting in casualties. Thus in this way, he and his friends decided to construct a skeet shooting club in their own village where the members could guide each other about the safe handling of weapons so that mishaps are avoided while satisfying their urge to shoot animals. The team members contacted Pakistan Army coach Colonel Fakhar-ul-Islam for guidance in setting up a skeet range. Having won many medals in skeet and trap shooting at the national level, he offered a lot of technical details to the team. ‘Bull’s-eye Shooting Sports Club’ (BSSC) at village Malikpur in District Pakpattan was thus constructed by the end of 2007 with Mufti Haseeb as its organizer, and the local Nazim Azmat Syed Mohammad Chishti also supported this project. They got the club affiliated with Punjab Rifle Association (PRA) and laid its foundation.

The word ‘range’ in Skeet Shooting is used like we talk of a ‘court’ in Lawn Tennis. In skeet shooting, the players use shotguns to break clay disks, which are thrown into the air at high speed from different angles. The technique in the USA differs from international standards where the disk used is slightly larger in diameter variety, thinner in cross section and has a thicker dome centre. Also, the international targets are thrown a longer distance from similar heights over 70 yards, presenting a faster challenge to the participants. The firearm used in this sport is mostly a double-barrelled over and under shotgun. The clay targets act as a substitute for the more natural target of live birds, and thus serve the purpose of conservation of wildlife. That way, this event simulates the feat of bird hunting.

The skeet range is laid out in the shape of a semi-circle. The shooter switches 7 positions on the semi-circle with a radius of 19 meters and an 8th position halfway between stations 1 and 7. At each corner of the semi-circle, two houses hold skeet throwing devices known as “Traps”. The traps shoot the targets to a point 15 feet above ground and 18 feet outside of station 8. One trap is placed 10 feet above ground called “high” house, and the other house is placed 3 feet above ground called “low house”. At stations 1 and 2 the shooter shoots at single targets launched from the high house and then the low house, then shoots a double where the two targets are launched simultaneously. At stations 3, 4 and 5 the shooter shoots at single targets launched from the high house and then the low house. At stations 6 and 7 the player shoots at single targets launched from the high house and then the low house, lastly aiming for a double. At station 8 the shooter shoots one high target and one low target. The shooter must reshoot his first missed target, or if no targets are missed, must shoot his 25th shell at station 8 with a target being launched by the low house.

Haseeb explained that there are basically two categories in shooting, Shotgun and Rifle, pistol. Both have different players and use of different firearms.

In Shotgun category, there are three events,

1. Skeet,
2. Single-trap, and
3. Double-trap.

Bull’s Eye is offering only Skeet Shooting in the shotgun event.

Rifle, pistol category encompasses the following events:

1. Air-pistol
2. Air-rifle
3. 25-meter precision pistol
4. 25-m rapid fire pistol
5. 50-m pistol
6. 100-m rifle
7. 200-m rifle
8. 300-m rifle
9. 10-meter running target

Bull’s-eye Club offers the first five of these events.

The club body has standardized procedures and follows the rules of ISSF (Int’l Shooting Sports Federation). Attention has also been paid to the safety issue in conducting shooting practices in a village where commuters might be at risk. The shooting range is situated further off the main road near Haseeb’s house and is surrounded by barbed wire restricting the entrance of non-members while a field along the range also provides a cover from the people. Every week, the members of the club get together and take turns in shooting targets. Members are charged non-refundable fee with other rules and regulations being followed. The slogan of the club is very apt: ‘Shooting is an urge, urge needs discipline!’

Having taken the initiative to start a shooting club in a village, Haseeb also shared some of his concerns that are hindering the way of anyone who wants to start a Skeet shooting club in Pakistan: “A registered club should be affiliated with Provincial Rifle Association (PRA) so that its members can carry guns in sports activities. The members should get NOC (No objection certificates) from relevant authorities, so there is proper screening of individuals for carrying firearms but there is no law as yet. Next, there is no official authority that can provide guidelines for opening a shooting range, as far as safety issues and other specifications are concerned. No legal framework is there for the expansion of club activities. It is ironic that the sporting firearms come under luxury-goods, with a high duty being levied on them, whereas they should come under sports equipment. A registered sports club should be able to get them through Federal Sports without paying any duty,” he explained.

“In skeet shooting, a low load Cartridge No. 9 of weight 25 grams is used, while in trap-shooting, low load Cartridge No. 7 of weight 25 grams is used. These cartridges cannot be really used in combat avoiding the possibility of misuse by the shooters. Though Wah factory is making these cartridges, but their prices are very high. For sports promotion, Wah authorities should reconsider their rates for private shooting clubs, and delivery procedures should also be made convenient. At the present market rate, it is impossible for a middle class person to participate in this sport. Sports board should also provide the facility of foreign coaches at subsidized rates”, he cited.

Haseeb opined that more shooting clubs should be set up by law-abiding citizens to promote this sport. The objective is that if a hockey team wins gold-medal in a sports event, the gain would be after investing a huge amount of money on the training of 12 players, while if ‘one’ air-pistol shooter from Pakistan qualifies in the final round at Olympics for instance, he would be doing so at a much lesser cost incurred on his grooming. “If higher authorities and sports lovers join hands with us, then we can produce players of international level. In Pakistan, deaths due to wrong handling of guns are very common. Anybody can get a license easily, so if there are more shooting clubs then users can easily acquire gun-handling techniques from these clubs apart from cultivating a positive hobby. Almost everyone has killer weapons now so we can prevent accidents this way”.

Mufti Haseeb also commented that wildlife conservation in Pakistan requires serious attention. In spite of efforts by some conservation organizations, the situation is deteriorating day by day. “We assume that only hunting is destroying wildlife but this is not so. Pesticides are also harming wildlife, wherever modern farming is being done. Both crawling animals and birds die from eating pesticide-treated plants or by eating insects that expire from the spray of pesticides. Pesticides are not always immediately fatal to animals but they also lead to high mortality rates among them indirectly by harming their breeding patterns. Then heavy machinery tractors that harvest whole lands are destroying small patches that used to serve as a natural habitat for small animals. Removal of native trees like ‘Kurree’ which is a thorny bush, apart from ‘Jund’ and ‘Von’ is also one of the factors. These plants offer refuge to small animals from predators, but are being removed and replaced by new imported trees because we have a slave mindset. The natural habitat of these animals is thus being removed. Another threat arises due to the wastewater which we throw in lakes and rivers, as the animals do not get clean water. Moving lights of tractors or vehicles on the roads at night-time in the villages are also a threat as they scare the animals resting in the fields or bushes.”

Very few people actively pursue their dreams and blend their aspirations with a cause like Haseeb. Skeet shooting is no doubt a diversion from traditional use of firearms that endanger animals and humans alike. However, can a poor country like Pakistan afford to have funds being allocated on such leisure activities especially in these troubled times, is a question that we need to ponder over. We hope the overall situation in the country improves paving way for opportunities in all sectors of life!