Cayman’s Chris Jackson takes final aim in Glasgow

(CNS): As the Cayman Islands shooting team wraps up in Glasgow, they can walk away with guns held high. The clay shooters aim for their final targets in Scotland, at the Commonwealth Games, on July 29. Chris Jackson will compete in day two of the trap qualifiers from 9am Scotland time (3am Cayman time) at the Barry Buddon Shooting Center in Carnoustie. Jackson, 47, is the last of the team members to fire away after Edison ‘Eddie’ McLean and Andrew Schirn (left) got their shots in last week. Schirn, 18, and McLean, 44, both competed in the skeet event but were eliminated in the opening stages. (Photo by Matthew Yates)

“I’ve really enjoyed it so far and I hope to be back in four years,” Schirn said. “At first, it was pretty nerve-racking having cameras videotaping me and having a crowd watching because I never had to do that before. But in the end, it didn’t affect me as much as I thought it would.”

Schirn would finish 21st in the first round of qualifying by nailing 61 of 75 moving targets, before shooting down 42 of 50 targets in the second round, which placed him 18th. McLean, in his fourth Commonwealth Games, used his experience to shoot a score of 65 in round one to place 17th before grabbing fourth place in the second round with a score of 48.

“The weather is constantly changing. In the morning when I started, it was really cold. Then it was close to our climate. It’s hard because then you have to keep adjusting and changing your clothes to meet the climate at the time. I feel it went pretty well, I was aiming to shoot in the 20s constantly throughout the two days and I achieved that. That’s the best I can do so I’m happy with it,” a pleased Schirn said.

The shooters will be among the first athletes to wrap up in Scotland, after getting into Glasgow early. The side arrived before the opening ceremony to familiarize themselves with the shooting range. Organizing the group was team manager Kevin Schirn, Andrew’s dad, who has guided national shooting squads for nearly 15 years.

Kevin Schirn, who had the group competing in the United Kingdom this summer in preparation for the Games, says the team was pleased with the Carnoustie facilities.

“The team was very happy to be at the shooting village in Dundee. The shooters had days of training at the range and reacquainted with friends from previous Games. The organization of the Games was great and the team was pleased with the set-up of the training fields. Our accommodations were very comfortable and training went well.”