Inspection, cleaning and the practical test

Many accidents happen during cleaning, with a round still in the chamber. So start by unloading and checking, and take all ammunition out of the room. Strip the rifle only as far as the maker's manual allows by hand: the unit standard says basic maintenance is without tools, though a cleaning kit is fine. Clean the barrel and chamber, lubricate lightly where the manual says, and before you fire again, check that the barrel is clear and dry. Too much oil in a barrel can be as much of a problem as dirt.

Basic inspection looks for anything that could stop the rifle working safely. The barrel must be clear and dry. The chamber clean, with nothing stuck in it. The bolt should move freely and close fully. Check the magazine's lips aren't bent and its spring pushes up firmly, since magazines cause many feeding problems. Make sure the sights or scope are firmly fixed, and look for cracks in the stock.

The line is clear in the unit standard. Basic maintenance is cleaning and lubricating, without tools beyond a cleaning kit. Anything more, such as replacing or repairing a part, anything that needs tools to strip, a bulged or obstructed barrel, or a crack, goes to a gunsmith or recognised expert. Knowing when to stop is part of being competent.

Here's the shooting part, exactly as the unit standard states it. Ten shots out of ten on an A5-size target, from a minimum of 10 metres, with accountability for every shot. The distance may be increased but not decreased, and the target size may not be altered. A hit means where the bullet first strikes. And the rifle is fired unsupported: no resting it, though two hands are allowed. An A5 target is about the size of half a sheet of printer paper, so this is about control, not luck.

To put it in perspective: an A5 sheet is 148 by 210 millimetres, about 311 square centimetres. That's half an A4 page and a quarter of the A3 target used for handguns at 7 metres. From 10 metres with good fundamentals it's very achievable, and it's why lesson 6 matters so much.

The practical assessment covers the whole unit standard, not just the ten shots. Your assessor watches your handling from the moment you uncase the rifle, how you load and unload, how you deal with malfunctions, and how you inspect and clean it. Everything in this course comes together on the day. Your accredited training provider runs the assessment and will tell you how theirs is organised.

On assessment day Thandi is calm, because she has done every step many times. She uncases at the bench with the muzzle downrange, fires her ten shots on the A5 target from 10 metres without a rest, unloads in the right order and shows Anel the empty chamber. Ten out of ten. With her competency in hand, her next steps are her association's dedicated status and her section 16 licence application.

Sort the maintenance jobs into yours and a gunsmith's, then answer four questions. Then book your practical assessment with your accredited training provider. After that, the final quiz: ten questions covering the whole course. You need seven to pass.