Goodluck reflects on golden career ahead of historic shoot

– says preparations have been on target

By Clifton Ross

Veteran marksman, Ransford Goodluck said preparations have been ideal ahead of the 150th anniversary Guyana National Rifle Association (GNRA)/West Indies Full Bore Shooting Council (WIFBSC) championships, adding that he expects much from his team.
Goodluck, a seasoned sniper and an important player in the senior makeup of the national rifle team over the past few decades, has been active in the sport since 1979 and with almost 33 years of experience, he’s aiming to use all his expertise to help Guyana defend/retain their title.

“The first thing is to ensure everything comes off successfully because it’s important for us (National rifle team). We got assistance from the army and police but its only 5 or 6 of us who shoot full-bore, so the invitation and planning is done by our members and once that goes well we’ll all be happy,” Goodluck professed.
The local shooters such as; Captain Mahendra Persaud, Dylan Fields, Lennox Braithwaite, Goodluck included; have had pretty successful training sessions and shooting simulations in recent weeks and the 64 year-old sniper believes this year’s preparations were the better than the previous.
“We are always preparing to achieve and that is the same recipe we are using. We are also ensuring that we’re covered in terms of preparations as to ensure no team spring any surprises on us, but mainly the effort is to train and deliver because we will be looking to perform well when the competition starts,” he indicated.
With numerous WIFBSC individual titles under his belt, Goodluck who was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 2009, managed to beat the deadly disease said and continues to undergo treatment as he hasn’t let his limitations hinder his training ahead of the celebratory shoot.
“Well my preparations have been going fairly reasonable, I’ve grown older so I have slight physical limitations and I’m a cancer survivor but I have been training and I’m sure I will do very well,” declared the deadeye.
Wrapping up his interview, the marksman said he was nevertheless looking forward to destroying the competition in his favorite events while reflecting on his long career which he began nearly 38 years ago as a young officer. “I always love to shoot the long ranges, the 900/1000 because i have a lot more fun. I shoot well across the board but that (long range) provides more fun for me.”
“I was born into the family, my father was an armorer and was always repairing guns and when it came to rifles I was doing well especially after I joined the force. After some thinking I was reluctant but eventually Paul Slowe got involved and did well and he told me to go and I haven’t looked back since and I don’t regret it,” Goodluck ended.