Whilst in the cadets, it transpired that Malcolm was a good shot. The school had an indoor range where .22 rifles were used, however, .303 rifles were used outdoors for competitions. In the indeer range there was static target shooting also rapid and snap shots. Rapid was where five shots were fired with three seconds to load and two seconds to fire. Snap was where the target popped up and you had three seconds to aim and fire. On the outdoor range shooting was generally on a 200 yard range and occasionally on 500 yards.

Malcolm gained his Marksman badge for which he had to score in excess of 90 points out of a possible 110. He had a place in the school shooting team in 1957. Ear protectors or plugs were not worn, consequently Malcolm suffered from tinitus in later life.

In 1958, Malcolm was in the school team that shot in the National Rifle Association Public Schools Championships at Bisley. Besides competing on the range he tried firing a .38 pistol which he found difficult. He also had a go with a 12 bore shotgun but was not very accurate. Being at Bisley was rather fun as his home was only a few miles away and he remembers taking his team mates to the local pub one evening only to be told that he was underage. The indignity was that he was the only one in the group who was actually over the correct age! Despite being close to home he was not able to make a visit.