Sharpshooter Perry De Gouveia hits target at world championship

In just six years, Johannesburg Jewish rifle shooter Perry De Gouveia has shot the lights out in his sport.

Having received National Protea Colours from the South African Precision Rifle Federation in July, this project manager placed second behind Great Britain’s Lawrence Barnes in his category at the 2022 Precision Rifle World Championships, which took place at a military base in Bitche, France, in early August.

De Gouveia says the six-day tournament was “amazing”. Close to 250 competitors from 26 countries participated. He has now been selected to host the 2024 Precision Rifle World Championships in South Africa.

De Gouveia became drawn to rifle shooting in 2017 when he was introduced to the sport. “My cousin worked at the gun shop in Bela-Bela, Warmbaths, and asked me to join him at an event,” says De Gouveia. “Since then, I have focused on shooting. I really enjoy the freedom of letting my mind get away from work and everything else. It’s an amazing outlet, because if you’re not 100% focused, you’re not going to do well.”

Raised as an observant Jew, De Gouveia, who counts Yeshiva College among his former schools, has recorded top-notch results since being selected to shoot for South Africa courtesy of placing first in his division during the qualification period that ended earlier this year.

“It’s been a big pick-me-up, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s been an amazing honour and experience to be part of the South African shooting team.”

De Gouveia generally finds himself training at a shooting range every Wednesday and second Sunday.

Originating in the United States, rifle shooting has grown internationally, with more than 5 000 competitive shooters worldwide. De Gouveia says the sport has existed for about a decade. “It involves extreme consistency in your body and in the manipulation of the firearm. You shoot off strange obstacles and barricades to simulate a different height or position and then engage a steel target at a variety of distances, anything from 200m to 1.4km.”

Along with meeting “amazing” people, the absolute concentration needed to shoot are what De Gouveia loves about the sport. “I can enjoy an event while not worrying about work or anything else. Being in that space in that time is something to truly appreciate.”

On his next goal, to host the next world championships in South Africa, he says, “I need to approach all the shooting bodies in South Africa for funding. I also need to bring a whole lot of events companies on board, find a location, venue, and then run the event. I’ve run about 40-odd shooting events in the past five years. This is just going to be on a bigger scale.”

On top of that, he has been voted vice-chairperson of the South African Precision Rifle Shooting Federation and the International Shooting Sport Federation. “For some reason, people seem to believe in my abilities,” he says.

Rifles are the most common firearm in South Africa because of the scale of the hunting industry in the country, De Gouveia says. “Most people prefer a rifle to a shotgun or a pistol. Even if it’s just sentimental value from a grandparent, parent, or friend, a rifle generally isn’t as intimidating as an AR15 or anything like that. It’s just a bolt action, manually operated rifle.”