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Weekly Review 11/12/2010
Posted on Dec 12, 2010
Bright had the best centre count on the day but a 46.04 first stage was never going to be competitive. Gordon Shepherds’ slow start was his Achilles heel and Dennis Lavelle was consistent more than brilliant with a pair of 47.03’s.
Of the others John Coghill crashed to almost the worst stage of the day, a 42.02, before rebounding with a 48.02 second, but Ron Gibson and Jason Bemrose were not at their best and had difficulties with the tricky breeze.
F-class was another Eppleston benefit, the bench rest convert taking out the COW by four points despite a wobbly final stage 55.2. Grahame Willis was unable to stay with Eppleston as the odd inner four crept onto his scorecard. Brother Geoff Willis fared even worse with the inners, as his Queens form deserted him. John Slack, Lawrence Sim and Andrew Trevillion were all inconsistent and the end results were disappointing. Jan Sibera is still coming to grips with the F-class discipline and newcomer Jake Milne is shooting off a rest without a scope as he gains confidence and experience.
As expected the off-rifle Diggers Cup was a cakewalk for Williams winning by 10 points from Shepherd. The F-class division went to Eppleston again easily eclipsing the field by 22 points. The G James Cup, the handicap division was a tight affair as Grahame Willis snatched the Cup by the small margin of ¾ of a point from Lavelle who had lead for almost the entire competition.
Next week the W Northcott Memorial Trophy will be contested from the 700-yard mound.
Scores:
D Lavelle 94.06 (9) 100
GP Willis 108.1 (13) 100
J Coghill 90.04 (10 ¼) 100
R Gibson 88.04 (11 ¾) 99 ¾
J Eppleston 112.4 (7 ¾) 99 ¾
G Bright 95.07 (4) 99
G Shepherd 95.05 (4) 99
GS Willis 102.4 (15 ½) 98
S Williams 97.06 (1/2) 97 ½
L Sim 97.2 (16 ½) 94 ½
A Trevillion 92.2 (20) 93 ½
J Bemrose 91.01 (7) 88
J Sibera 84.2 (17 ½) 84 ½
J Slack 99.1
J Milne 61.0
GS Willis 38.02
K Redding 34.00
[b]Lithgow Small Arms Rifle Club Annual Open Prize Meeting. 5th December 2010[/b]
Bathurst Rifle Club members have finished off the 2010 calendar year in magnificent fashion winning competitions both inter and intra state. After the “Queens†successes by the Willis brothers Geoff and Grahame, Steve Williams and Jeff Eppleston a contingent of five ventured to Lithgow to contest the LSARC Annual Open prize meeting on Sunday 5th December. Graeme Bright started brilliantly with a first stage, 500-yard win, shooting 50.09, but unfortunately was unable to maintain the high standard dropping to 10th in the final aggregate.
Even better was to come as C-grade tyro Jason Bemrose who just the day before had shot his first ever possible on the Bathurst range took three of the four prizes available with wins in the second 500-yard range, the 600-yard range, and the aggregate. His only blemish, if it can be described as such, was a second place in the first 500-yard range. This was Bemrose’ first Open competition.
The best effort of the day was Jeff Epplestons’ rare feat of winning all of the ranges and the aggregate in a strong field of F-class shooters. Eppleston put the pressure on with a 60.8 first stage, followed up with a 59.5 second stage and cruised to a 57.2 on the 600-yard third stage, a success which has the avowed bench rest shooter querying his choice of favoured discipline.
So ended a successful year, not just for the champions but also for the rank and file of the Bathurst Rifle Club.
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Weekly Review 04/12/2010
Posted on Dec 05, 2010
Jason Bemrose with just seven full bore shoots under his belt gave portent of what is to come from this young man with his first ever possible, a 50.05. He followed that with a 46.0 and easily won B-grade
On a day of dull overcast skies and a slight breeze, which started from the right, flicked across to the left, and then ran downrange never settling on a permanent direction, most shooters, apart from the three standouts, had trouble reading the conditions.
Gordon Shepherd, 47.02, John Coghill, 46.03, Ron Gibson, 46.01, and Dennis Lavelle, 46.0, all wasted the early, seemingly easy conditions, with multiple inner fours and an occasional magpie three.
The second stage was a little better, but the breeze was still a riddle for the quartet. Shepherd had an early inner four but finished well in a 49.03 score whilst Coghill lost a couple mid-stage as did Gibson and Lavelle.
F-class, excluding Eppleston, was a disappointment. Grahame Willis had a moderate pair of 53’s with just 3 super V’s while Jan Sibera continued his learning experience with the scope and rest notching just 98/120. Laurence Sim had a disastrous first stage barely able to hold his shots on the target. A change of ammunition solved that problem but the first stage had already disrupted his sight settings and set him on the road to ruin.
With just one stage to go in the Diggers and G James Cups, Williams only has to turn up to take out the off rifle Diggers Cup having already posted the maximum 200.20 from just two shoots. Lavelle leads the G James Cup on 299 ¾ but is unable to improve his score and several others are within reach and able to cut lower scores from the earlier round.
The Diggers and G James Cups conclude at 600 yards next week
Scores:
S Williams 100.10 (0) 100
J Coghill 94.06 (8 ¼) 100
J Bemrose 96.05 (4 ¾) 100
R Gibson 94.03 (7) 100
G P Willis 106.3 (14) 100
D Lavelle 93.02 (7) 100
J Eppleston 118.10 (1) 99 ¼
G Shepherd 96.05 (2 ¾) 98 ¾
J Sibera 98.0 (17 ½) 96 ¼
L Sim 78.0
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Weekly Review 27/11/2010
Posted on Nov 28, 2010
Williams commenced with a 50.06 and completed his day with a 49.03 to take the Cock of the Walk in a canter and Eppleston produced two fine stages of 59.4 to win the F-class COW. Both shooters were a class above their competition and have set the standard for the rest of the season.
Graeme Bright was steady with 48.05 and 48.04 but is still plagued by the odd missed opportunity and with his barrel approaching 7000 rounds perhaps a change is in the wind.
Gordon Shepherd used all of the bullseye in his 50.02 possible but collapsed in his second stage. After starting with 2 centre bulls-eyes he strung together 4 inner fours in a row to finish with 45.03. John Coghill also missed his chances after starting with a 48.05, which included 4 super V’s, when his group opened right up and he was lucky to avoid the dreaded magpie. The 46.01 was a poor result after the promising start.
Jason Bemrose is progressing at a great rate as he approaches his first Open competition at Lithgow next weekend. Stages of 47.03 and a slightly disappointing 45.02 were nevertheless an excellent result considering his lack of experience with reading the conditions. An out of form Dennis Lavelle played around in the inner four and magpie three rings rarely troubling the bullseye and centre zones in his 87.02.
With F class competitors outnumbering the full bore contingent for the first time since inception the class is certainly proving popular. John Slack visiting from Orange shot a familiarization stage of 52.0 and then claimed a 60.2 possible.
The Willis brothers once again had a private battle with both starting poorly and finishing off on a much better note. Grahame beat Geoff by one point 107.3 to 106.2 after upping his first stage 49.1 score by nine points to a 58.2 second stage. Jan Sibera moved the unfamiliar sight the wrong way with disastrous results and the miss left a big hole on his 98.1 scorecard.
Laurence Sim, at his second appearance, showed his potential with a 58.1 second stage for a total of 109.3 and Jake Milne tried out for the first with one stage of 33.0 off the rest.
The Diggers and G James Cups continue at 500 yards next week
Scores:
J Eppleston 118.8 (2 ¾) 100
G Shepherd 95.05 (5) 100
S Williams 99.09 (1/4) 99 ¼
J Bemrose 92.05 (7 ¼) 99 ¼
J Coghill 94.06 (5 ¼) 99 ¼
G Bright 96.09 (2 ¾) 98 ¾
GS Willis 106.2 (12) 98 ½
GP Willis 107.3 (10 ¾) 98 ¼
J Sibera 98.1 (18) 96 ¾
D Lavelle 87.02 (9) 96
J Slack 112.2
L Sim 109.3
J Milne 36.0
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ACT Rifle Championships 17-21st November 2010
Posted on Nov 24, 2010
Willis shot consistently all week with just a couple of rough scores in the RA Rolfe lead up. With no better than sixth place in any of the six ranges Willis collected a ninth finish in the combined A and B grade F class standard event from a total of 54 contestants.
In the three-day Queens prize Willis was a model of consistency as he built his winning score. Coming into the final day Willis was in third place, four points off the lead. A near possible 59.05 at the 500-metre range drew him to within three points of the leader with just one 600-metre range to shoot.
Another brilliant shoot of 59.03 gave Willis the range win, the Queens win, and a runaway nine point Grand Aggregate win. Altogether in 2010 Willis has collected wins at the NSW Queens, NSW Match Rifle, ACT Queens and country NSW prize meetings since embarking on a three-month travel campaign.
Another Bathurst shooter, F-class Club Champion Jeff Eppleston, contested the A grade section of the Queens and started with a rush, winning the first 300 metre range with a possible 60.07. A couple of 56’s saw him drop to eighth place but with two more possibles, and good consistent scoring Eppleston gradually climbed the list to finish with a fifth Badge just 4 points off the winners score.
Steve Williams contested the A grade full bore at both the RA Rolfe and Queens prize events. Despite shooting four possibles in the RA Rolfe, one of which was a 50.08 win at the day two 600 metre range, a 46.05 at the same range the night before, made it almost impossible for him to challenge the leaders. A sixth place, just five points off the pace, was a fair result.
Williams 21st place in the Queens prize was highlighted with another 4 possibles, but anything less was not going to cut it in this high-class field.
Scores: The ACT Rifle Championships
S Williams A grade Fullbore
RA Rolfe 6th 343.040
The Queens 21st 392.028
Grand Agg 6th 734.075
J Eppleston F-class A grade
The Queens 5th 466.033
G Willis F-class B Grade
RA Rolfe 9th 397.023
The Queens 1st 458.029
Grand Agg 1st 855.052
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Weekly Review 20/11/2010
Posted on Nov 21, 2010
With three of the top liners away at the ACT Queens, the competition opened up considerably with Gordon Shepherd, Graeme Bright and Grahame Willis leading the charge for the days honours.
Bright led out with a strong 49.03 to grab a substantial lead over Shepherd whose 47.01 featured a double inner four start. Dennis Lavelle, Ron Gibson and John Coghill all found the combination of breeze and mirage baffling as they squandered their opportunities with an overabundance of inners and even an occasional magpie three and outer two.
The second stage saw Brights’ score collapse as he strung inner fours together in groups and it was left to Shepherd, whose form of late has been quite mediocre, to mount the challenge. Finally coming to grips with his new rifle and sights, Shepherd laid down a very tight group with just a single inner four spoiling his effort. A 49.05 thrust him to an unassailable lead in the quest for the days’ Cock of the Walk, which he won easily over Bright.
Lavelle improved significantly but Coghill whilst avoiding the magpie ring again flirted with too many inners. Gibsons’ 42.0 punctuated a disappointing day all round.
In F class Willis seemed to have the benefit of experience over the other contenders but he failed to take advantage of that fact in a 49.0 first stage, which left the door open for challengers. Jan Sibera 45.1, with a new telescope fitted to his rifle, came closest to heading Willis and newcomer Laurence Sim 41.1 made light of the fact that he had never shot target rifle in competition, nor further than 300 yards, with a good group at the unfamiliar distance. Andrew Trevillion did not have a good day although a run of centre bulls eyes late in his second stage gave him some encouragement.
Willis finally showed form with a 56.2 to secure the F-class COW win from the inexperienced pair of Sibera 49.2, and Sim 47.1, whose first competitive target shooting effort was excellent.
The first round of the Club Championship and the commencement of the final round of the Diggers and G James Cups will be held next week starting at 300 yards.
Scores:
D Lavelle 92.04 (9 ¼) 100
G Shepherd 96.06 (4 ½) 100
G Bright 94.06 (3 ¾) 97 ¾
J Coghill 88.03 (9 ½) 97 ½
G P Willis 105.2 (11 ¾) 97 ¼
R Gibson 86.04 (11 ¼) 97 ¼
A Trevillion 87.0 (15 ½) 85 ¼
J Sibera 94.3
L Sim 88.2
K Redding 33.0-Rtd
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