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Weekly Review 27/03/2010

Posted on Mar 29, 2010

As it turned out only Steve Williams took advantage of the conditions, virtually wrapping up his 15th Club Championship with 4 rounds still to shoot. Only a washout or unforeseen circumstance can deprive Williams of that honour. A masterly 99.13 with an imperial 50.08, second stage, saw Williams take out his 7th Cock of the Walk from 12 shoots this year, winning by five points and a huge centre bull’s-eye tally. Gordon Shepherd and Graeme Bright were William only serious rivals, but were outclassed by the ex-Australian and NSW State representative. Shepherd interspersed inner fours at regular intervals throughout both stages, hardly troubling the centre bulls eye, to record 94.01, but Bright gathered his inners in multiples of two or three at a time, his 92.06 no threat to Williams, and also failed to make any advance on his previous 700 yard scores. It was dismal day for the remainder of the full bore shooters as John Coghill, Adam Parkinson and Keith Redding left the target looking like a shotgun had been used, with hits all over, few of which approached the bulls eye ring. Despite improvements at their second attempts none of the trio could be happy with the days results. Jeff Eppleston appears almost certain of retaining his monopoly on the F class Championship since its inception in 2007 as he collected his 10th win from 13 COW shoots this year. Eppleston shot a steady 110/120 as neither Geoff nor Graham Willis could match his accuracy. Graham W was totally unsettled and had a disastrous first stage 43/60 but stormed home with a 57/60, the days best stage, just failing to catch brother Geoff, who carded 101/120. The Lyndhurst two-day competition was mildly successful for Bathurst shooters as Eppleston, Graham Willis and Williams featured in the prize lists. Eppleston was the most successful winning both 600-yard ranges and leading F class all weekend, until a hiccup on the last 900-yard range saw him drop to second place. Graham Willis scored a second at 800 yards and won the last 900-yard range whilst Williams came second at 800 yards in the full bore section. There will be no shooting on Easter weekend with competition to resume on the 800-yard mound on Saturday 10th April SCORES: J Eppleston 110 (15 ½) 100 G Shepherd 94.01 (7 ½) 100 G S Willis 101 (20) 100 J Coghill 88.02 (12 ½) 100 S Williams 99.13 (1/4) 99 ¼ G Bright 92.06 (4 ¼) 96 ¼ K Redding 76.01 (19) 95 G P Willis 100 (13 ¼) 94 ½ A Parkinson 79.03 (9 ¾) 88 ¾
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Weekly Review 20/03/2010

Posted on Mar 21, 2010

The mild weather continued a run of good shooting days with a light south-south-westerly breeze morphing, at will, throughout the afternoon, into a delicate but deadly forward fishtail. In conjunction with the fishtail breeze a mirage developed which swapped sides in total disregard to the way the directional flags were pointing. Gordon Shepherd opened proceedings with a 46.03 closely followed by Adam Parkinson with a 46.02 which, in fact, turned out to be the best two stages of the day. The number 45 became very popular with Ron Gibson, Dennis Lavelle, John Coghill and Jan Sibera all achieving that score, only Lavelle doing so without the dubious aid of a magpie three. With everything up for grabs the second dig became a stage of missed opportunities as, one after another, shooters ditched their chances of victory. Magpie threes played a big part in the demise of Coghill, Parkinson and Sibera whilst Lavelle and Gibson just played with too many inner fours. Shepherd all but avoided the bulls' eye ring as he alternated between inner fours and centre bulls eyes, his 45.04 winning the Cock of the Walk by one point. Coghill could muster no more than 45.0 as his challenge faltered in the magpie ring. Centre bulls eyes were almost non-existent as Sibera 45.0,Gibson 44.0, Lavelle 44.0 all failed to respond to the challenge. Parkinson looked a real chance to snatch his first ever COW but an early magpie three dented his chances, and a three inner four finish, finally put paid to his run at the days' honours. Lavelle, whose scores have tailed off of late, is the wild card in future shoots, if he can overcome problems with the reloaded bullets in his new 5.56 calibre rifle. The W H Cutler Cup became a Sibera benefit as he romped away with a perfect 300/300 score, ahead of Lavelle on 298 ¼, and Shepherd on 297 ¾. The 700 yard, third round, of the Club Championship, and the K Redding Trophy are on the table at next weeks shoot SCORES: J Coghill 90.02 (11 ¾) 100 R Gibson 89.02 (12 ½) 100 G Shepherd 91.07 (10) 100 J Sibera 90.01 (11) 100 D Lavelle 89.02 (9 ¼) 98 ¼ A Parkinson 89.03 (9 ¼) 98 ¼
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Weekly Review 13/03/2010

Posted on Mar 14, 2010

The gentle breeze filtering through the stand of gums on the eastern side of the range did just enough to fool competitors into thinking there was nothing there. Steve Williams and Graeme Bright, the standout leaders in the Club Championship were unable to dominate as both dropped shots in the opening stage, Williams’ inner four coming on his last shot. Ron Gibson, Gordon Shepherd and Jan Sibera were within touching distance, all recording 48’s, whilst Dennis Lavelle was just off the pace with a 47.01 and a last shot magpie three, spoiled Adam Parkinson’s stage. John Coghill tried the Clubs rejuvenated rifle with disastrous results. Misses, outers twos, magpies threes and inner fours were all he could muster. An inspection of the rifle later showed that a screw in the trigger had worked loose making pulling the trigger harder than extracting a wisdom tooth. Lifting a brick with one finger would have been easier. F class shooters did not fair any better with only a first stage 56/60 by Geoff Willis of any consequence. Andrew Trevillion, 52, avoided any inners but his group was a little large and Graeme Willis, 49, finished his stage on a run of three inner fours. Conditions in the second stage appeared no different from the first but scores told a different story. Williams again had a late inner four following an earlier lapse, but Bright was unable to grasp the chance, his 47.04 gifting Williams his fifth COW in five shoots. Lavelle and Sibera reversed their first stage scores Lavelle gaining bragging rights by a solitary centre bulls eye. Gibson was on the way to a COW win until a sticking shell derailed his rhythm and concentration, leading to an inner, magpie, inner finish, for a 46.06. Coghill reverted to his old Omark rifle with better results, a 48.01 offering a thread of hope for better days. Neither Parkinson nor Shepherd impressed with too many inner fours congregating on their scorecards. The same could be said for the F class shooters the appearance of inner fours being the downfall of all. Geoff Willis won the COW, almost by default, as even he barely reached the 53/60 mark. Next weeks shoot clashes with the Lyndhurst Rifle Clubs’ Annual Open Prize Meeting and several locals will miss the final of the W Cutler Cup, which is also the third 600-yard range of the Club Championship. SCORES: D Lavelle 95.04 (6 ¼) 100 J Sibera 95.03 (5 ¼) 100 G S Willis 109 (12 ¾) 100 R Gibson 94.08 (4 ¼) 98 ¼ S Williams 97.09 (1) 98 G Shepherd 94.04 (3 ¾) 97 ¾ A Parkinson 87.02 (10 ¼) 100 G Bright 96.07 (1/4) 96 ¼ A Trevillion 103 (12 ½) 96 ¼ J Coghill 81.01 (12 ½) 93 ½ G P Willis 98 (12 ¼) 92
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Weekly Review 06/03/2010

Posted on Mar 07, 2010

Steve Williams again held off all competition, and his experience told, as he came from behind to beat a field, fairly tightly bunched at the end of the first stage. Graeme Bright 49.05 and Dennis Lavelle 49.03 had late inner fours in their first stages and Williams, after an early inner, dropped his last shot for a 48.03, one point behind the leaders. Jan Sibera 47.01 and Gordon Shepherd 46.02 were not out of contention but Shepherds’ four consecutive inner fours made his task more difficult. Adam Parkinson, 44.02, started well but got lost in the middle of his shoot, whilst John Coghill, Tim Halloran and Keith Redding all performed below par on the easiest of shooting days. The second stage told the tale with Williams pulling out a big 49.06, a late inner four however, spoiling his scorecard and leaving the COW up for grabs. With a two shot margin to play with Bright and Lavelle set out after Williams but both had early stumbles and never fully recovered. Brights’ 47.04 and Lavelles’ 47.03 left them one shot shy of the days honours. Shepherd tightened up his group a little but was no threat to the eventual winner after shooting two early inner fours in his 48.02 Sibera could only repeat his first stage 47.01 but that was sufficient to seal the B grade COW. Coghill showed some improvement but a run of 3 inner fours proved disappointing. Parkinson had a string of inners before finding the centre on his last shot and Redding was unable to find any joy in repeated trips to the magpie ring. F class was again a match between the Willis brothers with Geoff holding a one point lead after the first stage and stretching that to a three shot win over brother Graham. Graham had his best shoot of the year, a 109/120 and also achieved his first 100 handicap score and is really pushing his more experienced brother to greater heights. The 500- yard, second range, of the W H Cutler Cup will be held on the 13th March. SCORES: D Lavelle 96.06 (7 ¼) 100 J Sibera 94.02 (8 ¼) 100 G P Willis 109 (12 ½) 100 G Shepherd 94.04 (6 ¼) 100 G S Willis 112 (7 ¾) 99 ¾ J Coghill 90.05 (9) 99 G Bright 96.09 (2 ½) 98 ½ S Williams 97.09 (1) 98 K Redding 77.0 (20) 97 A Parkinson 85.03 (10) 95 T Halloran 41.0-Rtd A Trevillion 47/60-Rtd
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Weekly Review 27/02/2001

Posted on Mar 02, 2010

Dennis Lavelle hung in with a first stage 46.01 as did Gordon Shepherd with 45.0 but they both disappeared in a sea of magpies and outers as they battled the unseen wind shifts and direction changes. The flags offered no help, all simultaneously pointing in different directions, as the pair shot second stage scores of 40.02 and 39.02 respectively. Graeme Bright was lost from the start, collecting an all too rare (for him), magpie three, in a 43.02 although he did make some amends with a second stage 47.04 but this also included a magpie. Keith Redding filled his scorecard with magpies and outers while John Coghill, with a combination of wrong elevation settings, coupled with different ammunition couldn’t hit the target until his fifth shot just scraped on to the paper. Redding battled on but Coghill retired his first stage, only coming back to scrabble a 39.02 second stage, with outers, magpies and inners the predominant numbers on his scorecard. F class shooters were not immune from the carnage although Jeff Eppleston appeared to have some measure of the task before him. A 55/60 first stage promised a healthy score but a second stage meltdown saw him score only 49/60. That was however, enough to win the COW, as the Willis brothers tried a magpie feast, Geoff even sprinkling an outer or two on his scorecard with a season low of 43/60. In the second stage Graham was able to improve one point on his first shoot but Geoff again spoiled his brothers day coming from behind with a 54/60, to snatch the silver on count back, both shooters on 97/120. The J Wilde Memorial and K Redding 8/900 yard trophies, presented a watershed moment for the Bathurst Rifle Club, as F Class shooters dominated both trophies. An F class shooter had previously won only one handicap trophy, but Eppleston put paid to that statistic, with a convincing win in the J Wilde Memorial Trophy 294 ¾ to Geoff Willis 291 ¼. The K Redding trophy win was less convincing but Eppleston again took the honours by ¼ of a point from Geoff Willis with a third F class shooter, Graham Willis, just 1 ¾ points further back. March 6th sees the start of the Championship third round, with the 300- yard range of the W Cutler Cup. SCORES: S Williams 97.07 (1) 98 J Eppleston 104 (13 ¼) 97 ¾ G S Willis 97 (19 ½) 97 G P Willis 97 (17 ¾) 95 ¾ D Lavelle 86.03 (8 ¼) 94 ¼ G Bright 90.06 (3 ½) 93 ½ G Shepherd 84.04 (7) 91 K Redding 62.0 (20) 82 J Coghill DNF-39.02
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