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[b]Bathurst Rifle Club Inc 15th December 2012 W Northcott Memorial Trophy 700 yards[/b] With the 2013 Club Championship only three quarters of the way through the first round it shapes as both a continuance of recent times and the writing of a new chapter in the Clubs history. Making predictions this early in the four round competition is fraught with danger but Steve Williams continues to power through the early stages of the open Championship with another superior performance at the 700 yard range. Williams’ total of 98.10 was sealed with a last stage 50.6 possible and only a Graeme Bright resurgence, courtesy of a new barrel expected early in the new-year seems capable of breaking Williams five year run as Club champion. F-class though is another matter. Jeff Eppleston has held the F-class Champions Cup since its inception in 2007 and is being strongly challenged by Geoff Willis who has been in excellent form despite work commitments limiting his appearances. Willis arrived late from work but made light of the distraction by slotting a 60.6 possible setting him up for a 118.11, spoiled only by a two bulls-eye five finish in his second stage. Eppleston and Bright were not disgraced but were no match for the other two ceding valuable points in the Championship. Grahame Willis, Liz Willis and Dennis Lavelle all laid down competitive first stage scores but were not able to repeat their performances in the second stage. Gordon Shepherd and John Coghill didn’t put up much fight either, although Shepherd regained his ascendency over Coghill in their personal battle. Nick Cock travelled from Lithgow to practice his 700 yard shooting with varying reloads and Jake Miles changed to the .223 calibre on his comeback to target shooting. The W Northcott Memorial Cup was won by Grahame Willis over brother Geoff, on count back, both shooters collecting100 handicap points. Next week the 800 yard N Rutherford Memorial Trophy will precede the Christmas prawn feast

Scores: G S Willis (F) 118.11 (5 ½) 100 G P Willis (F) 108.2 (14 ¼) 100 G Bright 96.06 (4 ¼) 100 J Coghill 89.03 (10 ¾) 99 ¾ G Shepherd 93.02 (6 ½) 99 ½ J Eppleston (F) 113.5 (4 ½) 98 S Williams 98.10 (3/4) 98 ¾ D Lavelle (F) 106.4 (10 ¼) 97 E Willis (F) 89.0 (16 ¾) 88 ¼ N Cock (Lithgow RC) 95.08 J Miles (F) 67.1

[b]Bathurst Rifle Club Diggers and G James Cups Final 8th December 2012[/b]

A combination of mirage, rear fishtail breeze and a westerly wind, which at times nullified all other aspects of the weather, combined to make Saturday’s final round of the Diggers and G James Cups a difficult proposition. With wind gusts varying up to four windage points at rapid intervals, and then dying off to allow a reversal of the mirage, competitors found out the hard way that good scores were going to be difficult to achieve.

                    Whilst the final results were not surprising the manner in which they were arrived at was unexpected. Graeme Bright, Gordon Shepherd and Steve Williams were expected to fill the top spots and Bright and Shepherd duly delivered in their first stages dropping just one point each. Williams started badly dropping three points early on before steadying to shoot a 47.04. The surprise mover was John Coghill who defied his wretched form to be just one point off the leaders. 

                    The F-class group didn’t find the conditions to their liking as they succumbed to the vagaries of the wind. The only one who looked like taming the wind was Geoff Willis until a brain fade saw him aim off in the wrong direction, the result of which was an outer two and four lost points.  

                     The second stage was no easier but Coghill and Lawry Sim, both of whom have been in the doldrums, produced their form of old. Coghill threw out a challenge with a 48.06 to take the lead but Shepherd imploded with a string of inner fours punctuated by a last shot magpie. Bright was also unable to go the distance straddling the bulls eye as his 46.02 dropped him from contention.

                     It was left to Club Champion Williams to restore the status quo       and he did so but not before a real scare. With just five shots on, an inner four threatened a huge upset but Williams gathered his wits and finished off with a 49.05 to win the Cock of the Walk by two centre bulls eyes. Sim also had a big second stage 48 with 4 centre bulls eyes offering hope of a return to the form that saw him in contention week in week out. Ron Gibson continued his up and down form with another disappointing shoot

                    Geoff Willis put his first stage brain fade behind him with a 58.2 second stage and the pressure on his challengers was too much with Eppleston unable to improve enough and Lavelle despite a big improvement also falling short. Grahame Willis rounded out a day to forget with a 46.2.

                    Jake Miles returned to the mound after a long break and found the lack of practice a mountain too big to climb. A change to the .223 calibre may allow him to regain his mojo.

                    Bright won the Diggers Cup ahead of Shepherd and Coghill the handicap section, the G James Cup on count back from Bright.

                    The W Northcott Memorial Trophy will be held next week at 700 yards

Scores: G S Willis (F) 112.6 (15 ¼) 100 J Coghill 96.07 (4 ¾) 100 L Sim 93.07 (6 ¼) 99 ¼ G Bright 95.06 (4 ¼) 99 ¼ D Lavelle (F) 108.2 (10 ¼) 98 ½ S Williams 96.09 (1 ¼) 97 ¼ R Gibson 87.03 (7 ½) 94 ½ J Eppleston 108.2 (3 ½) 93 G Shepherd 90.04 (2 ¾) 92 ¾ G P Willis (F) 112.6 (12 ¾) 89 ¾ J Miles 69.01

[b]Bathurst Rifle Club Diggers and G James Cups Round 2 1st December 2012[/b] Saturdays shoot continued the run of hot sticky conditions experienced over recent weeks. The difference this week was that the westerly breeze prevented, to a large extent, the formation of a mirage of any consequence. However the breeze became multidirectional as it weaved its way around and over the large baffled area of the SSAA range

                    The directional flags were at odds with each other as the breeze constantly changed strength and direction. The form shooter of the moment Jeff Eppleston made light of the changes to drop just one point in his first stage 59.3. Steve Williams lost a point early in his stage and then compounded the error with a last shot inner four for 48.04.

                    Graeme Bright had a couple of inners early on and as if to copy Williams fired a last shot inner. The rest of the contingent was less fortunate as inner fours and magpie threes became the rule rather than the exception. Gordon Shepherd and John Coghill exchanged magpies but Shepherd was more frugal with his inners. Shepherds’ last shot magpie gave him a score of 45.01 against Coghills’ string of inners which produced just 43.02.

                    The ever-improving Liz Willis was second in F-class after the first stage with a 51.2 as against Grahame Willis 50.1 and Dennis Lavelle 50.0

                    There was no let up to the breeze in the second stage and the directional changes coupled with wind gusts and troughs put all shooters on notice. Eppleston was unable to repeat his first stage as he was caught out mid-stage by the changes with a pair of bull’s eye fives. The 58.2 however gave him 117.5 for the day and the F-class Cock of the Walk by a large margin from Grahame Willis who could manage no better than 54.1 for a days total of 104.2

                    Bright starting a point behind put on a fighting 49.04 to lay down the challenge to Williams. As the stage progressed Williams seemed to have the task in hand but opened the door a crack with a seventh shot inner. An eighth shot centre bulls eye gave Williams the lead on centres but a ninth shot inner four dragged him back to Brights’ level. A final shot bulls eye ensured Williams won the COW by the tiniest margin of one centre bull’s eye, both shooters finishing on 96.

                    Shepherd and Coghill battled to avoid the wooden spoon and whilst Shepherd did his best to cede the “honour” to Coghill with a 46.02 including another last shot error, Coghill couldn’t quite bridge the gap and ended equal on centres but one shot behind his arch nemesis.

                    Liz Willis again showed her improvement is no fluke until fatigue produced a couple of inner fours late in the stage but Lavelle had a terrible stage with a second shot miss emphasizing his down day

                    The Diggers and G James Cups conclude next week at the first 600-yard Club Championship range        

Scores: J Coghill 90.03 (8 ¾) 98 ¾ G Bright 96.07 (2 ¼) 98 ¼ J Eppleston (F) 117.5 (1) 98 ¼ S Williams 96.08 (1/4) 96 ¼ E Willis (F) 101.3 (13) 95 G Shepherd 91.03 (3 ¾) 94 ¾ G P Willis (F) 104.2 (6 ¾) 92 ¼ D Lavelle (F) 92.1 (11 ¾) 86

[b]Bathurst Rifle Club Diggers and G James Cups Round 2 24th November 2012[/b] The first range of the Club Championship and the second round of the Diggers and G James Cups was contested under bright sunny skies with a rear fishtail breeze and the continuation of the fluky mirage, which has been taunting shooters over past few weeks.

Gordon Shepherd and Ron Gibson did best; dropping just two points each, for rounds of 48.04 and 48.01 respectively. Graeme Bright using a borrowed action and barrel in his own stock, eliminated the wild shots but could not overcome the tricky breeze and lost three points to inner fours. John Coghill using his .308 for the first time in a while saw many birds in a first stage 42.0.

Jeff Eppleston set the standard for F-class with a 57.1 but Grahame Willis could only catch a couple of sixes and super V’s amongst a run of bulls eyes. Dennis Lavelle was, like Coghill, off target with inner fours and bull’s eyes dominating his 48.1 whilst newcomer, bench rest shooter, Steve Pelin with 48.0, showed his unfamiliarity with the discipline.

The second stage was much of a much ness for the target rifle shooters with Bright now firmly convinced of the need to purchase a new barrel after a 49.05 won him the day’s Cock of the Walk and confirmed his earlier fears that a worn out barrel was the cause of his recent failures. Shepherd fumbled his COW chance with two inners in his last three shots, for a 47.03 and second place.

Gibson although unable to make much of a mark on the centre ring maintained his lead over Coghill to win the day’s B grade Cock of the Walk. Coghill who has been demoted to B grade this season has much to think about as he continues to struggle.

The F-class shooters found the second stage much more to their liking as everyone made significant improvement. Eppleston carried his recent Queens form into his second stage with a 60.5 possible to win the COW, and Lavelle rebutted his first stage failure with a 57.2. Willis added two points to his first stage with a 56.4 but the big improver was Pelin who seemed to be inspired by bench rest shooter Eppleston’s success since adding the F-class discipline to his repertoire. Pelin shot 58.4.

                     The second round of the Diggers and G James Cups will continue next Saturday, at the 500-yard mound        

Scores: J Eppleston (F) 117.6 (2) 99 ¼ G Bright 96.09 (2 ¼) 98 ¼ R Gibson 94.02 (4) 98 G P Willis (F) 110.7 (7 ¼) 97 ¾ G Shepherd 95.07 (2 ¾) 97 ¾ D Lavelle (F) 105.2 (10 ½) 96 ¼ J Coghill 87.02 (8 ¼) 95 ¼ S Pelin (F) 47.0-58.4

Special Report ACT Queens Prize Meeting

                    Bathurst F-class shooters Jeff Eppleston, Geoff Willis and Grahame Willis attended the Canberra Rifle Club Queens Prize meeting on the 16-18th November with some degree of success and some mixed results. Eppleston performed right up to his NSWRA Queens prize-winning form with a gallant second place after leading the field for almost the entire competition. 

                    Eppleston won two ranges, was second in the day one aggregate, first in the day two progressive aggregate, and set himself up for a second Queens win in a row with a first in the penultimate 500-metre range. Leading by one point and several super V bulls his quest was derailed by a disastrous last range 51.2/60 which saw him relegated to second place some three points behind the winner Daryl Barlow from Ipswich Qld.

                    Geoff Willis had an up and down series but was generally below his best whilst Grahame Willis performed a little better in the B grade section finishing 6th overall with a second in the day one aggregate and a win at the final 600 metre range.

[b]Bathurst Rifle Club Diggers and G James Cups Round one 10-17th November 2012[/b] The 2013 season opening first rounds of the Diggers and G James Cups have been completed under sunny skies with just a whisper of breeze on both days, but the presence of the sun combined with the light breeze brought the mirage strongly into play. With most competitors having an eight-week layoff, judgments and decision-making were a little rusty.

                    The easterly breeze at the 300-yard range produced conditions where the mirage constantly changed sides with little or no warning and only two shooters showed any sign of coping with the variations. Gordon Shepherd and Jeff Eppleston produced steady shoots each holding their own against the side-swapping mirage. Shepherd dropped just the one point in each stage whilst Eppleston lost two points in the first, but only one shot in the second on the way to shooting five super V’s.

                    Geoff Willis pulled out a first stage possible but collapsed in his second, whilst Ron Gibson just missed his, when an early inner four upset the applecart. The rest of the scores were not disastrous but showed the signs of lack of practice.

Shepherd won the A-grade Cock of the Walk and Eppleston the F-class equivalent

                    Conditions on the 600-yard range were similar this time the breeze coming from behind the mound causing the mirage to again jump about and the directional flags offered little help. 

                     Steve Williams was the only competitor to show any mastery of the conditions and his 49.03 followed by a 50.05 possible, easily took out the days’ honours. Williams who is consistently in the top 20 ranked full-bore shooters in Australia was a class above the competition. Shepherd was again up there but he could not hold it together, losing two points to inner fours in each stage.

                    Apart from those two the scores showed no signs of improvement over last weeks’ season opening round. With Eppleston and the Willis brothers away at the ACT Queens prize meeting the ranks of the F-class competitors were quite thin. Dennis Lavelle took the honours his score less than impressive, but take the win he did. 

                    Next week the opening round of the Club Championship and the second round of the Diggers and G James Cups will commence at the 300-yard mound       

Scores --- 300 yards

L Sim 93.03 (14 ¾) 100 G S Willis (F) 113.7 (9 ½) 100 G Shepherd 98.06 (2 ½) 100 R Gibson 95.06 (5 ¾) 100 J Eppleston (F) 117.8 (2) 99 ¼ J Coghill 90.03 (7) 97 G P Willis (F) 107.2 (6 ¼) 94 ½ D Lavelle (F) 102.2 (10 ½) 93 ½

   --- 600 yards

L Sim 90.02 (11 ¼) 100 S Williams 99.08 (1/2) 99 ½ G Shepherd 96.06 (2 ¾) 98 ¾ J Coghill 93.06 (5 ¾) 98 ¾ D Lavelle (F) 106.3 (11 ¼) 97 ¾ G Bright 92.06 (5) 97 A Trevillion (F) 99.3