News
Weekly Review 22/01/2011
Posted on Jan 23, 2011
With thunderstorms circling the range, but barely a drop of rain and very little wind, Grahame Willis triumphed over Dennis Lavelle and Gordon Shepherd in one of the closest tussles in recent memory. All three ended the days shoot with the maximum points, after handicap was added, and the winner had to be determined on the least amount of handicap used, to attain the perfect score over the three ranges.
Willis used just 61% of his total handicap whilst Lavelle used 82% and Shepherd 89%. The days’ shoot was unremarkable and the scores whilst on a par with handicaps were a little disappointing. Shepherd was the best off rifle winning the A grade COW from an improving Lavelle who is starting to get the best from his 5.56mm rifle against the heavier 7.62mm used by most of his fellow club members.
Shepherd collected consecutive inner fours in his first stage 48.05 and dropped just one shot in a 49.03 second. Lavelle started slowly with 48.03 but faulted with consecutive inner fours late in his second stage 47.03. Keith Redding found the going tough and had to retire half way through his shoot and John Coghill, perhaps should have, after a miserable 41.0 first stage. After changing gear he showed marked improvement to record his best stage for some time, a 46.01, but a magpie in each stage didn’t help his demeanor.
F class proved a cakewalk for Willis although a moderate first dig of 55.1 which included an inner four was made to look very average by Lawrence Sims’ 54.1. Sim, who has only recently taken up target shooting, was however unable to maintain the pressure on Willis as the storms circled and a number of inners spoiled his second stage. Jan Sibera put aside his health problems to post an 89.0 but he was disappointed with the final result.
A number of new shooters have tried out over the past two weeks with promising results. Shooting off a rest the scores over the 500 and 600 yard ranges have all been in the high 30’s to low 40’s
Next weeks 700-yard championship range is also the start of the J Wilde Memorial Trophy.
SCORES:
D Lavelle 95.06 (8 ¼) 100
GP Willis 113.4 (11 ¾) 100
G Shepherd 97.08 (3) 100
J Coghill 87.01 (12) 99
L Sim 102.2 (12) 95
J Sibera 89.0 (19 ¼) 90 ¼
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Weekly Review 15/01/2011
Posted on Jan 17, 2011
Both gained the jump on Club Champ Steve Williams who despite a new/improved trigger dropped a shot for a 49.05. Dennis Lavelle persisting with his 5.56mm found the conditions to his liking with a 48.03.
The all-important second stage saw both Bright and Shepherd stumble giving Williams a slim opening. Bright dropped a shot for a 49.04 and Shepherd ruined his chances with a 48.04, consecutive inner fours the vital error. Needing a big possible Williams reeled off a 50.06 to snatch the win from Brights' fingers by a single centre bulls eye.
Lavelles’ second stage was not as tight as his first but his 46.02 was right up to his handicap. John Coghill after several weeks of atrocious scores tried revamping his shooting gear and technique but a bulls eye on the wrong target (two targets away) and a wild magpie in the second stage didn’t help his cause. His 87.02 was better than it looked and perseverance will be the order of the day in weeks to come. Darrin Pinkerton from Orange dropped in for a shoot and advice from Williams on rifle setup, and was pleased with steady improvement during the day.
Jeff Eppleston highlighted his F-class COW win with a first stage 60.3 possible. He was however upstaged by his guest, bench rest shooter Mark Worrad, from nearby Meadow Flat, who completed a double possible 120.7. Geoff and Grahame Willis continued their titanic struggle for bragging rights with both scoring 115.7 whilst Jan Sibera finally got it together with a 110.4, which included his best ever stage of 58.1. Lawrence Sim was another big improver with 108.2 his second stage free of the inner four curse.
Geoff Willis and Jeff Eppleston again showed off the talent present in the F-class ranks at the Bathurst Rifle Club by taking out the first two places at the Central West DRA Open prize meeting at Lyndhurst last week. Eppleston led out with a possible at the first range but Willis gradually pegged him back to snatch victory at the last range by the smallest of margins.
With the Festival of Sydney (FoS) prize meeting on next weekend, Bathurst will be represented by a strong contingent of shooters.
The R L Gilmour Cup concludes next week at 600 yards, with four competitors still on the maximum handicap points, though some of them will be at the FoS shoot, opening the way for an unexpected result
SCORES:
GP Willis 115.7 (9 ¾) 100
GS Willis 115.7 (9 ¼) 100
J Sibera 110.4 (17) 100
G Shepherd 98.07 (2 ½) 100
L Sim 110.4 (14 ¼) 100
D Lavelle 94.05 (6) 100
G Bright 99.10 (1/2) 100
S Williams 99.11 (0) 99
J Eppleston 117.10 (1 ¾) 99
J Coghill 87.02 (7 ¼) 94 ¼
M Worrad 120.7
D Pinkerton 88.02
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Weekly Review 08/01/2011
Posted on Jan 09, 2011
A broken spring towards the end of his first stage necessitated Williams leaving the mound for major surgery to the trigger box and returning to complete a 50.07 possible. Unable to repair the trigger Williams had to remove the bolt after each shot, reset the trigger, replace the bolt and reload the rifle at the same time as observing wind, mirage and light changes throughout his remaining shots. His only blemish was an inner four near the start of his second stage but the effort underlined Williams' talent and experience.
Graeme Bright was the next best, a distant two points and many centres in arrears, with Gordon Shepherd a further 4 points adrift, just ahead of Dennis Lavelle, who has had his own trigger trouble of late. While not disgraced, their scores were not in the same league as the Club Champion.
Adam Parkinson started well but a string of 6 consecutive inner fours put paid to any thought of making a challenge. An improved second stage was however book-ended with double inners. John Coghill continued his dreadful run, not even the use of the club rifle helping his cause.
The easterly breeze flipped and flopped from left to right with periods of relative calm but when the changes came they came quite quickly.
The F-class contingent outnumbered the full-bore competitors as they took the top two handicap positions and three of the top five places. The best performer was an Eppleston, not Club Champion Jeff, but brother Ken, himself a champion bench rest shooter in Sydney. Jeff started with the days’ only F-class possible, a 60.1, but when the brothers exchanged rifles Ken turned the tables with a 59.2 as Jeff stumbled to a 56.1.
The Willis brothers feud continued with Geoff grabbing a one-point break over Grahame after the first stage, increasing that to two points and a 2 super centre margin at the close of play. Andrew Trevillion put in a consistent and much -improved performance despite his sporadic attendance record.
Lawrence Sim appreciated the shorter 300-yard range but Jan Sibera was unprepared for the day, and, after a disastrous start when he confused the sight settings, made steady improvement in the remainder of his shoot.
The R L Gilmour Cup continues next week at 500 yards, with five competitors already on the maximum 100 handicap points.
SCORES:
GS Willis 114.4 (11 ½) 100
GP Willis 112.2 (11) 100
G Shepherd 93.07 (8) 100
D Lavelle 92.03 (8 ¾) 100
A Trevillion 104.2 (16 ½) 100
G Bright 97.05 (2 ½) 99 ½
S Williams 99.11 (1/2) 99 ½
J Eppleston 116.2 (3 ¼) 99 ½
L Sim 100.2 (9 ½) 98
A Parkinson 90.04 (7 ¾) 97 ¾
J Coghill 84.02 (8 ½) 92 ½
J Sibera 84.1 (20) 86 3/4
K Eppleston 117.6
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Weekly Review 01/01/2011
Posted on Jan 03, 2011
With a light breeze, which changed from right wind to left wind, incorporating a measure of rear fishtail, high scoring was always going to be at a premium with just two shooters challenging a stage possible.
Graeme Bright was the most consistent and his steady hand won him the days Cock of the Walk from Steve Williams who uncharacteristically finished his first stage with an inner 4 and his second stage with a double inner. Both finished on 96 with Bright one centre bulls eye ahead.
Gordon Shepherd had a very average first stage, which included a couple of magpies, but his second stage 49.06, the best of day, was too little too late. Adam Parkinson also improved his standing with a 5-point better second dig but John Coghill after trying two rifles and three sights adjourned to the clubhouse a disillusioned shooter. Dennis Lavelle was on the right track, when struck with a malfunctioning trigger and had to retire with three shots and 15 points still up for grabs.
F class saw the demise of Club Champion Jeff Eppleston who couldn’t take a trick, starting with an outer 2 and finishing with an inner 4 in a first stage 49.2, before a moderate 54.0, second stage, saw him relegated down the list. Grahame Willis, 55.1, got a one point break on his brother Geoff, 54.2, before slamming home his advantage with a 58.3 second stage eclipsing Geoff’s 55.1 to seal the F class COW by a wide 4 point margin.
Lawrence Sim seemed to be getting on top of the conditions but the changing wind strength and direction got the better of him as he scrambled through a rough second stage 44.1. His first experience at 900 yards on a scorching summers day will stick in the memory for a while.
Grahame Willis won both the K Harvey Trophy with 491 ¾ from Eppleston on 491 ¼ and the T W Willman 900 yard Trophy on countback from Geoff Willis both scoring 100, handicap points.
The next shoot sees the start of the second round of the Club Championship and the R L Gilmour Cup first presented by Lord Kitchener in 1910.
See in picture gallery R L Gilmour Cup, (the tallest trophy) alongside the Daily Mail Cup, both of which were presented by Lord Kitchener in 1910
SCORES:
GP Willis 113.4 (13) 100
GS Willis 109.3 (15 ¾) 100
G Bright 96.07 (2 ½) 98 ½
J Eppleston 103.2 (14 ½) 98
S Williams 96.05 (1 ¾) 97 ¾
G Shepherd 93.06 (4 ½) 97 ½
L Sim 93.2 (20) 94 ¼
A Parkinson 85.01 (9) 94
J Coghill 80.02 (11 ¾) 91 ¾
D Lavelle 75.03 (15 ¼) 90 ¼
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Weekly Review 18/12/2010
Posted on Dec 19, 2010
The variations in the conditions proved a great leveler and kept good scores at a premium. Steve Williams was again the top shooter but his dominance of recent times was severely tested as Graeme Bright took it right up to the Club Champ. Williams got out of step with the wind in his first stage 47.03, with three consecutive inner fours, and then scattered another three throughout his second stage 47.04.
Bright on the other hand couldn’t find the centre as his 46.0 came complete with two pairs of inner fours. His second stage was almost identical to Williams, shot for shot, and he failed by just one point to match Williams.
The remainder of the full-bore contenders were unable to break 90, as one by one the elements crushed their aspirations. Dennis Lavelle proved the most competent restricting his errors to the inner four ring in a 44.0 first stage but the pressure told as the inevitable magpie found its way onto his 41.0, second stage, scorecard.
Gordon Shepherd found inner, magpie, and outer rings but John Coghill and Jason Bemrose restricted their follies to the inner and magpie areas, visiting however, way to often. All three made improvements in their second stages, Shepherd making the greatest gain, a five point improvement, but the weather was the biggest winner on the day.
F-class was a much closer affair than recent weeks as Club Champ Jeff Eppleston came back to the field with a thud. A four inner start, in the early gale, with just two centre bulls-eyes, made it impossible for him to set the bar high enough to eliminate his opponents. A fine 57.1 second-stage followed the miserable 47.1, but the damage was too great.
The Willis brothers continued their personal feud as first one, then the other, pressed for the days’ honours. Geoff ended the first stage with a two-point lead over Grahame, but the latter with just a single inner four, lifted with a 54.1 second dig. Geoff needing a modest 52 to win faltered late in his second stage, scoring just 50.2 and gifting Grahame the F-class COW.
Laurence Sim, a novice to competitive shooting, and with little experience of reading directional flags found the conditions very confusing. He managed however to keep within the magpie ring and improved 5 points at his second appearance.
Geoff Willis won the W Northcott Memorial Trophy
The Christmas day shoot has been cancelled and the next assignment is the TW Willman Trophy on New Years Day at 900 yards to complete the first round of the Club Championship
SCORES:
GS Willis 104.2 (16) 100
GP Willis 106.3 (12) 98 ½
D Lavelle 85.0 (12) 97
J Coghill 87.01 9 ½) 96 ½
G Bright 93.04 (2 ½) 95 ½
J Eppleston 104.2 (9) 94 ¼
S Williams 94.07 (1/4) 94 ¼
G Shepherd 89.04 (5) 94
J Bemrose 81.02 (7 ¾) 88 ¾
L Sim 87.0 (16 ¾) 86 ½
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