News

Bathurst Rifle Club Inc. 5th August 2017, W & J Brown Shield, Championship & QVM, 700yards

            It’s the season of travel with two of our finest in the Australian F-class team at the ICFRA F-Class World Championships in Canada as three Target Rifle members prepare to travel to Brisbane to compete in the QRA State Championship and Queens Prize competition.

            Needing a good warm up the weather turned on a fine, cool and windy day which tested all shooters. Gusting from the northwest at 10-20 kph. The early shooters were perhaps caught unawares as this was the windiest day encountered in the past several months. Nick Cock handled it best with a 48.05 but the scores tailed off from there. Graeme Bright (46.1) dropped points regularly but John Coghill (45.01) lost his points in groups of two and three inner fours at a time. Gordon Shepherd (44.02) and Ron Gibson (43.03) sampled the magpie three fare as they became victims of sharp wind gusts.

            In the second stage a couple of lighter patches appeared in the wind profile and all scores improved. The standout again was Cock who handed out another lesson in accuracy with the only possible of the day, a 50.04, and the Cock of the Walk. Coghill responded with his newfound confidence to shoot 48.04, but Bright could only add a centre bull’s eye to his fist stage score. Both Shepherd and Gibson avoided the magpie temptation and improved accordingly shooting scores of 47.04 and 45.0, Shepherd’s centres, almost all super bull’s eyes.

            F-class shooters did not enjoy the breeze at all with their scores amongst the lowest for many months. The first stage was poor with newcomer AJ Smith under the coaching of Grahame Willis leading off with a 53.1 and Ben Wright responding with 51.2 as Colin Howell scrambled to a 50.1. Willis his mind wandering around electronic targets and coaching wasn’t with it and sunk to a low 47.1. The second stage was better but only relatively as Howell’s 56.3 was the highest stage of the day. Wright snatched the COW on second stage count back from AJ Smith whilst Willis’s stint in the pit (marking) calmed him enough to improve to a 54.3. 

            Shooting alone most weeks in the black powder discipline Barnsley has been unsure of his progress, but a trip to Sydney last week for a black powder competition highlighted his position in the top 10 percent of black powder shooters in NSW.

            Next week is the second round of the W & J Brown Shield over 800 yards.  

Scores:   

R Gibson TRB 88.03 (12) 100

N Cock TRA 98.09 (1 ¼) 99 ¼

J Coghill TRB 93.05 (5 ½) 98 ½

G Shepherd TRA 91.06 (6 ½) 97 ½

B Wright FSB 107.3 (9) 96 ¾

G Bright TRA 92.04 (3 ½) 95 ½

C Howell FSB 106.4 (8 ¼) 95 ¼

AJ Smith FSB 107.3 (7) 95

G P Willis FSA 101.4 (9) 94 ¼                        

Black Powder: 

Shayne Barnsley 25.0-25.1 / 100 

by John Coghill