News

Bathurst Rifle Club Inc. 12th August 2017, W & J Brown Shield, 800yards

            Jeff Eppleston and Geoff Willis have tasted some small successes at the Dominion of Canada National F-Class Championships, Eppleston being a member of the Australian team which won a combined F Open/FTR international teams match against six countries.

            In the individual section of the event leading up to the ICFRA F-Class Long Range World Championships, Willis placed 31st of 174 competitors and after two of the first three stages of the World’s were washed out Eppleston and Willis are in contention with an Eppleston 75.11 possible and Willis 74.5. 

            Brisbane and Ottawa have taken our best but the addition of three black powder shooters swelled ranks at Saturday’s 800 yard competition shoot. The weather was fine but windy, with a brisk west south-west breeze sweeping the range, much the same as last week, but more unpredictable. 

            The day was a test of one’s ability to read the changes and few passed their reading skills. John Coghill held inside the inner four ring all day but succumbed to Gordon Shepherd whose first stage contained his customary magpie three, however he was able to tighten up and shoot the days’ best stage, a 48.03. Dennis Lavelle started the day badly with an outer two and finished on an equally bad note, a pair of magpie threes seemingly ending his run of great form. 

            Aaron (A J) Smith, adjusting the sight himself on coaches’ orders, shot the day’s best stage a 57.2 on his first dig but lost out to the wind with a second stage 52.1. Coach, Grahame Willis  took the honours with a 57.0 and 56.4 the latter stage destroyed by dropping 4 points with an inner four, double bulls eye finish. Colin Howell’s first stage 49.0 set him up for a fall but he managed to redeem some pride with a 57.0 final stage. 

            Shayne Barnsley's black powder colleagues, Kelvin Moss and Peter Burgess, turned up to try their hand at a distance but the conditions were totally on top, only Barnsley with his experience of the range showing any ability to hit the target and even he had great difficulty. 

            Next week is the final round of the W & J Brown Shield and the second 900 yard Championship range.  

Scores: 
G P Willis FSA 113.4 (8) 100
J Coghill TRB 92.06 (6 ¾) 98 ¾
A J Smith FSB 109.3 (8 ¼) 97 ¾
G Shepherd TRA 93.04 (3 ¼) 97 ¼
D Lavelle TRB 88.04 (7 ¼) 95 ¼
C Howell FSB 106.0 (7 ¼) 94 ½

Black Powder: 
S Barnsley 14.0-18.0--32.0 / 100
K Moss 3.0-9.0--12.0
P Burgess 1.0-2.0--3.0

by John Coghill