News

Bathurst Rifle Club Inc 20th August 2016

            The 900 yard range of the W & J Brown shield was postponed due to very strong winds threatening to snap the target legs and endangering the markers. A practice shoot was organized over 600 yards with smaller targets but the weather almost halted that shoot before it began.

           A swirling shower of sleet and rain swept Grahame Willis off the mound after just four shots and, wet and bedraggled, he retired for the day. Others, recently returned from the warm climes of Queensland where they contested the QRA Queens Prize series, either stayed at home or fronted, but chose not subject their bodies and equipment to the savages of the weather.

           For those who did shoot, the sapping cold was a real drawback to achieving good scores as numb hands and fingers made it impossible to get any real feel for the trigger. The cold north westerly wind, initially very strong and blustery, began to vary in strength and direction and became very unpredictable.

           After the sleet, there were periods of bright sunshine but the overwhelming cold wiped out any feeling of comfort. Steve Williams and Gordon Shepherd set the standard with 47’s with Graeme Bright and Dennis Lavelle both one point back on 46, Bright somehow managing a magpie three between two centre bull’s eyes such was the wind variation. John Coghill stayed out of the magpie ring but jumped from side to side in his 44.01. Colin Howell and Mathew Allen, a newcomer to target shooting, found buffeting on the mound another factor to overcome.

           A lightening off of the wind saw some second stage improvement as Williams and Shepherd went shot for shot, both finishing with 48.04 apiece. Shepherd’s inability to finish (last shot inner fours in each stage) saw Williams come out on top by a solitary centre bull’s eye. Bright wobbled, dropping 5 points in his last seven shots, whilst Lavelle could not improve on his first stage. Coghill did however, with a satisfying 46.02 second dig. Howell who has experienced the trials of a Bathurst winter on the mound over the past few weeks and Allen battled to match their early scores. 

           Geoff Willis, a late arrival due to work commitments, did not experience the early conditions but had to contend with another drenching rain squall before putting together a pair of 56.2’s. He expressed his disappointment with his inconsistent elevation.

           The 900 yard final range of the W & J Brown Shield will be held next week 27th August. 

Scores: 
S Williams TRA 95.06
G Shepherd TRA 95.04
D Lavelle TRB 92.03
G Bright TRA 91.06
J Coghill TRB 90.03
G S Willis FSA 112.4
M Allen FSB 92.1
C Howell FSB 91.1