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Bathurst Rifle Club 24^th & 25^th October, 2020. NSWRA Medal Shoot.

          Bathurst Rifle Club conducted the NSWRA Medal Shoot over 6 ten shot matches during the two days which included 800 yards and 900 yards on Saturday afternoon then on Sunday there was to be an early start with the plan to compete four more stages with two at 500 yards then another two at 600 yards in the afternoon. The rain activity over the weekend was going to make it difficult but most shooters were fortunate to compete on Saturday afternoon without the inconvenience of getting wet until nearing the finish of the 900 yards shoot a storm gave most a bit of a soaking and some opted out of laying down to get drenched for a score. Unfortunately, the electronic target systems did not cope well with the downpour either and after a scramble by the electronic target guru we were eventually able to finish the days shooting.

          In TR class Graeme Bright got straight to it with 50.6 at 800 yards and at the days end he and Steve Williams were neck and neck with both only dropping one point each in total for the two ranges with Gordon Shepherd next followed by John Coghill. In the F Class group Ben Wright immediately got to task in showing his skills with a magnificent 60.8 at 800 yards and at the end of the days shooting held the lead, one point ahead of Jeff Eppleston with Geoff Willis and Col Howell next up followed by Phil Mahon with Graham Willis missing out on the 900 yards shoot due to the wet.

          Sunday was not looking very promising with the predicted weather but Graham Willis gave the electronics a good going over with air blowers and water dispersants then checked it over and it looked like we would be able to continue with just enough functionality to complete the day. A couple of shooters decided they had enough wet on Saturday afternoon so had the Sunday off as it can be rather unpleasant at times shooting in the wet but hopefully when you make the effort you get the rewards, right. We started of setting up as planned at 500 yards and are very thankful to Oscar Berryman for the use again of his large awnings which made it possible to continue for the day with without getting too wet, but it was decided to compete the rest of the day’s competition from the 500 yards range.

          In TR Class Steve Williams show how much he likes this medal dropping only one point over the four ranges and shooting way above his current club handicap to finish ahead of Graeme Bright who shot just above his current handicap but may have struggled a bit more with wet. Then followed Gordon Shepherd and John Coghill who all persevered through the unpleasant conditions.

          Again in F Class Ben Wright consistently scored above handicap to take the medal finishing six points ahead of Geoff Willis who spent each range trying to tune his rifle better. With no other shooters completing all ranges for both days, of those shooting the Sunday Oscar Berryman shot well and with handicaps included finished second for the day followed by Graham Willis one point behind with Geoff Willis two points behind. Jeff Eppleston had to leave early for a prior commitment and missed the final shoot.

          Next week we return to 300 yards for the first round of the W. Cutler Cup.

by Geoff Willis

Final Scores

TR:
S Williams 298.28 (8.08) 300,
G Bright 295.32 (5.5) 300,
G Shepherd 271.15 (9.35) 280.35,
J Coghill 244.10 (17.25) 261.25.

F Class:
B Wright 350.33 (13.25) 360,
G S Willis 342.18 (14.13) 356.13.