News

Bathurst Rifle Club Inc. 29th August 2015, Gurdon Cup and Pratley Shield

            The second round of both the Gurdon Cup and Pratley Shield was contested in cold blustery conditions from the 600 and 700yd mounds last Saturday. 

           The combination of the biting wind, angling from the south west, and regular cases of human error meant that not one contestant escaped unscathed. In Target Rifle A Grade, Graeme Bright set the early pace with 48.5, while Gordon Shepherd struck elevation problems late in his shoot to record three consecutive inners and a score of 47.1. Nick Cock , returning from the world championships in the U.S.A. , decided to try a different sighting arrangement and immediately struck trouble finding the range. He recorded a well below average score of 43.2. 

           In the second stage however fortunes were reversed, with Nick scoring a much improved 49.2. Gordon continued to have elevation problems on his way to recording 46.4 and Bright had repeated misfires in his second effort on the way to scoring a poor 45.4. This was just enough however to win the daily cock of the walk. 

           Target Rifle B Grade also encountered more than their fair share of problems. Neither Dennis Lavelle nor Ron Gibson was able to shoot to their potential, falling foul of the variable wind as both recorded scores of 43.0 in their first stage. At his second attempt Dennis struck a particularly difficult patch of wind, and could only manage 40.1. After a shaky start, Ron then finished strongly for a 45.4 and a clear win in the B Grade cock of the walk. 

           In F Class Geoff Willis and Ben Wright also faced their own demons. Ben was another to strike the worst of the conditions recording a score of 51.0 before recovering slightly with 54.3. Geoff tried a bi-pod instead of his normal rest, and he too was unhappy with his performance scoring 54.2 and 56.2. 

           On Sunday three members travelled to Narromine for their championships and a new location and much better conditions brought a change in fortunes. Geoff Willis shot more to his ability in winning the F Class match with a score of 172 .12 out of 180. He had to come from behind to do so, winning the final range with 59.7. 

           In target rifle Graeme Bright shot 148.11 out of 150 to run third and Nick Cock finished fourth on 146.11