Saturday's shooters in a Double 500m match were in their element with clear, calm, and humid conditions with brightly illuminated targets yielding a clear sighting picture.

In the first 500m match, Neil Attwood opened the Full-bore Target Rifle (308 cal., non-telescopic, manually-supported) competition and, despite the ideal conditions, struggled to find the centre with a string of six 4-point ‘inners.’

He then lifted for a 5-point centre-bull and two 5-point bulls-eyes (centre-bulls being used only to break ties, on count-back) and closing with another ‘inner’ for a score of 43 points (out of 50, this 10-shot match) with one centre-bull.

Rob Wearne followed, and opened with two 4-pointers before punching out three bulls-eyes, two more ‘inners’ and three more bulls-eyes, including a centre, to close with what he would regard as a disappointing 46/1.

Steve Cruickshank then took the mound, and given his lengthy absence due to injury, shot creditably to post a 37/1. Veteran Ron Schild was next down, and suspecting that the slight mirage may have had something to do with the relatively poor form of earlier shooters, he too struggled for consistency with an up-and-down round that saw him close with a respectable 46/0 – matching Wearne but slipping behind on count-back.

Mal McKellar was last down and, commenting on the perfect ‘seeing’, he was immediately in the centre, pulling a string of nine 5-point bulls-eyes and centre-bulls punctuated by just one 4-point ‘inner’ to take a dominant win for the match with a 49/5.

Norbert Schmidt opened the F-Class Standard (308 cal., telescoped and bipod-supported) category and despite the ideal conditions, struggled for consistency. But nonetheless he dropped just four points to close with an acceptable 56 points (out of 60 this 10-shot match, for F-Class) including one centre-bull.

Rob Gusmeroli, in his first attempt at the targets with an F-Class rifle, shot very creditably, taking two 6-point centre-bulls as opposed to Schmidt’s one, but could not match Schmidt for the win with a total of just 49 points.

In the second 500 metre match Attwood again opened for Full-bore, and demonstrating a lack of confidence, accepted his two 4-point sighting shots as his first-to-count. He should not have done so, for he then lifted his percentage markedly, pulling seven more bulls-eyes and centre-bulls, with just two more ‘inners’, to close out his best round for some time with an excellent 51 points (out of 55, this 11-shot match) and four centre-bulls.

The field then followed in the same order as the first match. Wearne however was not the same man as during that first match, and, with any hint of a mirage now gone as a storm built in the West, he capitalised on the excellent seeing to shoot the centre out of the target with an unbroken string of ten straight 5-pointers, including a remarkable nine centre-bulls, to close with an outstanding 54/9. He had a ‘possible’ spoiled by an inexplicable ‘inner’ on his last shot.

Cruickshank too lifted his game, pulling three centre-bulls and two bulls-eyes in his 11-shots, but a lack of consistency saw him out of contention with a total of 45/3.

Schild maintained his percentage, but in an excellent shoot found the centre-bull no less than five times and dropped just four points to move into second over Attwood on count-back, with a very worthy 51/5.

McKellar was last down, and almost coincidentally with him taking the mound, heavy clouds shadowed the target reducing ‘seeing’ considerably. He cut a bulls-eye and an inner as sighting shots and opened with a centre-bull as first to count, but then shot persistently below the centre-bull on the darkened target, finding the bulls-eye, but never again the centre-bull, just five more times, and finishing with two 4-point ‘inners’ for a very disappointing 50/1. In doing so he handed the match win to a deserving Wearne.

Schmidt’s second range for F-Class saw him lift his percentage marginally, despite an uncharacteristic 4-pointer mid-match, and he closed strongly with five centres and a score of 62 points (out of 66 this 11-shot match, for F-Class).

Jascha Gusmeroli took over from his Uncle in this second F-Class match, and lifted the Gusmeroli percentage from 82 to 86 with a more consistent shoot and a score of 57 points, but leaving Schmidt the clear winner.

The Full-bore Target Rifle Double 500m Match was taken by Rob Wearne with 100 points (out of 105) and an impressive 10 centre-bulls, one point ahead of McKellar second on 99/6, and Schild third with 94/5.

The F-Class competition was taken by Norbert Schmidt with 118 points (out of 126) over a combined Gusmeroli total of 106.

The Club meets every Saturday at 1pm at the Mossman & District Rifle Club Range mid-way between Port and Mossman. Visitors are always welcome.
 
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