Saturday was clear and hot, with a persistent but stable mirage, and occasional cloud-shadowing of the brightly illuminated targets, presenting fair conditions for Target Rifle shooters in a Double 500m Competition.

In the first 500 metre match Ron Schild opened the Full-bore Target Rifle (308 cal., peep-sight, manually-supported) competition with a 5-point centre-bull as his first ‘sighter’. Unfortunately, he followed it up with a 3-point ‘bird’ as his second causing him to cut them both.

His first-to-count was another ‘bird’, then a 4-point ‘inner’ and a centre-bull. A super-centre bullseye and a string of 4-pointers to finish was undone by another wayward ‘bird’, and he closed with 40 points (out of 50 this 10-shot match) with 2 centre-bulls.

Pictured: Mal McKellar (foreground) preparing to shoot while Rob Wearne (background) completes his. Between them Gus Gusmeroli, while Ric Mischlewski (seated) scores and Norbert Schmidt observes.

Centre-bullseyes and super-centre bulls are, along with bulls-eyes, valued at 5-points each, and are used to break ties on a count-back.

Ric Mischlewski was next down and he opened strongly with a bull/centre-bull combination. He finished in like fashion with six straight 5-pointers, including another centre-bull, and, though let down by two consecutive 4-point ‘inners’ mid-shoot, he posted a very impressive 48/2 to move into the lead.

Rob Wearne followed, rising to the challenge, as he does, with a centre-bull and three bullseyes to open. He dropped a point on his fifth pull, but then returned to the centre with a super-centre and three more bulls before again dropping a point on his tenth and final pull, posting a Mischlewski-matching 48/2 for the range but leaving Mischlewski in the lead on count-back.

Mal McKellar was last down and looked to struggle with 4-point ‘inner’ and 3-point ‘bird’ sighting shots. However, his first-to-count found the bullseye, and he followed that up with another nine straight 5-pointers including three centres and one super-centre to claim the win with a perfect 50 points with 4 centres.

Steve Cruickshank opened the F-Class Standard Target Rifle (308 cal., telescoped and bipod-supported) category and, though shooting infrequently, opened well with two 5-point bullseyes.

He continued with five more 5-pointers and a 6-point centre-bull, with just two 4-point ‘inners’ interspersed, to close with a creditable 49 points (out of 60 this 10-shot match, for F-Class) with no super-centres.

Gus Gusmeroli followed, and experimenting with technique and settings, shot a steady round of 4s, 5s and one 6-pointer to post a score of 45/0.

Norbert Schmidt was last down and opened strongly with a super-centre and three centre-bulls. He then dropped two consecutive points and another later, before again finding a super-centre and two more centre-bulls to take the match win with an excellent 57/2.

In the second 500 metre match Schild again opened for Full-bore Target Rifle, this time with a centre-bull. He lifted his percentage marginally with two bullseyes and just one wayward ‘bird’ in a string of 4-point ‘inners’, closing with 46 points (out of 55, this 11-shot match) with one centre-bull.

Mischlewski followed but struggled with the mirage, finding the centre just four times amid a string of seven ‘inners’, though most were barely outside the bullseye ring, to edge Schild by two points with a 48/1.

Wearne was next down and saw an opportunity for a match win. He opened with a bull, a centre-bull, and two super-centres, and closed with two more super-centres and a bullseye for his last pull.

He was let down mid-match by two 4-point ‘inners’ and a frustrating 3-point ‘bird’, and though he took the lead with a strong 51/5, he had left the door open.

McKellar was last down and, opening with eight straight 5-pointers, looked on form for another perfect score. His ninth and tenth pulls both went over the top of the bullseye ring, and, too late, he recognised the shadowing of the target by passing clouds.

Calling the problem to fellow shooters, he adjusted down and closed with a centre-bull to take the match with a fine 53/3.  

Cruickshank’s second range for F-Class Target Rifle saw him find the centre more often, and though he also pulled more ‘inners’ he maintained his percentage to close with a very acceptable 54 points (out of 66 this 11-shot match, for F-Class) and 1 super-centre.

Gusmeroli again followed, and though he was up-and-down to start, he lifted his percentage from his first match dramatically to close with five 5-pointers and two 6-pointers, edging Cruicky by two points with a fine 56/2.

Schmidt was last down, and though he too shot an up-and-down round with 5s and 6s alternating, he maintained his percentage and closed with another impressive match winning score of 62/2.

In summary, in demanding conditions, the Full-bore Target Rifle Double 500m Competition was taken by Mal McKellar with 103 points (out of 105) and 7 centre-bulls, over Rob Wearne second with 99/7, and Ric Mischlewski third on 96/3.

F-Class Target Rifle was taken by Norbert Schmidt with 119 points (out of 126) and 4 super-centres, over Steve Cruickshank second on 103/1, and “Gus” Gusmeroli third with 101/2.

The Club meets every Saturday at 1:00pm at the Mossman & District Rifle Club Range mid-way between Port and Mossman. Visitors are always welcome.