Saturday was a near perfect day at the Rifle Range with a light breeze and a very light mirage to give all six club members a nice, relaxing afternoon shoot.
 
First to set his rifle up was Norbert Shmidt shooting in the F Class (telescoped, mechanical/bypod/sandbagged rest) 308 competition.

Norbert opened with two 4s, he opted to cut them and then went on to squeeze off seven perfect shots with a few fives creeping in to give Norbert a first round score of 57, with five dead centres, out of a possible 60.

Gus Gusmeroli was the next F Class shooter to lay down and shoulder his rifle in the F Class comp. Gus opened with a 6 and a 4 which he kept and then went on shoot a very mixed bag of shots to give him a final first range score of 49 from a possible 60. Gus retired after his first round as he could not get comfortable on the 700 metre range.

Malcolm McKellar was next on the mound to shoulder his trusty 308 in the Full Bore (308 manually supported, open sights) comp.

Mal opened with a 4 and a 5, he cut the 4 and kept the 5 and then let loose a profusion of faultless shots with only one shot not finding centre to give Mal a final first round score of 49/3 V Bulls and 2 super V Bulls from a possible 50.

Rick Mischlewski was next on the mound shooting in the Full Bore comp. Rick opened with a 4 and a 5, he cut the 4 and kept the 5 and went on to squeeze off an abundance of Bull Eyes and a few Super V Bulls to virtually replicate McKellar’s score, giving Rick a first round score of 49/2 V Bulls and 2 Super V Bulls.

Our newest member, Rachael Powell, was up on the mound next using a borrowed 308 scoped rifle in the F Class comp.

Rachael was coached by Steve Cruickshank to get her familiar and comfortable with the experience of shooting for the first time. Steve centred the rifle and then Rachael shouldered it and squeezed off a 5 and a 6 which she kept and then went on to shoot a mixed bag to give her a first range score of 49 from a possible 60 - pretty good for a newbie.

Neil Attwood was next up shooting in the Full Bore comp. Neil opened with a 4 and a 5, he cut the 4 and went on to shoot fairly consistently dropping 4 points to give him a score of 46 out of a possible 50 in the first range 700 metre 10 shot match.

Norbert Schmidt was back again to compete in the second 700 metre, 11 shot match. Norbert opened with a 6 and a 6 which he kept and went on to shoot a surfeit of 6s with a few 5s to give him a second range score of 63, with 1 dead centre, out of a possible 66.

Malcolm McKellar was back again to contend in the 700 metre Full Bore Open sight shoot. Mal opened with two 4s, which he cut, and then a 5 and loads of V Bulls and two Super V Bulls and one 4 to give him a second range score of 54/6 from a possible 55. A Supper V Bull is hitting a 125mm spot at 700 metres with open sights. Good shooting Mal.

Rachael Powell was back for her second range. Rachael opened with two 5s which she kept, and then shot a very mixed bag of shots to give her a final score of 46/1 from 66.

Neil Attwood was up next for his second range. Neil opened with a 5 and a 4. He cut them and then let loose a plethora of fine shots to give him a final tally of 53/5 with one Supper V Bull. V Bulls and Supper V Bulls are all worth 5 points in the Full Bore comp.

Neil shot exceedingly well due to the absolutely perfect conditions on the range as the mirage had vanished in the late afternoon, giving him a crystal clear view of the target.

A good day was had by all. After Gus Gusmeroli retired he went down to help Jed Kemp pull and mark the targets.

Norbert Schmidt took honours in the F Class Comp with a final double range score of 120/6 from 126 followed by Rachael Powell with 92/1. Malcolm McKellar took honours in the Full Bore Comp with a  double range score of 103/11 followed closely by Rick Mischlewski on 101/9, and in third place Neil Attwood on 99/5 from a possible 105.

We shoot every Saturday at 1pm at the Rifle Club signposted half way between Port Douglas and Mossman. All interested are most welcome to come and have a go.