By Malcolm McKellar

In deceptively serene conditions, a light mirage and a difficult-to-read variable breeze compounded the challenge of a small 300 metre target to make for a demanding Full-bore Target Rifle Double 300m Competition which was taken by Mal McKellar with a none-the-less accomplished 102 points (out of a possible 105) and 8 centre-bulls. Neil Attwood was 2nd on 91/4, reflecting the difficulty of the conditions, over Ric Mischlewski 3rd on 88/2.

Saturday 19th July was a cracker – clear and warm, with shadowed targets from the still-northerly Sun, a barely discernible mirage, and a light variable breeze that, all together, seemed to offer good conditions for Target Rifle shooters in a Double 300m Competition.

In the first 300 metre match Ric Mischlewski opened the Full-bore Target Rifle (308 cal., peep-sight, manually-supported) competition with a pair of 2-point ‘outer’ sighting shots, an immediate indication that conditions were not as benign as they seemed. His first-to-count was a 3-point ‘bird’ – one ring closer to the centre but far from what he was expecting for his third ‘pull’ – and though he followed that with three 4-point ‘inners’ he did not find the centre until his seventh-to-count, closing with a super-centre bullseye (a mere 35mm diameter circle at 300 metres) but a disappointing score of 41 points (out of 50 this first, 10-shot match) and just 1 centre-bull. Neil Attwood followed, finding a centre-bull for his second sighter, which he carried, but an inner and two birds upset the applecart, and though he found two perfect super-centre bulls on his 6th and 7th pulls he finished with another 3-point bird to just square Mischlewski’s 41 points but take the lead on centre-bulls with 3. Interested members of the Mischlewski clan – Michael, Kim & Jenna, all tried their hand at the discipline, finding the target in most instances and demonstrating family talent. Mal McKellar then took the mound, opening with 3- and 4-point sighters; his first-to count was a 5-point bullseye, and though he dropped in 4-point ‘inners’ on his second and last (10th) pulls he found one super-centre and three centre-bulls to take the win with a very respectable 48/4.

In the second 300 metre match Ric Mischlewski again opened for Full-bore Target Rifle and, with the Sun past zenith and both the breeze and the mirage easing, opened his account with a bullseye first-to-count; an “inner” but three more consecutive 5-point bullseyes followed, indicating that he was “on”, however his final six shots (of eleven in this second match) were wildly awry ranging from an ‘outer’ 2-pointer to a centre-bullseye, and he finished with an improved but still disappointing 47 points (of a possible 55) and 1 centre-bull. Attwood was again next down, and like Mischlewski opened with two 4-point sighters and a 5-point bullseye; his next was a super-centre bullseye, and two “inners” amongst four bullseyes followed, however, disappointingly, he closed with three more 4-pointers to post a none-the-less creditable 50/1 to move into the lead. Jenna Mischlewski put another six rounds through the target, and Michael persisted with a full eleven-shot match, finding one bullseye and two 4-point “inners” in a mixed bag to post a reasonable, given his lack of experience, 28/0. McKellar was last down, and carried his 5-point second sighter; he then shot a near-perfect round, dropping just one point on his 6th to close with a very creditable 54/4 to take the match win.       

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