By Malcolm McKellar

A warm, partly cloudy day, with a vigorous mirage and a gusty breeze made for challenging conditions for a Double 400m Competition on Saturday afternoon.

The Full-bore Target Rifle class was taken by Mal McKellar with a creditable 102 points (out of a possible 105) and 9 centre-bulls, over Rick Mischlewski 2nd on 98/6 and Neil Attwood 3rd with 94/3.

Norbert Schmidt took the F-Class Open Target Rifle class with an unusually low 109 points (out of 126) and, confirming the difficulty of the conditions, just 1 super-centre bullseye. Saturday 8th November was hot, with passing cumulus occasionally shading the brightly illuminated targets from an overhead Sun, a vigorous heat-haze rising from the dry ground and distorting the target, and a sometimes blustery breeze active at the mantlet.

In the first 400 metre match Rick Mischlewski opened the Full-bore Target Rifle (.308 cal., peep-sight, manually-supported) competition with a 5-point bullseye followed by a 4-point ‘inner’, leaving him no option but to cut them both.

His first-to-count was a super-centre bullseye, but again followed by a 4-pointer; adjusting for the mirage, he then pulled five straight 5-pointers, including three consecutive centre-bulls, looking more confident in the conditions.

Unfortunately, two ‘inners’ and a wild 3-point ‘bird’ to finish, left him frustrated with a closing score of 45 points (out of 50 this first, 10-shot match) but with a respectable 4 centre-bulls.

Neil Attwood followed and took his second 5-point sighter as his first-to-count; he followed that with a super-centre bullseye and another 5-point bull, but then struggled with the mirage, finding the centre just one more time to close with a disappointing 43/1.

Mark Goulston put his new rifle to the test with his first exposure to the peep-sighted target-rifle discipline in a full match, and steadily improved throughout to post a 31/0. Mal McKellar was last to take the mound and carried his two 5-point sighters into the match.

He shot consistently despite conditions, and though he dropped in two 4-pointers toward the end, he took the match with a very acceptable 48/5. Norbert Schmidt opened the F-Class Standard Target Rifle (.308 cal., telescoped and bipod-supported) category with 5-point sighters which he confidently cut; his f-t-c was a 4-pointer however, and he struggled with conditions, finding just four 6-point super-centres in his 10 shots and closing with a disappointing 51 points (out of 60 this 10-shot match, for F-Class) with no super-centres.

In the second 400 metre match Mischlewski again opened for Full-bore Target Rifle, this time with two 5-point bullseye sighters, which he carried.

He then put on a superb display of technical discipline, with controlled breathing and a rock-steady hold, to pull seven more straight bullseyes including two centre-bulls, before stumbling with two 4-point ‘inners’ to finish, but setting a very demanding 53 points (of a possible 55 this eleven shot second match) with 2 centre-bulls to beat.

Next down, Attwood struggled at the start, with a 3-point second sighter and two ‘inners’ to open; however he then settled, and dropped just two more points to close with a respectable 51/2 to trail Rick by 2 points.

Goulston was keenly down and was happy to take 4- and 5-point sighters into the match; though he pulled a 2-point ‘outer’ mid-match and finished with a ‘bird’, he found a centre-bull and two more 5-pointers amongst a string of 4-point ‘inners’, and, appropriately, was very pleased to count a 45/1 to complete his first Full-bore match.

McKellar was again last of the Full-bore shooters down, and carried his second 5-point sighter into the match. Emulating Mischlewski he was rock solid, pulling seven more straight bullseyes, including three super-centre bullseyes, before dropping a point on his ninth pull; he finished with another bull/centre-bull combination however to take a dramatic 54/4 win for the match.

Norbert Schmidt’s second range for F-Class Target Rifle saw him continue to struggle while awaiting his replacement barrel, though he did lift his percentage marginally to close with 57 points (out of 66 this 11-shot match, for F-Class) with 1 super-centre bullseye.

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.