Saturday was warm and sunny, with a light breeze, an active mirage, and well-shadowed targets providing challenging conditions for Target Rifle shooters in a Double 400m Competition.

In the first 400 metre match Neil Attwood opened the Full-bore Target Rifle (308 cal., peep-sight, manually-supported) competition with a pair of 2- and 3-point ‘sighters’, which he cut, but which led him to a 4-point ‘inner’ as his first-to-count, followed by a 5-point bullseye. All was looking good.

He then pulled two more 4-pointers, just outside the bulls-eye ring, before calamity struck in the form of a split casing jamming in his barrel. This highly unusual incident could not be safely cleared on the range, forcing him from the competition.

Ron Schild, having last week withdrawn from his first shoot since heart-surgery in May was too unconditioned after his lengthy lay-off to obtain a steady ‘hold’, but went to the mound determined to shoot the full double match.

He cut his first sighter, a 2-pointer, and accepted the second, a 4-point ‘inner’. He wavered a little initially with a 3-point ‘bird’, another ‘inner’ and another ‘bird’, but then steadily  improved his form, with a fine 5-point bulls-eye/centre-bull combination, three consecutive 4-point ‘inners’ just outside the bulls-eye ring, and finishing with another 5-point bulls-eye for a very credible 41 points (out of 50, this 10-shot match) with one centre.

Mal McKellar was last down and looked to be in form as he pulled a 5-point super-centre-bull for his first sighter. Unfortunately it was all downhill from there. His second sighter was a 3-point ‘bird’ at 9 o’clock. Thinking this was an aberration, he cut both ‘sighters’ (as rules do not allow keeping the first and cutting the second), but then proceeded to put his first-to-count through the same hole!

It was clear that the first sighter was the aberration, and his sight needed incremental adjustment. However, there was doubt in his mind as to the effect of the mirage, and so, aiming-off towards 3 o’clock his second-to-count moved into the 4-point ring but was still left of centre at 9 o’clock.
 
Too late he realised the undeniable need to adjust his sight, but then, frustrated, he adjusted the wrong way and pulled two 3-pointers and two 2-pointers increasingly moving further from the centre, all the while looking for other causes.

Stunned, he realised his blunder, but 6 shots into a 10-shot match is no place to be making major sight adjustments, and though he managed two 4-pointers and a 5-point bulls-eye to finish, his match was well and truly done, closing with a miserable 32/0 to hand the match win to a deserving and expectant, but very pleased, Ron Schild.

In the second 400 metre match a reinvigorated Schild opened for Full-bore Target Rifle.

Keeping his 5-point bulls-eye second-sighter, he pulled two more bulls-eyes and a steady stream of 4-point ‘inners’, punctuated by just one 3-point ‘bird’, to complete the match and the competition, to his great satisfaction, and to again shoot a very creditable, under the circumstances, score of 46 points (out of 55, this 11-shot match) with no centres, setting a definite challenge for following shooters.

McKellar was again last down, determined to make amends for his first match ‘brain-fade’, and he opened well with two bullseye ‘sighters’. Three 4-point ‘inners’ in the next four shots weighed on his confidence, but he closed strongly with three bulls-eyes, a centre-bull, and two super-centre-bulls (all worth 5 points, with centres and super-centres used to separate ties on a count-back) to post a match winning score of 52/3.

In summary, and in generally friendly conditions, the Full-bore Target Rifle Double 400m Competition was taken by a well-deserved and exuberant Ron Schild with 87 points (out of 105) and 1 centre-bull, over Mal McKellar 2nd with 84/3, and Attwood 3rd.

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

Please note that there will be no shoots on Saturday 1 and Saturday 8 September as shooters will be attending the Cairns & Inland Districts Rifle Club Annual Prize Shoot at the Atherton Range on Saturday 1, and the Atherton Club’s own Annual Prize Shoot on Sunday 2 September.

Our own postponed (from the ‘big wet’ late May) Mossman & District Rifle Club Annual Prize Shoot will now be held on Sunday 9 September commencing at 9.30am sharp, at our home Range. Interested observers are welcome.