GBRT : Canada 2011

The Army and Navy vets match was rather a tale of 2 details. In the first detail, the flags lay lifelessly against the poles, very occasionally deigning to flick a tail for a brief moment. Scores were high. 5 minutes before the second detail started, the flags promptly left their poles. The wind bracket for the shoot was agreed as being between 7 and 10½ mins left. Scores were not so high.

Steve Penrose won the match with a 75.11. Captain Richards took 3rd  place behind Jim Paton, David scoring 75.8. GBRT members took 10 of the top 20 places.

We still don't know where on the cow “hip” of beef comes from but it certainly ate well and the meat was delicious. Wilde only had 3 helpings that he confessed to.

I erred in reporting that the Grand started at 0900 today. It started after lunch. Our amusement started early. Wilde was taking some photos with flash, the adjutant, alert and observant as he always is declared “Christ! Was that lightning?”
The morning's shooting activity started with a 2/10 shoot in the Tilton at 300m. It was supposed to start at the top of the hour, but competitors were not allowed onto the mound for the 7 minute preparation period until that time – instant 7 minute delay as the rain got heavier, indeed, it had been raining all night. Very still wind under an overcast, gloomy sky. The forecast was for some thunderstorm activity as the day goes on.

Most team members scored 50 points, with varying numbers of v bulls. Lothian missed both his sighters as he had 10 minutes left wind on his sights. “Sparky” Brooks put his first sighter somewhere in northern Ontario having left his ladder sight on the 900m setting. Our “piece de resistance” of the morning however was Shouler's completely original stunt. He discovered a way of utterly destroying any grouping capability previously demonstrated. What you do is to freeze 2 water bottles overnight and then place them on each side of your ammo box for an hour, preferably longer for a wider group. You then barely hold the inner for your sighters and your 1st to count. Realising that things are not as they shoud be, you retire to find some stones to throw at the target, they being arguably more accurate. The team research and development technology management section has deliberated and arrived at the conclusion that it was the condensation on the rounds that caused the problems that Shouler experienced.
As a mark of his prowess as a marksman, Simon then fired nine rounds borrowed from a very generous Canadian and put them in the middle.

The Tilton is another of the matches shot at 2 distances, 600y in this case. Again, only light zephyrs gently stirred the flags, scores throughout the morning were high. Any HPS requires the shooter to weigh his or her trigger. As Canada has now adopted Icfra rules, minimum allowed trigger weight is 500 grammes. This has lead to some fun, the weight not even bothering our first pressure, let alone the second.

The Grand Aggregate started after lunch with the Macdougall. 2/10's at 300m and 500x. By the time the morning's shooting had finished, the schedule was running about 30 mins late. As the detail gathered for the first delayed shoot of the afternoon, we eyed up an approaching shower which looked ominously dark and threatening. The butt markers were driven down to the butts 5 mins after the shoot was scheduled to start so that first sighters were fired just as a howling wind came in from about 11 o'clock. Lightning was seen about 3 miles south. Shooting was delayed at 500x and continued at 300m, scores for this detail were not high. One possible was recorded. There was then an hour before the next detail at 300m, meanwhile, over at 500x, the 1559 relay started shooting at 1659. The last details at 500x may well have to be shot once the sun has set – a challenge indeed.
Wilde has shot a full house 200.33. His “worried”face has gone.
Our Captain has now departed the range to do his cordon bleu bit. He bought half a cow yesterday and will be slaving over a hot barbeque to feed his team this evening. Our salivary glands are already revving up, drool is sloshing around the buses.

A bright and early start tomorrow. 1st shot down the range at 0800?