Day 16

Finally, we woke up to a clear sky and a good weather forecast, as day two of the Grand beckoned. Today the vans were on different schedules according to detail, so the team split into groups of four for the majority of the day. As before, the day started with breakfast in the team hut, before the team divided for their shoots. For some those began with the 500 yards of the Col. John Brick and for others the 300 metres of the Norman Beckett. Conditions in the morning were relatively benign and most made use of them with a total of 22 possibles (out of 40 shoots). This was followed by Jon Underwood’s tie shoot for the Ottawa Regiment (800m), which he duly won in style, despite having an inner for his last to count. We are pleased to announce that this increases the team trophy haul to two trophies in two days.

After lunch the wind started to wake up and it became a bit more changeable. This created a few problems within the 800m leg of the Norman Beckett, with winds switching from 5 left to 2 right, which caught a lot of the team members out. (Much to their annoyance, as the preceding detail was a much easier 1 to 3 left). However, Jane Messer, Emma Nuttall and Jon Underwood excelled to come off with 50s, Jane heading the pack with 50.8. The 600 yard leg of the Norman Beckett also proved to be a bit tougher than previous 600 yard shoots, with the wind flipping quickly between 0 and 2.5 minutes and catching many people. As the team returned to the hut there were plenty of unfortunate tales of lost battles during the afternoon. Despite this, Jane Messer, Jon Underwood and Emma Nuttall managed to go all in, much to their credit.

At the final counting for the day, Jane Messer had won the Norman Beckett and was in the lead of the Grand as the only person not to have dropped a point yet. Jon Underwood had won the Col. John Brick and lay second in the Grand. Both of them have tied for first equal for the daily aggregate (the Dick Hampton Aggregate) and will have to tie shoot for it. As there’s no one else in the running, that will be another trophy for GBRT14!

Off the range, however, was where there was the most disappointment for some of the team. The shopping list, which is usually actioned in full, was missing a few requirements. Lindsey was very sad that the pony she requested on the shopping list was not procured. Even more distressing for others in the team was the lack of a PS4 with the Goldeneye package and 50” plasma screen. Instead of the return of the team shoppers being a joyous occasion, a subdued lunch at the hut munching on ginger snaps ensued when it became apparent that the team hadn’t managed to acquire any of these touring essentials.

A relatively early finish meant that people could get back to the hotel and freshen up/unwind in the pool and Jacuzzi. This was followed with a BBQ skilfully cooked by Tom and Stu who, on two distinctly undersized barbecues, managed to successfully cook two whole cows and half a pig. Credit should also go to the designers of the picnic benches outside in the hotel gardens as, as a few members of the team discovered, they are not balanced well enough to have three people on one side without anyone on the other… a rather large puddle of steaks, gin, crisps and cutlery appeared on Matt, Phil and Will’s laps as a result!

Despite some team members trying to encourage us to head over the road for a few drinks and a game of pool, everyone ended up in bed early, in order to be well rested for tomorrows shooting. The Letson is the Canadian equivalent of our Queens I, necessitating a very early start for the unfortunates on the 8 a.m. detail.