Last night saw a great haul for the team at prize giving, although what was not documented was the huge output of the ammo team overnight. Minions Jeens and Rose were appointed by masters Armstrong, McLeod and Rylands to a press each and given a huge box of rounds to work on. The arrival of Jackie (Physio Number 2 – or is that 1?) with sugary drinks accelerated their progress but reverted them to a delirious giggling state as they pounded the rounds out. Fear not, quality ammo was produced by the bucket load.
Come the morning, we finally reached our last day of competitor marking at Perry – Huzzah! It would be unfair to paint the marking in entirely grey (or grey) tones, it has provided a very sociable environment as well as a healthy workout for all, not to mention a high quality of target pulling. Nonetheless, several of us stepped up to work those target frames one last time.
Today was the high power meeting’s Palma team match; target teams of four with a coach battling it out across 800/900/1000yds. The match was particularly important as a) The America match is only days away, and b) all the key teams are now on camp so this was the first chance to go toe to toe with our competition. A very focussed team took to the range keen to impress on all counts; shooters to lay down great shots and coaches to show mastery of the conditions in guiding each shot in. The conditions were brilliant and challenging, with more of the fluctuating wind from over our left shoulder. 800 yards was dealt with without any great drama as the wind was yet to challenge the coaches too greatly, but 900 saw some harder changes, enough to blow a few 8s and 9s for some teams though generally the GB teams (we were again broken into sub-teams) fared well. Martin had been rented out to the veterans team for the day to try his hand at line coaching. They returned him in one piece and it served as good practice for their upcoming world championship match.
After 900, the teams across the range had all dropped points here and there in the tricky wind, though Bill had plenty to be pleased about with just 2 points off from his team so far. It was all to play for at 1000 yards and by many accounts it was carnage up at the ‘big end’ (right hand side with high target numbers) as they were using larger wind values than those nearer the trees. That said, those by the trees had no warning of changes so snappy firing was key. Once the dust had settled, Bill’s team of Armstrong, Crispin, Tapster and Jeens made a commendable 19 off, to win the match with Ensor’s 24 off in second place. Jeremy’s team was placed 6th which was still a great placing for GB considering there were 64 team entries! Great shooting across the teams and great practice for the bigger matches to come.
Tonight we head out adorned in our blazers and tie for the Meet and Greet reception, marking the start of the fullbore meeting tomorrow. Armed with our best chat we will brave the crowds and meet our international friends both old and new.
