GB victorious!
OK – that headline may be mildly misleading, but it is technically accurate.
After a final 1000x detail yesterday that caused an onslaught of distressed memes by the adjutant onto social media, the team awoke to a day of blue skies, apparently calmer wind (from the front for a change!), and a team match in the morning. (more…)
The Trentham winds returned in full force today. We woke to cloudy skies and a cooler morning (no sympathy expected from loved ones in the UK dealing with snow). A brisk wind down the range led to rapidly fishtailing conditions from the start of the 600yd match at 8.30 am. The 900 and 1000 yd ranges to follow were very challenging! (more…)
Thursday began with the brightest start to any day so far, threatening the hottest conditions. The earliest to arrive at the range saw a thin layer of mist just covering the targets, but this did not last. As it turned out, the heat did not seem quite as draining as in some previous days (in some cases because of the abandonment of extra shooting layers), and perhaps the lighter load of shooting (3 shoots rather than the 4 of both yesterday and Tuesday) helped. Today’s schedule has been the most relaxed we have seen to date, with us leaving the accommodation at 7.30 and arriving back by 5pm on earlier days and just after 4pm for some today. (more…)
Wednesday brought the beginning of the Ballinger Belt series (see article in the brochure for the history of the Belt), which is the main individual competition of the year for New Zealand fullbore shooting. Today we were eased into it, with purely short range shooting, twice at 300x in the morning and twice at 500x in the afternoon. (more…)
After the excited rush to prepare for and shoot the New Zealand Match yesterday, the team has now settled down into a routine for individual shooting in the New Zealand championships.
This is the first of four days of individual competition: the Masefield today followed by the Ballinger Belt over Wednesday to Friday.
As we arrived on the range, the cloud cover extended down to about 100 feet above the ground at the targets, and barely higher further back. (more…)
After one day of individual competition, the New Zealand Match today was for international teams of ten. The GB team had been announced on Saturday evening (it had to be selected before any competitive shots were fired), allowing us to prepare suitably. As on recent mornings, the skies were overcast for the first shoot but rapidly cleared and the temperature rose through the morning. The course of fire for the match was 2 sighters and 10 counting shots at 300, 600, 900 & 1000yds (just like the Australia Match). The 300 yard shoot set the scene for the day: GB scored 493 with 60 v-bulls. Australia were leading with an impressive 498 and 64 v-bulls.
By lunchtime, after 600yds GB were lying 3rd, 11 points behind Australia and a single point behind USA, having lost a shot to a slam fire. With an afternoon at long range, in fast changing winds, this deficit had the potential to be insignificant. At 900 yds we felt totally in control of quite a tricky, changing, wind but lost a further 8 points to Australia and at 1000 yds they gained a further 7 points to take the win. (1955.185v to 1929.158v). The USA didn’t have a good 900yds. so slipped back to 3rd overall 10 points behind GB. Full scores are available elsewhere on this website.
Individual honours go to James Watson with a fabulous 198.20, not only making him top GB score but also highest score in the New Zealand match. The next 4 best scores – all 197’s – were shot by Australians, the best of them Duncan Davies with 28 V-bulls – some feat on ICFRA targets which have a substantially smaller centre bullseye ‘V’ than we are used to at home.
Alongside the New Zealand match for senior teams, there were further competitions for under 21, under 25 and veterans teams. New Zealand won the World Championship match at U21 level, and Australia won at U25 and they also won the veterans competition. The GB U21 team had started strongly, leading after 300 yards but struggled with the wind through the middle of the day. A good 1000yd shoot wasn’t sufficient to get amongst the top 3 though. The closest result proved to be the veterans match for the Tony Loughnan memorial trophy, with GB and Australia tied on points. The result in Australia’s favour was decided on V-bull count.
After a long day on the range, fresh fruit ice creams and cold beer refreshed all whilst awaiting prize giving.
A team dinner in the Trentham Mess Hall (attached to Totara lodge) finished the first team match day. The next international team match will be the World Championships for the Palma Trophy in 12 days’ time.
Australia win the New Zealand match, 1955.185, from GB 1929.158. USA 3rd 1919.153.
See scoresheets for full details.
The morning of Sunday 27th January brought the beginning of the individual competition at Seddon range at Trentham, with the Wellington Rifle Association Championships, or the “WRA” for short. (more…)
Today was our first full day of shooting, with the team having been given instructions to be heading for the range by 07.30. After a team warm up conducted by Zoe, there followed two hours of practice at each of 300, 900 & 1000 yds with a ‘lunch’ break after the first range (10.30am). The morning started much cooler than yesterday (waterproof trousers donned over shorts, for some, to keep warm). Later in the morning it had warmed considerably and the wind gradually built through the day. This provided an excellent chance to practice team drills in challenging, changeable conditions. We were not alone in operating as a team on this practice day; oddly, some of our rivals had chosen, though, to shoot as individuals. (more…)
Thursday concluded with a delicious fish barbecue and much pushing of ammo by team members until late at night. For one there was even a job interview conducted via Skype from the bathroom floor… don’t ask!
Friday saw the team’s arrival in force on the range, for some it being their first ever visit. These first two days have been allocated to team practice, ahead of the New Zealand Match, which is to be shot on Monday. (more…)
