Sunday the 10th of August was the second and final day of shooting at Batoche range in Quebec. The day was destined to be a warm one with temperatures comfortably breaking 30°. The orientation of the range itself is West to East which means that in the early morning details you are shooting into the sun. For some, this necessitated the removal of eagle eyes in order to be able to get a large enough foresight element to cope with the conditions – some new skills were certainly being learned by the team. Three individual competitions were shot in the morning, one at 500 followed by two at 600. An excellent lunch followed provided by our hosts. In the afternoon we shot our first team match on this tour and were divided into teams of four. One of the teams – made-up entirely of Norfolk team members – scored a fantastic 200 out of 200 in fickle wind conditions to take the team prize.

This concluded our shooting in Quebec and prize giving followed. Jon Underwood took the Grand Aggregate having not dropped a point for the whole 2 days – a truly remarkable performance. Nicole Rossingnole took second and Clare Holland an amazing third place on her first GB tour. A standard has definitely been set!  

Today also saw the arrival of Kelvin Ramsey, who arrived after a three-hour drive from Montreal just in time to have a shoot having quickly assembled his rifle out of its travelling box. Away from the shooting, the team continues to bond with old friendships being reaffirmed and new friendships being made. Today also saw the first appearance of an unofficial prize presented to whomever makes the silliest mistake as voted for by their peers. See below for a picture of ‘donkey of the day’. Tomorrow we pack up and start heading to Kingston, ready to start shooting the Ontario Rifle Association meeting in Borden. Onwards and upwards!

JH