Goulburn Valley District Rifle Association Open Prize Meeting and Karramomus Picnic Shoot

McAuliffe Shield Round 4 2018 Pennant Season

In the final round of the McAuliffe Shield the short range Pennant. The mountain marksmen of the East Central District Rifle Association were clear winners against Shepparton/Nathalia Gold 895 Vs 870 points.

The match was contested at the ECDRA’s home range at Violet Town and as we have come to expect the weather played a big part of the match with that “nasty" wind always present very often catching the shooters out with its strength and direction.  The shoot got underway early to make the best use of the good light in the middle of the day and as forecast the light was excellent.

At the first 500 yard range Marty Kelly 60.6 and David Wallace 60.5 lead the team as Shepparton/ Nathalia Gold struggled with their best score being a 57.5 by Jason Li.  Stage two also at 500 yards continued to favor the ECDRA team with Vaughan Murphy 60.8 and Des Coulter 60.6 joining David Wallace 60.7 and Marty Kelly 60.4  while for the Gold team Ross Stuart 60.5 scoring his first possible ever was the only one. Congratulations Stuart a great achievement hope you have many more.

Moving back to the third stage at 600 yards the ECDRA team had an unassailable lead baring major incidents. 600 proved to be quite a challenge as the afternoon wind picked up in both strength and variability and the top shooters began to drop points, that is all but Des Coulter who showed everyone how it was done with a very good 60.1 the only “possible” shot by both sides at 600 yards. 

Special mention must be made of the team work with everyone pulling together to ensure the match ran smoothly and that wind coaching was shared around the whole team.  The best way to work out what the wind is doing is to coach another shooter and this year many members have stepped up to take on this task. We now have a team of good shooters with good gear and a wealth of experience in reading the conditions, just what is needed to go forward into the Chas Hayes Long Range Pennant starting in a couple of weeks.  This pennant is contested over three matches at distances of 800 to 1000 yards.

This year we have the choice of two ranges to contest these matches with the completion of the range improvement works at Katandra and the availability of the 1000 yard range at Karramomus.  The ECDRA members were on a high as they gathered for a cuppa at the end of the match both with the great result on the day and with the return of Graeme Kerr they have the potential to turn out some very impressive scores in the Chas Hayes.  The Chas Hayes is also a warm up from the State team championships that will be held In October with our team determined to be state team champions for 2018.

If you would like to try this exciting and challenging sport please contact the club and arrange a suitable time. Or drop in on a day that we are at the home range. Shooting schedules may be found at www.ecdra.com.au in the calendar section.  More information about long range precision shooting may be found in You Tube under East Central District Rifle Association.

St Arnaud Open Prize meeting 2018

Marty Kelly and Terry Gee made the long drive out to St Arnaud this Queens Birthday Long Weekend and Brian Houlihan drove even further out to Mildura to test there skills in competition. Marty Kelly won the F class Target Rifle on both days and hence also won the Grand aggregate at the No 2 District Rifle Association Prize shoot. Terry Gee was Shooting in F Open and shot very consistently but not quite back to his old form yet.  Watch this space as the way he is shooting he is a competitor to watch.

Brian Houlihan  took the opportunity to travel to Mildura for a small bore North West Championship shot over 20 and 50 metres.  Brian scored a fourth in B Grade 598.45 over 20m and was ranked 17th overall a great Shoot.  Sunday proved to be a difficult day for Brian shooting over 50m  he shot 583.11 and scored a fourth in C grade. 

At St Arnaud the clear winters days were accompanied by subtle wind that winds its way down the range  cut out of the box iron bark forests and makes it very hard to read.  This was not Marty or Terry’s issues as they soon had its measure their lost points were mainly in elevation. 60s were the order of the day and both managed 60.7 only 0.3 off a perfect score at different stages through the match.  Marty was a clear winner in F Target Rifle with a total score of 355.31 made up of 178.17 day 1 and 177.14 on day 2. Five points down over 6 stages is a great effort.  Terry is getting back to his old form with 3rd overall with 351.25, 10th place on day 1 with 173.10 then he showed the field what he was capable of with 178.15 for day 2 . 

Both shooters performed very well upholding the outstanding record our Mountain Marksmen have established across the state and Nationally, where Marty is now ranked 6th in FT/R. 

McAuliffe Shield Round 4 2018 Pennant Season

It was a very different day for our Mountain Marksmen from the East Central District Rifle Association as they traveled to the open plains of Katandra to contest the fourth round of the McAuliffe Shield.  The Katandra team with 899, dropping only one point defeating the ECDRA team 870, well down on their average team score.   Captain Marty Kelly said "Katandra shot exceptionally well with all but one shooter shooting the maximum score possible".

A key factor was the wind, as we shuddered with 10 10ths cloud cover the Katandra range enjoyed bright sunshine all day and a freezing wind.  The wind chose to puff and pant seemingly at the wrong moment and the ECDRA wind coaches did a fantastic job  but did not have that local knowledge essential too posting top scores at Katandra. It was hard enough but when one of the top shooters places a maximum scoring shot on the Katandra target it even makes it harder.  The Katandra range is now electronic and the one thing that the shooters did not miss was the need to change markers through the match.  The Katandra club spent all of the 2017 season carrying out range improvements including the setting up of electronic targets that facilitating shooting back to 900 yards.  The Katandra club must be congratulated for the great job they have done to bring the range up to such a high standard.

A feature of Saturday’s shoot was the early start similar to last week that ensured shooting was completed in good light and  the visiting team got home at a reasonable hour. Terry Gee took top score off rifle for ECDR, it is good to see Terry back after his two year break and it is very clear he has not lost any of the skills that won him the SA Queens Prize in 2016.  At the other end of the team Paul Watkins in his first McAuliffe Shield pennant season is shooting well and each week the size of his groups becomes smaller

5th Annual Shoot For Autism

The 5th Annual Shoot for Autism was held by the sea at the Grantville Rifle Range over both days on the weekend. The Grantville range is close to the sea and subject to all the vagaries of the sea breeze and the dull overcast first day with little wind was a great day for shooting and the scores refleted that.  Marty Kelly had a great weekend only dropping two points over the entire shoot of 5 ranges with a score of 358.29  out of a possible 360.60 a fantastic effort to take first place in F Target Rifle class.

Fellow ECDRA member Terry Gee shot 356.27 in F Open yet again a brilliant shot and was forced into fourth place. Terry shot exceptionally well on Saturday not dropping a point 60.5, 60.5, 60.7 = 180.17 a score that would normally put you in first and yet on the day could only make third place.  Marty on the other hand shot a 59.7,60.3,60.4 = 179.14 and first place in F T/R.

With 500 yards out of the way it was back to 600 on Sunday this time each stage involved 15 scoring shots.  At the end of a two day shoot and in very wintry conditions the 15 shot shoots proved to be a real challenge yet again our ECDRA shooters acquitted themselves well, Marty with 89.7 and 90.8 winning both stages and then with a 358.29 won the two day aggregate.  Terry shooting 87.5 (fourth place) 89.5 (fifth place) and a grand aggregate total of 356.27 to be placed fourth.

What great shooting form our Mountain Marksmen and what great practice for the Avenel Trophy. Marty and Terry said that the changes in the conditions influenced by the sea were quite different to those found on the inland ranges and this required them to use every tool in the book to stay on target. We can only wonder how it can be that they shot so well yet it was so hard to find a place on the podium.

McAuliffe Shield Round 3 2018 Pennant Season

The East Central District Rifle Association in the third round shot against Nagambie at the Violet Town range. The weather was forecast to be dull and overcast so the Clubs agreed top make an early start to avoid late afternoon finishes in the “dark” and at least starting the trip home in daylight.  The shoot got underway at 10:30 and it was soon very clear that the match was on with both teams posting two 60s

It was great to welcome back Matt Frazer and Chai Somlong who’s work schedule has clashed with their shooting program ( we hope this has been sorted) and to see Vaughan Murphy Terry Gee and Des Coulter  make the long trip up to the shoot.  It was also good to see Nagambie come through with a full team and some outstanding scores as their new members get into the swing of team shooting.

When the scores were finalised  Nagambie were the winners 799 out of 800 to ECDRA 797 out of 800 a win by two points.  The consistent team effort by our ECDRA shooters was not quite enough on the day and there is a commitment to really get a handle on that Violet Town wind and get that 800 points next time.

Ken Newnham, one of the long standing members of Nagambie while talking to Rob Chaffe (who had made his first visit to the range this year) said that it is quite some time since both of them contested the Nagambie Christmas shoot on the Old Nagambie range in 1964 and it is great to see the strong interest in the sport from the younger members.  If you would like to try this challenging sport please check out the calendar to find out when shooting will be a club shoot at Violet Town and suit you, drop in and say hello and you will be most welcome.

Terry Gee shoots in the South Australian Queen’s Prize

Terry Gee from the East Central District Rifle Association made the long trip to Adelaide last week to contest the South Australian Queen’s prize competition and acquitted himself very well with some brilliant shooting and some mixed results in a field of very high standard shooters in his F Open Class.

Twice at 300m he shot the possible 60 points the first with 8 super-centres and he was forced into 2nd place by a count back then 9 super-centres and yet again to be forced into second place by a shooter scoring the maximum (perfect) 60.10 points. At 700 meters in “The Hunt” competition he shot 60.3 to yet again be pushed into 4th position. A good example of the strength of competition was when in the Queen’s at 700 yards he shot a brilliant 59.5, dropping just 1.5 points, only to find himself in 15th position.

The South Australian competition is in three parts “The Hunt”, The Queen’s Prize and the Grand Aggregate. To say the least this is a very full week of shooting that tests the very best shots and it was only two years ago that Terry made a clean sweep of the competitions in F standard. However after a two year break from shooting due to a serious back injury and changing classes to the very competitive F-Open Class its nearly back to square one.

Well done Terry. The range at Lower Light is one of the hardest in the country with winds that can literally tear the 6m long wind flags from their poles. All this on the top of a very long drive. We still can’t believe a 60.8 and a 60.9 and only second place.

Meanwhile back home on the Violet Town range those not traveling to South Australia. On Saturday the conditions really began to challenge the shooters, the good rain on Thursday nigh certainly cleared air and by Saturday the cooler conditions meant the mirage was harder to see and the cloud that parted from time to time meant changing light both combined with a very strong gusty wind gave the shooters a real challenge.

Neal Hambridge checks the conditions before taking aim at 500 yards on the Violet Town range before he shoots 60.5 the top off-rifle range score for the day on Saturday May 5.  The artificial grass is proving to be both very popular and very comfortable.

The shoot was the first club championship shoot for 2018 and was shot over 300, 500 and 600 yards. The E targets made the range management easy but fitting in three ranges in one afternoon is still a challenge in logistics. Fortunately the shoot was over in good time for a cuppa before the trip home. The results from the Club Championship will be determined for the different classes at the end of the 2018 season, we can say it got off to a great start with Neal Hambridge taking 500 yards with a 60.5 on a count back from Marty Kelly who also shot 60,5. Looks like we could be in for some tough competition during the year.