ECDRA Win First Round of Chas Hayes 2018
Gazebos, blue skies, heavy coats and wet road tell the story of what can best be described as a difficult day of target shooting at 800 yards on the Katandra Range for the first round of the Chas Hayes Memorial pennant.
East Central District Rifle Association hunkered down and pulled together in the tough conditions as they rapidly changed throughout the day. The team took out the first round of the Chase Hayes Long Range Pennant by two points on Saturday. ECDRA scored 586 points from Karramomus on 584, then Shepparton Nathalia with 583, Nagambie 580 and Katandra 358.
The shoot was at Katandra and consisted of two stages over 800 yards. The shoot marked a major achievement for the district as it was the first time that the Chase Hayes had been shot on electronic targets at Katandra. It is the fulfilment of a vision developed 5 years ago at the Railway Hotel in Euroa when a group of shooters got to gather to discuss how they might use the Shooting Sports Facility grants program to have all clubs using electronic targets.
The vision included the fact that for big shoots clubs would share their targets so that four or more targets could be made available to allow big shoots to run with the same efficacy as the club shoot with only two.
Karramomus, Katandra and Wodonga are the only ranges in the North East region with access to 900 or 1000 yard ranges with “first Class Electronic targets ", on Saturday Karramomus and Katandra shared their targets to enable the 5 clubs to shoot within a reasonable time.
The shoot also marked the occasion of using the full facilities of the range for the first time for some time as extensive renovations have been undertaken during the last two years by the Katandra Club, led by Peter O’Dwyer, as part of the move to electronic targets. The target system ran flawlessly and ensured the shoot was completed in good time.
Saturday can only be described as mixed weather. The icy blast from the south brought squalls around Mt Major that sent the shooters scurrying for shelter in gazebos erected for the day. The chopping and changing of the weather, not just the wind but the light and the temperature really tested the resolve of the shooters was well as their skills. ECDRA Captain Marty Kelly said he was exhausted at the end of the day, as he and his coaching team tried to keep on top of the conditions.
The placings were not really clear until well after the final stage when handicaps and class adjustments were made and then the results were double, no triple checked with only 6 points separating the top four teams. Clearly the 2018 Chase Hayes is going to be one off the closest contested pennants for a long time. Next Saturday it is round two with two stages over 900 yards at the Katandra range. Special thanks are extended to the Katandra Club for the use of their range and for the excellent work they have completed to make their range first class.