303 Classic Invitational Shoot

It was great to see these very dependable rifles back in action the SMLE model dates back to the first world war making them over 100 years old.  The Number 4 developed prior to the second world war being a youngster only about 80 years old.

The 303 Classic Invitational saw shooters coming from across the state to participate in this annual event. If you would like to shoot in next years event please contact the club secretary for details. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The conditions were typical winter conditions cold, raining, and of course that Violet Town wind.  The 10:10 cloud cover gave very even but very dull light which was a real challenge to those using military sights.  Shooting was 10 shots to count at 300 and 600 yards and the targets were exact copies of those in use in the 1940’s.  

The classic 303 shoot gets underway at 300 yards with Graeme Kerr, the eventual overall winner and top scorer for the day, on the bench in the foreground shooting a No4 target Rifle the next two rifles across the mound are 303 SMLEs and the bright orange, not quite as issued, No4 in the background.  It looks very cold and dull, little wonder the afternoon tea was so welcome.

The  results (out of 50 points) confirm the difficulty of the conditions and the transfer, for most, from telescopic sights to military and peep sights.  Prizes were awarded for two classes; Military (as issued) rifles and target rifles.  Marty Kelly took the military Rile prize at 300yards with 38 and Graeme Kerr the Target Rifle with 46. At 600 yards the Military rifle went to David Wallace with 30 and the Target Rifle to Brian Mc Kenna  with 46.  The top prizes for the day went to Marty Kelly (Military rifle) 67 and Graeme Kerr (Target Rifle) 91.  The day proved to be a lot of fun and there was considerable respect for target shooters of 80 years ago where  sores of 99 and 100 over the same distances were recorded regularly.  As always the cuppa and afternoon tea was most welcome at the end of the day.

Shooters found the warmth of the Club rooms hard to leave as they headed for home.  Scores for the day were, for Military Rifles: Marty Kelly 38, 29 = 67, David Wallace 29, 30= 59, Richard Godden one range only 27. Target Rifle were: Graeme Kerr 46, 45 = 91,  Brian McKenna, 41, 46 = 87, Peter Daldy 41, 41 = 82, Andrew Braden 41, 36 = 77, Matt Frazer 36, 36 = 72 and with one range only  Norm Linehan 39, Des Coulter 29 and Roger King 24.