Roseville Rifle Club Australia

Last year, due to Covid, the 2020 Victorian Queens was postponed from Easter to end of 2020; then it was cancelled due to yet another Covid outbreak, but four RRC members (Mark Buchanan, Tim Walter, Adam Beale and Janet Beale) travelled to Wellsford Rifle Range at Bendigo to compete in the Victorian Queens 2021. It’s a pretty range that the kangaroos enjoy as if they were also shooters. The Roo’s think nothing of hopping across the field of fire (mid shoot) at 4pm when they think it should be their range…and no the shooting does not cease – we just have to shoot over their heads.

This is apparently the last place in Australia that you can still shoot a Queens on paper targets.

There were 151 competitors that made it to Bendigo despite Covid restrictions on some areas of Queensland.

The first morning shooters contend with sun (like 4pm in winter at Hornsby); and there are unexpected wind changes with flags & mirage not necessarily telling you what is going on. When one of the very big names in TR (who normally shoots 50-9) is shooting a pair of wild 3’s in what looks like relatively mild conditions (scoring 44-4) and he cant explain it, well you then have to wonder how us mere mortals could even hope to read the range. Most often you get to the firing position to shoot and hope it goes somewhat in your favour.  You know it is changeable when “Speedy Gonzales” Adam Beale gets a 3 minute warning and has to do his last shot in the final seconds of his 17 minute round.

So how did our RRC competitors go?

• Adam Beale (TR-B) spent the most time on the podium coming home with a handful of medals of all varieties. He won 3^rd place in the Queens TR- B and 2^nd in the Grand Aggregate TR-B. He top scored in TR-B a couple of times (600yds and 900yds). Overall accuracy was 94.97% in the Queens
• Mark Buchanan (TR-A) also made a podium position coming 3^rd at 700yds with a 50-6 and scored quite a few 50’s. Overall accuracy was 95.72% in the Queens
• Tim Walter (TR-A) didn’t return with any medals but he had an overall accuracy of 93.21% in the Queens
• Janet Beale (FTR) also didn’t return with any medals but her overall accuracy was 93.13% in the Queens.

What a challenge this range is. Congrats to our RRC competitors for giving it a go. Congrats to Jim Jeffery (Lyndhurst RC) for winning the Queens and Mark Horsnell (Werribee RC) for winning the Grand Aggregate – they triumphed at a very tough competition.