Roseville Rifle Club Australia

Having rain gear and sunscreen at the ready – it was time for the ACT Kings. This was a BIG event with 249 competitors overall (32% in Target Rifle, 64% in F-class, 4% in Sporter class). To put it into perspective, there were 70 in F-Open where there are no grades, and yet there were 80 in target rifle where there are 3 grades (TRA+TRB+TRC). The numbers are not surprising as the event was the precursor to the National F-Class Teams Matches so there were entrants from all across Australia to compete in F-Open/FTR and F-Standard.

This year, 3 Rosevillians made the trek to the Majura Rifle range in the ACT for the Kings event. None of our 3 were there for the lead-up competition (called the R A Rolph) – just the 3 day Kings event. Interestingly, this time we only had Target Rifle (TR) Roseville competitors: Mark Buchanan in TRA, Tim Walter and Sam Houston in TRB.

The event started well with Mark posting a 2nd place at 500m (50.9) and later a 50.5 at 700m. Tim and Sam also shot well with the best scores being Tim shooting a 49.0 at 500m and Sam shooting at 49.4 at 500m. Alas, in such a large field, our 3 came home empty handed but full of memories. Memories of cold mornings, rain, cloud, full sun, mirage, Konsberg targets (note to self….avoid A3 – it was having faults) and range officers in blue vests (for a change).

Janet Beale