Roseville Rifle Club Australia

Author Archive

The National F-Class Teams competition was held directly after the ACT Kings event. Three disciplines (FTR, F-Standard, F-Open) covered distances of 700m, 800m x 2 and 900m x 2 over 3 days. This year was a record number of entering teams – with the “usuals” (Vic/NSW/Qld) supplemented by NQRA, WA, SA, ACT, TAS. So the only state not accounted for was NT. Not all states entered teams in all three disciplines. The winner for the event was F-class shooting overall as it showed the strength and depth of the field across the country.

Roseville had 3 competitors (Allan Patrick, Eva Patrick and Janet Beale) selected for the NSW State Team – which shows the quality of our Roseville shooters. But alas, the Patricks had unavoidable grand-parent duties and had to miss the event. They were missed but were very much in the team for the year. There were several others from Hornsby Rifle range and some ex-Roseville members also in the NSW teams.

Team shooting is great – as a shooter you don’t have to read the wind, just cope with the mirage….and there was plenty of mirage. But this competition was as much about strategy as it was about shooting. For example:

• shoot on left-to-right mirage or right-to-left mirage?
• the 20 shot match in F-Standard was shot in the afternoon over 2.5 hours. There was full sun and heavy mirage. Queensland and SA waited it out and shot at the end of the time allotment when there was less mirage and their results were head and shoulders above the rest.
• At 800m, better results were achieved if you shot when you waited for the occasional cloud cover (ie less mirage).
• At 700m early in the day – get all shooters through FAST before the mirage kicks up.

Strategy, teamwork and communication between shooter and coach!

So at the end of the 3 days, the winners were:

Well done all.

Janet Beale

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

What a terrific Sunday for the 10 Roseville members that went to Gosford for the Open Prize Meeting. Three details at 500m (2+10, 2+10, 2+15) with plenty of prizes on offer including lucky door prizes, veteran’s prize, lady’s prize, youth prize, tyro prize, lucky bull, monetary range prizes and of course the grand aggregate prizes (money and a badge). There was something for everyone including the tasty food and beverage selections. This is one of the best run OPMs around. Roseville members took home some great memories shooting with friends (even if most of our club were all on one target) and everyone shot exceedingly well despite the wind. How can you prove this statement? Everyone from Roseville scored 92% accuracy or better.

As Roseville represented 14% of the competitors and shot so well, it would be hoped that the Gosford prize pool would be regularly handed to Roseville members… and so it was with 60% of our shooters receiving a prize of some sort:

• Adam Beale: overall 1^st in TRA plus 2 range prizes (this was his first time receiving a No 1 aggregate badge in TRA).
• Christian Le Moy: overall 1^st in FTR plus 2 range prizes (this was his first time receiving a No 1 aggregate badge in FTR).
• Janet Beale: 2^nd in FTR
• Ian Palmer: 3^rd in FTR (this was his first competition score recorded since 2019).
• Chris Sefton: 2^nd in TRB/
• Sam Houston: overall 3^rd in TRB plus 1 range prize.

It was good to see Rob Trodden back on the competition circuit in TRB – this was his first competition score recorded since 2021. Dmitri Kazakov shot very well scoring 99.42% accuracy (4^th in TRA) with 2 possibles but was just out of the money. Adrian Bonanni (98% accuracy) and Allan Humbert (96% accuracy) both had strong shoots and enjoyed the day.

Congrats to Adam and Christian on their maiden prize meeting wins.

See you in Gosford in 2025!

Janet Beale

The lovely month of October saw Roseville as Duty Club on the range which means we all pick up the different tasks for the month to keep the Saturday afternoon shoot amenable and safe for all the range users. This year you could say October also gave people a chance to “shoot the breeze” too (yes, the beginning of the month was gusty). To add to the excitement of the warmer weather arriving, there was also a couple of special visitors in 2 echidnas who decided the range was a good place to take an afternoon walk safely on the side of road near the berm.

Our club members did their various duties of flags, range officer, set up, butts officer, etc etc. It was great to see everyone chip in doing whatever they could do to help (particularly on the days when a number of people were in Brisbane at the National Veteran’s Teams event). There are so many jobs in Duty Club month that it takes a community to make sure everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Well done Roseville on completing another Duty Club month – thanks to everyone that chipped in.

For some added fun, there was also the Arn Hammond match (300m) on the last shooting day of the month so there were extra jobs of coaching and scoring (not to mention shooting). This year could be a nail biter in some disciplines with TR currently coming second, FStd coming second and FTR powering ahead.

Janet Beale

October in Brisbane. This time of year it can be hot, cloudy, rainy, windy. Oh yes – this is Queensland – everything is uncertain, particularly the reliability of the weather forecast. When you need sunscreen at 8am you know it is Queensland.

The 2-day lead-up to the NRAA National’s is called the President’s Match. It covers 7 details (300yds to 1000yds).
Roseville had 1 competitor in the Presidents Match – Janet Beale in FTR. Janet came 2nd at 500yds and 600yds and 2nd in the Day 1 aggregate. She came 3rd at 1000yds. Overall in the President’s aggregate Janet came 3rd.

In the NRAA Kings 3 day competition, the focus is mostly on the long ranges (10 details, with 5 of them at 900yds or 1000yds). Queensland for the Nationals competition introduced us to two new items in the Range Officer’s morning briefing – “watch out for fire ants and kangaroo ticks”.

Janet was again the only Roseville competitor. She came 1st at 600yds on day 1 but the wind on day 3 was horrendous even at 7:45 in the morning – this managed to carve up the field. However, Janet managed to come 3rd in the 5 day aggregate and shot in the Mace Medal (1000yd shoot out) coming 3rd.
Well done Janet – keep going.

Janet Beale

Belmont in Queensland (14th to 15th October) was the place to be for 3 of Roseville’s shooters as they represented NSW in the State Veteran’s competition. It was an interesting and challenging time for the NSW Veterans’ teams this year. First the call for teams was for FSTD and TR only. Later they did a second call for nominations as the NRAA decided to also add FTR and F-Open disciplines. Two teams were also allowed from each state in each discipline. Ultimately, this meant there was movement and juggling in the various NSW teams’ composition until the teams were settled.

Roseville had 3 reps in the various teams:
– Alan Patrick as Captain and Shooter in NSW GOLD TR;
– Eva Patrick as Captain and Reserve in NSW Blues FTR;
– Janet Beale as Shooter in NSW Blues FTR.

The captain’s role is never an easy one what with organising trials, selecting the team, organising practices, uniform orders, liaising with NSWRA and NRAA etc. But this year the various NSW Captains had some unexpected team medical issues impacting the practices and then last minute challenges to overcome. The most poignant one was finding a replacement for Linda Sweet in FSTD as she had sustained massive internal injuries on her farm days before the team was due to leave. While a substitute was found, unfortunately Linda died the day before the team’s “Meet and Greet” in Brisbane. The replacement was John Alp from North Sydney RC who had been scheduled to shoot in F-Open but the F-Open team had too many individuals withdraw with medical issues so they had to pull out. John used Janet’s ammo and FSTD rifle…as did Alexina. Also a last minute substitute in the TR Gold team was Bill Ballantyne from Hornsby Manly TRC.

Final NSW teams and their outcomes:
– NSW Blue TR (Scott Brindley, Jim Jeffery, Neil Gibbins, Michael Chad, Jim Bailey (Captain & shooter), Coach: Steve Williams) won every distance and overall aggregate. Their advantage was having so many Australian PALMA team members and world champions
– NSW Gold TR (Richard Jones, Bill Ballantyne, Alistair Williams, Ken Young, Alan Patrick (Captain & shooter), Coach: Mark Bunt) came a very strong second without any PALMA team members. They also were a stones throw from beating the NSW Blue team at 300yds, 900yds and 1000yds. Alan was top shooter in his team and out-shot several in the NSW Blue TR – Good job Captain/Shooter Alan!
– NSW Blues FTR (Varuna Wijetunge, David Vivian-Jones, Cathy Burnitt, Paul Breeze, Janet Beale, Coach: Alan Seaman, Captain & Reserve: Eva Patrick) came second and winning at 300yds. Good Job Captain Eva!
– NSW FSTD (John Alp, Mal Sharp, Ralph Garlick, Peter Walters, Alexina Bunt (Captain & shooter), Coach: John Leask, Reserve: Joseph Jason) came second and winning at 600yds. Good Job Captain Alexina!

It is hard to beat Queensland at their home range shooting 1000yds which is something Sydney doesn’t have. NSW can be proud of the 1 win and 3 second places for the 4 teams we sent. Well done Rosevillians (Alan, Eva, Janet) you did your state and your club proud!

Janet Beale

What can we say about the Queensland Rifle Association (QRA) competition in August? We think the state should change the motto to “Queensland; beautiful one day but NOT the next”. What a time. Unlike the recent past, Roseville had only 3 people that went to Brisbane in August, but only 2 were competing in the Kings.

Janet Beale flew to Brisbane for the Australian FTR team trials – quite a few the people could not make it to this trial – but it was “optional”. Janet flew in just for the one day (Tues 13th) – and of course it rained and things got problematic. But she persevered. After a reasonable shoot at 300yds they did a rapid fire shoot, then went back to 1000yds where there was the occasional pause in shooting due to heavy rains obliterating the target. What a day!

Dmitri Kazakov and Mark Buchanan were in Brisbane for the Kings Series shooting in Target Rifle A-grade which had 56 competitors. Wed 14th was day 1 of the Lead-up (The Duncan) and the QRA had this message for competitors “It’s a wet Wednesday morning at Belmont Shooting Complex and at 7.00am there are only a few contenders for Duck Racing on the Duncan Range! Skippy is undercover and even the rest of the waterfowl have sought cover! Most of us are eyeing up the weather radar in hopes it all moves through pretty quickly. The rain band is currently right over the top of us and moving southwards.” Then later “DUNCAN MEMORIAL UPDATE – MORNING SESSION CANCELLED. There will be a meeting at 10.00am to reassess what the afternoon will bring. Until then, enjoy some time with old mates and new!“.

Dmitri, Mark, and Janet sheltering from the rain

Fortunately the weather eventually improved, but it is too bad the rain/sun-gods, temperature-gods and the wind-gods couldn’t always agree on what to give the shooters. Hexta shows the temperature in the 5 day competition ranged from 25c to 39c with the worst of the heat and wind saved for the 1000 yds. It certainly took its toll across the field with results highly dependent on what happened when you actually got down to shoot.

Our valiant duo of Mark and Dmitri held their own with 9 possibles combined (score of 50 out of 50 often with 6 or 7 V-bulls) over the various details. The worst part of the shoot for our Roseville competitors? Hands down, it was the last detail at 1000yds. The best part of the shoot? The “Après Shoot” comradery with jokes and drinks at the end of the day.

Janet Beale

It was a cold and very blustery day that would make Winnie-the-Pooh truly say “Happy Winds-day”.  So it was that 28 July saw the annual W S Josephson (Joso) teams match held at Hornsby Rifle Range. This is such a great teams competition and is truly unique. This is probably the largest “any-age” TR team shoot in NSW at this point with 10 teams of TR shooters (5 shooters + wind coach). Amazingly, outside of school comps, this is probably the youngest “average age” team events in the country with over half of all the TR shooters under the age of 30. And there were even 2 F-class teams.

This Joso competition is when the top shooters from the AAGPS schools that compete in rifle shooting pit themselves against, and get to meet, the regular club shooters. For those that don’t know AAGPS = Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of NSW.  In shooting, the AAGPS is represented by:  Shore School (SCEGS); The Kings School; Sydney Grammar; The Armidale School; Sydney Boys High; Newington College; and Scots College (note: There are other AAGPS schools that don’t shoot so are not listed).  The official GPS Rifle Shooting competition commenced in 1905 but results of the National Rifle Association competition are recorded from 1893. The AAGPS decided in 1903 to formally admit Shooting. So shooting is one of the oldest AAGPS school sports.

Enough about history, lets get back to the Joso. Roseville was highly involved in the 2024 Joso in various ways…

Roseville helped in the setup and running for the day:

• Rob Trodden was Range Officer
• Adrian Bonanni was Butts Officer
• Janet Beale supplied the drinks and helped with the food
• Dmitri Kazakov was helping with the Hexta system (stats etc)
• Alan Patrick, wearing his NRTSCMA hat, was helping to make the range as best as it could be (including blowing the cut grass off the 300m pavement)
• Tim Walter came to assist on the day
• Christian Lemoy came to assist on the day

But Roseville was also quite involved in the shooting activities:

• Eva Patrick organised the NSW Veteran’s FTR team
• Eva Patrick and Janet Beale shot in the “NSW Veteran’s FTR team”
• Dmitri Kazakov shot in the “NSDRA – Green team”
• Alan Patrick, Nigel Russell and Skye Russell shot in the “NSDRA – Purple team”
• Paul Russell shot in the “GPS – Orange team”

I think Mother Nature won the competition – the wind was sufficient to prove to our Malabar friends that YES Hornsby really does have wind sometimes. No-one in the talented field went clean for the day. To give you an idea of the conditions, there was only 1 possible in all the F-class details for the whole day, and in TR which had the large field of 54 shooters, there were only 9 possibles at 300m, 6 possibles at 600m, and 2 possibles at 800m.

Special call outs to:-

• “MDRA Red Team” who won TR and “NSDRA – F Class Emerald” who won F-Class division.
• Paul Russell was the 2^nd highest scorer across the GPS TR teams (only a few centres behind the top school shooter)
• Janet Beale was the 2^nd highest scorer across all the F-Class teams
• Eva Patrick and Janet Beale came 2^nd and 3^rd respectively at 800m across all the F-class shooters (they were behind the 1^st place F-open shooter by only 1 & 2 centres respectively)

Thanks to all who helped and/or competed. See you next year!

Janet Beale

End of the Shooting Year

The end of the shooting year is a time for celebration – where we can recognise the people in our club who make the club what it is. Whether it be those who have diligently filled their range cards (2 shoots at each distance) and excelled in the club competition or those who have competed away from the club. We salute you:

Target Rifle Junior:  Champion

• Skye Russell

Most Improved Shooter:

• Christian Le Moy

Roseville members who represented the club internationally:

• Mark Buchanan (Australian Veteran’s team in South Africa, Individual shooter at Bisley, UK)
• Adam Beale (Australian U25 team in South Africa)

Roseville members who excelled in Kings events across the country:

• Tasmanian Kings >> Phill Hodder TRA 1^st place, Nigel Russell TRB 1^st place,
• NT Kings >> Janet Beale FTR 2^nd place

Roseville members who excelled in Open Prize Meetings across the country:

• WAY TOO MANY TO LIST HERE!!!!!

Roseville teams who excelled in the Arn Hammond Matches:

• Roseville Rottweilers – TR 1 (1st place)
• Roseville Redbacks – F-Std (1st place)
• Roseville 20X – F-TR (1st place)

 We also want to thank ALL the people in the club who have made an outstanding contribution to the club and the range over the 23/24 shooting year. We couldn’t do it without you, everything you do makes a difference:

• The 2023/24 Club committee led by El Presidente Mark Buchanan and Club Captain Rob Trodden supported by Christian LeMoy, Steve Tofler, Ian Palmer and the committee
• Our members on the 2023/24 NRTSCMA committee >> Alan Patrick, Nigel Russell, Richard Lund
• Rob Trodden and his crew of helpers (Christian, Ian, etc) who have transformed the clubhouse outside
• Dmitri Kazakov who supports us with the Hex Systems
• Our club members who have helped with: targets, new shooters, range duties, club functions, the website, shopping, cleaning, maintenance on the range, tents when it is raining or too sunny, etc etc etc.

Well done to everyone! What a remarkable year it was.

On the 7th to the 9th of June, 5 Roseville members travelled to Wingham to compete in the annual Wingham OPM. It was a tricky range as they had the SSAA range in front of the butts pushing your bullet from a V-Bull to a 5. Everyone from Roseville shot in either Target Rifle A or Target Rifle B. In Target Rifle A consisted of Dmitri and Mark, in Target Rifle B had Sam, Skye and Nigel. There was only one shore boy here this year competing in Target Rifle C (Hugh).

On the Friday there was a sweepstake which made its mark being difficult because we were shooting 600yds, and the screen was showing 300m which meant you only could wind half what you would normally do. The Results from Sweepstake: Dmitri 58-1, Mark 67-4, Sam 63-2, Nigel 62-2, and Skye 58-3. Sam tied 1st.

On Saturday, the competition started with a 10 shot at 400m and 2/ 10 shots at 500yds. 400m was good as it was early, and the wind was not too strong but there were some gusts at the end of the range. From the First mound the results were: Mark with an impressive 50-8 sitting him in 3rd place, Dmitri got a 50-5 sitting him in 12th place, Sam got a 48-2 coming 7th place, Nigel getting 48-5 coming 5th place and Skye getting a 47-2 coming 9th place. In the first 500yds Mark got a 50-5 coming 9th place, Dmitri getting a 49-3 coming in 21st place, Sam got 49-3 coming in 5th place, Nigel got a 49-2 coming 7th place and Skye got a 46-1 coming in 12th place. In the second 500yds Mark got an impressive 50-7 coming in 6th place, Dmitri got a 50-2 coming 16th , Sam got a 47-5 coming 10th , Nigel got a 50-4 coming 2nd and Skye got a 48-6 and coming 8th after having a loose front sight and winding the wrong way during the shot.

Day 1 Agg:

Day 2 kicked off with 400m. Not much wind at the start but throughout the shoot you had to watch the trees near the gully to see the change. Mark started with a 50-4 putting him into 11th, Dmitri got a 47-4 putting him in 27th, Sam got a 48-3 putting him in 9th, Nigel got a 49-5 putting him in 4th, Skye got an impressive 50-7 taking her to first place and getting the first gold for Roseville. The first 600yds was a bit more difficult as the wind started to pick up Mark got a 49-5 coming 18th, Dmitri got a 49-3 coming 24th, Sam got a 45-2 coming 10th, Nigel got beaten by his daughter again, scoring a 47-3 while Skye got a 50-4 coming 1^st for another range medal.

The last stage for the competition was a 15 shot was difficult as it took a minute or two before the flags dropped which made it a long shoot after a big weekend of shooting. Mark finished with an impressive 75-9 coming in 5th, Dmitri got a 72.5 coming 24th, Sam got a 75-7 coming home with a gold, Nigel got a 71-6 coming in 8th, Skye got a 71-4 coming in 9th.

Day 2 Agg:

Well done to everyone that came up and well done to everyone that came away with a place. Also, a huge congratulations to Hugh after coming 1st in every stage throughout the weekend

Nigel Russel

Every two years, Darwin Rifle Club has their trifecta of competitions:

• The Alice OPM (held in Darwin over 3 days) – sponsored by the CARC (Central Australia Rifle Club)
• The Lou Hook Series (the 2-day lead up – 6 stages)
• The King’s Prize (3 days – 10 stages)

Note: there was also a team’s competition called the Dyer, but Janet didn’t enter due to lack of ammo.

This NT King’s is a little different:

• this was the inaugural King’s prize as previously it was the Queen’s Prize.
• there are 10 stages in this King’s prize whereas most of the other states have 8 stages in the Kings.
• There were many NT-based competitors that we rarely get to compete against
• The distances were 500m – 900m with 50% of the Kings being shot at 800m or 900m

Janet Beale (shooting in FTR) was the sole Roseville competitor at this year’s competition although there were plenty of others who also visited from NSW, Vic, Qld and even WA. Unfortunately, Janet was only able to shoot part of The Alice OPM, but it was enough to win a couple of prizes and to get some elevations for the lead-up and the NT Kings.

The Micket Creek Shooting complex was well presented and the Darwin Rifle Club even had brand new sun shelters ready to keep the competitors, scorers and bystanders out of the sun.

Sun shelter on the move between ranges

Sun shelter opened up with good shade protection.

Conditions were mild but tricky with drop offs and pickups occurring very regularly meaning a “4” on one side and potentially next shot being a “4” on the other side (3+ min of wind change between shots if you don’t watch for it carefully). The occasional down drafts were a nightmare to contend with as you could not see any indications of them and oops – there is a low “5” (or worse!). But everyone shot in the same conditions as the squadding was well organised throughout (resetting by discipline after each move to new range). Every day was sunny – it is easy to see why this is called the dry season.

While in Darwin, Janet also was able to catch up with son Adam Beale who was temporarily posted to HMAS Broome which is based in Dawin.

So what did Janet come home with?

• 6 first place range prizes
• 5 daily aggregate prizes (mixture of gold / silver / bronze)
• 2^nd in the Lou Hook Lead up
• 2^nd in the NT Kings
• 3^rd in the Grand Aggregate
• $600 in prize money
• And a bonus of catching Covid for the first time.

Janet with the Leadup 2nd place

Janet with the Kings Prize 2nd place

Janet’s prizes

The NT Kings is well worth the visit in 2 years time if you can make it. It is not too hard to fly up. Or do it like some of the others who hit the NQRA Kings first and then drove up to Darwin….. question: “when are you driving home?”….answer: “August”.

Janet Beale

Ross and Adrian headed north on Saturday the 18^th of May to get some practice on the Cessnock Range at 600 yards ahead of the Open Prize meeting the next day.   The A-Van was hitched up and as they headed north the weather looked threatening around Hornsby – with showers forecast – but improved slightly as we headed further north.   The truck and van pulled into Cessnock Range just on midday after a smooth 90 minute drive, and after the A-Van was set-up and connected to mains power – it was time to make ourselves known to the duty Club and register for the Saturday afternoon practice.

It was cold and overcast – and while it did not rain – it was some of the most wicked wind ever seen on Cessnock range.   Some friendly faces from West Wallsend Rifle Club welcomed Ross and Adrian, and we duly fell in to shoot with them on target 5.

In the first practice match – Adrian shot a 69.5 over 15 shots, and Ross posted a 48.1 over 10 shots.   The wind was gusting from 9 oçlock but would quickly stall and come in from 1:30 so knowing your zero and firing quickly on the conditions you favoured was the order of the day.

At the second practice match – Adrian posted a 67.1 after cutting two bulls eye sighters and finishing on a maggot and a bull.  69 in the conditions would have been a credible score – with Duncan Davies posting a 68.4 – proof of just how challenging the conditions were.   Ross posted a 43 getting totally tossed around by the wind.

After being challenged by the conditions Ross and Adrian were happy to get their elevations right for the comp the following day, and pleased to not be troubled by any rain.  After shooting – it was time to relax and think about heading into to town for dinner at the local pub – always a favourite activity on shooting trips.   Ross and Adrian were back at the campsite for an early night.

Shooting on HEXTA Targets – Skye gets ready to compete in the first match at 500 yards

The next morning was a completely different weekend – with light winds, sunshine and a decidedly warmer temperature.   The wind was a gentle 4-6 miles per hour coming from 1 oçlock and sometimes straightening a bit to 2-2:30.  Fellow Roseville members Nigel, Skye, Alan and Eva entered the fray for the Cessnock OPM.   It was a different format this year with two 15 shot matches only – one at 500 yards and one at 600 yards.

The curse of the cross-fire struck Adrian at the first match – when he duly put a super-centre on target 6 for his 11^th shot.  His day was done with a 66.7.  Nigel fared well with a 73.5 (2^nd in TRB) posting the highest TR score across the Roseville contingent in the first match with Alan posting a 72.4 (3^rd in TRA) and Skye posting a 71.5 (2^nd in TRC).

In FTR – Eva was one point behind Gary Faulkner with an 88.4 to come second, and in FSB Ross came 3^rd with a 73.2 after some trouble finding the target due to his scope being knocked off zero overnight.

At the second Match the ground warmed up, the sun was brighter and there was a bit of mirage to read so having your spotting scope handy was imperative.   Adrian used the mirage to hold the centre bull and he posted a 73.11 (2^nd in TRA).  Alan posted a 73.7 (3^rd in TRA) as did Nigel (2^nd in TRB).  Skye was unlucky not to win the match in TRC posting an equal 73.3 with the winner – but beaten on countback.

Alan takes Number 3 badge in TRA

Nigel takes out number 2 badge in TRB

Skye takes out number 2 badge in TRC – from a field of 22 shooters!

In FTR – Eva could not get around Gary and came second with a 86.4 while Ross came 3^rd in FSB with a 75.2.

At the end of the comp – 5 out of our 6 Roseville competitors finished on the podium in the Aggregate.   Special mention was for Skye’s effort in TRC – coming 2^nd in a field of 22 shooters!

Ross was pleasantly surprised to take out 3rd Badge in FSB

Eva takes 2nd badge in FTR

The Cessnock shoot was very well run, and all Roseville members had a pleasant day out in the sunshine.  We are all determined to compete next year and move up a step or two on the podium.  Go Roseville!

P.S. Cessnock has HEXTA targets so you can see the full competition results here:  https://shooting.hexsystems.com.au/competition/monitor/497

Adrian Bonanni

A Shooting holiday Odyssey for Mark, Sam, Dmitri & Tim

Dmitri got up to Townsville early to provide ET support for the National TR Teams event in Townsville before the shooting for the mere mortals started.  The NQRA team provided Dmitri with accommodation on site in the ‘snake pit’.  Townsville range is very scenic but is renowned for less than friendly native wildlife with at least two known hospitalisations for snake bites occurring on the range.  ‘Dmitri’s shed’ as it became known was delightful – full of garden equipment, geckos, bats and the occasional Ross River Mossie.

Mark took his time driving up arriving on the Monday just in time to pick Sam up from the airport on Monday.  Mark was kind enough to carry some of Sam’s gear and some of Dmitri’s ammo.  They went early to wonderful accommodation on The Strand at ‘Magnetic Views’.  The cleaner was still cleaning the apartment, so Mark took Sam on a 12km walk in his new thongs.  Deep blisters ensued, and Sam is still walking with a limp.

Dmitri wanted to try the electric scooters that are ubiquitous in Townsville and for Sam to provide a lesson as he had used them on his last trip.

Unfortunately, Sam now exceeds the weight limit for the scooters so he could not provide the lesson. Scooter says “No”.  Dmitri did have a short trip by himself which he enjoyed.

The events were massive – bigger than anyone can remember – partly due to the TR Teams event, but also lots of southern staters wanting some winter sunshine and warmth.

175 entries in the Kings, with the Wilson only 10 or 12 less.

Weather was mostly hot and fine.  There was a shower late on Wed – but all Rosevilleans had finished by that stage.

Mark, Dmitri and Sam attended Townsville OPM.

The results were as follows:

Mark won the 800m match and the A Grade Aggregate.

Dmitri won 900m in A Grade and Sam won 700m and 800m in B Grade.

Well done, Roseville!

A late entry and traveler, Tim arrived on the Tuesday.  He had found a bargain flight on Virgin, but on arrival at the airport learned that the fare did not include baggage.  So another $240 for baggage – it worked out not as cheap as he first thought.  Travelling light with most gear taken by a friend from Malabar, Tim still needed some baggage.  After some effort finding the parking, Tim joined the others for a feed and maybe a glass of Shiraz.

Dmitri took the opportunity to move closer to the night life action on Tim’s arrival.  We call this move – ‘Dmitri moves from the snake pit to the flea pit’, as Tim and Dmitri’s shared accommodation was less than salubrious.

The Rosevilleans had pizza on the verandah of Magnetic Views on Tuesday night. The quality of the pizza was such that Dmitri and Tim thought that Mark and Sam were trying to poison them! The red wine was good though!

Wednesday night, we all ate at the C Bar on the strand – joined by Rob Sandlant and his wife Pamela – good friends of Mark’s from Victoria.

Friday night was meant to be Roseville steak night at the pub – but the queue for the bistro was out to the street.  After a search we found another pub and had meat and wine…all enjoyed with just a little wine spillage.

Sat night was a Chinese and Indian combo back on the apartment verandah.

Tim went home on the Sunday, and Sam, Dmitri and Mark went to the Longboard and had a lighter meal with some wine.  Another terrific venue.

Dmitri, Mark, Sam, and Tim attended for the Wilson lead up and the Kings.
Shooting was done on brand new HEXTA Targets and there was very little in the wind for most of the competition apart from occasional pick-ups and drop offs and the last 900m was tricky.

The results were as follows:

 WILSON Day 1

Poor Sam put a shot on the wrong target at the first 600m! (only to keep the Club tradition of course).

WILSON Day 2

After winning the OPM and going ‘clean’ on the 5 stages of the Wilson with his No 2 rifle, Mark decided to up the ante, and move to his first No 1 rifle with Bergers to hopefully gain some centres and finish in the medals.  However, this rifle had had its barrel removed and re-attached – with the front sight not so level. A less than desirable outcome ensued.

When Tim told Dmitri that Mark was not happy with his misses, Dmitri thought Tim meant that Mark was having marital difficulties, but realizing the confusion, Tim explained the difference between Mrs and misses! English is a difficult language.

KINGS Day 1

Comrade starting to flex his muscles.

KINGS DAY 2

Comrade strikes again but with an unfortunate score at the first 800m.

KINGS DAY 3

Kings Aggregate

Great results for Dmitri and Sam who both won Kings badges!

Dmitri, Mark, Sam, and Tim had dinner together on all but one night and it was a great experience to enjoy the camaraderie of the occasion.  While there may have been the odd glass of red, it didn’t seem to impact performance too much when shooting with a known rifle and on the right target!

Tim Walter and Sam Houston

End of April means ANZAC Day and, for some, an extra long weekend. This provided the potential to shoot for 3 days at Malabar in 3 separate but conjoined competitions. First was the ANZAC Day OPM (25^th) where Roseville had 6 entrants, then the City of Sydney OPM (26^th) where Roseville had 2 entrants, then the City of Sydney Long Range Championships (27^th) where Roseville had no qualifying scores but 1 entrant (Janet paid for entrance but did load testing at 800m and didn’t submit her score).

After the solemnities at the ANZAC gates, the Roseville crew gathered for a photo proving we had 3 in attendance for Target Rifle (Alan (TR-A), Adrian (TR-B), Chris (TR-C)) and 3 in F Class (Ross (FS-B), Eva (FTR) and Janet (FTR)). The first day of competition (2+10 and 2+15 at 600m) commenced under reasonably nice conditions with wind over the right shoulder. Roseville’s best showing was Chris Sefton gaining a Bronze medal for the day (TR-C) and Janet also getting a bronze for the day (FTR) despite the fact she was load testing and changing powder weights mid-shoot. Special commendation to Alan Patrick who only dropped 2 points (TR-A) but had a high centre count and was unfortunately out of medal contention.   Overall, at the end of the day, all the Roseville competitors had top 10 placings in their respective disciplines / grades (Chris and Janet 3^rd, Ross 5^th, Alan and Eva 7^th, Adrian 9^th) showing the strength of our club shooters against people who were mostly on their home range.

The second day of competition was a holiday for some and a work day for others. The competitor numbers were therefore quite different to the previous day; but then so was the wind which decided to carve up the field somewhat. The competition was 2+10 at 500 twice and 2+10 at 600 twice but it wasn’t easy.  Roseville was down to only 2 competitors: Adrian managed a 1^st place and 3^rd place in two of the details (TR-B) and Janet, still load testing, also surprisingly had two 3^rd place details (FTR). Adrian finished the day in 4^th place (TR-B) just out of medal contention.

The final day of competition was at 700m, 800m and 800m with very nice mild flags. The day was not without an interesting event:- the police closed the range for a period at lunch time while they searched for someone in the bushland on the side of the range and on the headland. Even a police helicopter checked things out.  Everyone was instructed to stay very close to their rifles in case the person being sought appeared. But after an extended delay, with no additional drama, the police left and the shooting commenced.  No Roseville competitors had scores recorded because Janet was our sole representative there doing one detail of load testing at 800m but without submitting her card.

Janet Beale

Tim Walter was Roseville’s sole representative at the Victorian Rifle Association 2024 Kings Series held over 10 to 14 April 2024.

Tim stayed at the Happy Wanderer Motel as usual and had the company of Graeme Bright from Bathurst, Don Thompson from Natives and Cedric May from Canberra.

The weather was fine, around 7 or 8 degrees in the morning, but becoming quite warm during the day. Conditions for Day 1 of the Syme were blustery all day over 500, 500, and 600 Yards.

It was not a good day for Tim who distinguished himself in the wrong way by coming last at each range in B Grade!

Day 2 of the Syme saw calmer weather for 700, 900 and 1,000 Yards.

At 700 Yards Tim continued to place last, but at 900 Yards Tim was able to shoot a 49.5 to win the range in B Grade!

1,000 Yards proved trickier and for once Tim did not finish last!

Day 1 of the Kings was shot over 500, 500, and 600 Yards.

A sling adjustment before the first range made a difference and Tim shot 48.4 and 49.4 at the 500 Yard ranges, finishing in 3^rd place in the second shoot.

600 Yards saw Tim finish with 46.2 giving him a Day 1 Aggregate of 143.10 finishing in 7^th place in B Grade and feeling a lot better about his shooting.

Day 2 of the Kings was shot over 700, 800, and 900 Yards and many shooters were hopeful of some big scores at these ranges, however, the mirage liked to reverse itself on occasions, usually while a shooter was on aim, and magpies were not unusual.

Tim shot 45.3 at 700 Yards finishing in 8th place, and 46.2 at 800 Yards finishing in 9^th place.

At 900 Yards, Tim opened with a miss to finish last again with 39.2, an outer 2 for his second last shot not helping the score. This gave Tim 130.7 on Day 2 to finish in 12^th place.

Day 3 of the Kings was shot over 900 and 1000 Yards.

Tim was shooting early at number 3 and sighting proved difficult for him, scoring 42.1 with another outer 2.

At 1,000 yards and shooting last, sighting was again a challenge, and although the wind was light it was drifting up and down. Tim dropped 4 points in 6 shots but finished 2,4,4,4, for 40.0, but in 10^th place, not last!

Not the desired outcome, but an improvement on the lead-up and with a plan to see the Optometrist very shortly, which may hopefully eliminate some sighting issues.

The Kings A Grade Target Rifle winner was Duncan Davies of West Wallsend Rifle Club with a score of 396.49 two centers ahead of Geoff Grenfell of Bendigo Rifle Club.

Jim Jeffrey of Lyndhurst Rifle Club, for whom I had the pleasure of scoring during the Kings, was most unfortunate to drop his last shot for 49.5 at 1,000 Yards to finish with 396.47. A bullseye would have won him the Kings!

On the social front, our Hostess, Melissa, cooked us all a great meal on the Tuesday night and on the other night’s Cedric, Don, Graeme, and Tim walked down to the Tyson’s Reef pub for a meal, Melissa joining us on the Thursday.

The usual outing to a restaurant on the Saturday night did not occur, but four tired shooters had a Chinese takeaway at home and had an early night, apart from Don, who continued to Watch “Oklahoma” on TV!

Tim W. 17 April 2024.