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The NSWRA 143rd Open Championships

The NSWRA 143rd Open Championships (the NSW Queens and the McIntosh) was shot from 9th to 13th October. Numbers from Roseville this year were a bit down due to

  1. a) a lot of people having just returned from the WARA Queens & F-Class team championships and
  2. b) others who were unavailable due to work or family commitments.

The intrepid Rosevillians that started in the leadup (McIntosh) were Mark Buchanan (TR-A), Phill Hodder (TR-A), Rob Trodden (TR-B), Ian Palmer (FTR), Allan Humbert (FTR) and  Janet Beale (FS-B).

The McIntosh was challenging with strong winds from the West and rain constantly threatening. Congratulations to Mark, Phill, Rob, Ian and Allan who each got at least one 1st place range prize in the McIntosh. Below are the positions at the end of each day and the grand aggregate for the McIntosh.

Mark :  3rd day 1 / 1st day 2 / 2nd McIntosh

 

Phill : 10th day 1 / 11th day 2 / 9th McIntosh

 

Rob : 10thday 1 / 10th day 2 / 10th McIntosh

 

Ian : 1st day 1 / 2nd day 2 / 2nd McIntosh

 

Allan : 4th day 1 / 4th day 2 / 4th McIntosh

 

Janet : 4th day 1 / 1st day 2 / 2nd McIntosh

Roseville certainly enjoyed the tough conditions at the McIntosh leadup and looked forward to the next days of the Queen’s competition with Sam Houston and Michael Cuda joining the Roseville representatives.  However, the winds changed and to say they became fickle was an understatement. With winds coming up from the south, the flags full and the unpredictable “strong right wind” moving to “strong left wind” mid-shoot (and back again) the decimation was noticeable amongst the non-Malabar veterans.

Home range advantage reared its head leaving the Roseville contingent outside of most medals for Day 1 and Day 2 of the Queens. Michael Cuda unfortunately retired on Day 2 but he did not go home empty handed as he had won a 1st place range prize on Day 1. Fortunately, Day 3 of the Queens was far kinder; 800m and 1/4 min of wind with the occasional puff meant scores reverted to some semblance of normality. Congrats to Janet who won a 1st place range prize on Day 3.

Congrats to Mark and Ian who each came 2nd in the Grand Aggregate in their respective disciplines – tough conditions but they prevailed!

(Special congrats to FTR Queens winner Gary Faulkner (aka “Gosford Gary”)  who was shooting under Roseville’s colours).

Roseville entered a TR team in the prestigious Sargard Teams match and also an F Std Team, but due to the lack of any other teams entered in F Class they unfortunately couldn’t compete. This year the match was held on the last day of the Queen’s at 800m. Scores for the TR team were:

Mark 73.7

Phill 71.8

Rob 66.3

Sam 68.2

Janet Beale

 

City vs Country 2019 competition

7th of July dawned and many Rosevillian’s were competing in the City vs Country competition held at Malabar. Due to heavy fog, the day stared out with everyone relaxing and just waiting for the time when the flags and eventually the targets would become visible. Not even the whales from the previous day could be seen. As a result of the delay at the start, the competition was modified to 10+2 shots at each of 500, 600 and 800m (dropping the 700m range altogether).

The City Target Rifle team was captained & Coached by Jim Bailey (Holsworthy RC) with additional coaching by Peter Thurtell (also of MDRA) and Michael Millen (Mosman Neutral Bay RC). The team included our own Phill Hodder, Pat Jacombs and Adam Beale as reserve (oh yes there were other people there from other clubs too!). Due to illness on Phill’s part, Adam and Phill swapped places so Adam was the shooter and Phill the reserve. The team did well beating their Country competitors by 9 points, although Country had a higher centre count. This was the first time City has prevailed over Country in a long time.

The City F-Std team was captained and coached by our Club Captain Michael Cuda. They scored an emphatic victory over the Country team for the first time in recent memory. Roseville competitors in that team included Michael Cuda (Captain and Coach), Peter Walters and Alan Humbert.

The City F-TR team was captained and coached by our own Gary Faulkner. They scored a repeat back-to-back victory over the Country team. Roseville made up the bulk of the 5 person team which included Alan Patrick, Eva Patrick and Janet Beale.

The F-open City team did not have any Roseville members but for the record, the Country team prevailed in that discipline.

Everyone enjoyed the resulting sunny day; particularly the wind coaches after the lunchtime wind change which saw an on-shore relatively consistent breeze for the 800m mound. The presentation of the medals to the 3 City teams was a bonus with all Roseville competitors coming home with a medal to show for the day’s outing. Special congrats to Michael Cuda and Gary Faulkner for taking their respective teams to victory.

Janet Beale

 

 

 

Brisbane RC OPM, MDRA OPM and QRA Queens 2019

Belmont Rifle Range in Brisbane – the home of the QRA Queens and related competitions which was held in the first week of August. Representing Roseville was initially Dmitri Kazakov later joined by Adam Beale and Janet Beale; then later for the Queens they were joined by Michael Cuda and Mark Buchanan.

In the Brisbane Rifle OPMDmitri came 1st in all three ranges and took home the overall 1st place in TR-B

In the MDRA OPMDmitri and Adam competed in TR-A against some fierce competition. Janet competed in FS-B taking home a 2nd place range prize and 3rd place overall.

Archer trophy 1000ydsDmitri came 2nd in TR-B; Adam came 10th in TR-A

F-class Challenge 1000yds  – Adam came 1st in FS-B (but was not allowed to win); Janet came 2nd in FS-B

The Duncan is the leadup competition and Adam and Dmitri were both shooting in TR-B; Janet was in FS-B. The Duncan has details as follows: two at 500yds, two at 600yds, one at 900yds and one at 1000yds. The two days had pretty normal winds which mostly changed direction at lunch time so you didn’t want to get caught in the “washing machine” during the changeover.

  • In TR-B the competition was very strong and very deep with 25 competitors from places all around Australia and quite a few from international destinations (Japan and NZ).  Adam came home with two 3rd place range prizes and 1 daily 3rd place prize and coming 4th overall. He was followed closely by Dmitri who came a very strong 6th place only 2 points behind.
  • In FS-B there were fewer competitors (15 in total). Janet came home with a pair of 1st place range prizes and a pair of 3rd place range prizes plus Day One 2nd place and Day Two 1st place aggregate prizes and the overall Duncan 1st place for FS-B.

The QRA Queens has details as follows: 300yds, 500yds, two at 600yds, two at 800yds, two at 900yds and two at 1000yds. The first two days were pretty reasonable winds which mostly changed direction at lunch time.  But, for the last day shooting at 1000yds, the winds became exceptionally strong and the word “carnage” comes to mind. Such was the wind on that final day that the FS-A top score of the day was 105-1 out of a max 120-20 and only 1 FS-A competitor had more than 4 centres for the day! It was horrendously challenging! So this is how Roseville went over the Queens:

  • There were 61 competitors in TR-A and Mark did exceptionally well on day 1 shooting three possibles; but the competition in A-Grade was phenomenally tough to overcome.
  • In TR-B, Dmitri and Adam each took home a 1st place and a 2nd place range prize, but Dmitri also took home the Day 1 aggregate 2nd place prize.
  • In FS-A, Michael  took home a pair of 2nd place and a pair of 3rd place range prizes, as well as the Day 1 aggregate 3rd place prize.
  • In FS-B, Janet took home a pair of 1st place range prizes, the Day 2 aggregate 1st place, Day 3 aggregate 1st place and overall Queens 1st place as well as the Grand Aggregate 1st place.

Roseville’s small contingent certainly left their mark on Queensland!

Janet Beale

VALE – DAVID HOLLISTER


Our fellow club member and dear friend David Hollister passed away on Thursday July 25th, 2019 after battling pancreatic and liver cancer – unfortunately this type of cancer is very aggressive, so David was taken away from us far too early.

David was a wonderful man, a true gentlemen in every sense and an inspirational person who excelled in all aspects of his life. David was a loving family man and active in the community with his local church – he and wife Chris created a very successful printing business which they sold, allowing David to retire several years ago. He enjoyed a variety of different shooting disciplines and competed at an elite level including World Championships, Olympics and Commonwealth Games – of course most of us know David as a member of Roseville Rifle Club being a top A Grade full bore TR rifle shooter.

He was always an enthusiastic club member and regularly volunteered for duties around the club and on the range, often acting as Butts Officer and being involved in working bees and more recently our clubhouse renovations. He was particularly well known for sharing his shooting expertise and mentoring new and young shooters, so his passing will be mourned by many in the shooting community. Whilst many of our members had the good fortune of being mentored by David, our current Vice Captain Phill Hodder was lucky enough to have received one on one training for an extended period of time that resulted in Phill honing his skills to become one the best TR shooters in the district and going on to win the Champion of Champions match a few years ago, as well as OPMs and other events. Of course Phill himself is an excellent mentor for many of our younger shooters, no doubt enriched by his experiences with David.

One of the unique traits of David was his humility, he never boasted about the fact that he competed at an elite level, rather he always focused on how he could shoot better and also help other shooters improve their skills.

David is survived by his wife Chris and daughter Elizabeth, so our thoughts go out to them at this difficult time.

Farewell old friend, you will always have a special place in our hearts and we will all miss you dearly…..

Wingham OPM 2019

Wingham is the probably the largest OPM in NSW outside of a Queens and it didn’t disappoint this year as there were over 100 shooters that attended the 2019 Wingham OPM on 8-9 June. While the Sydney rains put some people off attending, Wingham had cloud on Saturday with little to no wind and sunshine with a slight breeze and some mirage on Sunday. From Roseville we had Target Riflers:

  • A Grade: Mark Buchanan, Pat Jacombs
  • B Grade: Angus Langsford, Rob Trodden, and Adam Beale
  • C Grade: Oliver Bishop

And in F-Class:

  • F-Std-A: Peter Walters
  • F-Std-B: Dmitri Kazakov, and Janet Beale.

This was Rob’s first OPM in almost 2 years  – good to see you back in competition Rob!  This was Oliver Bishops 1st OPM ever. Phill Hodder was also attending to help coach the Shore boys who are also members of RRC (this coaching role was very useful when he had to perform “emergency surgery” on Oliver Bishop’s rifle and trigger). Peter Walters retired after day 1 due to food-related illness but has recovered since then. Phil Jacombs was photographer and supporter of all.

Such was the level of competition that on Day 1, if you were in Target Rifle A Grade and you had dropped a single point then you would be in 11th position or lower! Congrats are extended to Jim Bailey and Mitch Bailey of Holsworthy who came 1st / 2nd in the grand aggregate! Overall, our Roseville people represented the club in fine form and many came home with medals or awards:

In target Rifle:

  • Mark B: 1stplace range prize against very steep competition
  • Adam B: three 1stplace range prizes, a 2nd place range prize, a daily aggregate 1st place trophy and then 2nd place prize in the grand aggregate
  • Angus L: a 3rdplace range prize and a 3rd place in the daily aggregate prize.
  • Oliver B: a 2ndplace range prize

In F-Class:

  • Dmitri K: two 2ndplace range prizes, a 3rd place range prize, a daily aggregate 1st place trophy
  • Janet B: two 1stplace range prizes, a 3rd place range prize, two daily aggregate 2nd place trophies, and then 1st place prize in the grand aggregate.

 Well done to all our RRC shooters and special congrats to Janet Beale on her first FStd-B Grade win!!!

Adam Beale

Nationals 2019

Belmont Shooting Complex in Brisbane Queensland was the place to be from 17 June to 23 June – it was that little bit warmer and of course a bit windier on a range that extends to 1000yds.

The first two days was the Martin Baxter Target Rifle team’s match which included Phil Hodder, Dmitri Kazakov and Pat Jacombs from RRC shooting at 800/900/1000 yds.  Also shooting on those two days was Janet Beale in an FTR capacity (this was a team trial but not a competition event).  Gary Faulkner was on hand to lend his support to the FTR trials; Phil Jacombs was lending a hand to the Target Riflers.

The second two days were devoted to the Presidents Match. From Roseville we had Target Riflers:

  • A Grade: Pat Jacombs (who had a cracking good day 1 with a clean score!), and Adam Beale
  • B Grade: Dmitri Kazakov (who won a 1st place and 3rd place rage prize)

Unfortunately, at this point Phill and Janet had returned to Sydney due to work commitments and so they did not shoot the “lead up” or the Queens.

The last 3 days were devoted to the NRAA Queens which had an astounding finish with U25 shooter Alex Davies of West Wallsend taking out the Queens prize.

From Roseville we had Target Riflers:

  • A Grade: Pat Jacombs, and Adam Beale
  • B Grade: Dmitri Kazakov (who won a 1stplace range prize, a 2nd place range prizes and two 3rd place range prizes)

In F-Class:

  • FTR – Gary Faulkner (who won a 1stand 2nd place range prize, a daily aggregate 2st place prize and the Queens Prize for the grand aggregate)

Well done to all our RRC shooters and special congrats to Gary Faulkner on his Queens Prize win!!

Adam Beale

Trentham 2019 Report

In late January, 4 Roseville members (Mark Buchanan, Angus Martin, Adam Beale and Pat Jacombs), supported by Mike and Phill Hodder, Janet Beale and Phil Jacombs, arrived in New Zealand to represent Australia over 18 days of a truly extraordinary World Championship adventure at Trentham. Mark was a member of the Veterans team, Angus a member of the U25 Team and Adam and Pat members of the U21 team.

Located about 30 km north of Wellington, Trentham is renowned as one of the most difficult ranges on which to shoot, due to the vast fluctuation in its wind conditions. Almost all the Australian U21 team members were experiencing Trentham for the very first time.

The first competition was the U21 Teams World Championship (this being the inaugural running of this competition). Pat was very proud to be selected as one of the 5 shooters and Adam was selected as Master Coach. The competition was shot over 4 distances: 300, 600, 900 and 1000 yds, with each shooter having 10 scoring shots. Australia came second behind a strong local team of junior Kiwis. Pat shot exceptionally well, recording the top score in the Aussie team and was the 4th highest scorer in the whole competition. Adam’s coaching was the key factor in the team’s performance and his dedication to the role was clearly demonstrated by his state of physical and emotional exhaustion that was visible for all to see at the end of the shoot.

In conjunction with the U21 Teams World Championship, there were U25 and Veterans International matches. The U25 teams competed for the Haddon Donald Trophy and the Veterans competed for the Tony Loughnan trophy. Angus and his team-mates won the Haddon Donald trophy from the Great Britain team and the Veterans won the Tony Loughnan trophy in the tightest of contest with the Great Britain team (1,895.138 to 1,895.133)! Mark made a strong contribution to the win, being the 3rd highest scorer for the Aussie team.

The next competition was the New Zealand National Championships, which also doubled as the World Individual Championships for U21, U25 and Veterans shooters. Shot over 3 days, at 300, 500, 600, 900 and 1000 yds (each distance twice), this was another test of endurance. Mark performed brilliantly in this competition to be crowned Veterans World Champion. The Australian U25 team members really shone, taking 5 of the top 10 places in their Championships. Australian Chris Schwebel was crowned World Champion and Angus was placed 8th. In the U21 Champioships, Pat was very pleased with his 8th place. Adam also shot in this event and was placed 28th.

The Veterans and U25 Teams World Championships were next on the agenda. The Aussies continued their winning ways in both contests. Mark and Angus and their team-mates brought home the trophies with wins over the Great Britain teams to retain their World Champions status. The Vets prevented another heart-stopping finish by winning by 8 points!

Another international U21 teams match followed, competing for the Haddon Donald Trophy. This time the Aussies prevailed over the Kiwis, with Pat again making a strong contribution to the team’s success, being the 2nd top scorer in the Aussie team, with the 3rd highest score in the overall competition.

From there, the competition moved onto the Long Range World Championships (another individual competition and recognised as the World Championship for Individual Target Rifle Shooting). Over the course of 3 days, competitors shot three times at 800, 900 and 1000 yds It was during this competition that the infamous Trentham winds made their presence felt. In the often-treacherous conditions, shooting at 1000 yds is not only a test of endurance, but of mental strength. Adam and Pat found the conditions incredibly challenging, as did so many of the other competitors and their scores reflected this. Angus showed great patience and determination to finish in 44th place in a field of over 300, Mark was117th, Pat was 136th and Adam was 186th. Steve Negus from Australia won the competition to be crowned World Individual Champion, with Mitch Bailey in a close second place, by one point.

The final event of the competition calendar was the Palma Match. This prestigious teams competition was inaugurated in 1878 and is one of the oldest international competitions in sport. Shot at long distances over 2 intense days, it is held every 4 years and to describe the rivalry between competing nations as fierce would be an understatement, especially as the Great Britain team had not been beaten for the last 28 years.

The “Roseville 4” were not members of the Palma team so had the chance to be spectators/supporters. This was not to last for long. During the 2nd range of Day 1, two members of the Channel Islands team had to withdraw from the competition. As they had no reserves, the team could no longer officially compete. However, match officials made the generous decision to allow them to shoot on, if replacements could be found. Pat’s team manager grabbed him and another Aussie U21 team member and asked if they were willing to step in. Of course the immediate response was “yes” and suddenly Pat was recruited to unofficial Channel Islands citizenship. Thus Pat achieved a life-goal of shooting in the Palma Match (probably at least a decade before he thought he could ever be eligible). To top if off, he ended up being the Channel Islands top scorer for the match, earning not only the respect of his new “team” but their enduring friendship. The whole situation demonstrates why shooting is a wonderful sport, with a true sense of community.

By the way, the Aussie team delivered on their undoubted potential and romped away with the Palma Trophy, with the Great Britain team in second and the USA third.

 

Across the course of the various competitions, Australia won:

Veterans Teams World Championship

Veterans Individual World Championship

U25 Teams World Championship

U25 Individual World Championship

Long Range World Championship (Individual Open World Championship)

Palma Match (considered the Teams World Championship)

 

The “Roseville 4” achievements were:

Mark Buchanan – Veterans World Champion, member of the Veterans Team World Champions, member of the Tony Loughnan Trophy winning team

Angus Martin – member of the U25 Team World Champions, member of the Haddon Trophy winning team

Adam Beale – Master Coach of the U21 Team Silver Medal World Championships

Pat Jacombs – member of the U21 Team Silver Medal World Championships, member of the Haddon Trophy winning team, top shooter for Channel Islands Palma team

A great adventure and an opportunity of a lifetime.

Phil Jacombs

Captain’s 2018 Xmas Message

As we draw closer to the end of 2018, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on Roseville Rifle Club’s achievements over the past 12 months.

One of the key issues the committee recognised twelve months ago was the need to drive membership, so we all felt that the foundation for this was the need to modernise the clubhouse which had become a little tired and outdated. Through the tireless efforts of many members who either contributed financially or volunteered their labour, a number of significant improvements were made including creating a strong room, installation of a new kitchen (complete with new appliances), new floor coverings and a complete repaint of the internal areas of the clubhouse. The next stage of the refurbishment will commence in 2019 and include re-painting and re-cladding the external areas of the building.

From a membership perspective a number of initiatives were employed including the creation of new committee role (Membership/Marketing Officer) which Peter Walters is championing. Peter has been working on a number of initiatives to improve visitor’s experiences and I am pleased to report that we continued to grow this year and are now on track to meet our objective of 50 members by June 30th 2019 – amongst these new members we had a significant proportion of younger shooters who have shown enthusiasm and good potential.

Throughout 2018 many members participated in various OPMs, Queens and International competitions, as well as MDRA events and of course our own local Arn Hammond series. In many cases Roseville members distinguished themselves with lots of badges and medals being brought home throughout the course of the year. I recently looked at the national rankings for TR, FS and FTR and it was pleasing to note that a significant number of Roseville members are currently ranked amongst the top shooters in Australia.

With the Long Range World Championships coming up in January/February 2019 in Trentham New Zealand, I am pleased to advise that the competitive spirit is flowing strong, with several members (Mark, Angus, Adam and Patrick) competing, so we wish them all the very best for this prestigious international event.

I think we can all agree that one of the main reasons that our club is so successful, is the level of comradely, friendship and cohesiveness that binds us together – we all love our shooting, enjoy each other’s company and freely share information and that is something to be proud of.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Phill Hodder for all his time and effort over the years in his role as Club Captain – I have had very large shoes to fill, so I am so pleased that Phill took on the Vice-Captain’s role to assist in my transition into the role this year.

I wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas and I look forward to seeing you on the range in early 2019!

Best Wishes,

Michael Cuda
Roseville Rifle Club Captain

Christmas get together at the clubhouse

Happy new year!

 

NSDRA OPM 2018

The NSDRA OPM was shot on 3rd and 4th Nov. Roseville had a stellar turnout of 8 target riflers and 6 F-Class shooters for the favourite shooting competition of the year. Interestingly

  1. RRC fielded over half of all the TR-A competitors (Mark Buchanan, Dmitri Kazakov, Phill Hodder, Steve Tofler represented RRC).
  2. On Day 1 TR-B was 100% Roseville (Pat Jacombs, Mike Hodder, Adam Beale represented RRC) although a couple of more from outside joined in TR-B fun on day 2.

It was also good to see new member Sam Houston shooting in C-Grade – well done Sam! In F-Class, we had a strong FTR showing with Gary Faulkner, Alan Patrick and Eva Patrick; in FS-A Peter Walters and Michael Cuda were stars; and Janet Beale had fun in FS-B (thanks to loan equipment from Jon Marriott). The weather obliged, it was hot and sunny with mirage and a slight breeze to contend with.

Every single shooter from RRC took out at least a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in their respective class/grade for a detail. Well done to all our shooters who showed how strong and supportive a club we are!

Notable 1st or 2nd placings for Daily Aggregates:

Day 1 Agg: Mark was 1st (TR-A), Mike was 1st (TR-B), Pat was 2nd (TR-B), Sam was 2nd (TR-C), Michael was 2nd (FS-A), Gary was 2nd (FTR)

Day 2 Agg: Mark was 1st (TR-A), Pat was 1st (TR-B), Peter was 2nd (FS-A), Gary was 1st FTR

Notable 1st, 2nd or 3rd placings for the two day Grand Aggregate:

Mark was 1st (TR-A), Pat was 1st (TR-B), Adam was 2nd (TR-B), Mike was 3rd (TR-B), Sam was 2nd (TR-C), Michael was 2nd (FS-A), Peter was 3rd (FS-A), Janet was 3rd (FS-B), Gary was 2nd (FTR), Alan was 3rd (FTR)

Special congrats to Mark Buchanan who took home the prize of a new barrel for being the top shooter!

Also, congrats to Pat who took home top Junior Shooter and who now moves to A grade in the NRAA database just in time for the Canberra Queens!

And a big thank you to Allan Humbert who spent the two days inputting all the stats on the NRAA score system, thanks Allan!

(thanks to Phil J for being photographer)

Janet Beale

Gosford District OPM 2018

Sunday 21 Oct was the Gosford Open Prize Meeting, comprising three details at 500m. Roseville had strong competitors with Dmitri Kazakov and Mark Buchanan competing in Target Rifle A; two of our juniors Pat Jacombs and Adam Beale in Target Rifle B; Peter Walters in F-Standard A; and Gary Faulkner, Eva Patrick and Alan Patrick in F-TR. Despite the heavy rains overnight, and the mud in the carpark, the weather held out and there was hardly a drop during the shoot. The mound was well protected with cover just in case which everyone appreciated.  Roseville had an excellent day with an excellent centre count as you will see below…

In Target Rifle:

1st Detail: Dmitri 50-9; Mark 50-8; Pat 50-7; Adam 49-7

2nd Detail: Dmitri 50-5; Mark 45-7 (“X” in wrong target!!!); Pat 50-10 !!! (his first probable!); Adam 50-6

3rd Detail: Mark 75-13; Dmitri 74-10; Pat 75-12; Adam 75-11

In F-class:

1st Detail: Peter (FS/A) 60-5; Eva (F/TR) 60-5; Gary (F/TR) 59-6; Alan (F/TR) 57-4

2nd Detail: Peter (FS/A) 59-4; Gary (F/TR) 60-5; Alan (F/TR) 60-5; Eva (F/TR) 54-5 (shot in wrong target!!!)

3rd Detail: Peter (FS/A) 90-9; Alan (F/TR) 89-7; Eva (F/TR) 88-6; Gary (F/TR) 88-6

Yes, you read that right 8 possibles and a probable out of 12 details in Target Rifle and 5 possibles in F Class! Really great shooting by Roseville!

So how did Roseville place? Our members took home a lot of range prizes for each detail and in aggregate they did very well indeed…..

  • Dmitri Kazakov – 3rd in TR A Grade Aggregate
  • Mark Buchanan – 5th in TR A Grade Aggregate
  • Pat Jacombs – 1st  in TR B Grade Aggregate, overall King of the Range, top Junior Shooter
  • Adam Beale – 2nd in TR B Grade Aggregate
  • Peter Walters – 2nd in F-Std A Grade Aggregate
  • Gary Faulkner – 1st in FTR Aggregate
  • Alan Patrick – 2nd in FTR Aggregate
  • Eva Patrick – 5th in FTR Aggregate

What a great outcome for Roseville; and our Gosford hosts were very generous with the various medals, badges and prizes on offer.

Well done all; and special congrats to Pat for his “King of the Range” and probable!

Janet Beale

NSW Queens report for RRC

From Wed Oct 3rd to Sunday Oct 7th the NSW Rifle Association held the 142 Open Championship comprising the McIntosh Series and the Queens. This year, RRC  had 3 “A” grade representatives (Mark Buchanan, Phill Hodder and Angus Martin); 3 “B” grade representatives (Mike Hodder, Pat Jacombs and Adam Beale),

1 FS/A shooter (Michael Cuda) and 1 FTR shooter (Gary Faulkner).  Quite a few of the Australian team representatives were there (Palma, U25 and U21) as all teams are beginning to gear up for the World Competition in Jan 2019 so the competition was a very high calibre indeed.

This year, all scoring reverted to manual targets due to issues last year with the Konsberg electronic targets. However, the conditions were challenging to say the least with high winds and rain (heavy at times) which caused issues with the manual targets (inability to read the markers at a distance and stickers falling off the paper targets). As such, the organisers reverted to a modified program of 11 details instead of the normal 16 details and one whole day of competition was cancelled due to the shocking weather.

However, the competition did complete the modified program and RRC was well represented by our competitors

In A-Grade, the most notable individual performances by the RRC shooters included:

McIntosh Series > 500m (first detail) Phill came 3rd with 50-6, Mark came 4th with 50-6
McIntosh Series > 500m (second detail) Mark came 3rd with 50-8, and despite scoring 50-4 Phill came 16th (clearly the A Grade competition was of a high calibre!!)
McIntosh Series > 600m (first detail) Mark came 1st with 50-7, despite scoring a possible, Phill came 6th with 50-3
McIntosh Series > 600m (second detail) Mark came 2nd with 50-8
Queens > 700m (first detail) Angus came 8th despite scoring a possible 50-3!
Queens > 700m (second detail) Mark came 4th with 50-7

In B-Grade, the most notable individual performances by the RRC shooters included:

McIntosh Series > 500m (first detail) Pat came 3rd with 50-2;
McIntosh Series > 500m (second detail) Mike came 4th with 50-5, and despite scoring 50.5 Pat came 6th (clearly the B Grade competition was of a high calibre!!)
McIntosh Series > 600m (first detail) Mike came 4th with 49-5
McIntosh Series > 600m (second detail) Pat came 2nd with 50-7
McIntosh Series > 800m (second detail) Adam came 2nd with 47-3, Pat came 3rd with 46-4

Queens > 700m (first detail) Pat came 4th with 48-5
Queens > 700m (second detail) Adam came 2nd with 50-3
Queens > 800m (day 3 first detail) Pat came 3rd with 48.2
Queens > 800m (final detail) Pat came 1st with 49-4, Adam came 3rd with 49-1

In F-Class the most notable individual performances by the RRC shooters included:

Queens > 700m (first detail) Gary came 1st (FTR) with 59-3
Queens > 700m (second detail) Gary came 2nd (FTR) with 59-2; Michael C came 3rd (FS/A)with 59-4
Queens > 800m (first detail) Gary came 3rd (FTR) with 82-2
Queens > 800m (day 3 first detail) – Gary came 2nd (FTR) with 55-0
Queens > 800m (day 3 second detail) – Gary came 1st (FTR) with 56-2;  Michael C came 4th with 55-0

Overall, RRC took home quite a few awards and placed within the top 5 in:

McIntosh Day 1: Mark > Aggregate A Grade 1st place; Pat > Aggregate B Grade – 3rd place; Mike > Aggregate B Grade – 5th place
McIntosh Day 2: Mark > Aggregate A Grade 4th place; Pat > Aggregate B Grade – 5th place
McIntosh overall: Mark > Aggregate A Grade 2nd place; Pat > Aggregate B Grade – 4th place
Queen’s Day 2: Gary > Aggregate 1st (FTR); Michael C > Aggregate FS/A – 4th place;
Queen’s Day 3: Gary> Aggregate 2nd (FTR); Angus > Aggregate A Grade 4th place, Pat > Aggregate B Grade – 1st place;

Overall Queens Aggregate: Pat > B Grade – 2nd place, Michael C > FS/A – 5th place. Gary > Aggregate 2nd  place (FTR); (with special mention to Angus > A Grade – 7th place)

Pat also took home the top High School Shooter prize.

In the Grand Aggregate, covering both the Queens and McIntosh series,  Mark (A Grade) came 6th, Pat (B Grade) came 2nd and Adam (B Grade) came 7th

Well done to our RRC competitors in very challenging circumstance.

Janet Beale

Exciting times are ahead for two Roseville junior members

Adam Beale and Pat Jacombs have been selected in their first National Team as members in the Australian U21 Team to compete in Trentham, NZ early 2019. This is a fantastic achievement and shows the determination and focus both boys have!

   

As well as Adam and Pat, Angus Martin will be involved with the Australian U25 Team and also Mark Buchanan in the Australian Veterans Team. This championship will be held in New Zealand from 24 Jan – 11 Feb 2019 and will incorporate Junior and Veteran team shooting, the NZ National Championships, the World Long Range Championships, and the most prestigious teams match in shooting , The Palma.

This is very impressive for Roseville Rifle Club having 4 members competing in these events representing Australia all the way through the age brackets from juniors to seniors.

Adam’s selection in the Australian U21 Team was recently featured in a fabulous article in the North Shore Times 

We wish all the shooters the best of luck and many “V” Bulls.

DRA/City v Country weekend

Roseville had some busy shooters this weekend (15-16 July)… and before going into the details I want to thank Mike Hodder who did all the hand-loads for some RRC junior shooters (due to the factory ammo shortage). We also want to send hearty congratulations to Angus Martin who was also selected for the NSW State Team and received his numbered cap! Well done Angus!!!

Saturday

NSW Rifle Association’s District Rifle Competition team shoot (5 per team) was held at Malabar in the afternoon (with a bit of a breeze blowing) with 2+10 at 700m and 2+15 at 800m (max score of 125.15 TR and 150.15 F-Class) on manual targets. Roseville had a huge contingent with 11 representatives in the various NSDRA Target Rifle and F-Class teams. Our Rosevilleans did very well:

o   Angus Martin (TR Gold team) : scored 125.15
o   Phill Hodder (TR Gold team): scored 122.9
o   Adam Beale (TR Gold team): scored 119.8
o   Pat Jacombs (TR Green team): scored 119.6
o   Mike Hodder (TR Green team): scored 117.7
o   Gary Faulkner (FTR): scored 147.13 <<<  part  of winning team!
o   Alan Patrick (FTR): scored 144.10 <<<  part  of winning team!
o   Eva Patrick (FTR): scored 142.10 <<<  part  of winning team!
o   Michael Cuda (F-Std): scored 143.7
o   Allan Humbert (F-Std): scored 137.5
o   Peter Walters (F-Std): scored 149.7

While the NSDRA teams shot admirably, it was only the NSDRA FTR team who came home with winners prizes. Congrats to Gary, Alan, Eva and the rest of their NSDRA team!

Sunday

NSW Rifle Association’s City vs Country match was also held at Malabar starting in the morning (brrr very cold!) with 2+10 at 500m and 600m, and finished in the afternoon with 2+10 at 700m and 800m using manual targets. As you will see below, Roseville had a lot of representatives there which shows what a great, vibrant and active club we have.

The day had its issues (e.g. Pat lying down to shoot on a colony of ants and being bitten and having to move, Adam having only a few minutes to do his first detail due to team running out of time, mechanical target D6 was not working properly affecting Dmitri’s shoot etc) but overall everyone enjoyed themselves.

Despite it being a teams’ event, listed below are the individual results from RRC members (max score of 200.40 in TR and 340.40 in F-Class):

o   Angus Martin (City TR) scored an impressive 200.24…..and was top scorer of the day!
o   Dmitri Kazakov (City TR) scored 195.22 with 50.9 at 500m, getting the bull after his rifle cheek-piece had to be removed to replace a misfired round…
o   Phill Hodder (City TR) scored 195.12
o   Adam Beale (City TR) scored 194.19
o   Pat Jacombs (City U25 TR) scored 184.11 <<<part  of winning team (despite the ant bites!!)
o   Angus Langsford (Country U25 TR) scored 182.12
o   Gary Faulkner (City FTR): scored 236.16  <<< part  of winning team!
o   Alan Patrick (City FTR): scored 230.17 <<< part  of winning team!
o   Eva Patrick (City FTR): scored 221.6  <<< part  of winning team!
o   Michael Cuda (City F-Std): scored 225.14
o   Peter Walters (City F-Std): scored 224.11
o   Bob Kozminski (City F-Std): scored 220.15
o   Allan Humbert (City F-Std): scored 211.9

All in all the RRC members did a great job in their respective teams – well done to one and all with special congrats to Angus M, Pat, Gary, Alan, and Eva for making it to the podium and coming home winners.

Janet Beale

 

West Wallsend OPM 2018

The West Wallsend Open Prize Meeting was held on Sunday, 1st July which was a beautiful but a bit chilly day ….rifle shooting is a good way to start the new financial year!

There were 53 shooters competing across the various disciplines and the order of the day was 2+10 at 500yds, 2+10 at 600yds and 2+10 at 600yds.

The intrepid Roseville shooters were Phill Hodder, Angus Martin and Tim Walter in A grade; Adam Beale in B grade; Angus Langsford in C grade and Alan Humbert in F-Standard A grade. Similar to the Wingham OPM, Alex Macaulay (B grade) was an “adopted Rosevillian” for the day because he shoots with Shore School with our other junior shooters.

Highlights of the day

  • Angus Martin shot his first 50 with 10!! CONGRATS Angus you have nerves of steel!!
  • Tim Walter came 4th at 500yds
  • Angus Langsford won 1st/2nd/1st as 3 range prizes in C grade plus 1st in aggregate score in C-Grade
  • Phill Hodder came 4th at 600 yds and 4th in aggregate score in A Grade.

At the end of the day the aggregate scores in target rifle out of a max of 150-30 were as follows:

  • Phill Hodder: 149-19 (99.3% accuracy)
  • Angus Martin: 148-21 (98.7% accuracy)
  • Tim Walter: 146-14 (97.3% accuracy)
  • Alex Macaulay: 145-13 (96.7% accuracy)
  • Adam Beale: 144-12 (96% accuracy)
  • Angus Langsford: 144-11 (96% accuracy)… this should mean he is now moving to B-grade!

The aggregate score in F-Class out of a max of 160-30 was:

  • Alan Humbert (F -Std A grade): 175-12 (97.2% accuracy)

So I think you can see Roseville was well represented particularly as almost 50% of the top 4 in each grade/discipline have this range as their home range which would provide them some sort of “home advantage”. Congrats to all!

Author and photos Janet Beale

NSDRA Champion of Champions, 23 June 2018

And so, it came to pass, after about 50 weeks of Club competitions, that the best from each club was assembled to do battle to find the best of the best.  Competitors and club members assembled just after high noon.  The frogs were started.  Blackboards placed in strategic positions.  The Hexta targets were prepared with new aiming marks. The air was electric with anticipation.

The field of fire was 2 + 10 shots each at 3, 5, and 700M with a 2+15 at 800M.

The F class shooters were first to step up for a 1pm start.  Michael (Barra) Cuda our Champion with 1765.144 ex 1800.300 was not available to shoot as he was at the Belmont Range (QLD) for the Nationals.

Alan Ashworth took out F-Std-A clean, with 270.33 from Terry Howell (North Sydney) 268.17.

F-Open-A was Alan Seaman (Manly) again clean with 270.32 from Wu B Lau (Hornsby RSL)

F-TR-A winner was Alan Bowyer-Tagg (Hornsby RSL) with 263.19 from Sandy Mansfield (Manly) 245.11.

Roseville were represented by Phill Hodder (Club Senior Champion 1483.158) and Adam Beale (Under 25 Champion 1210.87) in Target Rifle.

Conditions were excellent for the first three ranges with fine, light overcast and virtually no wind.  At 800M the wind picked up a little with a bit of a fish tail.  The low sun became much more of a problem making sighting difficult.

After 45 counting shots, Adam took out both the Under 25 and Top Overall Shooter with an excellent 223.28 (50.5, 49.6, 50.7 & 74.10, one centre ahead of Phill 223.27 (50.7, 50.5, 50.7 & 73.8).  Adam was 6.11 points ahead of Angus Mansfield.

Competition was intense, and it came down to the wire; the last range.  A demanding 15 shots at 800M with the lowering sun cause sighting problems on the targets.  Phill’s win was against strong opposition, succeeding to beat Bill Ballantyne (Hornsby RSL) by 4 centres, JR Mitchell (Hornsby) by 1.4, Richard Jones (Manly) by 1.5 and Grant Roberts 8.11.

Thanks go to Vern Norrgard (Range Officer), Doug Bowen (Butts Officer), Adrian Bonanni (Statistics) and several others from various clubs who helped make the competition work. Special thanks to Allan Humbert who single handily repaired the front and rear centre rubbers.

Results in more detail here: – https://shooting.hexsystems.com.au/competition/monitor/136

Photos Janet Beale and Uncle Mike.

Author Uncle Mike.