Roseville Rifle Club Australia

Author Archive

Roseville’s “Fearless Five” Mark Buchanan, Tim Walter, Mike Hodder (aka Marcus, Tom Walker and Uncle Mike) and Alan and Eva Patrick drove to the Royal Hotel, Carcoar arriving Friday evening.  After settling in and a few drinks at the bar we had dinner in the restaurant followed by deep and meaningful discussions.

Saturday was warm and overcast.  The paddocks were in a parlous state, quite different from when I was last there a year ago, when the grass was lush and tall.  The program was for 2 + 15 at 500 and 600 yards.

At the 500, shooters had a walk up start with 10 on each of the 5 Kongsberg targets.  The mounds are raised above the paddocks and are level, topped with fine gravel.  Wind was light to moderate from the right.  Tim had trigger problems and borrowed Mike’s until later in the day when Mal worked on it and got it going again.  We were treated to a procession of cattle moving from the left, firstly in singles, gradually increasing in numbers.  They were unfazed with the projectiles flying well over their heads. Some great scores resulted in several cases, mediocre in others.

There was a lunch break between ranges.

Conditions at 600 were like the morning and results were also well spread out.  At one stage several cattle were up against the fence, just below the targets.  Just as well no-one had forgotten to change their elevation from the morning’s shoot! Mike had the unusual result of being first and last in the same competition.

Mark, Tim and Mike had dinner at the hotel [in his absence, Mark won the Lucky Door Prize for TR ($100 voucher from NSWRA store) drawn on the Sat night in the clubhouse!!  The Patricks returned to the range for a roast dinner.

Sunday’s program was 2 + 10 each at 500 and a double 600.  Conditions were similar with variations in strength, direction for the last range.  Each of us competed in a positive manner, but it’s fair to say that we were all disappointed not to have performed better.

Results are at https://www.nraa.com.au/lyndhurst-rifle-club-opm-2019-nsw-results/

This is the second time I have been to Lyndhurst and can thoroughly recommend shooting there.  The meeting is well run in a low-key manner.  Everyone is friendly and co-operative.  The range has challenges due to the topography of the farm.

Uncle Mike

On Wednesday November 14, 3 Roseville representatives (Mark Buchanan, Adam Beale and Pat Jacombs) ventured onto the Canberra rifle range for a taste of their notoriously tricky wind conditions, shooting in the R A Rolph leadup event for the 2018 ACT Queens. Fortunately, for the first 2 days conditions were mostly favourable, which led to some good scoring. However, that was definitely the calm before the storm and the Queens event delivered everything that the pundits had predicted!

Pat’s NRAA ranking prior to the event had moved him into A Grade, so he was feeling a bit of extra pressure to perform, now that he was joining Mark with the “Big Boys”! In the lead-up event there were 38 competitors in A Grade and 23 in B Grade. Adam competed in B Grade.

The notable results in the leadup were:

Mark – 1st place in the first match at 500m with 50.9
Pat – equal 2nd in the second match at 500m with 50.8
Adam – 1st in the third match at 600m with 73.8
Adam – 2nd in the Day 1 aggregate with 170.19
Adam – 1st in the fourth match at 800m with 74.8
Mark – 1st in the fifth match at 800m with 75.9
Mark – 3rd in the Day 2 aggregate with 149.22
Adam – 1st in the overall aggregate
Pat – 7th in the overall aggregate (his first A grade badge), just 2 points behind the winner
Mark – 10th in the overall aggregate
Pat – top junior Target shooter

On Friday November 16, Mark, Adam and Pat were joined by Tim Walter (TR/A), Peter Walters and Michael Cuda (F Std/A), and Gary Faulkner, Eva Patrick and Alan Patrick (FTR/A) for the Queens event. 69 competitors lined up in TR/A Grade, 32 in TR/B Grade, 56 in F Std/A and 18 in FTR/A. Conditions weren’t too demanding for the start of the day, but things were about to start heading south! On Saturday, the wind really started to make its presence felt, swirling in from the south-west and moving around like a washing machine as it moved up the range. The flags were regularly facing opposite directions to each other. The more experienced shooters were better placed to handle these vagaries and the less-experienced shooters found the going really tough. The loss of a target during the morning session meant very slow progress on the mound and then a brief storm at lunchtime forced the 2 x 10 shot 800m matches to be reduced initially to 1 x 15 shot match, and then to a single 10 shot match. Sunday was about to put the icing on the cake with some truly bizarre wind conditions for 2 final matches at 600m.

Notable results from the 3 days of the Queens were:

Mark – 3rd in the first match at 500m with 50.8
Mark – 1st in the third match at 600m with 75.11
Mark – 1st in the Day 1 aggregate with 175.26
Adam – 1st in the fifth match at 600m with 50.4
Adam – 1st in the Day 2 aggregate with 144.11
Adam – 1st in the seventh match at 600m with 49.4
Michael – 1st in the seventh match at 600m with 60.4
Gary – 2nd in the seventh match at 600m with 56.2
Michael – 2nd in the Day 3 aggregate with 145.7
Alan – 3rd in the Day 3 aggregate with 140.6
Adam – 3rd place badge for the overall aggregate
Mark – 10th place overall
Michael – 10th place overall
Gary – 5th place overall

In the Grand Aggregate, Adam was placed 2nd (just one point behind the winner) and Mark was placed 3rd.

On a side note, Phil Jacombs discovered a family connection to the Bungendore Rifle Club that has been unknown for over 100 years. If you have a few minutes, ask him about it!

Phil Jacombs

Dmitri Kazakov and Tim Walter attended the Queensland Championships held at Belmont Rifle Range between 7 and 11 August 2018. Pat Jacombs joined later and shot the Queens Prize accompanied by his father, Phil Jacombs. Dmitri Kazakov arrived one day earlier and shot Archer Trophy & F Class Challenge 2018 15 shoots match at 1000 yard. He managed to get first place in B grade and second in competition getting the valuable prize.

Dmitri, Tim and Pat all shot TR B Grade.

The results were as follows:

 The Duncan.

Dmitri lost 5 points at 500y by traditionally shooting his last shot as V on the wrong target. However he managed to recover at the end getting the first place and gold medal for second 600y range.

For a moment, we thought Roseville had a new member, when we spotted one of the Japanese competitors in a Roseville Shirt and cap!

The Queens – Day 1

The Queens – Day 2

The Queens – Day 3
At the last range the Roseville members were devastated by constantly changing wind direction. In combination with limited experience at long distance shooting under windy condition this significantly affected their final results.

The Queens – Aggregate

Duncan and Queens Grand Aggregate

Dmitri came third at 900 yards in the Duncan and was placed 9^th in the Queens to receive a badge.

Tim received 8^th Badge in the Duncan Aggregate and a Gold Medal for winning the second 900 yards on Day 2 of the Queens.

Pat was shooting his first Queens and he did very well overall, particularly given his limited experience at long ranges to date.

Rosevillians brought back home a lot of toffees this time.

Tim Walter

In an astonishing display of marksmanship, Mark Buchanan top scored in the Queens Prize Stage III Final, shooting 134.10 over 900 yards and 1000 yards, to give him a total Aggregate of 280.24. This placed him 4^th in H.M. Queens Prize, Bisley 2018, only one point and five centres behind the winner, David Luckman on 281.29.
Mark was also only one centre behind both Matt Button and the great Parag Patel who shot off for second and third place with 280.25 each.
Conditions were extremely difficult with strong and variable winds racing across Stickledown range for both shoots at 900 yards and 1000 yards. Mark shot 65.4 at 900 yards and 69.6 at 1000 yards, his 69.6 being the highest score shot at 1000 yards on the day – by three points!
Mark had shot 102.10 in Stage I to qualify for Stage 2, where he scored 146.14, placing him in 54^th position. This effectively gave David Luckman, this year’s Commonwealth Games Gold medalist and arguably the best rifle shooter in the world at the moment, a 3 point lead going into Stage III, as David had scored 149.20 in Stage II placing him in 3^rd position.
Luckman took a further 3 points lead over Mark at 900 yards shooting 68.6 to Mark’s 65.4, but Mark piled on the pressure at 1000 yards with his 69.6. Luckman replied with 64.3, which was enough for him to finish just one point ahead of Mark and to win H.M. Queens Prize for 2018.
Mark was the top scorer of a sizeable Australian contingent and congratulations must also go to James Corbett who finished 5^th with 279.32 and Angus Bell who finished 9^th with 279.16. Mark Horsnell finished 52nd with 271.18. Well done mark! Associate member Keirin McCamley was unlucky to finish Stage II with 144.15 in 108th position, missing out on a place in the Final by 1 point and 3 centres.
James Corbett was unfortunate in that he went into the final with 148.23 and shot a brilliant 70.6 at 900 yards to put him in the lead, only to finish with 61.3 at 1000 yards, thus indicating the extreme difficulty of the conditions on the day.
Mark’s 4^th place is his best performance at Bisley so far and a just reward for many years of dedication and application. UK Queens results are HERE.

Good report written by Captain of Australian Rifle Team to Bisley 2018 Geoff Grosskreutz is available HERE

Well done Mark! You have done yourself, your club and your country proud.

Tim Walter.
30 July 2018.

The MDRA annual Anzac Day shoot was held on Wednesday the 25 April.

The shoot commenced at 12.30 pm following a short Anzac day ceremony.

The shoot comprised 2 stages at 600 metres and was conducted under threatening weather conditions with a strong off shore wind blowing.

Gary Faulkner and Allan Humbert attended both shooting F class.

In the first stage Gary started well with a 58.3 (5^th) but was beaten by Allan with a 58.4 (4^th), one point and one super centre behind the stage winner.

For the second stage that was a 11 shot match, the trend continued with Gary shooting 65.5 (4^th) and Allan narrowly beating him with a 65.8 (3^rd) The winner scored 66.5.

These positions continued through to the aggregate with Allan finishing on 123.12 (3^rd) and Gary on 123.8 (4^th) The winner Ralph Garlick finished closely in front on 124.14

Allan H

Mark Buchanan, Tim Walter and Allan Humbert attended the Victorian Championships held at Bendigo between 18 and 22 April 2018.

Mark shot particularly well during the Syme, finishing in 4^th place, winning one range and finishing second, third, fourth and fifth at others.

Mark opened strongly in the Queens on Day 1 with a 50.9 and a 50.7 at 500 yards, but finished with a 48.4 at 600 yards to be 16^th on the Board.

Mark shot a solid 148.17 on Day 2 and an equally solid 98.11 on Day 3, which included a 49.7 at 1000 yards.

Mark’s score of 394.48 in the Queens placed him 12^th overall and 692.84 saw him finish in 4^th place in the Grand Championship.

Tim entered A grade although entitled to shoot B grade. Had he shot in B grade and shot the same scores, he would have won Day 1 of the Syme, won the Syme Aggregate by 2 points, placed 10^th in the Queens and come second in the Grand Championship!

Allan shot in F Standard A and started the Syme in blistering form, coming second on Day 1 with 176.10.

Day 1 and Day 2 of the Queens saw some good scores, and Day 3 saw a very good 57.4 at 1000 yards to finish 4^th at that range.

Allan finished 12^th in the Syme, 13^th in the Queens and 10^th in the Grand Aggregate.

The results were as follows:

The Syme.

 
The Queens – Day 1

The Queens – Day 2

The Queens – Day 3

Duncan Davies won the Queens with 399.47 and the redoubtable James Corbett won the Grand Championship with 695.76.

Congratulations to both, especially to Duncan on winning his first Queens!

Tim Walter.

Mark Buchanan, Andrew Martin, Angus Martin and Tim Walter attend the Lyndhurst Prize Meeting held on 31 March and 1 April 2018.

A Teams Match was conducted on Friday afternoon on 30 March at 600 yards and the scores were as follows: Mark 49.3, Tim 49.1, Andrew 48.0, Angus 49.7 = 195.11. Although this was not good enough to beat the young lads from Sydney, three of whom are in the Palma Team, we did finish second, which was pleasing in that we beat the Lyndhurst Team and two other teams.

The Day 1 Aggregate was shot over 500, 600, and 600 yards on Saturday and saw Mark shoot 150.17 to win the TR A Grade Day 1 Aggregate by one centre from Chris Schwebel.

The Day 2 Aggregate was also shot over 500, 600, and 600 yards on Sunday.

Mark won the Grand Aggregate with 299.38, narrowly avoiding a shoot off with Matthew Shepherd, who finished second with 299.35.

Angus did well to finish 10^th in the Grand Aggregate in a very strong field of top A Grade shooters.

The strength of the field was demonstrated by the fact that Angus finished 7^th with a 50.7 at 500 yards on Day 1, 10^th with a 49.7 at 600 yards on Day 1, and 16^th with a 49.7 at 500 yards on Day 2!

Andrew was unfortunate in that his sling broke at some stage, costing him valuable points.

Tim is still finding form for Bendigo!

Tim Walter.

Tim was shooting TR in B Grade.

In the 1^st Stage of the McIntosh at 600m he shot 68.5/75 which was good enough for 3^rd place.

Feeling crook on Thursday morning, Tim did not shoot the double 700m, but came out in the afternoon for the double 800m, but to no avail. Tim opened the Queens at 300m with a 47.6, which showed some potential.

Tim finished the 1^st Stage with 137.12 to be 7^th in B Grade and interestingly, with equal top centre count.

During the Sargard Match, coached by Mark Buchanan, Tim shot 72 out of 75, which was reasonable given the wind conditions.

In the 2^nd Stage, Tim shot 49.6 at the first 700m to finish in 2^nd place, but followed up with a 44.2 at the second 700m.

The 3^rd Stage was a disappointment at the two final 800m shoots and may indicate that a bigger load is needed for the longs in strong wind conditions.

Finishing the Queens with 427.33, Tim came 19^th/24 shooters, but with the second highest centre count in B Grade, which probably indicates a good barrel in the hands of an inconsistent shooter!

Wind conditions were very difficult, coming mainly from the right and varying in both strength and direction and changing rapidly. Geoff Ayling showed your correspondent some handy tips at reading the wind, which will be valuable in the future.

The Kongsberg targets could not handle the wind blowing directly onto the target faces and this caused inaccurate results such as high or low 1’s, which either caused a halt to shooting or a change of target. In other cases, shooters had to take what they were given.

Tim

In accordance with tradition established over the past few years, several Roseville members decided to shoot the Easter Prize Meeting at Mudgee and stay with our friends, Ian and Amanda, at the Court House Hotel. To this end, Phill, Dmitri, Mark, Michael Cuda, Mike Hodder, Jon Marriott, Tim and Ian Walter, all made arrangements to stay at the Court House Hotel at Mudgee over the Easter period. Sadly, a few weeks before Easter we received word that Mudgee range had been closed and shortly after that we were advised that Lyndhurst Rifle Club would host an alternative Easter Meeting.

Phill arranged accommodation for four people at the Royal Hotel in Carcoar. Mark and Jon changed their plans. So did Ian, so Tim decided to shoot at Lyndhurst. Dmitri offered Tim a lift in his Ford V8 super-charged beast and Mike and Phill travelled in a less powerful auto, nevertheless, Mike and Phill arrived in Carcoar before Dmitri and Tim got to Windsor and they secured our accommodation.

Day1

Dmitri and Tim were frustrated trying to buy food and alcohol on Good Friday only to be told it was against the law! Nevertheless, Dmitri and Tim arrived in time for the Team Shoot on Friday afternoon and at first we thought that we had finished in 3rd place only to find that a composite team, which included Comrade Kazakov, had pushed us into 4th place!

Some afternoon tea refreshments followed and then dinner, Dmitri and Tim sharing Mike’s steak and sausage before returning to the Royal Hotel in Carcoar. An early night followed for all in a clean and friendly hotel. Most of us found Easter eggs on our bed. Breakfast on the balcony revealed some of the wonders of Carcoar High Street, with the adjacent Post Office and B&B for sale for about $750,000.

Day2

We arrived at the range and did the draw at 500 yards which remained the same for the rest of the meeting. Phill shot a 50.6, Dmitri 48.4, Mike and Tim 49.5 and the Barracuda 60.4.
At the first 600 yards, Phill shot 48.5, Dmitri 48.8, Mike 46.5, Tim 49.2 and the Barracuda 58.2.
At the second 600 yards, Phill shot 49.7, Dmitri 48.6, Mike 48.6, Tim 47.5 and the Barracuda 59.3.
The Day 1 Aggregate saw Phill shoot 147.18, Dmitri 144.18, Mike 143.16, Tim 145.12 and the Barracuda 177.9.
It was Tim’s turn to drive Dmitri home in the Beast and this had no influence on our decision to leave the range before the presentation and eat at the pub instead of at Lyndhurst Rifle Club who were putting on a roast spit and a band. The pub was under new management and they did all they could to please us, even though they were fully booked. We had a magnificent meal, mainly oysters and steak with some good red wine and we again prepared for an early night, although rumor has it there was some star gazing and pleasant conversation among some members after dinner.

Day3

Dmitri and Tim arrived at the range the next morning and were immediately castigated by Greg Emms for not attending the Club dinner, but I think he forgave us. At 500 yards Phill shot 50.5, Dmitri 47.4, Mike 49.3, Tim 50.6 and the Barracuda 60.9. Tim won the match in TR B Grade and the Barracuda won the match in FS A Grade.
At the first 600 yards, Phill shot 48.3, Dmitri 46.2. Mike 49.5, Tim 49.3 and the Barracuda 59.5.
At the second 600 yards, Phill shot 49.7, Dmitri 48.3, Mike 47.3, Tim 48.2 and the Barracuda 59.3.
The Day 2 Aggregate had Phill at 147.15, Dmitri 141.9 Mike 145.11, Tim 147.11 and the Barracuda 178.17.
The Grand Aggregate had Phill at  294.33, Dmitri 285.27, Mike 288.27, Tim 292.23 and the Barracuda 355.26.
Phill came 15th in TR A Grade, Dmitri 21st in TR A Grade, Mike 4th in TR B Grade Tim 3rd in TR B Grade and the Barracuda 4th in FS A Grade.
During the meeting, Phill met Tom Hamilton, who is shooting with Shore School and his father Matt, and as Phill is now coaching the Shore Rifle Team this was a good opportunity for Phill to do some mentoring and to introduce Tom to the returning conquering heroes of the Australian under 25 Team which included our former club member David Smith.
We had the pleasure of Tom and his Dad’s company at the Royal Hotel both nights.

Congratulations to Lyndhurst Rifle Club on taking the initiative to host a meeting at Easter once it became clear that Mudgee could not do so.

Overall, a great weekend and we look forward to shooting at Lyndhurst again.

Tim Walter

The Victorian Rifle Association 2017 Queens Series was conducted at Bendigo Rifle Range from 29 March to 2 April 2017. Mark Buchanan and Associate member Keirin McCamley competed in the A Grade Grand Championship and Tim Walter competed in the B Grade Queens. All three members stayed with Melissa Frost-Thomas at the former Captain Cook Hotel where 8 other shooters were also staying.

The Syme

Day 1 of the Syme shot over 500, 500 and 600 yards saw Mark Buchanan shoot 147.15 to be placed 13^th and Keirin McCamley shoot 145.13 to be placed 27^th.
Day 2 of the Syme shot over 700, 900 and 1000 yards saw Mark Buchanan shoot 134.6 to be placed 27^h and Keirin McCamley shoot 128.5 to be placed 38^th.
Needless to say, conditions were very difficult, particularly on Day 2 over the long ranges. Mark finished in 23^rd place and Keirin McCamley at 37^th. The mood of the assembled guests at dinner at the Cook when Tim arrived was quite subdued. Geoff Grosskreutz from Brisbane won the Syme with 293.22 the score reflecting the difficult conditions.

The Queens

Day 1
Conditions were much better for Day 1 of the Queens shot over 500, 500 and 600 yards. Mark shot 148.15 to be placed 15^th and Keirin shot 147.13 to be placed 31^st in A Grade. Tim shot 142.7 to be placed 17^th in B Grade.

Day 2

Conditions were much the same for Day 2 of the Queens shot over 700, 800 and 900 yards. Mark shot 146.14 to be placed 8^th and won 900 yards in the process with 50.6. Keirin shot 144.11 to be placed 22^nd in A Grade. Tim shot 143.10 to be placed 3^rd in B Grade.
All the guests at the Captain Cook went to a very nice restaurant in Bendigo for dinner with Melissa and her husband.

Queens VRA 2017

Day 3

Day 3 of the Queens shot over 900, and 1,000 yards. Mark shot 48.6 and Keirin shot 46.4 at 900 in A Grade. Tim shot 46.3 in B Grade. Conditions at 1000 yards were noticeably more difficult on the left hand side of the range where Mark was shooting and seemed to get worse as the range progressed. Mark shot a gritty 48.6 after scoring a 3 with his 3^rd shot and Keirin shot 48.3. Tim put 3 birds underneath to score 43.4. Mark finished Day 3 with 96.12 to be placed 5^th and Keirin finished with 94.7 to be placed 14th in A Grade. Tim shot 89.7 to be placed 12^th in B Grade.

The Queens Aggregate

Mark finished in 5^th place in A Grade with 390.41 and Keirin finished in lucky 13^th place with 385.31. Tim finished in 7^th place in B Grade with 374.24. The winner? James Corbett of Benalla with 396.47 with our friend Malcolm McKenzie coming second to the legend with 392.43.

The Grand Championship

This was also won by James Corbett with 685.77. Mark came 12^th with 671.62 and Keirin came 33^rd with 658.49.

Tim Walter

Gary Faulkner, Phill Hodder, Allan Humbert, Dmitri Kazakov, Tim Walter and Peter Walters attended the Wingham Rifle Club Open Prize Meeting over the weekend of 11 and 12 June 2016.

Left-to-right Peter Walters, Allan Humbert, Dmitri Kazakov, Gary Faulkner, Tim Walter, Phill Hodder

All shooters except Phil shot the 2 x 15 sweepstakes match at 600 yards on the Friday afternoon. (results not known except Tim 70).

The competition commenced on Saturday morning at 600 yards, followed by 500 yards and then 400 metres.

On Sunday the shoot commenced at 500 yards, followed by 600 yards and then a 2 x 15 shot match again at 600 yards.

Results were as follows:

Congratulations to Gary Faulkner for finishing 4^th in FS A, two places behind his Dad, John, who used Gary’s other rifle!

Congratulations to Allan for finishing 2^nd in FS B and winning a range along the way.

Congratulations to Dmitri for finishing 5^th in TR A, placing second in both the last 2 ranges to finish one place ahead of the great Duncan Davies! Entry number 13 turned out to be lucky.

Dropping just one point over the entire meeting was a great achievement, some say assisted by rocket fuel the night before, and despite being woken early in the morning by a cry from someone in the park needing some attention!

Commiserations to Phill who was disallowed a V bull at the first 600 yard match on Day 2 when it was adjudged to be a shot on the next door target, even though no extra shot was claimed by the shooter or scorers on that target, and notwithstanding that Phill did not ask for his target to be examined after firing his shot.

Clearly, Phill’s scorer and check scorer were not paying proper attention and the fact that both were scoring with binoculars instead of scopes contributed to Phill losing a shot. The range officer seemed to be relying more on information from the markers, rather than the scorers, who clearly did not know what had happened.

Dmitri 5th place on the Board

Allan receiving his prize

Tim managed a few centres on Day 2 but had a bad final range to take out the wooden spoon in TR A! Less red wine Tim!

Good dinner after the shoot is always good

Dancing after good dinner is good too…

Great to see our new member, Peter Walters and his wife, attending his first prize meeting with Roseville.

Complete results are available here.

Thank you to Wingham Rifle Club on a well organized and very fully catered for Prize meeting.

Tim Walter

Mark Buchanan, Phill Hodder, Mike Hodder, and Allan Humbert attended the McIntosh Rifle Range in Canberra for the Grand Aggregate between 11 and 15 November 2015.

Stephen Tofler and Tim Walter attended for the Queen’s Aggregate.

Conditions were the easiest seen in Canberra for years and scores were high.

R A ROLPH AGGREGATE

QUEEN’S AGGREGATE

Much the same conditions applied for the Queen’s, although there was a light shower on the morning of Day 2.

Phill Hodder was the best performer in A Grade.

Had Stephen realised he could have entered B Grade, he would have, and had he done so, he would have finished 2^nd in B Grade! Next time Stephen!

GRAND AGGREGATE

Well done Allan!

No gold medals were won for individual range scores, but Allan came 2^nd at 700m in the Rolph Stage 2 and 3rd at 600m in the Queen’s on Day 2.

Mike came 2^nd at 600m on Day 3 of the Queen’s and Tim came 3rd.

Tim was lying in 4th position in B Grade going into the last range, but a poor finish saw him fade to 9^th place.

Tim

Notes for 100 Year Anniversary Presentation.

Welcome to 100^th Anniversary of Roseville Rifle Club. Welcome to special guests:

Councillor Robert Browne of Hornsby City Council
Mister Gary Bryant of the Firearms Safety Council
Senator David Leyonhjelm
Former Captains Bill Roger and Phil Rocks

100th anniversary celebrations are rare events. However, since June 2013, and counting tonight’s occasion, I have attended 3 such events. They have all been celebrating the Centenaries of rifle clubs: Lyndhurst Rifle Club, Canberra Rifle Club and Roseville Rifle Club. Canberra Rifle Club is the city’s oldest surviving sporting body.

I have some Questions:

• Why were these rifle clubs formed?
• Why have they lasted so long?
• Are they still relevant today?

A Brief History.

Most rifle clubs were formed either immediately before or during World War I. Rifle clubs operated as an adjunct to the reserve military forces and were generally under military control. They were intended to provide basic military training and develop marksmanship. Roseville Rifle club was formed in or about October 1914. At the end of December 1914, the club had 83 members and by the end of January 1915 it had grown to 200. Members undertook drills twice a week at Lindfield public school and at other locations in the area. One of Roseville’s founding members Ernest Tebbutt, lived in Shirley Road, Roseville, and was instrumental in setting up a 300 yard range at the bottom of Shirley Road. Access was by way of a track known as the Rifle Way running between what is now the Pacific Highway and Shirley Road. It is still there today. In about January 1915, John Jenkins, a well-known Roseville resident, offered his land at Fullers Road, Chatswood for use as a 600 yard rifle range. UTS Kuring-gai campus now sits above the area where the stop butt would have been. On Thursday, 29 April 1915, just days after the Gallipoli landings, the Sydney Morning Herald noted that the Roseville club had about 350 members divided into Roseville and Chatswood companies. On 14 October 1918, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that on 9 October 1918 Roseville Rifle Club’s Roll of Honour was unveiled at the club room and that the roll contained the names of 43 members of whom 11 did not survive the wall. That Honour Roll is over there.

Given the horrific nature of World War I, it is understandable that interest in shooting dropped at the end of the war. Minutes from the AGM of 1924 suggest that membership dropped to less than 20. Nevertheless, efforts were made to build up the club and at its meeting on 13 January 1925 the committee agreed to build club hut on Chatswood Rifle Range. In 1928 it was agreed to hold quarterly social meeting to distribute prizes, discuss general business and “propositions for the welfare of the club and spending a social evening together in harmony”. Faulty ammunition was a problem in 1930 as the club was still being issued with 1916 ammunition and competitors were allowed another shot for every shot that failed to go off! They were called “double bungers”. During World War II the shortage of .303 ammunition led to the club to form a miniature or small bore club which shot at 25, 50 and 100 yards.

By 1946, the use of 303’s had stopped and the club had gone into recess. Nevertheless, a meeting agreed to reform the club and visit Victoria Barracks with a view to obtaining rifles and ammunition.

It seems that 4 members of the club were killed during the war. At least 3 of these were members of RAF Bomber Command and the prevalence of our RAAF membership may be explained by the proximity of the RAAF base at Bradfield Park, west of Lindfield. Bradfield Park was once a suburb which has since been absorbed into West Lindfield. After the war. It served as a refugee hostel, and immigrant hostel. As a boy who grew up in Lindfield, I remember we never liked to play soccer against the tough English boys from Bradfield Park! I remember that some wore rings in their ears! That was pretty far out in 1957! In 1957, the supervisor arrived ranges directed that all club huts on Chatswood range were to be removed by the end of March that year as the Chatswood range was to be closed. After considering the cost of removing Roseville’s hut to Hornsby Rifle Range, it was decided to advertise it for sale, but as it was not sold by the end of March it had to be abandoned. During the 1960’s membership was limited as ammunition was hard to come by and in addition a number of members resigned to move to clubs located at Anzac Rifle Range, Liverpool.

Major changes to the rifle movement took place in 1966 when it was announced that the Anzac Rifle Range at Liverpool would close in 1967, and due to shortage of.303 ammunition, there would be a change in calibre to 7. 62 millimetres. These were years of uncertainty for the rifle movement as the availability of.303 ammunition had become critical and confusion existed regarding what type of rifle would be approved for use with the new ammunition. In addition, Anzac Rifle Range at Liverpool, one of the finest ranges in the world, was to close. Fortunately, a strong committee of Gordon Marquette, Roger Le Moy and Alf and Dennis Rae had taken shape within Roseville Rifle Club. Money was raised for a new clubhouse. Gordon was also president of the North Shore District Rifle Association and a modern toilet block was built on the range. By 1969, the use of rifles that could be used with 7.62mm ammunition was becoming clearer and the approval of the Omark 7.62 target rifle, which sold for about $70, was to breathe new life into the rifle shooting movement. It was at the end of 1969 that I purchased an Omark rifle for $69 and a Central site for $28. I commenced shooting in January 1970 with Mosman-Neutral Bay Rifle Club.

On 15 August 1970, the new club hut was opened by Lieutenant-Colonel Ernie Green. Throughout the seventies and eighties, it seems that the club membership was around 40 to 50 members with regular attendance by 15 to 20 members. Significantly, Mark Buchanan joined Roseville in 1987. Mark already had 2 Queen’s prizes under his belt at that stage and was to go on to become one of most of Australia’s most successful target rifle shooters. Mark’s influence and example was to lead to a change of culture in Roseville Rifle Club. In those days, shooters on Hornsby range were content with club shooting and rarely travelled to prize meetings or Queen’s prizes. Roseville members were the same then.

Mark’s Dad, Jack Buchanan, had transferred to Roseville some years earlier, and Mark and Jack travelled all the Queens and prize meetings. In time, they were joined by Barry O’Donnell, Mike and Phill Hodder, Ian Palmer, Dennis and Keirin McCamley and myself. This trend has grown and our new shooters, such as, Dmitri, the Martins, Fernando, Gary Faulkner and Rob Trodden regularly attend prize meetings. Even Michael Cuda has attended a prize meeting at Mudgee! The club has made meetings such as Mudgee, Wingham and Lithgow, regular features of their annual calendar. Only last week, at least 6 shooters attended the Wingham shoot, Mark coming fifth and Gary fading at the last range, to just lose the championship.

Roseville is now the strongest club on Hornsby range. Only yesterday, Mark won the target rifle Champion of Champions shoot and Graham Coote won F Standard. Last season, our Number 1 TR team won the Arn Hammond, by a huge margin, with the Number 2 team just missing out on second place. Our F Standard Team also won their event. Last month, Mark won the Lead Up and Grand Championship at Townsville, whilst in April, our former member, Kieren McCamley, won the lead up and Grand Championship at Bendigo. A remarkable achievement.

In 2011, Roseville was the first club to start using the Hexta electronic target on Hornsby range. The Hexta target was developed by Roseville member Dmitri Kazakov and it has since been installed on Hornsby range, West Broken Hill range, Gosford range, Narromine – Dubbo range, Mount Barker range, Orange range, and Wingham range. Currently, the Hexta system is being trialled by the QRA in Queensland and is generally acknowledged to be the finest electronic target system in the world.

Why have they lasted so long?

The role of rifle clubs has evolved from being a part of the Defence Forces to become simply the facilitator of competitive and recreational target rifle shooting over a number of disciplines. Survival of Roseville Rifle Club and every other rifle club has only taken place due to the abiding interest of community members to partake in shooting competitions and the willingness of club members to voluntarily participate in the management and administration of both the individual clubs and State and National Rifle Associations. It takes many people making many contributions over many years to keep a club like Roseville running. Looking back at just the last 50 or so years, Alf and Dennis Rae, Gordon Marquette, Roger Le Moy, Ed Strom, Ian Palmer, Barry O’Donnell, Jan Wikstrom have all made major contributions. Two years ago, we celebrated at Andrew and Anne Martin’s house, over 50 years of service by Roger Le Moy. Although he no longer holds any office officially, Roger still works tirelessly for the club.

In my view people two people have been mainly responsible for the survival and success of Roseville rifle club over the last 60 years. Roger Le Moy and Gordon Marquette. Without their untiring efforts over that period, the club would not be where it is today. Would you please join me in a round of applause for Gordon Marquette and Roger Le Moy

Are they still relevant today?

The participation in competitive sporting pursuits and membership of a social group is, in my view, healthy for both the individuals involved and the community in general. Rifle shooting is unique in that it is a sport in which old and young, male and female, can compete on equal terms. The sport of rifle shooting is also unique in that as it is possible to compete from a very young age to a more mature age, lifelong friendships are made and enjoyed. We look forward to seeing more young people as members of the club. I would like to propose a toast to Roseville Rifle Club and all its members, past, present and future.

Roseville 100th anniversary luncheon, 2014

Tim Walter.

Club Captain 15 June 2014

Mark and Tim traveled up to Townsville to attend the NQRA Championships from 14 to 18 May 2014.

This was the first time the NQRA Championships had been held at Townsville since 1969, as it was held at Mackay until 2013.

Bruce Scott, Bob Kennedy and their team had worked long and hard to establish the new rifle range at Townsville and have it in tip top order for the shoot, 14 targets going back to 900m.

In the lead up Wilson Aggregate Mark won the second range at 600m with 50.8 and took out the First Stage Aggregate with 150.21.

The next day, Mark again won the second range at 800m with 50.7, the third range at 900m with 50.4 and the Second Stage Aggregate with 150.17. This of course gave Mark the Wilson Aggregate with a perfect score of 300.38, three points ahead of Trevor Deed in second place.

Tim somehow found the easy conditions difficult and had difficulty getting on target at the final 900m staring with a 1 to ruin an otherwise reasonable score at that range and to finish last in A Grade!

Mark started the Queens with a 49.7 at 500m with Tim scoring a nightmare 43.1. Mark was back in the 50.4 at the next range at 600m, and Tim with 47.2. The final range at 600m saw Mark shoot a 50.1, perhaps showing that conditions were often not perfect, with Tim scoring 45.4, taking some heart in shooting 4 V’s in a row, but otherwise thinking of retirement!

The arrival of Lindsay Mawbey, Jim Bailey and Tim Berry for the Queens, had an immediate impact, with those shooters taking the first  three place in the First Stage  Aggregate with 150.19, 150.18 and 150.16 respectively, followed by the redoubtable Bruce Scott in 4^th place with 150.14 and Mark in 5^th place with 149.12. Tim posted a record low start to a Queens with 135.7!

Stage 2 saw Mark and Tim miscalculating the time from breakfast to the range arriving 3 minutes before the start at 700m (despite hitting 190k in an attempt to catch up!) and with Tim second down. Fortunately, Tim scored a 50.4, but Mark dropped a shot to score a 49.6.

At the next range, 800m, Tim dropped a shot which he challenged unsuccessfully to score 49.3 while Mark dropped a couple to finish with 48.4.  At 900m, Tim shot in a beautiful patch to shoot a 50.5, just missing the V with his last shot. This was unfortunate, as both Mawbey and Bailey also shot 50.5, both counting Tim out for him to finish in third place for the range.  But Tim was happy with that and with 6^th place in the Second Stage Aggregate with 149.12.  Mark finished 900 with a 46.5 with two strange “birds” included, to finish the second stage with 143.15.

Stage 3 saw Mark return to the possible with a 50.6 at 800m followed by a 48.3 at 900m to finish the day with 98.9. Tim could not find his Day 2 form in the misty and wet conditions and fired a 47.4 and a 46.0 respectively.

Jim Bailey shot 100.9 to win the Queens with 399.45. Mark finished 9^th on 390.36 and Tim 28^th with 377.23.

Mark thought he had blown his chances of winning the Grand Aggregate, but at the end of the day he finished with 690.74, with Trevor Deed second with 690.59.

Congratulations Jim Bailey on a fine win for your 7^th Queens Prize!

Congratulations Mark in winning the Wilson lead Up and the Grand Aggregate!

Tim Walter, Captain