Roseville Rifle Club Australia

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Early Friday morning, 21st February around 6am, Mark Buchanan, Dmitri Kazakov (Roseville RC) and Ted Boreham (Gosford RC) departed from Sydney for the long 1400km drive to Mt. Barker Rifle Club  for their No2 DRA Open Prize Meeting  which was not incident free.

Ted was “unsuccessfully”  breathalysed by our “Friends in blue” just north of the Vic border. Following that everything went  smoothly until we pulled into Tooleybuc Pub for dinner at about 8pm. We had another 400km to go.

After dinner we decided to leave, however somebody entered the pub and joyfully, looking forward  to the entertainment, announced that the trailer in front of the pub had a flat tyre and that all the service stations had already closed as it was Friday afternoon, and  everyone from the service and petrol stations were already in the pubs!

Someone made a call to the “nearest” service station (10km away), and we slowly start rolling in that  direction. On the way one truck overtook us. When we stopped in his driveway we asked the driver if he had some air. We  were  lucky and he pumped up our tyre (it was a valve problem) and we continued the trip.

However our adventure was not finished yet.  We called our pre-booked lodging  in Murray Bridge to inform them about our problem and that we  would be late. We asked them to leave the keys somewhere but they refused to do so. The fact that we were going to stay on the street did not bother them much!

Ted B.(Gosford RC), Dmitri K. (Roseville RC) and Mark B. (Roseville RC)

While we were looking for a place to stay overnight, we received  a call from the hotel.

They offered the accommodation if we will pay an extra $94. This sounded OK and so we agreed. Only after we checked out they sent us the invoice, and we realized that it was $94 per day. This brought total cost to $700!

The next day we enjoyed the Club working bee in preparation for the OPM. At the end of the day we were shooting 600y to check the targets functionality. The weather was excellent but the wind was patchy and unpredictable, therefore the shooting was a bit tricky.

The OPM starts with very nice weather with  little wind.

Dmitri & Mark shot a practice’s at 600 yards on the Sat afternoon. Five targets were configured for accuracy testing of the HEX Systems which had all concerned very interested in the outcome.
The special stable paper was attached to each target following a single stage on each face.

Each shot hole on each target was measured for the x & y co-ordinates and compared to the Log file generated with the electronically generated coordinates. The results were then tabulated and taken to the range the next morning for all to see. The results speak for themselves! Approximately a 1mm variance !!!!

No, this is not Mark receiving the First Prize this time…

Sunday morning and 61 shooters prepared for the first of 3 x 600 yards matches. The targets were shaded by large gum trees to the right which the sunlight randomly scattered light across the target faces making the sighting somewhat difficult. Dmitri stood out from the crowd posting a fine 49.6 followed by 50.6 which put him in the lead by one central. The wind conditions were light but variable with changes across the zero regularly occurring causing many scope shooters grief on the small ring. Mark had a few problems with hold & sighting, picking the changes OK but firing a bad shot on each stage. He finished with 3 x 49’s & out of the running as several shooters had finished with 148’s.

Dmitri was last to shoot on target No.3 & the conditions remained challenging. Drawing a crowd to watch, Dmitri showed excellent control with his first 5 shots near perfect waterline. Then a quick breeze from the right caused a wide inner. Not perturbed by this, he soldiered on finishing with a 49.4 (see HERE), taking out the day by several centres with the highest aggregate score of 148.16. I believe that the electronic V’s mechanical measurements results made Dmitri a very happy boy and added to his confidence in a great result.

The next morning at 5am we took off from Murray Bridge, where we had stayed 3 days, and returned to Sydney safely at 11pm

Tim Walter, Captain; Mark Buchanan, President

Following on from topping Hornsby Range last Saturday at 500m with 100.12, Fernando Gregorio finished top TR male at the Blue Mountains DRA shoot at Lithgow on Sunday 2 February 2014.

Fernando shot 50.5, 50.7 and 50.3 at 500y, 500y and 600y, to come second at the second 500y range, second at the final 600y range and second in the A Grade TR Aggregate, with 150.15, 2 centres behind the winner, Queen, Kathryn Kent on 150.17.

Allan Humbert topped F Class at Lithgow

Only Kathryn and Fernando posted 50’s at the difficult 600y range and they were the only shooters on the day who posted 150 in the Aggregate.

This was quite an achievement, given the presence in the field of such top shooters as Jim Jeffries, Rob Sweegers, Les Fraser, Tony McGuigan, Steve Williams and our own Mark Buchanan.

Allan Humbert topped F Class (B)  to take out the FB Grade Aggregate with a fine 171.8 (59.3, 58.3 and 54.2) which was impressive given the strong entry and tricky wind conditions which prevailed all day.

Allan seems to come to the fore when he travels away!

Well done Fernando and Allan!

Tim Walter, Captain

Gary Faulkner, Fernando Gregorio, Robert Kozminski and Tim Walter attended the West Wallsend Prize Meeting last Sunday.
The weather was beautiful and conditions were generally easy but a watchful eye had to be kept on the mirage which reversed direction on occasions. There was a very strong F Class A Grade contingent and scoring was high. We shot 500y, 500y and 600y. Gary Faulkner shot 59.07, 59.06, and 58.01 for a total of 176.14 to finish 9th, but only three points behind the winner Brett Bond with 179.19.

Robert Kozminski was attending his first prize meeting with Roseville since becoming a member the day before! Robert shot a credible 55.03, 53.01, and 52.02 to finish with 160.06 in F Class B Grade.

Fernando Gregorio shot 48.03, 49.02 and 47.05 to finish with 144.10 in 16th position in A Grade, however, he was not happy with the way his rifle performed.

Tim Walter shot 48.04, 50.06 and 50.03 to give him 148.13 and 8th position in A Grade. Tim picked up a bronze medal for his 50.06.

Don Thompson of Natives Rifle Club arrived and departed in style, piloting a helicopter!

Duncan Davies, not surprisingly, took out the day with 50.09, 50.09, and 50.05, stating that the last range was difficult!

Well done Duncan on a fine 150.23.

Tim Walter. Captain.

Phill Hodder was the Senior Club Champion in Target Rifle and represented the Club in this major event shot on Hornsby Range on 1 June 2013.

RosevilleRC A-grade Champion 2013

The event was shot over 300m 500m 700m and 800m.

Phill’s scores were: 47.1, 50.5, 50.4 and 49.2 for a total of 196.12.

Phill did not start as well as he would have liked at 300m scoring a 47.1, but he settled down at the next range with a 50.5, followed by a 50.4 at 700m.

Phill was unlucky not to get his third possible 50 for the day at 800m, when his last shot went wide at 3 o’clock.

Tim Roberts from Gosford won the day only dropping one point! Geoff King from Hornsby was second with two points down.

Junior Club Champion 2013

Angus Martin was the Junior Club Champion in Target Rifle. His scores, as indicated in the attached photograph, were; 44.2, 49.3, 48.5 and 50.5. This was Angus first 49 and first 50! What a good time to get them to win the event. I have not seen a C Grade shooter string so many V bulls together before now.

Angus’s position has improved markedly in recent weeks and this has obviously aided his improvement as much as his new shooting jacket.

Keep up the good shooting Angus. I hope you are available for Arn Hammond next year!

Jenny Saleeba was the Club’s F Class Open Champion, but unfortunately, she could not attend the shoot-off due to a prior commitment in Canberra. Maybe next year Jenny?

Allan Humbert was the Club’s F Class Standard representative and Allan shot 227.8 to come third. One bad range spoiled Allan’s chances and he has now gone touring on his motor bike! Well done everybody and thank you to all those club and family members who attended to help with scoring, marking and to give our reps support on the day.

 Tim Walter, Captain

Six Roseville shooters attended the Wingham Championships over the June long weekend this year.

The crew were (left to rigth) Tim Walter, Phill Hodder, Dmitri Kazakov, Gary Faulkner, Fernando Gregorio and Mark Buchanan.

Dmitri  arrived on Wednesday.

The rest of us arrived on Friday afternoon and all, except Gary, stayed at the Australia Hotel in Wingham.

RockHard band

On Friday afternoon the competitors shot the Sweepstakes 15 shots at 600 yards on  Wingham Rifle Clubs new electronic HEXTA-002 targets.

Dmitri shot 74.8 (plot is available here), Tim shot 73.7.

Friday night saw the crew, except Gary, who was wisely absent, enjoying food, wine and an absolutely brilliant hard rock’ n roll band at the Wingham Hotel.

Next morning, after breakfast at a local café, the shoot started in earnest.

Day 1 was shot over 500, 400 and 300 yards. Day 2 was shot over 500, 600 and 600 yards.

Dmitri kicked off with a 50.8 at 500 yards to come third. Fernando was close behind with a 50.6 and Mark with a 50.5. Phill and Tim were close behind with 49.6 and 49.1. Mark and Dmitri continued with 50.5 and 50.4 at 400 yards, but at 300 yards, Mark shot 49.3 to finish with 149.14 and Dmitri with 47.6 to finish with 147.18. Gary shot 60.4, 60.5, 59.4 scoring his first two 60’s in a row and coming first in the Day 1 Aggregate in F Class B Grade, this would of given him 2nd place in A Grade F Class..

Well done Gary! Two prize meetings in a row!

Day 2 saw Mark continue his good form with a 50.6 at 500 yards and a 50.9 at the first 600 yards to win the range.

Dmitri also opened with a 50.6 and followed with a 50.4 at 600 yards. Phil scored a 50.5 at 500 yards followed by a 49.4. Tim fired 49.4 and 48.2. Gary shot a solid 58.3 and a 58.5.

The final 600 yards saw mixed results. Dmitri finished with a 48.4. Phill shot the same score. Tim managed a 49.5 and Fernando, after finding his rear screw was loose, fired a 50.6! Mark was in the groove with his new barrel, but unfortunately, put a central bull on the target next door to score 45.7 at the last range!

Gary fired a 60.3 to win Day 2 and the F Class B Grade Grand Aggregate. Gary’s score would have been good enough to also win the F Class A Grade Aggregate, and it goes without saying that he was thrilled with the result.

Roseville’s star this meeting was Gary Faulkner with 179.13 and 176.11 a Grand Aggregate of 355.24.

Final  TR Scores

A great weekend was had by all and I urge anyone who has not yet come away for a prize meeting to have a go next time.

Tim Walter, Captain.

Mark Buchanan and Tim Walter attended the Victorian Rifle Association Championships at Wellsford Rifle Range, Bendigo, between 17 April and 21 April 2013.

Results were as follows:

Mark: Syme Aggregate – 290.23 -21^st

Tim: Syme Aggregate – 288.24 – 30^th

Unfortunately for Mark, there were only 20 Syme Badges!

Queens Results were as follows:

Mark came second at 300 yards and third at 500 yards in the First Stage of the Queens.

Total results:

Mark came second at 300 yards and third at 500 yards in the First Stage of the Queens.

Tim won Top Veteran Shooter in the Queens which pleased him as much as winning his first Queens Badge since 2004!

Keirin McCamley, our Associate member, shot 284.17 to finish 41^st in the Syme and 378.31 to finish 55^th in the Queens giving him 662.48 and 39^th place in the Grand Aggregate.

Overall, a good result for Mark and an excellent shoot for Tim to finish in the top 20 Badges and top the Veterans as well!.

At the Katoomba Bi-Centenary Crossing of the Blue Mountains shoot on Sunday 29 April 2013, Mark Buchanan shot 48.3 at 500m and 75.8 at 500m to win the second 500m match and finish 5^th in the Aggregate with 123.11.

Tim Walter continued his form after topping Hornsby Range at 800m on Saturday with 99.12, by shooting 49.3, 74.7 at Katoomba to finish 6^th in the Aggregate with 123.10.

Fernando Gregorio shot 44.4 and 70.4 at Katoomba, sadly putting a centre on the wrong target at the first range! Mark, Tim and Fernando all won First 20 Badges.

Gary Faulkner shot in F Class.

Nine Roseville club members: Mark Buchanan, Dmitri Kazakov, Andrew Martin, Angus Martin, Lachlan Martin, Fernando Gregorio, Gary Faulkner, Phill Hodder and Tim Walter attended the Mudgee District Association Prize Meeting held at Mudgee Rifle Range over the Easter weekend of 30/31 March 2013.

Courthouse Hotel

Anne Martin and Rochelle Martin also attended to add a feminine touch to the weekend and to act as bearers of fruit and coffee on Day 2! Fernando booked rooms at the Courthouse Hotel for all except the Martin clan, who stayed at a resort some distance out of Mudgee.

Practice was conducted at 600 yards on the Friday afternoon where Mark, Phill, Fernando and Tim checked their zeros and wind reading ability.

Day 1 saw three shoots at 500 yards. Andrew put his first counting shot on the wrong target and Lachlan found his zero was out, unfortunately putting both shooters behind the 8 ball from the start.

Mark Buchanan came second at the second 500 yards with 50.8 finishing third on the day with 149.17.
Phill Hodder was close in fourth place with 149.12 coming third at the first 500 yards with 50.5 and Dmitri finished with a solid 147.15. Fernando shot 50.5 at the second 500 yards to finish the day with 145.12 and Tim scored 144.7.

Lachlan on 142.10 edged out Andrew with 141.9 while Angus finished with 135.4, coming second at the second 500 yards with 46.2. Gary in F Class shot 168.4.

Phill Hodder collecting his Badge

Saturday night saw us all dining at a Vietnamese restaurant in a private courtyard. Back at the pub and hungry after the Vietnamese restaurant, Dmitri enjoyed his first game of darts winning a drink from Tim!

Day 2 was three shoots at 600 yards.

Mark and Phill both opened with 50.4 followed by 48.6 and 48.7 respectively. Dmitri opened with a 49.6 at each range, being unlucky not to win both ranges. Tim opened with 49.5 and 49.4 and Andrew with 48.4 and 47.4. Lachlan opened with a fine 50.4 followed by a 47.3, as conditions were getting tricky. Fernando opened with 49.4 followed by a 50.6 to win his first range in A Grade. Well done Fernando! Angus shot 37.1, 47.2 and 44.1 coming second with his 47.2 and firing a central on the wrong target for his 37.1! Gary shot 164.8 and finished second in the first 600 yards with 58.3.

By the last 600 yards the mirage had disappeared and the wind was changing quickly and difficult to read from the flags. Phill proved consistent to finish with 49.3 for 296.26 to win 5th Badge. Well done Phill! Mark finished with 48.4 to finish with 295.31 to win 6th Badge. Well done Mark! Andrew, Dmitri and Tim were cut up with 44.2, 45.1 and 44.4 respectively. Lachlan and Fernando were more respectable with 47.1 and 47. 5 respectively.

Mark Thurtell of Orange Rifle Club won the meeting with 299.37/300. Congratulations Mark!

Roseville Team at Mudgee

It was great to see such a good roll up from Roseville and good to see Phill and Angus perform so well.

Let’s do the same thing next Easter with a few more members present?