Casino - Border War Open

19^th - 20^th May, 2007

NSW M.S.D. Grand Prix Round 5 - Rifle & Pistol

Match Report

All Rifle & Pistol Results                   Photos

After weeks of dry weather the forecast for the Border War weekend was for rain on Saturday. No doubt this kept the numbers down to 25 competitors but though there was some rain on Friday night, the weekend was dry with some wind, four to six inches at 300m. on Saturday morning, easing during the day. Some of the stalwarts were missing, notably Scruffy attending a BBQ in Sydney!!! but several new faces made up the numbers.

Once again Jim and Julie provided bacon and egg breakfasts for the competitors, a great way to start what would be a full day of competition.

Optical Rifle

The 300 Meter Optical Snap Matches were shot on the 2ft, Mini-core targets and commenced with first rounds fired at 9.00 a.m. The wind was gusting enough to cancel out any possibles, but some reasonable scores were posted despite this. Rob Irving (Southern Highlands) top scored with 95.06 followed by Darren Ottery (Northern Rivers) on 93.05 and Peter Brown (Grafton) on 92.04. Top junior was Andrew Brown (Grafton) one centre behind his father on 92.03.

A 3P optical was shot on the 4ft. targets and produced an outstanding 150.15 from Darren Ottery, closely followed by Morten (Grafton) on 149.20 and Junior Matthew McPherson (Grafton) on 148.16.

The Optical aggregate was won by Darren Ottery on 243.20, with Peter Brown second on 239.20. Junior Andrew Brown came in third with a creditable 239.17.

Pistol

The Class 1/2 pistol events were contested next with the first match, the 50m. Deliberate producing an upset. This was won by Peter Brown, a newcomer to pistol, scoring an excellent 114.02 to edge out Rob Irving on 113.01 and Nick Abrahall (Grafton) on 111.01.

The 25m 3 position match was won by Rob Irving on 177.09, followed by Nick Abrahall on 174.07 and Kerry Benson (Sydney) on 169.05.

The 3 Range Core match completed the pistol events with Rob Irving shooting a near possible on 359.16, followed by Nick Abrahall on 355.16 and Kerry Benson on 336.13.

The pistol aggregate winner was Rob Irving on 649.26, with Nick Abrahall second on 640.24 and Kerry Benson Third with 607.19.

Cadet /Trainer

The final event of the day was Cadet / Trainer, shot as the light was fading. Top scorer was Rob Irving with 288.06, followed by Morten on 271.04 and Nick Abrahall on 259.03. Top Junior was Matt McPherson on 231.03, which was disappointing after a blistering 98.02 at the 25m stage.

Dinner was served by Jim and Julie and this year it was “Bangers and Mash” with plenty for seconds. A camp fire finished the evening in fine style.

Standard Rifle

Fine weather again blessed the competitors with the wind moving a Swede 6.5mm three inches or so dependent on the detail.

The Standard rifle events commenced with the 300m Deliberate. Rob Irving top scored with 47.05 in a very tight competition. Morten was second one V bull behind on 47.04 and Darren Ottery third, again one V bull behind. Top junior was Matt McPherson with 42.01.

A stuck live round in the 3P core event finished Rob Irving’s challenge though he completed the event with team mate Darren Ottery’s rifle. Top score in the 3P was Peter Brown on 147.13, followed by Morten on 146.17 and Junior Matt McPherson on 145.16.

A grade was won by Col Maloney (Northern Rivers) with 137.13, followed by Richard Ottery (Northern Rivers) on 132.06 and Jamie Harris (Tamworth) on 127.07.

Ted Callaghan (Eidsvold) won B grade with a creditable 133.07.

Owen Maguire (Northern Rivers) won C grade with 118.03.

Top junior was Matthew McPherson on 145.16, with Andrew Brown second on 124.01 and Josh Brown (Grafton) third with 109.01

Top scorer in Action 'M' was Darren Ottery with an excellent 50.01, second was Morten on 49.05 and third was Rob Irving on 49.03.

Aggregate Standard Rifle winners were Morten with 242.26, Darren Ottery with 242.16 and Peter Brown on 239.17. Top junior was Matt McPherson on 233.20.

Conclusion

Once again Northern Rivers branch have put on an excellent GP round enjoyed by all, great food, good shooting and excellent hospitality.