April 2023
Brooksies notes
Shooting full bore in the rough stuff - Every now and then the weather asserts the authority over mere mortals.
If you study the results from the 800m Arn Hammond you will see only one possible 75 from the TR shooters, fired by Dimitri Kazakov (Roseville) and the closest scope shooter was well behind! That says a lot! These results prompted this article.
The psychological aspects (and the physical) of shooting in the rough stuff.
For starters consider this:
It is the same for everyone on the range. The discomfort is exactly the same for all shooters concerned. The rain, visibility to see the aim with a scope or without, the timing with wind gusts, listening to the wind coach, (in this case who had problems of his or her own) ,concentration and general results according to the weather out there.
The ability to totally ignore the discomfort , and perform to the individual standard that is a part of the technique, is dependent on the acceptance of what is affecting you. As I said above, everyone has to cope with this!
2. We the shooters, are faced with scores that are well less than what we are capable of, and this has it's own affect. While we are faced with lots of inners, or even the occasional magpie and this increases the anxiety because we are representing Hornsby Manly Target Rifle Club!
The wind coaches and what they have to deal with:
The wind judges have quite a bit to deal with. A great deal of their expertise is personal experience gathered in many cases by years of experience over many different ranges.
They are put there to help the shooters reach the ability they are capable of. The wind judge is faced with a decision in the rough stuff that, if the shooter does his or hers job correctly will produce a shot right in the middle! This is the whole crux of coached teams matches like the Arn Hammond grade. (Personally I love shooting under a wind coach, as my job to fire good shots is made a lot easier!)
In the case of rain (heavy or not) the wind judge is faced with very wet flags to watch. Wet flags often produce an image that is often judged well light of what it actually is, and this confuses both the wind judge and the shooter who may have fired a really sound shot.
Usually because of the rain there is no additional information from the mirage to help the wind judge, and this produces confusion for the coach and anxiety for the shooter.
Wet flags are difficult, and they produce their own confusion as they dry out as the day goes on. Also wet flags do not register the direction of the wind as accurately as the wind coach may be used to. (Usually this direction change can be a lot slower, and the coach is also faced with this decision.)
The big advantage of heavy or even light rain is that it does clear the air and often the later shooters are faced with perfect sighting conditions, which I think that Dimitri Kazakov took
advantage of late in the afternoon. He very obviously fired some excellent clean shots emphasized by the amount of Vee Bulls that were registered. Well done Dimitri, and his wind judge. Like I said above it is the same for everyone.
Now the affect of rain on the gear...
Ammunition.
Wet ammo should be avoided at all costs. It needs to be kept dry, with the ammo box kept in a plastic bag under a hand towel. The reason is that full bore ammo particularly, is susceptible to extreme pressures if fired wet. This can produce very high results (sometimes as high as a "bird" ) or very high inner fours on the score sheet. These are often confusing for both the shooter and the wind coach, as it may be dismissed as a poor shot. It is quite unsafe as well, as the action of the rifle may be subject to pressures that it is unable to cope with!
The rifle.
A good rifle can be affected by the rain creeping into the bedding and getting between the bed work and the action. This often produces very wide open groups and is the same for both alloy stocks and timber.
If the rifle gets wet, it is recommended that the rifle be dismantled as soon as you arrive home, and dried out with a towel or similar, then left to dry our completely before being put together again. This is carried out (in my case) even before cleaning the barrel.
Pay a great deal of attention to the front sight, and particularly to a telescopic sight. Clean the object lens of the scope removing any rain spots that may have arrived, and make sure that an eagle eye or filter is cleaned if used in target rifle.
Dry out the shooting jacket if used and also the ground sheet. There is always the next Club Shoot!
Roseville rifle club showed everyone what is what these past Arn Hammond Teams 2023-24. Well done Roseville, a very consistent effort!
As far as Hornsby Manly are concerned... THERE IS ALWAYS NEXT ARN HAMMOND TEAMS.
Hopefully this article helps...
Guru.
Saturday 27/04/2024
Pleasant conditions greeted members for the 400 metre match with a relaxed atmosphere making it a most enjoyable day for those in attendance.
Alexina, Bill and Alan Seaman were away shooting at Malabar where 3 days of competition started on Thursday, being the important and traditional Anzac Day shoot.
It is most unfortunate that the third day clashed with the final 400 metre club shoot, as Bill missed the opportunity to make substantial improvement in the TR club championship.
Someone who was at the range with a chance to improve in the championship was Richard who scored an impressive first stage possible and a 3 point improvement in the 15 shot challenge. Perhaps Richard was distracted by assisting people with un-zeroed rifles and instructing his brother-in-law Frank, but Richards total of 98.8 was a 1 point improvement to now be placed only 1 point from the championship lead.
Phil Milan also shot quite well in Target Rifle, only 3 centrals behind with a well compiled 98.5.
David Brown made a welcome return to club shooting activities, using his 6mmBR, David scored 89.8 in the 15 shot challenge and top scored F class on the day with 118.11. Asghar came home with a strong second stage to top F-Standard with 116.8 while Grumpy again showed the way in F-TR with 113.4. Perhaps Grumpy is becoming accustomed to bench shooting
Some good club news. I am delighted to report the return to shooting of a young guy formally of the King's school and thus a connection to the old Manly club. I assume many kids go through the school shooting system and get a taste of target rifle shooting but not many seem to return. Well Chris Moore never forgot his experience with the school shooting competition but waited to complete his education and find suitable employment before reaching out to former school associate Callum Mansfield. Callum directed Chris to the Hornsby/Manly club, naturally, and Chris shot with us for the first time at 400 metres. Don't pay any attention to the score Chris fired on Saturday, I suspect he has a good understanding off the basic of shooting, is very keen to join our club and return as a regular shooter. If you see Chris at the range, you will find him as a very nice young guy who is keen to absorb any information you might offer on our sport of Target Shooting.
Saturday 20/04/2024 -Arn Hammond teams
The final round of the Arn Hammond teams was contested from 800 metres. Conditions were awkward with a left cross wind and light rain. Sighting was a problem for many with misty rain causing a stop in shooting at one stage due to a loss of view of the targets. Alternately towards the end of the day, the final shooters benefited with crystal clear sighting.
Overall our shooting was poor however Evan top scored Target Rifle with 73.7, Alan Ashworth was our highest F Class shooter with 85.5 and Phil Stubbs-Mills was delighted to score 85.3 with Sandy's rifle.
In the final results, the Roseville Target Rifle team were worthy and convincing winners with consistent shooting throughout the season.
Roseville also won the F-Standard division by only 4 points from the Gosford team.
The F Open was a tight competition all season but Gosford pulled further ahead in this final match to finish 12 points form our Open team.
While the F-TR team had some successful shoots throughout the competition, Roseville ran out convincing overall winners.
Saturday 13/04/2024
Shooting started in a dull light but the sun made an appearance which created difficult sighting for some. Results were a little below what would normally be expected at 700 metres.
After shooting at Glenrowan over Easter, Mark returned with a secured front sight and some good form to lead Target Rifle with a double possible including a second stage 50.8. This score is a 2 point improvement in the championship for Mark who now leads by a 2 point margin with 596/600. With 1 shoot at each range (except 300m) left in this seasons championship there is opportunity for many to improve their scores and a lot could change.
In F Class it was Alexina, firing a second stage possible and top scoring the day with 117.5. Alan Ashworth was close behind with 116.6 while Grumpy shot well from the bench scoring a 59 in his second stage to total 114.