Thread: Te Puke Rifle Club

The North Island 300 metre championship was hosted by the Te Puke club on the 20th/21st May 2017. There was a turnout of 15 shooters. Saturdays forecast was for showers in the morning with a brief period of rain around mid-day, with a bit of wind. Well that was fairly correct but what they hadn’t quite got right was the strength, which turned out to be gale, and the temperature of the liquid ice that hosed down on detail 2 driven at gale force, which was freezing.
Saturday started out overcast with sunny patches, for the first detail of seven comprising 6 FO/FTR, and 1 TR shooter, who made the best of the conditions. Steve Mann of Gisborne club posting a 598-50 in FO, Paul Neilson of Gisborne club a 591-21 in FTR, and Mick Buckley of Te Puke a 570-12 in TR Open.
Then it all Changed. Detail 2 of 6 TR and 1 FO forced their way to the mound against a howling gale, as the sky darkened upwind. Loose gear flew downrange as shooters tried to set up while pinning down every item of gear with some part of the body. Shooting started, the gale rose and the liquid ice poured down. The horrendous buffeting, poor sighting and physical cold ensured that the scores were not flash with Brian Carter of Te Puke, a 561-14 in TR Open, Irene Cameron of Te Puke a 559-12 in ISSF and Makuini Moses a 578-14 in FO. There was an abrupt finish to the day with everyone heading home for dry clothes and to thaw out.
Sunday was a beautiful sunny autumn day with mild winds after a frosty start. Order of shooting was swapped with the TR shooters getting first go. Rob Johansen of Gisborne posting a 584-16 in ISSF, Paul Neil of Franklin club a possible 600-33 in FO, Paul Neilson of Gisborne a 594-34 in FTR, and John Scobie of Otorohanga a 521-6 in TR Open.
A special thanks to Ivan Hastings who volunteered to be our Butts officer for the weekend and to Pam Fourie who acted as our Range officer through both days and enabled the competition to happen with nary a hiccup.