Monday was a sunny but windy start to the Australian Championships, day 1 of 4 of individual shooting at Stawell. The wind had changed direction since Friday, now coming from the left, which it is predicted to do for the rest of the week. The limited number of range flags left shooters with little information on what the wind was actually doing on this tricky range. The course of fire for the day was 3 convertible sighters and 15 to count at 1000, 1100 and 1200 yards. Shooting continued all day with no break for lunch, in order to get 43 firers through in time.
1000 yards began with some impressive scores. 15 possibles were achieved (7 from GBMRT), with top overall score going to Australian Shaun Wingrove with 75.11v (ex 75.15v). The highest possible from GBMRT was Gary Alexander with 75.10v, earning him third place for the range.
Tea was served “in the bush” at the side of the range after 1000 yards, with the usual collection of delicious cakes and biscuits from our Australian hosts, definitely not intended to raise the heart rates of British shooters…
Tricky conditions continued at 1100 yards, with some firers being blessed with rare periods of relative stability that coincided with their shoots. Top score at this range was John Lindsay, scoring the only possible of 75.8v. The highest Australian score was Tony McGuigan , who came second with 74.7v.
1200 yards was, again, a range that alternated between steady wind and unpredictable gusts. Towards the end of the day, mirage started to become much harder to see, which added to the confusion. There were only three possibles at 1200 yards – an impressive feat in any conditions – all scored by GBMRT shooters: Derek Lowe and Ashley Abrahams on 75.7v (with Derek top scoring on count back) and Zoe Woodroffe on 75.5v. The highest Australian score was Paul Monaghan with 74.2v.
Overall scores at the end of the first day are very close, with GBMRT dominating the top of the leaderboard. In the lead is Ashley Abrahams with an impressive 224.19v (ex 225.45v), second is John Lindsay with 223.20v, third is Norman Clark with 222.17v. The highest Australian score is Shaun Wingrove in fourth with 221.24v. Full results of the day 1 aggregate can be found here.
Tomorrow will be the last full day of dry conditions, ahead of torrential rain arriving some time on Wednesday and, in a change to the order that British shooters are used to at Bisley, ranges will be shot in reverse order, starting with 1200 yards.