So with just a little bit of practise that the Club has had to draw on for experience, they manage to run a pretty good OPM.
It is a range that I go to with some trepidation, as i have had my butt kicked there by the wind on all previous visits. We shoot from an elevated 600 Metre mound, and a REALLY elevated mound at 800 Metres. There is a big gully at about the 300 - 400 metre mark, and enough trees to give all shooters some pretty big surprises re the true wind .
At one stage today at 600 metres, i swear the flags averaged out to nothing........one flag with a bit of a switch to the left, then the next with a bit of a switch to the right....left, right, left right etc.....but i needed 1.75 moa of Right wind on to stay in the 6 ring. Zero as far as "visible indicators" went but 1.75 moa correction required. Bloody Ipswich !!
66 shooters lined up today to compete for prizes and cash. There was 13 in F Open, 6 in F Std A Grade, 10 in F Standard B Grade and 37 in Target Rifle.Ipswich is one of the rarer ranges in our part of the world, as the range is Metric......so we shot 600 metres, 600 metres and 800 metres.
In F Open, Goondiwindi's Col Sutton won the first 600 on a countback from eventual winner (and US bound FCWC competitor) Julie McEwan from Dalby-Tara RC , as well as her husband Cameron (also USA bound for the FCWC) on a countback. All three carried 59-5 forward to the next round.
Kelvin Bell on 58-5, Darryl Barlow on 58-4 and myself on 58-3 made up the next tier down.
Col Sutton in scoring mode
By the time we started for the second 600 metre range, the wind had got really "interesting". I was 4th to shoot and got up quite devastated to have dropped 4 points, AND really struggled to find the X's. 56-01 was not exactly how i planned it !!
However Cameron McEwan dropping 3 right after me helped me to retain some sanity. To call the wind "variable" would be a significant understatement, made all that much harder that you just couldnt obviously "see it".
Mark Fairbairn, the USA FCWC bound proprietor of Wild Dog in Brisbane took the range out with a 59-7, from Beaudesert's Mike Samuels on 59-1.
Julie McEwan sat all alone just one point back with 58-4, while hubby Cameron shared the next tier down on 57, with Ipswich's Darryl Barlow, Tim Pilcher from North Arm, and Lindsay Schneider from Brisbane.
Up the hill for lunch, and a break to catch up with old cronies.
No lies being told in the photo below, between the McEwans, Col Sutton, Darryl Barlow and Mark Fairbairn
and as we readied for 800 metres, the rain arrived.
The squalls didnt last long and we finally got to face the 800 metre mound. I shot first and was fairly happy to get up with a 58-4. For about 20 minutes I had my nose in front for the Range, till Julie shot a great 60-6, only to be rounded up by "the big fella"........Mark Fairbairn from Cannon Hill RC, with a superb 60-7.
Kelvin Bell has probably shot as many Queens as anyone else in the country, and he probably got up after shooting the 800 wishing he had gone fishing !
After discussing all possibilities that could have led to his 47-0/60 result with his nemesis and long term adversary, that "Dalby bloke"...........
"Just get another barrel Kelvin. Have a look under your bed !"
i am fairly sure that Kel will be back tuned up and ready to rumble for the QRA Queens in a fortnights time.
It was a great days competition and good timely practise for the QRA Queens coming up at Belmont.
Full results for F Open in the next photo
.
F Standard A Grade saw another small but quality field shoot it out, with some terrific scores achieved.
USA bound F/TR shooter and Team Manager Jenni Hausler eventually had a strong 5 point victory.
In F Standard B Grade, keen young Natives shooter George Constantino scored 166-10, to win by 4 from Murwillumbah shooter Ron Millingen, followed by 8 other keen participants.
God willing, i am sure we will all be back again next year to tackle Ipswich. Its a well organised, well run event.
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