2008 IHMSA World Championships
18-23 July 2008
Ohio, United States

L-R: Clive Cousins, Russell Mowles, Greg Dawson
and Brad Armstrong.



The SSAA Handgun Metallic Silhouette team of Russell Mowles (also the National Discipline Chairman), Clive Cousins and Brad Armstrong have won the Big Bore team event at the 32nd International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association (IHMSA) World Championships held in the United States at the Tusco range in Midvale, Ohio, from July 18 to 23, 2008.

The Big Bore team event consists of four 80-shot matches, including Production, Standing, Revolver and Unlimited. Russell shot the Production category with his MOA in 7BR with a score of 78, while Clive shot the Standing category with a Thompson Contender in .300 Whisper with a score of 55. Brad shot the Revolver category with his Freedom Arms .357 Magnum with a score of 74 and also the Unlimited category with his Remington XP 100 in 7BR with a score of 80. This made a team Four-Match Aggregate of 287 and as a result, the SSAA Handgun Metallic Silhouette team became the IHMSA World Champions, with Brazil and Canada coming second and third respectively.

Four SSAA/IHMSA members competed at these championships as individuals, the three team members and Greg Dawson, who gave great support to the team and spotted for Clive’s matches.

Some great results were achieved, with Clive Cousins winning the Field Pistol Two-Match Aggregate with a score of 132 - 66 in Production and 66 in Production Any Sights. Clive used a Thompson Contender with a .25-20 barrel fitted with peep sights for both matches.

Russell Mowles was third in the Small Bore Revolver category with a score of 79 using his Freedom Arms .22 revolver, while Greg Dawson shot a 79 with his Remington XP 100 7BR in the Unlimited Category in Big Bore.

The weather in Ohio in July, although pleasant first thing of a morning, does not take long for the temperature and humidity to rise. A severe thunderstorm held up the shooting for about 90 minutes one afternoon and fog delayed the start of shooting for an hour until the targets became visible.

The World Championships were well organised and run. The people were very friendly and helpful, especially in getting together the projectiles, powder, primers and the rimfire ammunition for the Small Bore matches.