From the Benchrest scorers desk

by Max Coady

IRB
At the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Range at Tokoroa Shooters Centre on Thursday, November 18, 2010, 13 shooters line up for International Rimfire Benchrest (IRB) competition. There are three targets of 25 scoring rings on each, with 250 points possible per target and a total possible score for the complete shoot of 750. At 8am, there is a slight mist and light winds. It’s practice time until 11am.

The two-man teams are: Mitchell Tallar and Murray Hicks (Australia), Bill Jupp and Robin Cox (Australia), Peter Armstrong and John Patzwald (Australia), Ian Owen and Tony Titheridge (New Zealand), Michael Peacock and Malcolm Perry (New Zealand), Judy Peacock and Peter Haxell (New Zealand) and Sue Garvin as an individual entry.

On the first target was Mitchell Tallar with 249.14 and Sue Garvin and Peter Armstrong both on 248.18. On the second target, Sue Garvin shot a 250.13, while Mitchell Tallar shot 248.15 and Peter Armstrong shot 247.15. On the third target, there were two 250s shot; the first from John Patzwald with 250.19 and then Robin Cox with 250.18. Sue Garvin shot 249.17. The final scores were Sue Gavin with 747.48/750, Peter Armstrong with 744.49 and Robin Cox with 743.40.

And the teams being: Peter Armstrong and John Patzwald with 1483.96/1500, Mitchell Tallar and Murray Hicks with 1484.72 - this was very close! Bill Jupp and Robin Cox with 1482.87. This has Australia on 1, 2 and 3. With the top two shooters from New Zealand not being in a team (as this is the first time Sue has shot Benchrest), Sue Gavin on 747.48 and Peter Haxell on 739.35 would have had a 1486.83 points if they were a team. They then would have beaten the top Australian Team by almost a full three points!

Centrefire Light and Heavy Varmint Benchrest
The 13 shooters competed in Centrefire Light Varmint and Heavy Varmint Benchrest on November 20 and 21 respectively. The Light Varmint comprised 10 targets, five at 100 yards and five at 200 yards, as did the Heavy Varmint. Practice started at 8am with an overcast sky and temperature of 20C.

The two-man teams are: Paul Sullivan and Phil Jones (Australia), Craig Whittleton and David Kerr (Australia), Ralph Garlic and Peter Flemming (Australia), Ian Owen and Peter Haxell (New Zealand), Tony Titheridge and Mick Peacock (New Zealand), Sue Garvin and Judy Peacock (New Zealand), plus Allen West shooting as an individual.

Peter Haxell started the Light Varmint at 100 yards with a .170 followed by a .192 - a good start that had him in front. Ralph Garlic shot well over five targets with .213, .139, .167, .200 and .228 - his aggregate was .1894. Ian Owen came second with .2160, while David Kerr came third with .2488.

Tony Titheridge had the lead in the 200-yard Light Varmint for the first four targets, then he shot a 1.483 on his last, which put him down to 3rd place with .3643, which wasn’t far behind the others. Ian Owen won with .3367, while Craig Whittleton came second on .3637. There was only .060 between first and eighth place!

The Grand Light Varmint results were: Ian Owen with .2759, Ralph Garlic with .2863 and Tony Titheridge with .3070. Again, there was only .060 from first and eighth place.

On the first target of the 100-yard Heavy Varmint, Judy Peacock shot a .163 - this was a very good start, but she didn’t keep it up and ended up finishing fifth. The second target Ian Owen shot was a .105 - the best group of the day. On the third target, Paul Sullivan came first with .178 and this is where he stayed until the end with a .2342. Craig Whittleton came in second with .2392 and David Kerr came third with .2676.

In the 200-yard Heavy Varmint, Paul Sullivan was top for the first target, then he slipped to third on the second target, with Craig on top. David Kerr came home on the third target, then Peter Haxell and Craig Whittleton. On the forth target, Peter Haxell went back to 4th place. For the final target, we had David Kerr with .3355, Paul Sullivan with .3408 and Craig Whittleton with .3455.

The Grand Heavy Varmint results were: Paul Sullivan with .2875, Craig Whittleton with .2824 and David Kerr with .3184.

The same three competitors won the 2-Gun Aggregate, namely: Paul Sullivan with .3073, Craig Whittleton with .3093 and David Kerr with .3184. Tony Peacock and Ian Owen were only.0095 and .0156 points behind respectively.

Overall, this year’s PRSC was a very good and well run shoot. Thank you to the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association, Dianne and all the workers.