Member Profiles

Currently, there are more than 120,000 SSAA members across Australia. The Australian Shooter has featured many member's stories, experiences and adventures over the years and we have compiled them here. Member profiles can be viewed by clicking on one of the photos below.

If you would like to nominate a member of your club for a profile, contact us and we will look into arranging it.

Alf Bastian SA	Ann Brummel NSW	Anne Faith WA	Annie Elliott ACT	Barry Edgley QLD	Barry Howarth NSW
Barry Oliver VIC	Barry Warwick NSW	Bill McCarthy SA	Bill Porter TAS	Bob Cooper VIC	Bobbie-Marie Reeves WA
Bobby-Lee Nelson VIC	Brendan Atkinson SA	Brian Drabsch NSW	Clive Parr TAS	Colin Mellon NT	David McCarthy SA
Denise Parr TAS	Des Lilley VIC	Don Walton NT	Evan Mickle VIC	Geoff Hall QLD	George Hackney NSW
Gill Hartwig SA	Graeme Wright QLD	Greg Moon VIC	Hazel Bozic QLD	Jeanine Baker SA	Jeff Kuyken VIC
Jodie Bedford VIC	John Disher VIC	John Dunn VIC	John Ward SA	Judith Kent VIC	Kadie-Jayne Tirkot WA
Kaye McIntyre ACT	Leo Laden WA	Lisa Sedgley QLD	Malcolm Gardam TAS	Max Coady NSW	Nick Catlan QLD
Owen J Ismail WA	Paul McNabb NSW	Peter Kliofis NSW	Ray Dennis	Rob Purcell VIC	Ron Botton SA
Ron Bryant WA	Ross Allanson WA	Stacey Roiall VIC	Stella Fell NSW	Steve Nicholas SA	Stuart Elliott ACT
Terry O'Brien ACT	Theo Casidy Jnr NSW	Tim Colville NSW	Warren Brown NSW	Andrew Judd TAS	Stephen Heidrich QLD
Roger Poynder VIC	Don Ruwoldt QLD	Kim Atkinson SA

A

Alf Bastian
Alf Bastian has been the SSAA’s National Treasurer since 1997. His position requires him to work closely with the other members of the Finance Committee and the Finance Officer in managing the Association’s finances.
His interest in shooting began as a young kid in South Australia. At the age of 14 he joined the Woodville High School Cadets and began shooting SMLE .303s. That same year he was selected to join a 10-day Medium Machine Gun course at the SA Warradale Barracks. The next year he was teaching kids his own age how to use a Vickers machine-gun. “My first ‘range day’ with the Vickers was a day I will never forget as long as I live,” said Alf. “No shooting I have done throughout the rest of my life has ever come close to that very hot, very noisy day”. He also did a lot of hunting as a youngster, mainly chasing rabbits with his brothers.
In the early 1990s, after deciding his body couldn’t cope with the rigours of Aussie Rules, Alf and a mate chose to put their .22s that sat rusting to good use. It wasn’t long before they both became members of the SSAA Para Range in South Australia.
The disciplines that interest him are Field Rifle and Field Shotgun, but he admits to doing both of them “pretty badly”. He’s more interested in doing a bit of ‘plinking’ than vying for medals. “The last time I was out, my brother and I took our old military rifles out for a ‘plink’ said Alf. I just like shooting and I look on it as a fun thing to do, much the same as fishing. It’s a lot safer than playing Aussie Rules”.
As with most members of the SSAA Board, Alf doesn’t find as much time to shoot as he would like. Outside of the Association he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. He’s been in the industry for 40 years and is currently consulting in the area of computerised accounting systems. In addition, he is the Secretary and a Board Member of SSAA Insurance Brokers.
When he does find spare time, Alf likes to hunt goats in the Flinders Ranges. Through a friend, he has regular access to a few stations there. As a member of the Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby Preservation Society he occasionally hunts the Bunkers property near Wilpena Pound.
Alf believes that the press is sympathetic to the anti-gun lobby, and that together they are encouraging an adverse view of the shooting sports. This view, he says, is given too much publicity by a generally biased press and a number of politicians who are happy to pander to the views of the day. Because of this, “keeping up the old ‘hunter-gatherer’ tradition is going to get more and more difficult but for a lucky few”. His advice to members is to keep up their membership, sign up a mate and introduce younger people to the sport.
Alf is married to Nancy; they have a son and daughter, both now in their 30s.

Andrew Judd
Thanks to a schoolteacher (a very clever one, we might add), Andrew Judd has been a member of the SSAA since 1979. “I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t been a shooter,” he said. “I was shooting at a pistol club and was looking to try something else and my teacher suggested the local SSAA range.” Since then, Andrew has taken part in nearly every discipline the Association has to offer, successfully competing at the state level in Field Rifle and Benchrest before finally settling into Rifle Metallic Silhouette.
He has been the discipline’s National Chairman since 2004 and says, “While no job is without its hassles, basically, I have the best job in the world.” He is responsible for representing Metallic Silhouette shooters to the national body and making their views and wishes known. Most of the work is done in Tasmania, but the role does require some travel for sub-committee meetings and competitions.
In addition to his National Discipline Chairman duties, Andrew also serves as the Club President of the SSAA Pontville Branch, of which he has also been a member since 1979.
Outside of the SSAA, Andrew has worked in various roles, including serving as a soldier and working in the construction industry.
Now that he is retired, he spends about three days a fortnight in the bush. His Metallic Silhouette training has proven to be the perfect complement to his love of hunting. Living in Tasmania, he mainly targets wallabies (using a crop protection permit) and deer; however, when he lived on the mainland, he hunted just about everything available within Australia. Despite having been to many different hunting hot spots, Andrew doesn’t have a favourite, saying, “Each area is special.”
Reloading is his other hobby and rounds off his sports shooting pursuits nicely.
Andrew can look back on many years of shooting memories, but his fondest would be recently awarding friend Dann Southern membership into the National Rifle Metallic Silhouette Hall of Fame. “Dann really struggled up through the ranks and it was a real pleasure to see him get there,” said Andrew.
Having experimented with just about all forms of shooting, Andrew encourages fellow sporting shooters to do the same. “The trouble is that people get parochial in their chosen discipline. We need to remember that every discipline is as important as all the rest.”
To ensure the future of this sport, Andrew reminds shooters “that we are all one big club and we can’t just focus on our chosen discipline”.
Andrew has a real passion for the shooting sports and says he will continue in his role as discipline chair “as long as the shooters want me there”.

Ann Brummell
Ann Brummell of South Coast, NSW joined the SSAA in 1969 and was a casual rimfire range user until November 1970, when she shot a silver (.965) award and felt challenged to handload and shoot tight groups more seriously. In 1971, she went to Newcastle and won her first-ever shooting trophy - from that point on, the die was cast.
Throughout the years, Ann has won countless state and national titles. Her most memorable national title came in 1974 when she shot a .2701 to win the HV 100 yard aggregate, a score that stood for five years. In 1981, she won the national LV 100 and obtained the last point necessary to join the elite group of benchresters inducted into the Benchrest Hall of Fame.
She has competed in the USA on numerous occasions and, after securing coveted placings at prestigious events, has made a name for herself in the benchrest world. In 1981 she was invited to lecture and coach shooters from all over the world at the Benchrest School No. 2 held in Pennsylvania. As well as lecturing and coaching, Ann has contributed to the shooting sports, particularly benchrest, in a number of other ways. At one point she wrote for the ASJ on both club and national competitions and was a regular columnist for an American magazine for seven years.
She was a range officer at Silverdale for 16 years, the national benchrest secretary from 1976 to 1984, the benchrest vice president for two years and was the national benchrest chair for nine years. During her time as chair, she finalised and printed the Benchrest Rule Book No. 1, which was the first such rule book published by the SSAA.
When it comes to actually shooting, Ann admits that she is methodical, especially with reloading equipment and the cleaning of her barrels. She always uses a time clock at matches, which is her ‘security blanket’, and bare projectiles, which are all Aussie-made customs from 62 to 68 grainers in 6mm.
Despite all she has achieved, Ann still has a few ambitions, one of which is to win the Harry Madden trophy for HV 200 Agg.
She is very grateful to her husband, Tom, who attends to all the mechanical and tedious chores that contribute to her consistent shooting, and to Harry Luhr and Ron Marsden, who both served as mentors for a lengthy part of her shooting career.
Ann says she is “privileged to have had the opportunities to pack so much into her sporting life” and to share her love of firearms and accuracy with some wonderful people.

Anne Faith
Cowboy Action Shooting or Western Action, as it is known in Australia, has seen phenomenal growth on a worldwide scale in recent years. What sets this shooting competition apart from many others is the attraction of women into the discipline. Today women constitute about 25 per cent of the total competitor field.
Anne Faith, known within Western Action circles as Alvira Sullivan Earp, is one of many women who have embraced the ‘interpretive living history’ concept of the discipline in its entirety. She’s proved that women can be just as successful as the men when it comes to executing the skills required to operate firearms commonly in use more than 100 years ago.
When asked what the key to success might be, this current Australian and SASS Regional Ladies champion said, “Western Action shooting allows all participants, whether male, female, young or mature, to compete at their own level with the aim to shoot personal best scores every time they step up to the firing line.”
The interaction between Western Action shooters always seems to be positive, in that they assist each other to progress through the ranks as their skills develop and this has certainly been true with Anne. Always willing to assist newer shooters in regard to safety and shooting etiquette has not impinged on her ability to succeed in competition.
She is truly representative of the many women shooters who not only excel in their chosen shooting discipline but who are also willing to encourage those drawn to the competitive shooting sports because of the exceedingly safe but friendly atmosphere that prevails at all shooting events.

Annie Elliott
When it comes to the shooting sports, there isn’t much benchrest shooter Annie Elliott, of the ACT, hasn’t done. Her shooting bio reads like a world-renowned surgeon’s CV - with page after page of awards and impressive accomplishments.
Annie began shooting when she was 18, starting out on foxes and rabbits. Just a few years later she turned her attention to shooting paper targets on the range. It was there she became a world-class benchrest shooter, winning various national and international medals and trophies. In 1981 she won her first national benchrest medal. Eleven years later she became the Australian record holder for the smallest group at the 500m Fly Shoot. In 1999 she won the Australian national two-gun trophy and that same year finished 11th at the benchrest world championships in Italy - ending her run there as the best placing Australian. In 2000, she built upon that success, winning the Australia Day benchrest two-gun trophy and being named the Australian Benchrest Shooter of the Year. In 2002, Annie became the second-highest qualifier, so far, for the world benchrest championships in Sweden in 2003.
Her shooter’s ‘resume’ culminates with an induction into the Benchrest Hall of Fame just this year, which was something she had been striving to achieve for a long time.
Annie’s love for the sport has taken her to many distant countries and competitions and through her Level 1 coaching certificate, she has been able to share her knowledge with young boys and girls entering the sport.
Annie is a multi-award-winning benchrest shooter who has given back to the sport more than she has received. She is proof that in shooting, it is hard work, tenacity and a passion for the sport that determines success rather than gender or age, as she has surpassed many of her younger, older and male peers.

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B

Barry Edgley
For Barry Edgley, shooting was a natural part of growing up in Cannonvale Beach, Queensland. When he moved to Brisbane, the only way to continue this pastime was to join the SSAA Brisbane Branch. He’s been a member of the club since 1966.
“I was always interested in the technical aspects of rifles and accuracy development,” said Barry. That, combined with his study of mechanical engineering, provided a natural appeal to Benchrest shooting.
While education, work and family commitments meant shooting took a back seat for some time, it resumed its ‘front-seat’ status when he began actively competing in Benchrest shooting in 1996.
In the past few years all of his shooting has been related to competition - preparing for or attending competitions. He has achieved a level of consistency and results that include national championships and records and representative honours. This is no easy task since Benchrest shooters operate at a level of difficulty of 9.5 or better, which, according to Barry, “requires a lot of effort for marginal improvements and allows for very small margins of error”.
Barry has been on the National Benchrest Committee for five years and has served as Chairman for three terms. “There are a lot of administrative responsibilities, but I see the Chairman and the committee as having a more strategic role in providing leadership and developing, promoting and sustaining the discipline and making a contribution to the SSAA as a whole,” he says. The time demands of this position vary, but Barry averages 10 to 12 hours a week.
Benchrest shooting is not for everyone, but Barry says that even the most cynical shooters are impressed with the engineering and results produced by top-class Benchrest equipment. “What makes Benchrest so challenging is what makes it inherently exciting,” he says. “There is a certain fascination with extremely accurate rifles and the rewards for developing the skills and techniques that produce the results.”
Most Benchrest rifles are custom-made. His is built on a Farley action, Maddco barrel, in a stock of his own design and manufacture. His ammunition is also custom prepared using custom projectiles.
As is typical with many die-hard shooters, Barry’s hobbies are related to shooting and engineering. “I manufacture various custom Benchrest accessories and equipment, including precision reloading equipment, bench-rest stands, rifle stocks and wind indicators.”
For 40 years Barry worked in engineering and management for the government, retiring in 2005. However, retirement wasn’t for him. He is currently working part-time as a management consultant.
Barry has been married for 36 years and has two children: a 26-year-old son and a 21-year-old daughter.

Barry Howarth
Barry Howarth is the current President of the SSAA (NSW) Condobolin Branch - formerly known as the Condobolin Sharpshooters. He has been shooting for about 50 years, being first introduced to it at 12 years of age by his father. However, it wasn’t until about eight years ago that he was introduced to Single Action (then known as Western Action) shooting at Mudgee by ‘Charlie Siringo’. Barry was immediately hooked.
Barry has been a SSAA member for nine years, but has been involved in the various aspects of shooting for many years. From 1970 to 1990, he was a professional kangaroo hunter. He ceased this, however, when the laws were changed and it became too expensive to continue. Barry has also hunted on many private properties for pigs, goats and foxes and he enjoyed rabbit hunting until the virus was released.
Barry has tried his hand at Clay Target shooting too, but says “too many [clays] get away!” Single Action shooting is definitely his favourite. Indeed, since being introduced to the sport, Barry has tried to attend as many matches as possible. In 2000, he attended the Western Action Championships in Mudgee and took first place in the Precision Pistol event. He attends the Bushrangers and Bolters match, has participated in Broken Hill and looks forward to one day finally attending the Millmerran match.
A Life Member of the Parkes Pistol Club, Barry has held the Rapid Fire Championship for six years. He was also the Champion of Pistol (Air) for 1986 and 1999, but says that it is not all about winning. “At this stage, I am happy with what I have achieved as far as my goals are concerned,” he said. “I only want to hit the target. I don’t care if it’s hit centre or just on the target, as long as it hits.”
Barry handloads ammo for his .44 Magnum, .310 and .22-250 and says he spends about six hours a week on shooting-related activities such as improving his aim, painting targets or sharing advice with shooters at the Condobolin range. His favourite firearms are his .22-250 and .44 Magnum.
When not shooting at the Condobolin range or preparing for shoots, Barry and his fiancée Carol - also a keen shooter who goes by the alias of ‘Curly Sue’ - enjoy taking their boat out to Lake Cargelligo with family and friends. Barry also enjoys horse riding and tennis.

Barry Oliver
When Barry Oliver is not teaching secondary school children, he can be found out in the field teaching his dogs the finer points of hunting.
Barry is a keen hunter and the current chairman of the national Working Gundog Association of Australia (WGAA). His interest in field dogs led him to assist in the development of the WGAA in the 1990s. “I saw that if the age-old activity of training, trialling and shooting over gundogs was going to continue, then gundog owners had to align themselves with a nationwide organisation that was not afraid to take on those who were trying to prevent such activities,” he recalls.
His role as chairman involves a fair bit of phone calling, emailing, travelling and meetings. He admits that the job can be onerous, but the steady growth of the association overshadows any challenges.
While he can appreciate all the different dog breeds, Barry is most fond of pointers. He currently has three pointers that he competes with many times a year. He has won many competitions since he began competing in field trials in 1973. In addition to competing, he also judges local and international field shooting competitions.
Barry has been involved in hunting and shooting for as long as he can remember. “As a young boy I was introduced to shooting by following my father and his dogs around quail paddocks near Ballarat in Victoria,” he says.
Because of his involvement with the WGAA and his many years of experience, people often come to him for training advice. He tells them that the most important thing about training a hunting dog is to learn how to do it properly. He suggests associating with like-minded people and learning as much as you can from them. He also encourages people to give their dog opportunities and consistency and to purchase a dog from proven working lines.
Barry does a lot of quail hunting as part of training his dogs, but he says, “…like most field triallers, I find that the actual hunting is secondary to working and training the dogs”.
Barry joined the SSAA in 1989 and is very grateful for the support the Association has given the WGAA. He says, “The SSAA has been instrumental in promoting the cause of working gundogs everywhere.”
Training is a large part of Barry’s life - he trains children and dogs, as well as himself. He enjoys keeping fit and competes in age-group triathlons when time permits.
His wife Kathy shares his interest in gundogs and is a committee member of the WGAA (Vic).
This month there will be a great opportunity for anyone interested in training a hunting dog. Barry and the WGAA are bringing Rick Smith, a well-known American gundog trainer, to Australia for a three-day foundation seminar. For more information about this or any WGAA activities, please contact Barry on barryoliver@optusnet.com.au

Barry Warwick
Barry Warwick joined the SSAA in 1974 following a visit to the SSAA Silverdale range; his interest in shooting, however, goes back to age 11, when he had the use of a Daisy BB slug gun.
In later years, his favourite gun became a Sako 461 chambered in the wildcat .222/45 cartridge. Although the Sako would make a fine hunting rifle, Barry simply does not have the time to hunt game with it.
After 30 years in the security industry, Barry ‘retired’ to take on the Range Manager’s job at Silverdale. Little did he know 30 years ago that he would one day be running the range where he joined the SSAA.
While his main shooting interest lies with Benchrest, he has taken on Western Action shooting, which he describes as a lot of fun.
With a profound interest in accurate firearms, Barry does most of his own gunsmithing, and has also turned his hand to making match grade bullets. Limited numbers of these have found their way into the loading boxes of a number of high-profile competitors.
Barry has competed in Benchrest events for more years than he cares to remember. He has been a tough competitor at both State and National tournaments, and has represented Australia overseas as part of the Benchrest team. He was a member of the 2005 team that went to Ohio to compete in the World Championships, and his goal was to do well against the formidable USA team.
Barry does not have a formal coach, but considers that watching some of the top-ranked shooters in the country has helped him with his chosen sport.
To sum it up, Barry considers that he is a lucky man to be able to work in the sport that he loves.

Bill McCarthy
Most people know Bill McCarthy as the caretaker and canteen manager at the Para Range complex in Adelaide, but they may not be aware that this quietly spoken Englishman is also a very accomplished shooter.
Bill was introduced to shooting by his father at age 11, some 48 years ago. He moved to Australia and joined the SSAA in 1989. When the caretaker’s position at Para Range became vacant, Bill saw the opportunity to make his hobby his job. He now claims that he spends 70 hours a week on shooting-related activities - 40 paid and 30 unpaid. Having carpentry skills has proven handy for constructing target frames and the like as required by the range.
Bill competes with rifle, pistol and shotgun, but still says that his favourite firearm is a Green River .58 patch ball muzzleloader. He reloads for all of his other firearms and along with sons David and Ian, he experiments with black powder loads and bullet styles.
Naturally, he competes in various events over several disciplines - if it’s programmed at Para, Bill will have a go at it.
His greatest achievements are an Oceania medal in the Muzzleloading events and winning National championship events in both Lever Action and Muzzleloading.
Bill has a keen interest in accurate rimfires and has competed on occasion in the Rimfire Benchrest and Hunter events.
There is little time left for hunting, but Bill does so by invitation on local properties. When time permits, he has other hobbies including fishing, archery and kayaking.
With all of the above to take care of, Bill’s ambition is to remain shooting with the SSAA for the rest of his life.

Bill Porter
Bill Porter has been shooting for almost 60 years. The self-taught shooter began hunting at eight years of age, when his Uncle Hector would double-dink him on his pushbike - to go rabbit hunting with an air rifle.
At age nine, with money saved from a paper round, Bill purchased his first rifle - a 1906 Winchester single-shot .22.
At 13, Bill took up fullbore shooting, which led him to the Evandale Full Bore Club and the eventual running of the place.
At the age of 18, Bill took up pistol shooting but decided rifles were more his thing and focused his skills on benchrest, field rifle and 3P.
Bill became a member of SSAA Hobart in 1972 and then transferred to the Northern Branch (which later became SSAA Bracknell). Bill is, in fact, the only Bracknell member still shooting who attended the inaugural meeting of the SSAA Northern Branch on November 15, 1975.
Currently Bill shoots rimfire - .22 benchrest, field rifle and 3P.
His favourite rifle was, and is, a Sako. “You could get it off the shelf and once you’ve run the barrel in, it would always shoot a ½" group. The workmanship was unsurpassed.”
Due to health reasons Bill no longer hunts, but he used to hunt rabbits, roo and deer regularly. He enjoys reloading, often for his son-in-law.
Bill led an accomplished shooting career. He is the proud bearer of the Gold Cross Rifle, an army award for proficiency in the Bren Owen and .303 (he says there are not too many of them around). He was the Tasmanian Champion at the Centrefire Field Rifle Championship in 1991 and the Rimfire Field Rifle Championship in 1985.
Bill’s ambitions are to win the silver and gold medals at the Bracknell Range for BR30, to match his bronze medal. Winning a medal at the open Bracknell Range can be challenging, as it suffers the full-force of Mother Nature (especially the wind). Some of the experienced members suggest a silver at Bracknell is worth gold at some of the more sheltered ranges.
During the years, Bill’s hobbies have been many and varied, ranging from racing motorbikes to fencing and archery. His current passions are country music, playing the electric and acoustic guitar and studying colonial history and the bushranger era.
Bill is a legend at the Bracknell Branch. He looked after his invalid wife, raised a family, attended to all the daily chores - all while working night shift. Regularly surviving on a couple of hours’ sleep, Bill still found the time to attend all the working bees at the range, which saw the building of the clubhouse, toilet block, down-the-line trap house and the erection of the 40-foot shotgun tower.
Bill Porter, we have no doubt you will win your gold.

Bob Cooper
Recently elected to the position of National Junior Vice President, Bob Cooper is also the SSAA (Vic) President.
Bob has spent most of his working life in the banking and finance industry. After retiring from Westpac after an impressive 34 years with the company, he started his own finance and mortgage management companies, which he ran for about 10 years. Now semi-retired from finance, Bob focuses on the shooting sports - a passion he acquired when his dad taught him to shoot when he was 12.
That passion has fuelled a 24-year membership with the SSAA and has led him to active roles within the Association: he has been a SSAA (Vic) board member for eight years, a National board member for nearly two years and has served as President of SSAA (Vic) for two years.
Bob lives in Glen Waverley, Victoria, and has been there for eight years. He is married to Maree and has two children from a previous marriage: Julie, 37, a keen Western horse rider, and Matt, 33. Matt, who works in automotive design, occasionally accompanies his father on hunting trips.
For many years Bob was an active Combined Services Rifle shooter but due to back problems his involvement in the discipline is very limited. Rather than give up on shooting altogether, he switched his focus to Single Action shooting, which he has been enjoying almost exclusively for the past three years. His attraction to this discipline has seen him traipsing all over the world. He went to the End of Trail shoot in California, USA, in 2004 and is planning to attend the event again this year in New Mexico, USA.
By scouring many reloading manuals and tapping into the expertise of fellow Victorian Military Rifle Club members, Bob learned to reload his own ammunition and now spends time reloading for his favourite firearm - a Model 94 Winchester in .38-55. One day, he hopes to be reloading for a Quigley in .45-70. For Bob, reloading is an interesting hobby that provides him with many therapeutic benefits.
As SSAA (Vic) State President, Bob would like to see the Victorian membership grow from 24,000 to more than 30,000 in the next few years. He’d also like to see improved communication with members and improved relationships with government bodies and other shooting associations. Nationally, he hopes for improved relationships with the Federal Government via a lobbyist and a better working relationship between state SSAA associations to ensure a common approach to related matters.
“The future of SSAA and shooting is in the hands of the shooters themselves,” said Bob. “We need to be proud of our sport, speak openly about our involvement, without bragging, and encourage our friends to have a go.”

Bobbie-Marie Reeves
After being introduced to the shooting sports by her father, Neville, Bobbie-Marie Reeves joined the SSAA and the Perth Lever Action Rifle Club back in 1993 at the tender age of 13.
Since joining, Bobbie-Marie has shot extremely well, winning the state junior class in 1997. In 1999, she won both the rimfire and centrefire classes, as well as the top three-gun competition in the ladies class at the National Lever Action Championships.
The past four years have seen Bobbie-Marie win the ladies class at state level. At the 2003 State Championships, she broke a 12-year record, beating it again this year with a score of 492, while managing to finish eighth overall - the first woman to finish in the top ten in a WA state championship since 1982.
Every year since 1999, Bobbie-Marie has been the Perth Lever Action Rifle Club’s Ladies Club Champion, as well as being the club’s overall A-grade winner for 2001 and 2003. She is the first woman to be placed in the club’s double A-grade.
Bobbie-Marie also enjoys hunting with her father and has been known to bag a goat or two before anyone else has even managed to pick up a rifle.
Bobbie-Marie is a very proud sporting shooter. In 1996, after the Port Arthur tragedy, at the age of 16, she wrote a heart-felt letter to the Prime Minister asking why innocent people were being punished. Bobbie-Marie was asked to read the letter to the 10,000 shooters who gathered in the centre of Perth in 1996 to protest against John Howard’s new laws.
We would like to congratulate Bobbie-Marie Reeves on her achievements to date. The future of private firearms ownership in Australia rests in the hands of dedicated young shooters and if Bobbie-Marie’s commitment and enthusiasm are any measure, the future looks sound indeed.

Bobby-Lee Nelson
Shooters who travel down to Portland to shoot on the SSAA ranges will most probably have met Bobby-Lee Nelson. She is a fully qualified Range Officer, and is usually seen running the firing line, and generally making sure that targets are correctly set and that the firing commands are correctly given.
Bobby-Lee grew up on a farm property, where firearms were a way of life. She commenced shooting at the age of 10 and has continued to this day. Eight years ago she joined the SSAA. She is Captain, Secretary and Treasurer of the Rimfire Benchrest section, which has a junior development component built into it.
Hunting was a favoured pastime when in NSW, but after moving to Portland, an occasional spotlighting excursion with partner, Roger Teal, still holds an interest.
Bobby-Lee unfortunately lost the trigger finger of her left hand in a fishing boat accident about three years ago, which has curtailed her shooting activities for a while. This had a spin-off in that she took on the role of Range Officer for the Club, formally Roger’s position. Her longer-term goal is to get back into shooting. Roger is her coach and mentor, but as his shooting has improved out of sight, he may not be ready for another role reversal.
Bobby-Lee’s hobbies include cartridge collecting and taxidermy, and an interest in knotology (the tying of knots for both practical and decorative use) providing interests away from the range. Bobby-Lee is also involved in working with Correctional Services, and the treatment of young offenders with community orders to serve out. She has had a crew of young offenders working at the range doing general maintenance, and some have worked on the target crew at larger shoots. This has worked well as the range benefits and the offenders reduce their hours to be served - it is a win-win situation for all.
Bobby-Lee is an important member of the Portland Club and, as well as her interest in shooting, she certainly appreciates the comradeship among shooters, and the interesting people who compete on the range.

Brendan Atkinson
Brendan joined the SSAA in 1973 when working in Whyalla, where he assisted with the initial building of the range bench line.
A keen hunter since he was 15, he developed an interest in group shooting following the visit to the club of a benchrest shooter from Adelaide. Shortly after this he ordered a Shilen DGA benchrest rifle, .222 Rem chambering. The first time he shot the rifle, at the Para Range in Adelaide, he lowered the existing state record for a 100-yard group in light varmint.
A successful international benchrest career was born. His many achievements include winning the State Benchrest Four-gun Championship in 1977 and continuing to win this trophy for the next eight years - he has now won this SA event 15 times.
In 1980/81, Brendan shot several world records for the 300-yard distance, which were recognised by the IBS in the USA. He was presented with a silver tray by the SSAA, as the first member to shoot a recognised world record.
In 1990, Brendan won the four-gun National Championship at Para Range, and in doing so, amassed enough points to enter the Australian Benchrest Hall of Fame. His shooter number is 13 and he is currently the highest point scorer in the Hall of Fame.
From 1995 until now, Brendan qualified to attend the World Benchrest Championships. He was part of the team in 1995, 1997 and 2001. At the 2001 event, Brendan won the World Benchrest Championship against a field that included the best shooters from the USA.
Since 1994, Brendan has used a Stolle Teddy actioned benchrest rifle, which has used up about 12 6mm PPC chambered barrels during the past nine years.
Brendan has served as benchrest captain on the Para Range council for about 15 years and is an active member of the Hunting and Conservation Branch.
Brendan’s other interests are fishing, photography and four-wheel-driving. He is on the committee of the Holden 4WD Club of South Australia and is qualified as an advisor in the Driver Training Unit for 4WDs.
Brendan served 33 years with the Commonwealth Bank, including seven years as a branch manager, and is now the Technical Advisor for the Australian Shooter magazine. He is committed to the ethics and ideals of the SSAA and intends to continue writing, reviewing and competing for as long as possible.

Brian Drabsch
Brian Drabsch has been an active shooter and hunter for the past 60 years. Originally introduced to sport shooting at six years of age by his farmer father, by way of a BB gun and shanghai (slingshot), Brian has since progressed to more competitive forms of shooting and has been a stalwart of the SSAA Parkes club since 1978.
A Committee member since 1992 and the Secretary/Treasurer since 2000, Brian is also a range officer, shooting coach and ammunition licensee for the Parkes club. This sees Brian devoting some 15 to 20 hours a week of his time to the club.
Also a keen hunter and pest eradicator, Brian hunts in the western areas of NSW, mainly for pigs, foxes and other feral animals. He says he is especially satisfied that he can eradicate feral cats, as they do so much damage to the native bird and animal life. On one trip, Brian shot 34 ferals and on another trip with a mate, says he took 75 foxes in two nights.
Brian’s two sons also hunt and one of them has represented NSW several times in the teams events in Service Pistol at a national level. Brian himself participates in Field Shooting, Smallbore and Sporting Clays events. He has been the top Smallbore and Sporting Clays local club champion, with his biggest achievement being awarded the state’s Meritorious Service Award for Services to the Shooting Sports.
After 38 years of service in the police force, Brian is now retired. He was, however, the Firearms Liaison Officer and the Special Weapons Operations Officer for the Lachlan Area Police Command. This experience and knowledge means he knows what he is talking about. Indeed, he is often consulted by local media when a comment is required on firearms matters and laws.
This ties in well with Brian’s goal to promote all types of shooting sports to the general public. He believes that shooting is one of the safest sports one can participate in and he actively endorses this by word of mouth and the written media. He writes a weekly column about Smallbore, Centrefire Benchrest and Sporting Clays shooting for the Parkes and Forbes local newspapers and speaks on local radio.
Brian is certainly a busy and valuable member of our shooting fraternity.

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Clive Parr
Most shooters enter the shooting sports after having been introduced by a friend or family member. Clive Parr took to the sport all on his own. “It was just something I wanted to get into,” said the SSAA board representative from Tasmania. That was 22 years ago.
He now enjoys all forms of pistol shooting, but most of his time at the range is spent shooting Metallic Silhouette, Service Pistol and IPSC. He has also just recently begun dabbling in Rimfire Rifle shooting.
In the early years, both he and his wife, Denise, were keen pistol competitors, racking up a number of State and National Titles. Shooting is “more of a social thing these days”, he says. That is mainly due to the fact that he is kept quite busy in his role as a National board member, with the Tasmanian SSAA membership in his portfolio. In addition to that, he is also an IT professional, running an online access centre in Triabunna. The three roles combined don’t leave time for much else. If Clive were to find a few extra hours in his week, he said he’d be down at the range squeezing off a few more rounds.
Clive, who moved from England to Tassie in 1973, has been a member of the SSAA since he began shooting. His passion for the sport has guided him into various leadership roles within the Association. He served on the SSAA Tasmania Inc board for 13 years and as Tasmanian Senior Vice President for 10 years. He was also an active member of the SSAA Oakdale Range for 15 years; 13 of these years were spent as a board member and 10 years as Branch President.
A recent move from Molesworth to Little Swanport has meant that Clive had to give up his involvement with the branch that formed the backbone of his interest in shooting. Since there is no SSAA branch around Little Swanport, he has been shooting at the local pistol club.
With limited time for his hobby, Clive is fortunate to be married to a fellow shooting enthusiast. The two have been together for the past 38 years and spend much of their time together at the shooting range. A few years ago they were both awarded an Australia Day Senior Sports Award.
Clive and Denise have three children and three grandchildren. They appreciate being able to share their love for the sport with their eldest grandchild. The 16-year-old is a regular shooter and an up-and-comer in the junior ranks.
When talking about the health of the shooting sports, Clive says, “Shooting is never going to be easier than it is right now.” He’s been around a while and is wise enough to fully enjoy the privilege. He and his wife are passionate about promoting safe and responsible shooting and security, as well as membership within the SSAA.

Colin Mellon
Colin Mellon’s first real exposure to firearms came at the tender age of seven when he received a Stevens .22 single shot rifle for his birthday. He regularly accompanied his father and other family members on food hunting excursions on the family properties near Bowen in North Queensland. He regards the discipline and techniques taught by his father as the “most solid base for firearms safety” and has passed these on to his own sons.
He first joined the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia at the Belmont Range, Queensland in 1972 after his discharge from the Royal Australian Navy. Soon thereafter he was posted to Karumba in the Gulf of Carpentaria and his membership lapsed until 1978 upon his transfer to Darwin in the Northern Territory.
In Darwin Colin resumed competitive pistol shooting with the Police Pistol Club and rifle shooting with the then Northern Territory branch of the SSAA.
In 1994, he was elected as Treasurer of the Northern Territory branch assuming responsibilities from Joe Librio. Following the firearms buy-back, as a consequence of the Port Arthur tragedy, and the move to the new $2.6 million Mickett Creek Shooting Complex, in 1996 he was elected as State (Northern Territory) President. Colin has remained in the position to the present day. He has been at the forefront of steering his committee through both buy-backs, the most recent following the Monash University incident.
Colin has been instrumental in the development of facilities and innovative ideas, with the condition of the club and welfare of the members his primary focus. He said, “None of this would have been possible without the undivided support and assistance of all of the role players in the Northern Territory; I’m only one bloke in a dedicated team of tireless and indefatigable workers. A leader can only be as competent as the support teams.”
As a national board member, he also holds the portfolio of National Hunting and Conservation Coordinator, a role he describes as “probably the most interesting and satisfying job a board member could have”. Being a keen operational Hunting and Conservation member himself, he regularly attends feral animal control operations throughout the Northern Territory.
Colin regards the SSAA as being the principal organisation representing firearms owners in Australia, and pro-actively encourages membership. He also attributes the sacrifices made by his tolerant wife to his achievements, in addition to the attitudes of his sons, both of whom are avid firearms owners and keen hunters with both rifle and bows.

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David McCarthy
David McCarthy started his shooting career with a lever-action back in 1990 at the age of nine. He joined the SSAA as a junior/family member in this year.
He was introduced to shooting by his father Bill McCarthy, himself an accomplished shooter and caretaker of the Para Range in Adelaide.
Growing up with firearms, David soon became skilled in their use, and was slowly making an impression on the top shooters in several disciplines. Being a versatile shooter, David took on Lever Action, Muzzleloading, Field Rifle, 3-Positional, Metallic Silhouette, Single Shot Rifle and Small Bore. He says his favourite firearm is an original 1856 3-band Enfield muzzleloader.
With all that on his plate, it is not surprising that he does not have time to hunt but he does spend between 20 and 30 hours a week on shooting-related activities.
David currently reloads for his .30-30, .32-40, .38-55, .222 and .308, and experiments with various loads for his blackpowder guns.
An accomplished machinist by trade, David has produced some excellent scope mounts and other small trinkets required by competition shooters. He has acquired some machinery with which to start producing his own bullet moulds, and to produce muzzleloading barrels.
It is in the area of SSAA competition shooting that David has excelled. He has won the Lever Action 3-Gun championship six times, including five in a row. He has won three muzzleloading titles, and holds current national records in muzzleloading and field rifle. To top it off he has represented Australia internationally in both Muzzleloading and Scoped Rifle disciplines. He still has the goal to win the 4-Gun in National Field Rifle/3-P as he placed second last year.
David has no specific coach but says many people have given good advice - Steve Nicholas (Para Range President and champion shooter) has had the greatest influence on his career.

Denise Parr
Denise was introduced to pistol shooting by her husband Clive in 1986 as his spotter and scorer, which she did for three years before she got caught by the bug. Now she shoots Silhouette, Practical, Service, Standard and Free Pistol, and Field and 3-Positional Rifle. Her favourite firearm is her Ruger single six, which was her very first firearm and the one she has won most competitions with.
Denise has been a member of the SSAA since 1989. During these years she has risen through the ranks, having shot in many state titles and obtaining numerous trophies to show for it. She has represented Tasmania on many occasions at a National level, taking quite an array of trophies back with her to Tasmania.
Her greatest accomplishments have been with husband Clive, winning the Australia Day Adult Sports Award from the Derwent Valley Council.
During her 17 years of membership,Denise has held the office of Branch Treasurer for seven years and then went on to accept the position of state Secretary/Treasurer in 1996. In 2001, she dropped the position of Treasurer and has held the state Secretary/Membership Officer position ever since.
One of the greatest highlights of her nine years as a State Executive Officer was organising the 2000 SSAA National Conference in Hobart. The annual Public Relations site at the Tasmanian Agfest Show is another of her projects, which she has organised and run for three days each year since 1999 with Clive. As you can see, the SSAA has been a very important part of her life for these 17 years.

Des Lilley
SSAA member and member of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), an affiliation of the SSAA.
Des Lilley began shooting competitively in UIT handgun in 1970 as a member of the Murray Bridge Pistol Club. After a short break from the sport, he joined the IPSC in 1996 and competed with a Walther P88 9mm in the 1996 national titles at Southern Vales Practical Shooting League as a team member of the Grey Wolves, a local team of veterans.
At 63 years of age, Des has competed in seven national championships, the 2000 Pan American Championships and in various competitions throughout Australia.
Using his trusted Infinity 38 Super handgun, made by JPP Imports, this father of three and grandfather of seven has several major achievements in IPSC to his name, including:

• Current SA State Veteran title holder (past three years)

• SSAA Para Club Champion 2001

• SVPSL Club Veteran Champion 2001

• Victorian Veteran Champion 2002

• Placed 3rd Veteran NSW 2002

• Placed 2nd Super Veteran 2002 National Titles at SSAA Little River Range Victoria

Apart from handgun shooting, Des was also very competitive in IPSC rifle and shotgun events.
Having been involved in one sport or another his entire life, Des has always attempted to give back to the sports that have given him so much enjoyment. Although he has only been a member of IPSC for a short time, he has already served as the SA section co-ordinator for IPSC and is currently in his second term as regional director for IPSC Australia, Inc.
In September, Des travelled to South Africa to represent IPSC Australia at the World Assembly. At the same time he also competed in the 2002 IPSC World Handgun Championship.
Before taking up competitive shooting, Des played Australian Rules football and basketball, was a competition water skier, having at one time skied for four hours and 20 minutes continuously, and was a competitive squash player.
He is currently a member of the SSAA Para Range in South Australia, the Southern Vales Practical Shooting League in South Australia and IPSC Australia, Inc.

Don Ruwoldt
Having been a sporting shooter for most of his life, Don Ruwoldt would have many memories to look back on. But his favourites are made up of the times he spent duck hunting or target shooting with his father as a young boy. “I still have the shotgun that he gave to me,” says Don.
His introduction to the sport at that young age sparked a lifelong passion. Following in his father’s footsteps, Don has been the SSAA Lever Action National Discipline Chairman since 1993. “My father, Stan Ruwoldt, was the SSAA’s first National Lever Action Chairman,” he said.
For the past three years Don has also been employed as the Manager/Secretary of the SSAA Brisbane Branch. Before taking on this role, he was the President of the branch for more than 10 years.
Since joining the SSAA in 1987, Don has tried his hand at many different disciplines. Eventually, he chose to specialise in Lever Action. However, he also enjoys competing at the club level in Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette Rifle and Black Powder. When time permits, he brushes up on his Pistol, Rifle Metallic Silhouette and Field Rifle shooting skills.
Don’s Lever Action competition shooting has taken him to all states and territories within Australia and to a few international locations as well. “The comradeship with other like-minded persons is great,” says Don. “We all look forward to the competition, but catching up with each other is just as good. We are all like family to one another.”
While Don’s commitments keep him busy, he still finds time to go hunting at least once a year. His regular stomping ground is in the Barcaldine and Longreach area of Queensland where he hunts pigs, goats, foxes and feral cats.
In the next 12 months, Don is hoping to squeeze in a hunting trip or two and compete in the NSW and Queensland State Lever Action Championships and the National Lever Action Championships. In December 2008 and January 2009, he will travel to California and England to visit some of the friends he has made through the sport.
Aside from spending time with his grandchildren, shooting is his preferred pastime. “I enjoy all forms of shooting, but my lever-actions would be my favourites. I especially enjoy using my Browning BLR .222,” he says. “If I had more time in my day, I would probably spend it shooting at the range or out hunting.”
Just as Don’s father passed on the tradition of shooting to him, Don has shared his love of the sport with his wife and their three sons, all of whom are SSAA members.

Don Walton
Don Walton first joined the SSAA in Sydney in the early ’70s; at the time his main purpose was to get the monthly magazine. All his available spare time then was put into his new family, and his Army Reserve commitments. It wasn’t until he moved to Darwin in 1987 that he found the time to become involved in sport shooting again, and joined the SSAA Darwin branch in 2000.
“I’ve been a shooter since I was a kid,” he says. “I was born and raised in Newcastle, where Military Rifle was the go in the late ’50s. My dad and sister were both heavily involved; Dad won the NRA medal in ’57. As a result of this constant exposure, I developed an affinity for military firearms from an early age. I used to get a chance to fire at the military range between shoots and learnt the basics at Stockton Range.”
His earliest hunting recollection is on his grandfather’s farm at Cowra. When he was about seven or eight, and after much pestering, his dad took him on a fox hunt; however, as his father was lining up on a fox, young Don got the sniffles. “That was the last we saw of the fox - and the end of my shooting trips for a little while!” he says.
Don has been Secretary, Treasurer and President of the Darwin branch, and Secretary and now President of the SSAA NT. He was elected President of both branches in September last year but stepped down to the Vice President’s position in Darwin branch “because I wanted to do one job very well rather than two jobs half-well”.
Publicising shooting, liaising with, and assisting the more remote clubs throughout the NT (Nhulunbuy, Katherine and Alice Springs), and encouraging juniors are high priorities for Don. “We really need to get the juniors involved at all levels, to replace us grey-haired old fellows that are going to fade out in the next 10 to 15 years. We’ve got to have someone to pass the corporate knowledge on to, as well as the practical shooting skills. We run a popular junior shooting program with the high schools, and have an active Junior Benchrest program.”
His heavy involvement with the Association and his work with NT Police Force doesn’t leave much time for the sport Don loves. However, when he can find the time, he says, “I have quite a soft spot for the old .303 Military Rifle; it’s part of Australian history. Although some members of the club think they’re only one step away from a spear, I love shooting them!”

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Evan Mickle
It’s no secret that the SSAA is keen to promote the shooting sports to junior shooters - after all, they are the future of our sport.
Evan Mickle is a very keen 16-year-old junior shooter, who is a regular attendee at the Springvale Range near Melbourne. Introduced to shooting by his father Graham, he joined the SSAA at the age of 12.
Not content to be just a casual shooter, Evan lists Field Rifle, 3-Positional, Trap and Skeet, Shotgun and air rifle Running Target as his disciplines. For shotgun shooting he and dad alternate between a Beretta and a Miroku.
His favourite rifle is his .22 CZ varmint with which he competes in rimfire events.
Mixing shooting with schoolwork takes a bit of juggling, but Evan manages to shoots .22 rimfire on Monday nights, air rifle running target on Tuesday nights and other events on the weekend. Not surprisingly, he hasn’t found time to go hunting yet.
Handloading is restricted to dad’s .222 Remington.
Evan has received coaching assistance from such SSAA notables as Bill O’Connor, John Payne and Alan Bingham.
All of Evan’s dedication has certainly paid off for him; indeed, he won the Victorian Junior Shooter of the Year in 2004, an award presented to him by none other than Michael Diamond. He was also presented with the Victorian State Representative Award by the then National President, Bill Shelton.
Evan was successful at the 2005 National Championships, placing 3rd outright in A-grade Field Rifle, and 3rd outright in C-grade 3-Positional.
Evan is a junior shooter on a mission, and his dream is to win a National Championship. Remember the name - we may see it on that elusive top trophy one day.

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Geoff Hall
Geoff was introduced to shooting by his father at a very young age. Geoff’s father, John Hall, who passed away a few years ago, was a war veteran who fought at Milne Bay in New Guinea. John shot and hunted around Brisbane in the early 1930s. Geoff remembers his father telling him that hunting disciplines saved him many times during the war and many young men may have been saved if they had developed the skills themselves. John believed it was important that his family knew how to shoot proficiently.
Times have changed and gun ownership is different, but through Geoff’s father’s insistence, the entire Hall family, including the young members, are active sporting shooters. Geoff’s children are all SSAA members and were left a favourite firearm from their grandfather. When the entire family is at the Caboolture range, they take up a good percentage of the space. People often remark at the sight of the extended Hall family shooting together.
Geoff loves shooting with his son and daughter. Often Geoff and his son will shoot against each other using the same firearm - John’s old Strum Ruger 357 revolver.
One of Geoff’s best memories was the night he took out the club’s top gun in the centrefire competition - the SSAA coffee mug trophy has a special place in his cupboard. Recently, Geoff became club captain and he takes his duties seriously. On the top of his new captain duties was contacting Australian Shooter and asking for help in publicising the northern Brisbane club’s existence. Several valued members were lost after the buy-back.
Geoff proudly believes in his club. It’s a friendly, fun club and the family atmosphere is always welcoming. Geoff invites all interested shooters to visit Caboolture pistol section or call 0419 756 800 for further information.

George Hackney
George Hackney, a SSAA member since 1982, was last month honoured with Life Membership by the SSAA (NSW).
After joining the Silverdale Range it didn’t take long before he was fully involved in the club, taking on the duties of Range Officer. In the late 1980s, he was asked to assume the role of Honorary Range Manager, a position he held until 1993 when the Sydney Branch decided the range should be open every day, which called for a full-time manager. So he quit his job of 20 years to take on the role. George and his wife Jenny managed the Silverdale Range from 1994 to 2002, with their son Paul and his wife Tanya helping out from 1998.
In 1993, SSAA (NSW) established its Hunting and Conservation program. George was an active member from the outset, organising and managing many feral pest control programs as well as gaining access to state forests and several private properties for the H&C program and its members.
George retired as Manager of Silverdale Range in December 2002 so he could take on the honorary position of Manager of the SSAA’s latest acquisition, Tilterweira Station. Since this time, he and members of the H&C program have worked tirelessly to repair and improve the property, adding many thousands of dollars to its value and providing ongoing hunting opportunities for SSAA members.
Life Membership was conferred at the state’s AGM but George was unable to be present. True to form, he was at work hosting a group of SSAA members who were hunting on Tilterweira Station.
Speaking later about what Life Membership meant to him, George said, “I can honestly say it’s a great honour; the only regret I have is it never came before my wife passed away…We really enjoyed ourselves at Silverdale, and out here for a couple of years.” George and Jenny had a great partnership, with Jenny behind him all the way. She was also a terrific cook at Silverdale’s benchrest gatherings.
“It’s been my life for 20-odd years,” said George, and with a chuckle added, “and will be for the next 20 years I hope!”

Gil Hartwig
Gil's first rifle was a Sportco Model 63A bolt-action. He joined the SSAA in May 1966. His role model for hunting and fi rearm safety was the late Les Tomkins (State life member) and he learnt the art of offhand shooting from the late W A (Bill) Hambly-Clark Snr.
Gil became South Australia’s treasurer from 1968-72, and spent 19 years at Para Range in various capacities, including vice president (four years) and president for four years. During this time he was also SA State Vice President for fi ve years and President for three. He was awarded State life membership on November 13, 1982.
Gil shot ISU pistol on a social basis, shotgun, when he could borrow one and a little Benchrest occasionally, but his forte was Field Rifle and Three- Positional Scoped Rifle. From 1975 until 1990 he was among the top ten. He won the fourgun grand aggregate (Rimfire and Centrefi re Field Rifle and 3P) in 1976, 78 and 79 - and he was the third inductee into the Field Rifle Hall of Fame.
While at Para he was also the Running Target captain for fi ve years and represented SA in 1974. Gil was National Coaching Director for eight years and was a level 2 ACC coach until 2000.
In Running Target he ran Olympic selection trial in 1980, State titles in 1980, 97, 98 & 99, and National titles in 83, 93, 95, 96 and 97.
He received his ‘B’ UIT (ISSF) licence for Running Target in 1991, was Technical Director of R/T for Oceania in 91 and 95 and attended the World Cup in Barcelona in 1998. His licence was upgraded to ‘A’ in 1999.
Gil was made Chief of Range (R/T) for Oceania in 1999, the World Cup in 2000 and for the Olympic Games, Sydney 2000. He then went on to be on the Jury of Appeal for World Cup Sydney 2002, and R/T jury for World Cup, Sydney 2004. He also qualified in the Electronic Scoring Target System in January 2004.
He was the founder of the Hunting & Conservation Branch in SA, and was awarded life membership of the H&C Branch (SA) in September 2001. He still takes part in at least one major H&C cull each year.
Since its inception Gil has been president of the Yellow- Footed Rock Wallaby Preservation Assn (Inc), a spin-off from H&C (SA) responsible for the purchase of and management of the Bunkers Conservation Reserve, some 34,000 acres in the Flinders Ranges.

Graeme Wright
Graeme Wright’s interest in the shooting sports took hold when he was just a 10-year-old. “No-one in my family was interested in shooting. It was just something that appealed to me and I followed it up,” said Graeme, who joined the SSAA as a teen after reading one of the Association’s magazines off the newsstand. While he was in the Royal Australian Air Force his membership lapsed, but on his return years later he started a 30-year-plus run with the Association.
For the past four years Graeme has served as the Big Game Rifle National Discipline Chairman. In this role he coordinates the discipline on a national and state-by-state basis. He organises a national event each year and, as necessary, international events and teams. He also manages the production of the discipline rulebook.
In addition to serving in a leadership role, Graeme is also an accomplished Big Game Rifle competitor. He won the Australian National Title in 2003 and his shooting was vital in the collection of trophies won by the Australian team at the 2000 and 2002 Vintagers Cup in the USA.
Other hobbies include duck, deer and pig hunting, reloading, four-wheel driving and writing. In fact, Graeme has used his extensive knowledge of double rifles to write two editions of the book Shooting the British Double Rifle and he is working on his ‘hat trick’.
It seems his love of shooting takes a back seat only to his family and his job as a 747 captain for Cathay Pacific. His wife and two children have an interest in the shooting sports, but could be classed as the ‘benchwarmers’ of the family.
As a committed sporting shooter, Graeme encourages his peers to be a bit more politically active. “Ring your local members and be careful how you vote,” he says. He supports the SSAA and what the Association does for its members. “The SSAA combines many varied interests and disciplines and is doing well to balance these competing interests,” he says.
For more information on Big Game Rifle, click here.

Greg Moon
Greg Moon, a SSAA member since 1987, is a Senior Sergeant at the Victoria Police Academy, where he manages an area that oversees quality assurance of Operational Safety and Tactics Training (including fire- arms training) for all operational members of the Force. He has been a shooter since the age of 16. Unlike most shooters, who are introduced to shooting by their father, uncle or similar, Greg introduced himself to the sport by reading shooting-related magazines. When he turned 18 he purchased his first centrefire rifle. A year later he joined a pistol club and has been involved in competition handgun, rifle and shotgun shooting with IPSC since then.
During the years he has competed at state and national levels and has represented Victoria on many occasions in the IPSC state teams. He has officiated at state, national and international events in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, England (before their bans) and the Philippines. Most recently he attended the World Shoot in South Africa, where he was the range master in charge of the event. While in South Africa, he married Jayne, who was in charge of the scores office for that event.
Due to his activities within the administration area of IPSC and SSAA and running his own part-time gun dealing business, Greg spends between 40 to 50 hours a week on shooting-related activities. He holds a position on the State Executive of SSAA (Vic), is the President of the National Range Officers Institute (NROI) for IPSC Australia and conducts Range Officer Courses throughout Australia. He is also the Deputy Section Co-ordinator for IPSC (Vic) and is on the committee of his pistol club, the Practical Shooters of Australia based at the SSAA Range at Little River.
His favourite firearm is an SPS .40 cal standard division pistol, soon to be banned under the proposed legislation. He has hunted in the past but these days concentrates on target shooting.
He is also a keen handloader, currently loading for a variety of handguns cartridges including .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .45 ACP, 9mm, .40 S&W, .38 Super, 9x23 and rifles in .308, .223, .375 H&H, .243, .303 and .30-06.
Due to his heavy workload he no longer has any great aspirations of competing at the top level; however, he still enjoys shooting and attending major competitions and achieves satisfaction through ensuring the matches run with as few problems as possible.

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Hazel Bozic
For 23 years Hazel Bozic has been a dedicated member of the SSAA. She began shooting in Mt Isa in 1980 at the age of 21, which was when she was introduced to the sport by her first husband’s shooting friends. Despite her husband’s decision to exit the sport, Hazel’s interest and involvement continued to grow.
After divorcing her first husband, she met her current partner through the sport and together they have shared a love of shooting for 14 years.
Because of Hazel’s extremely busy lifestyle, which includes full-time primary school teaching, partner Ron is the reloader and technical expert in the family who keeps her firearms ‘fed’, cleaned and in top condition. She competitively shoots: RF and CF Field Rifle/3P/4P, RF and CF Rifle Metallic Silhouette, Big Game Rifle, Lever Action, Military Service Rifle and Military Pistol, Target Pistol, Pistol Silhouette, RF and CF Benchrest Groups, Hunterclass Benchrest, BR30 and some Air Rifle and Air Pistol events. Her favourite firearm is a .222 Browning Lever Action.
She currently holds the following positions within the SSAA:

• Queensland State Secretary

• Secretary of SSAA Fraser Coast Branch

• Secretary of the Fraser Coast Shooting Complex Association

• Certificate Level 4 Trainer and Assessor - delivering SSAA Rifle Safety Courses in her ‘spare’ time

• National Junior Sporting Shooters Chairman - responsible for co-ordinating the annual National Junior Coaching Camp at Millmerran for budding junior shooters in Australia.

With so many titles to her name, Hazel often spends the majority of her evenings dealing with SSAA volunteer-related tasks; however, she says she wouldn’t have it any other way.
She has been a national ladies lever action champion numerous times and was the national Open Rapid Fire B Champion at the National Military Service Rifle Championships in 1994, which she says is her most treasured win, as it was a hard fight against three other competitors - all of whom were male. Her awards, accomplishments and volunteer work within the sport are numerous and are testament to her commitment to its survival.

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Jeanine Baker
SSAA South Australian President Jeanine Baker has been an active member of the Association for 20 years and a National board member for three years. In addition to state presidential duties, Jeanine is a member of the South Australian Hunting and Conservation Group and has represented the SSAA at various international conventions, including the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities.
A passionate shooter herself, she is a champion of the shooting sports and their future health. One of the things she is encouraged by is the recent interest of SSAA members in presenting sport shooting to governments as a legitimate recreational activity. Ultimately, she’d like governments to perceive sport shooting as a fully mainstream, safe, secure and well-regulated sport.
Jeanine sees a role for the SSAA in active research and lobbying and promoting junior sport shooting. As with most sports, sustainability is a key concept. A critical component is an up-and-coming junior group.
Jeanine was born in England and spent her pre-teen years in Kenya, Penang and Singapore. She now resides in the beautiful Adelaide Hills with her husband Peter. She began shooting as a child while living in Kenya and as a teenager began to hunt rabbits. She developed an affinity for IPSC shooting shortly after meeting Peter but says she is now primarily a hunter, pursuing feral rabbits and goats with fellow Hunting and Conservation members.
Formerly an allround shooter, she now owns only longarms as she doesn’t have the time to keep up the number of shoots required to have a handgun. When hunting, she uses a 0.243 Shortie because she likes the short length combined with the long barrel. When looking to purchase a new firearm, she considers functionality, quality and trigger weight.
Jeanine loves the outdoors and says she is in constant awe of the wonder and uniqueness of the natural environment and our place in it. “How can you beat the camaraderie of sitting around a campfire with friends discussing the meaning of life?” she says.
Jeanine is a reasonably talented reloader but admits that her SSAA duties, along with being a research scientist working on population genetics and dynamics, take up most of her time. What time she has left she prefers to spend with her husband or on her hobbies - painting, listening to music and walking her dogs.
When asked if she had any advice for SSAA members regarding the future of the sport, Jeanine said, “Remember that you are an ambassador for your sport at all times and try to introduce youngsters to the responsible use of firearms.”
Her hunting tip is simple yet important: “Know and treat your environment with respect and understanding.”

Jeff Kuyken
SSAA Victoria’s Senior Vice President Jeff Kuyken has been involved in the shooting sports for more than 30 years. He was first introduced to the safe handling of firearms from about the age of 10, when he and his older brother would go out hunting feral rabbits.
These days, Jeff still hunts the feral species, and finds time to go duck and deer hunting. He also enjoys breaking a clay or two.
Jeff is a builder by trade, but he is clearly interested in and dedicated to the shooting sports and to the SSAA. He first became a SSAA member in the late 1970s and has since moved up in the Association.
Initially he saw an advertisement for creating a general hunting club. He answered the ad and helped develop the club, which became known as the SSAA Field Hunters Club. He later became the President and through this position, moved up the SSAA.
During his three years on the National board and 16 years on the SSAA Victorian board, Jeff has held various positions. In addition to his highly regarded position as Senior Vice President for SSAA (Vic), Jeff is also the Victorian board representative on the SSAA National board. In this role, he helps oversee the running of the Association nationally. Jeff has also announced that he will be running again for the state senior vice presidency. His nomination has the full support of incumbent Victorian President Bob Cooper, now also the SSAA National Junior Vice President. The elections will be held next month.
Jeff says he has enjoyed seeing the SSAA grow from small beginnings to a large, nationally and internationally recognised professional organisation that protects the rights of all shooters.
When asked what advice he would give SSAA members, he simply said, “Maintain your membership and encourage any shooting friends you may have to join up too, as it will only be large membership of organisations within the shooting sports that will make the legislative listen and take notice of what we have to say.”

Jodie Bedford
At the SSAA Victoria 4th Annual Awards Night and Dinner Dance held in August last year, Jodie Bedford was nominated for a Volunteer Administrator of the Year Award and given a Certificate of Appreciation for her ongoing work with the Sporting Shooters’ Women’s Group (SSWG) and for her dedication to the Schools Program at the Eagle Park Range as an accredited coach.
Jodie’s involvement with the shooting sports turned into a passion after joining SSAA Springvale Range in 2003. As one of the few female members, she felt there was a lack of support and generally a ‘place’ for female shooters. That void was the impetus behind her development of SSWG. For two years she served as the group’s President, but since having her first child, Erin, in 2006, she relinquished that role and now serves as Secretary.
The SSWG has about 20 female members, 10 of whom attend on a regular basis. “We recently opened up membership to men because we had a lot of partners who wanted to come to the range with their wives or girlfriends,” said Jodie. The men are not voting members, but they are very active and supportive in the group. The SSWG meets twice a month: once for a training day and once for a friendly competition. “We also have many social events such as wine and cheese nights and Christmas parties,” she says.
Jodie shares her zeal for and knowledge of the sport with people of all ages in her roles as a Range Officer, Sports Facilitator and Level 1 shooting coach. As a coach, she trains students, physically challenged individuals and newcomers to the club on how to shoot air rifles and .22s on a weekly basis.
As a new mother, coach and club Secretary, there are only a few hours left in Jodie’s week that she can devote to her love of craft. While she is not a hunter, she says she sometimes tags along on a hunt so she can get just the right animal skin to use to make teddy bears, hats and other items, which she uses as gifts. She also enjoys making patchwork quilts.
Target shooting has become quite the family affair, with Jodie’s husband and in-laws becoming members of the SSWG. Even her 18-month-old daughter Erin is involved. “She has her own earmuffs and safety glasses that she wears around down at the range,” said Jodie. “There are a few of us who have young children, and we take turns looking after each other’s kids.” The SSWG is not only a shooting group for women; it is a family and a support group for people with similar interests.
Jodie doesn’t think twice about giving her time to the shooting sports. It is something she loves and something that gives back to her tenfold.

John Disher
John Disher has been an avid rifle shooter for 15 years. John, wife Nancy and their two sons were enthusiasts with the Field Rifle Silhouette Group after being introduced to sport shooting by a family friend. After visiting the Little River range, John and Nancy developed an interest in rifle competitions: rimfire and centrefire. After about 12 years John became a representative of the newly formed Range Management Committee. Now, as president of Little River Sporting Clays, John’s main motivation is to help build the club into the best family-oriented sport shooting club it can be. Recently he helped facilitate the building of clubhouses for the main range and the shotgun club, which he hopes will appeal to families and acquire new members. The Range Management Committee’s next project is to develop a barbecue area that will appeal to families and offer further recreational activities.
John is passionate about his role as president of Little River Sporting Clays. John and Nancy spend their spare time working on site - there is always trap repairs or other work to be done. Modestly, John believes his greatest accomplishment has been the shotgun club, which was struggling to survive, and now regularly shooting up to 100 competitors on a sporting clays layout with monthly competitions. John’s greatest accomplishment may be in club development, but his biggest thrill was eight years ago in Canberra. John almost beat the record for centrefire silhouette rams shot in succession - he missed out by one target.
John says it is a pleasure to be president of Little River Sporting Clays and he looks forward to further development in the aesthetics of the club, and enlisting more members for the monthly competitions.

John Dunn
Eleven-year-old John was introduced to shooting by his father in the early 1960s.
He initially joined the Dapto Branch of the SSAA in the late 1960s and was heavily involved in muzzle loading - building and shooting his own rifles.
John drifted away from club shooting due to work and family commitments, but rejoined the SSAA Tumut Branch in 1987.
A recreational hunter since he was 15, John trained as a fitter and turner but left to work in the elements. He spent 23 years as a field officer, ranger and project manager for NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. A large part of his work involved pest animal control, often on a daily basis. He was involved in aerial shooting work for about ten years as both a shooter and instructor, working mostly on pigs and goats.
In the Northern Territory, he worked for the BTEC program, aerial shooting buffalo.
Mainly a deer hunter these days, with a fascination for sambar, John occasionally shoots rimfire silhouette and field rifle - but not on a competitive basis.
John has not shot competitively since about 1996, when he sustained a work-related back injury. When he quit competitive shooting, he was shooting AAA grade.
He doesn’t have a favourite firearm. John likes them all, but does have a soft spot for anything that’s a single-shot.
Other passions include collecting American single-shot breech-loading rifles (“I am a tragic collector”) and he is a dedicated cartridge collector. John serves as the national secretary on the Australian Cartridge Collectors Association.
As a gun writer and dealer, John spends three or more days a week on firearm-related activities. He handloads his own cartridges for hunting, review and writing work, though it isn’t a major part of his shooting interests.
John was recently appointed a director of Hunting and Conservation NSW Ltd - an initiative of the SSAA - to provide a secure hunting future for SSAA members through the purchase and management of properties. The provision of hunting opportunities will be a primary aim.
John has enjoyed the shooting sports all of his life and considers himself privileged to be able to write about them on a continuing basis. “There’s a great deal of satisfaction working at something you love.”
John is a well-established writer with Australian Shooter magazine. See page 20 for more information on the Hunting and Conservation NSW Ltd group.

John Ward
A SSAA member since 1994, John Ward is as keen as they come, always encouraging people to give shooting a go. In September he introduced two of his work mates to shooting and both are considering becoming members of a shooting club. John was first introduced to shooting by his father 50 years ago and to this day he continues to have a strong passion for the sport, spending at least 12 hours on shooting-related activities a week. Part of that time is spent handloading calibres such as the .222 Improved, .22-250, .25-06, .45, .38, .38 Special, .357 Mag, .44 Mag, .30-30 and .45. He has been able to share his passion with his brother-in-law and his future son-in-law and has occasionally taken his two daughters out for a shot.
John enjoys a variety of shooting, including 3P, field rifle, .30BR, silhouette, fly shoot, IPSC handgun and shotgun. John shoots at Para Range in Adelaide most Sundays and has participated in club and state titles. At the recent 3P Field Rifle Nationals he won a silver medal.
John and his mates always look forward to packing up his Holden ute or Toyata 4x4 for a weekend hunting at one of his favourite hunting spots - Morgan, Anginpina Station or Wirrabera in South Australia. There he targets anything from foxes, rabbits and crows to goats, deer and donkey - most of which makes it to his freezer. His favourite hunting rifle is the .25-06 Ruger with a Shilling West Coast heavy barrel, matched chambered. Throughout the years he’s taken a lot of game with this rifle and has even shot crows out at 600 metres.

Judith Kent
Judith Kent has been an active member of the SSAA for eight years, working as the Victorian State Secretary since 2002. Judith’s role has taken her around the country, organising annual functions for representatives from some of the big names such as Holland & Holland and London Gunmakers.
A shooter for 12 years, Judith was a later-starter, joining the sport at 45 years of age. Developing a passion for the shotgun disciplines, Judith recently became an ISSF referee in shotgun, an achievement she deems one of her greatest accomplishments. Her position as referee has taken her to New Zealand for the Oceania Games and more recently, Sydney for the World Cup.
A keen shooter herself, Judith, who was introduced to shooting by her partner, enjoys American skeet, field and game simulated sporting clays, and hunting. Judith admits she does not have time to shoot in competitions any more, as her dual role of State Secretary and ISSF Referee does not leave her much time to pursue her chosen sport.
When Judith finds a spare minute to shoot, you will often find her hunting rabbits and foxes at one of several private Victorian properties, with one of her favourite firearms, the Perazzi MX8 12-gauge or the Beretta S687 EELL 20-gauge by her side.
In 2000, Judith worked as a field of play volunteer in shotgun events at the Sydney Olympics, an experience she thoroughly enjoyed. Other achievements include organising two shooting schools in the mid 90s when Ken Davies visited Australia - one held at the Frankston Australia Gun Club and the other at the Melbourne Gun Club.
When not running around organising high-profile events or refereeing for ISSF, Judith likes to spend time in her garden.

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Kadie-Jayne Tirkot
When you think of the average SSAA member, a 13-year-old girl probably doesn’t come to mind - and that is because there aren’t many of them. Kadiejayne Tirkot, of Perth, Western Australia, is a rare breed in the shooting sports. Handed a rifle by her father when she was just nine years old, it wasn’t long before she was a dedicated rifle shooter. Candice, Kadiejayne’s nine-year-old sister, is already following in her footsteps.
Introducing people to the shooting sports can be a difficult task but in the past few years Kadiejayne has encouraged a number of her friends to share in her favourite pastime. While many of them have decided not to take part for one reason or another, two of her best friends plan to join their nearest club as soon as possible.
Kadiejayne specialises in 3P and field rifle rimfire but also shoots a bit of metallic silhouette. Her favourite rifle is her CZ BRNO 452 vermin heavy barrel. It is metallic blue with a black tattoo of a skull on the side.
Because she is still in school, shooting practice can only take place on the weekends. She trains most Saturdays from 12 until 5pm or 6pm. Occasionally, she will shoot on Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings during the twilight shoots.
While her training is limited, her success stories are not. She has already won her club’s Junior New Year’s Shoot three year’s in a row and has more medals and trophies than she can count. She says her greatest shooting accomplishments are “coming second in the nationals (and beating all those adults)” and coming second in the Junior State Titles, where she was beaten by only a couple of points.
Most shooters do not have a designated coach and that is the case with Kadiejayne. “I have been taught by many people and I pick things up here and there, but I think I’m my own coach.” She is as eager as they come, admitting that if there is something new to learn she will be first in line.
At such a young age, Kadiejayne has the energy to pursue numerous interests, including dance, basketball and singing. Recently, she was asked to sing in the WA Youth Choir. She has set high goals for herself and says she is “always up for a good challenge”.

Kaye McIntyre
Kaye McIntyre joined the SSAA in 1991. Eight years later she was elected president of SSAA ACT and became the first female SSAA national board member.
She grew up around shooting and remembers vividly how strict her father was about the way firearms should be handled. Despite doing a bit of hunting during her adult years, it wasn’t until Kaye took her son, Chris, to an open day at the SSAA ACT range that she was introduced to target shooting. When Chris decided to become a shooter, Kaye’s involvement in the sport snowballed.
Because of her numerous SSAA commitments, Kaye does little shooting these days, but when she is able to take a break, she enjoys taking part in field rifle, 3-positional, benchrest and running target events. Kaye does take part in competitions but most of her time is spent as an official. She was a technical official (range officer) at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and was appointed as an Australian Jury member at the 1998 ISSF World Cup in Seoul and will serve in this capacity again at the 2003 ISSF World Cup in Zagreb, Croatia. In 2000, Kaye proudly accepted an Australian Sport Medal for her services to the shooting sports.
Kaye’s commitment to the sport has allowed her to introduce many people to its ranks. At one point she served as the co-ordinator of the SSAA ACT Junior Development Section and was fortunate to help a number of new juniors find enjoyment in the sport. In the past few years, Kaye says she has been approached by a number of young men and women who introduce themselves and say that she was responsible for teaching them to shoot.
Shooting runs deep in Kaye’s family. Her son, Chris, is a keen hunter and top-level target shooter. Her daughter, Michelle, had the makings of a good target shooter but a badly broken wrist put an end to that. Her son-in-law, Ron Bryant, is the president of SSAA WA, the national discipline chairman of field rifle and is a top-level target shooter. “Shooting is such a great sport and truly non-sexist and non age discriminating. In what other sport can males and females, young and not so young, compete against each other in the same competitions and enjoy it as much as I know all my family does?” says Kaye.

Kim Atkinson
Kim Atkinson has been a SSAA member for the past 38 years. During that time, he has taken part in countless shooting competitions, held a myriad of titles and travelled the world representing Australia as a competitor and official.
For the past 12 years, Kim has served as the National Muzzleloading Discipline Chair - a role it seems he was born to fill. He is a member of the Adelaide Black Powder Club and is a member of the MLAIC International Commission and the current MLAIC president. The latter title will see Kim running the 23rd MLAIC World Muzzleloading Championships in Monarto, South Australia, in August of this year. While this is no small task, Kim says he is ready for the challenge. Having previously managed an extremely successful MLAIC World Muzzleloading Championship event in 2000, he knows what to expect and is well prepared.
In addition to muzzleloading shooting, Kim also has a fondness for shotgun field game shooting, fishing and V8 racing. Another of his favourite pastimes is watching his daughter Jessica follow in his footsteps. The youngest of three girls, Jessica recently competed, with her proud father cheering her o