This year marks a monumental milestone — the 50th SSAA Muzzleloading National Championships, proudly spanning from 1976 to 2025. What an incredible achievement by our passionate muzzleloading community!

The 2025 Nationals kicked off in spectacular fashion on Friday with the thunderous firing of a cannon, setting the stage for an exciting weekend. Handgun and pistol matches quickly followed, where Michael Nicholas (SA) claimed victory in the Class 1 Revolver Aggregate with a score of 155.2. Shayne Barnsley (NSW) took top honors in the Class 2 Pistol Aggregate with an impressive 178.1. Other standout performances included Frank Verdini (SA), who won the Firelock Smoothbore Pistol event using a matchlock with a score of 89, and Michael Nicholas (SA), scoring 86 in the 50m Class 3 Open Pistol Event. Meanwhile, Des Prowse (QLD) showed his enduring prowess, winning both the Firelock Musket and Open Musket events with scores of 89 and 83 respectively.

Saturday saw competitors’ line up for the Class 1 Military Rifle, Class 2 Traditional Rifle, and the 50m Vetterli Matches. Michael Nicholas (SA) continued his winning form, securing the Class 1 Rifle Aggregate with a score of 355.1, while Shayne Barnsley (NSW) also won the Class 2 Traditional Rifle Aggregate with a 354.1. In the tightly contested MLAIC Vetterli Match (offhand 50m open rifle), Shayne Barnsley came out on top with a 96.3 using his class 2 traditional rifle, followed closely by Anthony Wilson (QLD) at 95.2 and Michael Nicholas (SA) at 95.1.

Sunday brought more fierce competition with the Class 3 Open Rifle, Black Powder Cartridge Rifle, and Firelock Rifle events. Humid conditions made for challenging shooting in the Firelock Aggregate, but Frank Verdini (SA) persevered to claim victory with a score of 236. Steve Nicholas (SA) was close behind with 231, and Gordon Gentle (QLD) celebrated his first national medal with a strong 219.

The Open Rifle Benchrest Matches saw an incredibly tight contest after the 100m Class 3 Bench event, with just a single point separating the top five shooters. Paul White (WA) led with 96.3, narrowly ahead of Steve Nicholas (SA) and Michael Nicholas (SA), both on 95.3. Vlad Potezney (SA) was on 95.2 and Anthony Wilson (QLD) on 95.1 As the competition moved to 200m, Paul White stretched his lead, winning the Class 3 Open Rifle Aggregate with a combined score of 191.3. Vlad Potezney (SA) placed second with 186.2, and Bruce Finlay (SA) rounded out the top three with 184.2.

In the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle event, Shayne Barnsley (NSW) shot a strong offhand score at 100m, taking first place in the aggregate with 616 points, ahead of Dan MacDonald (NSW) on 605 and Anthony Wilson (QLD) on 564.1

Monday featured the 300m Prone and Shotgun events. Mark Sobierajski (NSW) captured the 300m Prone title with a score of 79. In the Percussion Shotgun match, Shayne Barnsley (NSW) smashed 20 clays to win, with Gordon Gentle (QLD) and Frank Verdini (SA) following on 18 and 17 clays respectively. In the Firelock Shotgun event, Frank Verdini (SA) came out on top with 14 clays, Anthony Wilson (QLD) hit 12, and Ian Hanlon (NSW) hit 10.

In the Grand Aggregate — comprising a competitor’s best Class 1 or 2 Pistol, best Class 1 or 2 Rifle, and best Shotgun score — Shayne Barnsley (NSW) once again triumphed with a total of 732.2 points. Frank Verdini (SA) secured second place with 647.2, and Anthony Wilson (QLD) took third with 642.2.

In the ultimate challenge of endurance, the Super Grand Aggregate — adding together every event — Shayne Barnsley (NSW) achieved a strong total of 2950.11. Frank Verdini (SA) finished second with 2740.7, and Anthony Wilson (QLD) came third with 2619.7. Frank Verdini (SA) was the only person to finish all 32 events this year. Not a bad effort for someone who had open heart surgery last year.

Overall we had 25 shooters, from 4 states. The average number of events shot per person was 16. The largest event was Traditional Rifle 50m class 2 with 17 shooters and the smallest was matchlock pistol with 3 shooters. No new national records were shot this weekend.

A heartfelt congratulations to all competitors for making this championship one to remember, on a range with a spectacular backdrop.  However, none of this would be possible without the tireless efforts of the volunteers. A huge thank you to SSAA Townsville for hosting an outstanding event — your branch’s spirit and teamwork are truly remarkable. It’s rare to see a branch where multiple disciplines comes together to make the event a success: our Chief Range Officer competed in the Air Rifle Field Target, target changers took part in Combined Services and Metallic Silhouette, scorers joined the Lever Action Rifle matches, and even the catering team competed in Benchrest!

Well done to everyone involved for delivering an unforgettable shoot.

Next year’s Nationals are expected to be held in NSW (back up location is WA) — final confirmation will be announced later this year via email, Facebook, and the national website.

Between July 2025 and December 2025, we will be holding the SSAA Muzzleloading Postal Shoot and between July 2025 and September 2025 we will be holding the Pacific Zone Postal Shoot against New Zealand, USA, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, Japan and Argentina.

Stay tuned!