2019 NT Rifle Metallic Silhouette State Championships

On 4-6 May 2019, 26 shooters converged on SSAA Alice Springs Branch Range 1 for the inaugural NT Rifle Metallic Silhouette Championships.  The rimfire range looked a treat, with 16 newly configured shooting positions and 40 of each animal resting on newly constructed stands that had been 5 months in the making. 

The weekend kicked off on Saturday morning, with an 80-shot Rimfire Silhouette Rifle event.  Many shooters entered the event ungraded, and as such weren’t assigned a grade until after the first 40-shot round had been completed.  Many competitors also chose for various reasons to use one of the CZ club rifles that were kindly made available by SSAA Alice Springs for the event.  Weather conditions were fine but with highly variable gusting winds throughout the match, which kept the flies somewhat at bay. 

At the halfway point of the match, U18 competitor Jaden Wilkie led the A grade competitors with 14/40, with Karl Smith closely behind with 13/40, and Stephen Smith, Stefan Boshoff and Eddie Wilkie one target further back with 12/40.  However, after 80 shots had been completed it was Karl Smith who emerged victorious with 33/80 after a fantastic 9/10 chickens in round 2, with Stephen Smith on 29/80 and Stefan Boshoff with 27/80. 

B grade was also hotly contested; comprising 15 shooters out of the 21 entrants.  Ungraded newcomer Jared Dinham led the charge in round 1 from the very first bank of targets to score 13/40, ahead of Clinton Ghea on 10/40 and ungraded newcomer Blythe Stafford with 7/40 on her first attempt at the event.  In round 2, Darcy Imhof top scored with 12/40, but it wasn’t quite enough to dislodge Jared Dinham from snaring the gold with 21/80, Clinton Ghea in second place with 20/80, and an exuberant Blythe Stafford in third with 18/80. 

Six junior shooters entered the match, and in junior U18 grade Jaden Wilkie took first place with 19/80 from Lachlan Imhof in second position with 5/80.  The junior U15 grade comprised 4 competitors, resulting in Emily Imhof snaring first place with 7/80, Brandy Loechte in second with 6/80 and Alex Imhof in third with 4/80.  Russell Wilkie finished the day with 48/80 as the only Master grade competitor.    

Following the conclusion of shooting each day, competitors made their way up to the Alice Springs Shooting Complex clubhouse for medal presentation and a well-deserved lunch.

On Sunday morning the 80-shot Centrefire Silhouette Rifle event got underway with 7 shooters (4 ungraded) contesting 3 grades in fine but highly variable wind conditions. Top score of the day went to the only AA grade competitor Russell Wilkie with 40/80, after a range record equaling 24/40 in round 1.  B grade comprised 6 competitors, and it was Karl Smith with 18/80 who again snatched the gold using a borrowed rifle from Stephen Smith with 17/80, closely followed by Stefan Boshoff with 14/80.  Junior U18 competitor Jaden Wilkie won his second NT medal of the weekend after scoring 9/80 on his first attempt at shooting a centrefire match. 

While preparations for the Bangtail Muster parade were underway in town on Monday morning, Range 1 once again saw 21 keen shooters assemble for the 40-shot Rimfire Hunting Rifle event, many of which had never shot before and were ungraded.  SSAA Alice Springs once again came to the assistance of many competitors, by making a number of pre-scrutineered CZ club rifles available for the event.      

Of the 21 competitors, 19 were classified as B grade and 9 were juniors.  At the conclusion of 40 shots, Stephen Smith emerged clearly out in first place in B grade with 14/40.  With three shooters each scoring 12/40, second and third place in B grade could only be decided via shoot-off on banks of pig targets.  Three banks of 5 pig targets were set, and Jared Dinham, Jaden Wilkie and Darcy Imhof were called back to the line with their rifles and 5 rounds of ammunition.  A small crowd gathered and the tension drew high as the shoot-off unfolded, and on completion of the 5th shot from each competitor, the crowd erupted with applause as U18 junior competitor Jaden Wilkie scored 4/5 pigs to snare second place in B grade ahead of Jared Dinham in third with 3/5 pigs and Darcy Imhof in fourth with 2/5 pigs. 

The U15 juniors were also exposed to 2 separate shoot-offs on pig targets; the first between Emily Imhof and Mickalee Loechte to separate first and second position, followed by a second shoot-off between Brandy Loechte and Bella Hamaguchi for third place.  Once again, tensions were high as the crowd murmured and the shoot-offs unfolded.  Scoring 3/5 pigs under pressure, Emily Imhof emerged victorious and snatched the gold from Mickalee Loechte with 1/5 pigs in second place.  The crowd looked on as Brandy Loechte scored as many pigs in the shoot-off (3/5) as she scored in the entire 40-shot match, edging out newcomer Bella Hamaguchi for the bronze medal.  In junior U18 grade, Jaden Wilkie top scored with 12/40 to edge out Lachlan Imhof with 8/40, with newcomer Devas Winter in third position on his first attempt at the match.  Karl Smith and Russell Wilkie finished the day with 14/40 and 28/40 respectively as the only A grade and Master grade competitors in the event.   

The final match for the weekend was the 40-shot Centrefire Hunting Rifle event, which drew six shooters in near calm conditions.  The calm conditions also saw a huge influx of flies to the firing line, pestering anyone who forgot to bring a fly net.  In B grade, Stephen Smith top scored with 7/40, Andrew Kattenhorn took 2nd place with 4/40 and Brian Knappstein third with 1/40.  Russell Wilkie snared top spot in A grade to finish with 16/40, with son Jaden Wilkie closely behind with 12/40 on his first attempt at the match, and Stefan Boshoff taking the bronze with 9/40.

NT Rifle Metallic Silhouette Discipline Chairman Russell Wilkie would like to thank the local SSAA Alice Springs members and local businesses (Remote Mechanical, Asplum) who donated time and resources in building and developing the range for the club to hold this event, SSAA Alice Springs for providing scrutineering equipment and club rifles for our members and visitors to utilize during the event, and the Alice Springs Shooting Complex for providing the use of the clubhouse for medal presentations and lunch time catering.

RIMFIRE SILHOUETTE RIFLE – 80 shots

Place Name Branch Grade C P T R TOT C P T R TOT AGG
1st   Russell Wilkie Alice Springs M 6 6 7 3 22 7 9 2 8 26 48
1st   Karl Smith Alice Springs A 3 6 1 3 13 9 4 3 4 20 33
2nd  Stephen Smith Alice Springs A 3 4 3 2 12 6 4 1 6 17 29
3rd  Stefan Boshoff Alice Springs A 5 6 0 1 12 7 2 4 2 15 27
  Eddie Wilkie Alice Springs A 3 2 2 5 12 4 3 3 3 13 25
  Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs A 5 1 4 4 14 2 0 3 0 5 19
1st   Jared Dinham Alice Springs B 4 5 2 2 13 3 0 2 3 8 21
2nd  Clinton Ghea Alice Springs B 4 5 1 0 10 3 4 2 1 10 20
3rd  Blythe Stafford Alice Springs B 3 1 2 1 7 2 4 2 4 11 18
  Darcy Imhof Alice Springs B 1 2 0 2 5 3 4 3 2 12 17
  Brian Knappstein Alice Springs B 0 1 2 2 5 3 2 3 2 10 15
  Nick Chandler Alice Springs B 2 1 0 1 4 1 2 2 1 6 10
  Georg Winter Alice Springs B 1 0 0 2 3 3 3 1 0 7 10
  Bec Imhof Alice Springs B 4 1 1 0 6 2 2 0 0 4 10
  Oliver Joost Alice Springs B 1 2 0 1 4 0 4 0 0 4 8
  Emily Imhof Alice Springs B 0 1 0 1 2 3 1 1 0 5 7
  Brandy Loechte Alice Springs B 0 0 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 4 6
  Briarna Hendley Alice Springs B 1 1 0 1 3 1 1 0 1 3 6
  Lachlan Imhof Alice Springs B 3 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 2 5
  Alex Imhof Alice Springs B 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 3 4
  Mickalee Loechte Alice Springs B 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 3
1st   Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs U18 5 1 4 4 14 2 0 3 0 5 19
2nd  Lachlan Imhof Alice Springs U18 3 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 2 5
1st   Emily Imhof Alice Springs U15 0 1 0 1 2 3 1 1 0 5 7
2nd  Brandy Loechte Alice Springs U15 0 0 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 4 6
3rd  Alex Imhof Alice Springs U15 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 3 4
  Mickalee Loechte Alice Springs U15 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 3

CENTREFIRE SILHOUETTE RIFLE – 80 shots

Place Name Branch Grade C P T R TOT C P T R TOT AGG
1st   Russell Wilkie Alice Springs AA 8 6 3 7 24 3 6 2 5 16 40
1st   Karl Smith Alice Springs B 3 4 1 1 9 3 4 0 2 9 18
2nd  Stephen Smith Alice Springs B 3 4 4 0 11 4 1 1 0 6 17
3rd  Stefan Boshoff Alice Springs B 3 2 1 2 8 1 2 2 1 6 14
  Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs B 1 3 3 0 7 0 1 1 0 2 9
  Brian Knappstein Alice Springs B 2 1 1 0 4 1 4 0 0 5 9
  Nick Chandler Alice Springs B 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 1 6 6
1st   Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs U18 1 3 3 0 7 0 1 1 0 2 9

2-GUN SILHOUETTE

Place Name Branch RFS CFS AGG
1st Russell Wilkie Alice Springs 48 40 88
2nd Karl Smith Alice Springs 33 18 51
3rd Stephen Smith Alice Springs 29 17 46
4th Stefan Boshoff Alice Springs 27 14 41
5th Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs 19 9 28
6th Brian Knappstein Alice Springs 15 9 24
7th Nick Chandler Alice Springs 10 6 16

RIMFIRE HUNTING RIFLE – 40 shots

Place Name Branch Grade C P T R AGG  
1st   Russell Wilkie Alice Springs M 8 7 6 7 28  
1st   Karl Smith Alice Springs A 4 5 2 3 14  
1st   Stephen Smith Alice Springs B 4 6 1 3 14  
2nd  Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs B 3 4 1 4 12 S/O
3rd  Jared Dinham Alice Springs B 3 5 1 3 12 S/O
  Darcy Imhof Alice Springs B 4 3 1 4 12 S/O
  Oliver Joost Alice Springs B 5 3 0 1 9  
  Brian Knappstein Alice Springs B 1 3 3 1 8  
  Lachlan Imhof Alice Springs B 2 2 2 2 8  
  Georg Winter Alice Springs B 2 2 2 1 7  
  Clinton Ghea Alice Springs B 1 4 1 1 7  
  Stefan Boshoff Alice Springs B 3 2 0 2 7  
  John O’Hara Alice Springs B 4 2 0 0 6  
  Bec Imhof Alice Springs B 3 1 1 0 5  
  Emily Imhof Alice Springs B 1 3 0 0 4  
  Mickalee Loechte Alice Springs B 2 1 0 1 4  
  Brandy Loechte Alice Springs B 2 0 1 0 3  
  Bella Hamaguchi Alice Springs B 2 1 0 0 3  
  Alex Imhof Alice Springs B 0 0 0 1 1  
  Devas Winter Alice Springs B 0 0 0 0 0  
  Ettain Winter Alice Springs B 0 0 0 0 0  
1st   Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs U18 3 4 1 4 12  
2nd  Lachlan Imhof Alice Springs U18 2 2 2 2 8  
3rd  Devas Winter Alice Springs U18 0 0 0 0 0  
1ST Emily Imhof Alice Springs U15 1 3 0 0 4 S/O
2nd  Mickalee Loechte Alice Springs U15 2 1 0 1 4 S/O
3rd  Brandy Loechte Alice Springs U15 2 0 1 0 3 S/O
  Bella Hamaguchi Alice Springs U15 2 1 0 0 3 S/O
  Alex Imhof Alice Springs U15 0 0 0 1 1  
  Ettain Winter Alice Springs U15 0 0 0 0 0  

CENTREFIRE HUNTING RIFLE – 40 shots

Place Name Branch Grade C P T R AGG
1st   Russell Wilkie Alice Springs A 0 6 3 7 16
2nd  Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs A 2 5 3 2 12
3rd  Stefan Boshoff Alice Springs A 2 3 2 2 9
1st   Stephen Smith Alice Springs B 1 3 3 0 7
2nd  Andrew Kattenhorn Alice Springs B 1 3 0 0 4
3rd  Brian Knappstein Alice Springs B 1 0 0 0 1
1st   Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs U18 2 5 3 2 12

2-GUN HUNTING

Place Name Branch RFH CFH AGG
1st Russell Wilkie Alice Springs 28 16 44
2nd Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs 12 12 24
3rd Stephen Smith Alice Springs 14 7 21
4th Stefan Boshoff Alice Springs 7 9 16
6th Brian Knappstein Alice Springs 8 1 9

4-GUN SUMMARY

Place Name Branch RFS CFS RFH CFH AGG
1st Russell Wilkie Alice Springs 48 40 28 16 132
2nd Stephen Smith Alice Springs 29 17 14 7 67
3rd Stefan Boshoff Alice Springs 27 14 7 9 57
4th Jaden Wilkie Alice Springs 19 9 12 12 52
5th Brian Knappstein Alice Springs 15 9 8 1 33
All Disciplines