SSAA Rockhampton (Zone 4) hosted the Queensland Hunter Benchrest Championships from May 28 to 31. Lots of hard work by Ken Wheeler ensured that the competition ran smoothly and special thanks goes to Ken’s wife Irene, who entered all the scores and made the competitor patches for the event.

Shooters arrived from all over the state and renewed old friendships and made new ones. The range had been prepared well after being smashed by Cyclone Marcia a few months before. Brian Murphy and Craig Rutherford were the range officers for the four days, and junior shooters Kailah and Chelsea Rutherford, Beth Rayner and Sasha Wheeler were always ready to help run out targets. They also shoot rather well, which is a great sign for the future of our sport. They were always ready to lend a hand and are great ambassadors of their branch.

Shooting started off with Light Rimfire and the renowned tricky conditions of the Rockhampton Range proved happy to help shooters miss the dot. Day two saw more of the same, with Heavy Rimfire getting underway on time and interesting conditions throughout the day. Day three’s Heavy Centrefire event started a little late as the fog rolled in and brought visibility down to 50m, until the sun broke through and burned it off. Day four started with no problems and concluded with medal and trophy presentations.

The next State Championships will be conducted in Far North Queensland (Zone 5) in 2016.