300m & 200 Yard Events - Preferences & Discussion

Hi all,

There has been some discussion regarding the 200 yard and 300 Metre events, and there are those that would like more rimfire shoots.... and I am sure those that would like more 300 shoots.  The 500 event remains the major drawcard and will remain as the Saturday event.

What I can say, is that the last 200 yard rimfire shoot was very well attended (over 40 individuals including 7 Juniors).... and plenty saying they would come especially to shoot rimfire again at our February shoot.

I personally like the current mix, where we host a 300 yard fly as the Sunday event in February and the 200 yard Rimfire state titles along with our June Shoot.  Gives the best of both in my opinion.

I also believe that the 300 yard is a good entry level event (factory and custom class) and want to promote that.....as well as see some more juniors have a go at 300 Metres.  Our factory class in Batemans Bay would remain just that...."Factory".

As mentioned previously, it is too much on the club and volunteers to arrange 3 consecutive days of competition.

As an alternative, we could arrange a one day registered match for 200 yard Rimfire in either late January or November to give people an opportunity at to attend in the warmer months ?  Maybe even hold a BR30 Rimfire event on the Sunday after the 200 yard fly ?

What do others think ?  What do the general 500m Fly Shooters prefer for the Sunday event? One of each ? 2 Rimfire shoots ?  Would you stay for one but not the other ?

This is intended for discussion only, there are no current plans to change the annual event format that we have in place.

Cheers

Anthony

Personally i like both events and i think the BAY holds a great shoot with a range of shooting to suit everyone. The Rimfire is also very good but i feel that having variety suits alot of 500 shooters. currently we have Wagga that shoots 300m custom and factory and the first shoot at the BAY so people can get that extra shoot in. Then we have Canberra which has the fly and 1000y the next day also very good. I feel that the more variety you get the more shooters you will capture as some don't like the rimfire at all as they don't have competitive equipement so it is more fun for them but 300 custom and 500fly fit as you can use the same rifle.

I really like the idea of a weekend rimfire event, i think that the shooters from Silverdale will certainly come as they hold regular 200yard fly events themselves.

Given the speed at which the rimfire event ran i think you could have the three events on over a long weekend there has been other posts about the "great fly Weekend" but that is up to Batemans Bay.

The fly is growing in numbers each year with new shooters, if some of those great juniors tried the 300m fly they might be keen then to progress.

One thing we all have to be mindful is the 500m event is the draw card it is the Grand Prix event some folks get confidence at 300 and a not so good result at 500. So clubs having the 500 event on Saturday often keep the shooters for day two i don't know if that would be the case the other way around.

     Hello Anthony   congratulations for running such a great 200 Rimfire shoot  -- there are not many places that the 200 Fly can be shot at a State Level  -- and the number of Juniors that competed was very pleasing to see  --  I think that the 200 Shoot is the perfect introductory shoot to get our juniors and others  interested in Fly Shooting   ---  just about every one has a .22 rimfire rifle   and with a little bit of tinkering can get it to zero at 200 yards   --   there are quite a few places that shoot the 300 fly  a couple of times every year   -- Wagga  and  Melbournes  Little River  and the 300 Bat shoot that is held in Canberra   --  all these shoots are held in conjunction with the 500 fly   on the same weekend  -- so there is no shortage of  opportunities to shoot the 300 events   -- on the other hand Batemans Bay holds only one 200 Rimfire  event at the moment   --  a second shoot for the rimfire shooters would be very welcomed  --  and think of the chances of introducing  many more shooters to our Fly Shooting sport   --  we need a lot more of these new shooters to make up for the numbers of people we loose to the dissapline each year  
                                        cheers   John MC  

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Hi All - The post below is from John Lavaring and is posted exactly as emailed.


300 and 500 Fly Shooting -  Questions…………….asked with great respect for those that organise and run the events.

What is the Match organiser’s  intended purpose of  a  300 fly  shoot? ( in a general sense )

If it is to “introduce” new shooters to “Fly Shooting “ then I think that prizes/fly patches should only be awarded for a Factory/Standard class. Not for Custom Class. By all means use the same Fly patch format but maybe use a different colour to distinguish them . Similar in idea to the colour scheme that distinguishes the  200 Rimfire from the 500 patch.
I do not see a reason that prevents Custom rifles being shot alongside. However , if on the same weekend the 300 is run prior to the 500 and people see the 300 as being an opportunity to “practice” for the 500. Then isn’t there a danger of  new shooters being hampered by a lack of available benches ?
 I suggest that if the intended purpose is to “introduce” – then run it to cater for that purpose and run the 500 prior .
If it is a formal match then run it as such and a 300 before the 500 is of no consequence.

How far would you be prepared to travel for a Fly Shoot ?
Well we have all said it or heard it said – many times
– “If I am going to travel that far – then I am going to make a weekend of it!"
 So why not also give me a worthwhile reason to travel to different ranges?
 If  for example I decide I want to shoot both the 300 and the 500 and Wagga was THE place to do it then I would happily travel to/support Wagga.
And I understand that Wagga has already gained a reputation for running a great 300 event.

If all ranges ran the same shoots just as  frequently as my nearest range  – then where is my incentive to travel ?

If BBay run a “Rimfire Weekend” with 200 Fly and BR50 – well only one is a fly shoot so I would not bother to attend either.
If I want to spend one day on a weekend shooting a fly match then I can do that at Silverdale (1 ½ hrs drive from home.)

I travel.
I travel to Canberra for the 500 fly and 1000 yd shoot.
I travel to BBay for the 500 fly and the 200 fly.
I have traveled and would again to Wagga for the 500 and 300 fly.

Now,
- I see myself as more a participant than competitor.
And while – a registered fly match – gives recognition of my level achievement. I personally have one interest – shooting flies! And the people I shoot with are the best reason to participate regardless of whether or not I hit a fly.
They travel just as I do. And two days participating/shooting flies makes a weekend of it.

Regards

John Lavaring

Hi Anthony,
                       Personally I like the .22 event at BB, and the fact that you run a 300 centerfire one shoot and a rimfire the other seems to work well. If you were thinking of not offering the 300 anymore and only the rimfire event you would probably keep a lot of people happy from around the place, and I would certainly still participate in it, it certainly drew a big crowd this year.

I really enjoyed the .22 BR30 event you ran a while ago too, it was a good day with lots of shooting.

I think it is a good thing that different clubs run different formats, Canberra runs the 1000yds because we have the range available to do so, and I have asked similar questions in the past, should Canberra run a rimfire event or a 300m during the day on the Sunday? But the consensus has always been that the 1000yds range is there and people enjoy it, so we ran the Bat shoot for those that weren't particularly interested in the 1000yds. Unfortunately it is a bit too much to run the 3 shoots together so we will be just running the two shoots, 500Fly and 1000yds BR for the foreseeable future.

I enjoy the 300/500 format at Wagga too, again, it provides a different format to those that might be interested.

With regard to the 300 event and what should happen with rules, I think as it is offered at the different clubs, it is up to the club to advertise the rules for the event, but if a "veteran" wants to shoot the Factory event with their crow gun like Les, that's fine, its another shooter enjoying the day and more power to him. I'm not sure what to do about "new" shooters in these instances.

Cheers.

Dave.

As a veteran of the fly ( thanks Dave) I like the variety that fly matches all over the circuit represent. I don't think there is a need to change any of the configurations at the ranges we have.

The debate and questions surrounding getting new shooters has been on every forum that is linked  to a shooting sport and the same results come out. We are all suffering diminished numbers and constant scrutiny from the public political arena's we will get new shooters from other shooting sports if we offer variety. Different rifles to shoot different events.

Keep the fly interesting and provide variety and I think the fly has a long long future.

Hi Anthony

Its an interesting topic that you have raised so will ad my 2 cents worth.

For me and the other Sydney shooters the current setup has been a smash hit, this is due to the good work of yourself and the club to host the event. Its a massive amount of work and certainly could not be done as well by any other club that I am familiar with. I expect your numbers to grow for both the 500m and 200y rimfire event over the comming years so would be disappointed to see a change that affected numbers.
Having said that I like to see all shooting events prosper so would be keen to see other 200y or 300m events at your club or others.
Not many of the Sydney shooters shoot the 500 Fly so if the rimfire event was moved to another date for the state titles then ksut about all the rimfire guys would come along but I doubt we would get the guys from Vic to the event so the numbers would drop I think.
I have been running the rimfire fly for 17 years here at Silverale and have seen people compete with just about every kind of rifle known with some suprising results. ie 12 yo Girl shot a 6x scoped hunting rifle and did very well. Another regular shooter shoots his 40 yo Anshutz he picked up for $150 and enjoys the event so an expensive gun is not a must.
Another example is the winner of this years shoot at Batemans bay (Ed McGrann) with his stock Anni model 64 which cost about $1800 - Before someone says "yeah but his is a ex-british SAS sniper!" his grandson shot the same rifle and came 3rd outright. It was no fluke as Ed shot a 277.10 in windy conditions yesterday and has name on the 280+ Trophy which was shot earlier in the year.
Our next shoot will be held on the 12th September if anyone is up Sydney way.
Juniors - Great to see so many on the range this year and wanted to remind NSW shooters that any expense incurred traveling and shooting in a NSW State or National event can be re-imbursed upto $250 per Junior. This includes accomodation, food, fuel, ammo, range fees etc etc. This has been in place for a couple of years now as the club is trying to encourage the Juniors along to the big events else its feared out sport will die. Contact the SSAA membership office for more details.

Hope to see you on the range,

Dave Dundas

Hi,

Good input & thanks also to those others that have emailed me.... its good to hear the interest levels & thoughts of competitors.

The overwhelming consensus seems to be that the current arrangements work, are popular and the mix of a 500 - 200 in Feb and a 500-300 in June covers a good variety.  I have no intention of changing the format, particularly the February shoot with the combined State Title Fly Match.

We may be able to consider another Registered 200 Rimfire Fly event during the year.... I will look closely at the 2016 Calendar and see what we can do....

Kind regards,

Anthony