Wagga fly shoot

Again another successful fly match at the Wagga SSAA range. First class event that started of with a foggy outlook and doubts if we could even get started.

Special thanks to the target crew that did exceptionally well in keeping the match to the correct finishing time for folks to travel, well done.

Catering and hospitallity was first class, i hope the cateerers are invited back next year, Chappo and all helpers with the scoring great to see the fly programming working.

It was so pleasing to see so many new faces at the range and some wonderful new rifles, there was an F Class contingent from Full bore shooting and i hope they enjoyed themselves.

Tracey Deehan well done on the small group and potential new record amazing shooting.

Saturday night saw the Kooringal hotel host a festive fly bunch for dinner and drinks (except me as the non drinker) the meals as always great value for money and taste.

Mavis and Berryl wish to thank all who contributed what ever steak they could'nt eat now the two dashy's have to work it off this week chasing each other around for excercise.

The power of positive thinking cannot be underestimated as Cameron Starr our newest podium finnisher won the wonderful barrel put on as a draw prize. Cameron kept saying "i don't know why you are all worried the barrel it is mine" and yep you guessed it he got it - well done mate.

There was a bit of share farming with shots and some folks liked to generously store some shots next door but this is fly shooting and 500m is a long way.

Last but not least thanks to Grant Grooves, Luke Ester, for putting up the prizes along with the Wagga club fantastic to see such support.

Congratulations to the winners and place getters and also you Cameron you lucky bugger...........

Thanks Les was a awesome weekend, Had a first time placing in custom gun was a grate result.

Learnt how easy one can go from hero to zero by getting greedy and using more than one target. (Lesson learnt DOH)

Big thanks to Luke at Pro Cal for the barrel and to the heavens above for answering the prayers.

It seems from the short amount of time I have spent in the fly scene that its growing more and more every time a shoot is held.

As for Mavis and Berryl I feel there pain after indulging in one to many large meals and not being able to move for the night.

I think you left some one out Mr Fraser of the list of achievers..... Well done on the Win and possible national record.

Big thanks also to the Wagga crew for putting on a grate shoot that was enjoyed by all..... Well Done.


Looking forward to Canberra for the Pro Cal cup.

   Yes indeed, another great weekend put on by the Wagga crew as usual. Great to have a few beers and catch up around a hot fire on both Friday & Saturday nights. The left over curried sausages I had for dinner Sat night played havoc at about 5.30 am the next morning but them's the breaks!
   It's right & proper that a bit of back slapping takes place….
Firstly with Les who shot his 6 x 47 to a magnificent 276 taking out the high score record for light gun,..that was a big hit Les, you have my congratulations and my envy.
Secondly to Russ Le Maitre who shot beautifully for his maiden victory at 500 metres. Russ used his 10 kg F Class Dasher to great effect & thoroughly deserved this result.
Congratulations also to Tracy Deehan for cracking the 1 inch group and (potentially) setting an Australian small group record, clearly showing who is the best shot in the Deehan family….actually it's probably a coin toss between Tracey & daughter Kira with poor old dad coming in a distant 3rd!

I was recently cornered by someone who expressed his view that in the 500 fly there are only 1 or 2 people that can ever win these matches….looking at the bench draw for Wagga and including Russ as the most recent victor I think I'm right in saying that 12 of the shooters in attendance have, in the last 2 or 3 years, taken the money. Additionally, there were a few victors who didn't shoot ( Dave Groves, Paul Read & young Roy come to mind).

I think my point here is that the sport appears to be very healthy & highly competitive ( as opposed to the opinion of my tormentor). We have good stocks of knowledgeable and approachable gun smiths who can put together highly accurate rifles & an increasing number of rifle ranges keen to sponsor these events.

If you are reading this and haven't yet had a go at 500 meter fly shooting all I can say is "now's the time!"

Regards,
Belly.

A quick look through the number of shooters, Wagga March 2015 vs Wagga August 2015

Numbers up in all classes:

300m Factory, March - 13 entries, August - 16 entries

300m Custom, March - 26 entries, August - 37 entries

300m Donkey, March - 0 entries, August - 5 entries

500m LG, March - 25 entries, August - 36 entries

500m HG, March- 10 entries, August - 21 entries

2 Gun, March - 25 entries, August - 51 entries

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300 Donkey......

Just a few who entered "Factory" class - Self Disqualified with experimental custom gear (7BR, 30BR etc), they had a side bet amongst themselves but were not part of the competition.  Purely a bit of fun.

CONTENTS DELETED

Re Donkey class

Belly with his 30 BRX  shot 282.11 entered in custom class (winner Donkey sub class) was not far off the winning score (won by a 6mm Dasher) which shows they are inherently accurate. At 300m, even in the light winds experienced on Saturday, the 30BR's required a lot more attention to wind changes than the 6mm BRs.