Wow, Saturday's (10th December 2011) sunny, windless weather couldn’t have been better for this first-time event.
Although
a little chilly to start, this was soon forgotten as the team of 12
armed with rakes, forks and spades got stuck in to the task of clearing
the shooting lanes of the fallen branches and twigs that have
accumulated over the last year.
Once these twigs become tangled in the target reset lines, annoying is a tame description…
Along
with some target maintenance, the treating and adding of anti slip
plates to the new steps, the range was soon put into tiptop condition.
With all the work complete, it was not long before lunch arrived!
A steaming pot of chilli, accompanied by rice and a substantial amount of garlic bread… delicious and very welcomed.
Reward enough, one might say, but, no - then there was the chance to win a £25 turkey voucher!
A
fair amount of thought by Dave Hipkiss and myself had gone into
creating a simple competition that gave shooters of any standard an even
chance to win.
The
idea of shooting opposite handed with the club S200, an unfamiliar gun
to most members, seemed like the leveling factor we were looking for,
and was subsequently proven by Dave’s and my scores on a practice run…
shocking.
I’m
pleased to say it worked on the day and Phil Caseley, who joined in
September, mustered up some serious shooting skills to achieve a score
of 28 out of a possible 30 and, clearly, win the voucher.
At forty yards, left handed, his target, as you can see, is nothing less than impressive!
Overall, the day proved to be a productive and highly enjoyable social event that provided a bit of respite from the Christmas shopping duties.On
behalf of the SDFTC committee, a big thanks to all who gave up their
time to help and take part in the day, and a special thanks to my other
half, Debbie, for preparing such a feast.
A great way to meet up that will, hopefully, become an annual event.
All the best for Christmas and the New Year.
Paul Mills
