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| Volker T. of Petitcodiac |
Yes the blog is now 6 months old and has been visited 5115 times already.
It has survived it's break-in during the long New Brunswick winter and is growing strongly.
It has been a real pleasure to join shooting colleagues and friends and to participate in the benchrest shoots and other events our host clubs have worked hard to organise. It has also been fun to take pictures and put together a little story of our exploits in the Benchrest Shooting World of New Brunswick.
Although there are many people who have worked hard for us to enjoy our sport, the pictures in this article highlight the Match Directors who have organised this year's Benchrest matches and who make sure they run smoothly. Thanks guys.
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| Wayne K. of Minto |
As you can see on this blog, we have had many terrific shoots over the last 6 months. We have suffered cold and snow and then the spring came. We have been elated when we shot well and have been so disappointed when, despite our best efforts, we haven't. We have cheered as our colleagues and friends set some local mileposts and records (with several shooters attaining that elusive perfect target in both centerfire and rimfire disciplines). Above all we have had a lot of fun together!
The interest shown in what we do in our corner of the world, by readers in other countries, has been steadily increasing. Here is a list of the number of "pageviews" from other lands (these numbers refer to the number of times the blog has been accessed by a reader - could be the same reader - from that particular country):
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| Terry McN.- Lake George |
Canada - 3770, USA - 632, Russia - 223, Germany - 172,
United Kingdom - 41, Australia - 35, France - 18, China - 17, Slovenia - 14,
Saudi Arabia - 13, Ukraine - 10,
Sweden - 9, India - 8, Brazil - 7, Thailand - 7, Egypt - 6, Georgia - 5, Iceland - 5, Indonesia - 4, Portugal - 4, Spain - 4, South Africa - 4, Belgium - 3, Bulgaria - 3, Italy - 3,
Malaysia - 3, Netherlands - 3, New Zealand - 3,
Phillipines - 3, Romania - 3,Turkey - 3,
Columbia - 2, Khasakstan - 2, Uganda - 2, Uruguay - 2,
Vietnam - 2, Argentina - 1, Bangladesh - 1, Belarus - 1, Burkino Faso - 1, Bolivia - 1, Cote d'Ivoire - 1, Ecuador - 1, Estonia - 1, Ireland - 1, Japan - 1, Malta - 1, Norway -1,
Oman - 1, South Korea - 1, Taiwan - 1, Venezuela - 1
It is also possible to see what has interested readers the most in the last few months - the top 6 posts with the highest number of pageviews are as follows:
1. The schedules of the Gun Shows in the Maritimes.
2. The discussion articles on the Sporter Class definition.
3. The Minto Gun Club shooting rules.
4. A variety of shoots hosted by Petitcodiac, Minto and Lake George.
5. The RNBRA Smallbore Championship In Woodstock.
6. The tribute to Mike Walker.
So let's see what happens in the next six months. We expect many more good times shooting with friends. Perhaps there will be other records set. This blog will be there to tell you all about it and to show you what happened. Who knows, maybe we can introduce you to some new shooters - a main goal should be to bring young shooters into the sport. Knowing the apparent attitude of the media and general public toward firearms and shooting sports, we also need to speak up and re-affirm our sport as the honourable discipline it has always been and as a good place for our youth to be.
We hope for many more members/followers to sign up on the blog and also that readers will use the "comment" section and make the blog more interactive.
Well, it was the hottest day of the Benchrest shoot circuit to date - 35C in the afternoon and almost 30C inside the shooting hut where the benches are. The humidity was very high and we were harassed by a band of "Bandito Deer Flies"!
But . . . the wind gods were kinds to us for a change with only occasional light breezes supplemented with short bursts of quiet air flow.
It was good to see some new shooters who shot sporting rifles with lower power scopes which made it challenging for them to compete against higher power scopes. They enjoyed themselves and did well - these targets are a challenge for any shooter - the bulls are so small.
Volker T. was the Match Director and scorer and everyone pitched into help with duties of the RO, changing the targets, registering shooters and other tasks - many thanks to all.
