Today was a very busy day at the Minto Gun Club ranges and Club House. We began the day with a quarterly meeting as had been agreed at the last AGM. This went very smoothly under the capable chairmanship of Dave C, President. The Minutes of this meeting, once completed, will be sent to members by e-mail.
Next, the year end awards for 2016 were presented. The delay was due to a lack of finances after the building of the new clubhouse. Everyone was glad this could be done however, even at this late date. The recipients and the awards will be posted on this Blog-site under a separate posting.
Next, we shot the scheduled Centerfire BR for score match in conditions that could only be described as "humbling". It is probably fair to say that no-one really got a good grasp of the wind conditions until perhaps the very last shot - and even then probably not. The wind "looked" fairly steady most of the time, coming from left to right most of the time and gusting from 0 to 30km/hr or so. The wind flags that were put up (mind you with the snow they could only cover the left side of the range) on the second 50yds closest to the targets, did not seem to give the information we needed to predict the wind effects on the bullets. Perhaps if they had been closer to the building we could have learned more. Suffice it say that there were an awful lot of surprises once the bullet had cut through the target - judging from the choice words coming from the firing line! You can judge for yourself when you see that a first-time Benchrest shooter with a 308 (185gn bullets) won the match - well deserved and congratulations to Adam MacD.
Bruce B. - 278/3X
After having a great time in Lake George the day before, we all trecked south to Petitcodiac for the February Centerfire BR shoot. 
You couldn't have asked for a better day in the winter in New Brunswick. It was mild - 0C in 
the morning when we left and about 5 degrees higher than that as the day progressed. The range was covered in a blanket of fine very very white snow but the sun was not out much - so even though the visibility was a bit hampered, and many complained of sighting problems, we were not blinded by glare off the snow. The wind was almost not a factor in today's shooting with only occasional breezes going uprange (the same direction as the smoke from the stove- - Oh well).
Congrats are due to John McC. who shot a marvelous 
scoring department with John McC. verifying. Targets were set and changed by John McC., Shelly C., Brian P. and Tony L. The range officers were Brian P., Darryl K. and Bert deV. Shelly C. and Dan G. brought the treats and Timbits. Many thanks to all who lent a hand to make this shoot an enjoyable one.
Well, the weather had finally settled down enough to allow the shooting of the second 22 BR match at the Lake George Gun Club. It was a reasonably mild day which started at about 10C below zero and ended up somewhere around 5C below. 
Quite mild considering the temperatures we've had here lately. Although a few flakes of snow floated through the air, there was no storm nor serious snowfall - also quite a change from what we've experienced lately. In addition, the winds were very mild - maybe 5-10km/hr at times. It was a bit brisker between the berms and this may have accounted for a flyer or two.
A big welcome back to some fellows we have not seen for a while - Jerry J., Steve F. and Al S. We hope you enjoyed yourselves and hope to see you at the next match.
Targets were set and changed by Bert deV., George M., John McC., Bruce B., Barb J., Cecil H. and Steve F. The ROs for the match were Bill H., John McC., Dave C. and Bert deV. The treats were provided by Barb J. who also made a birthday cake for Cecil H. (who turned 3/4 of a century today) - Congrats Cecil! Finally, a thanks to our chef-de-mission and chef-de-cuisine - Bruce B. who plopped some wieners into the cooker and out came these wonderful hot-dogs. How did he do that? We all enjoyed them for sure!
Congratulations are due to the top 3 "Open Class" shooters for shooting a perfect 400. Only Xs separated them. Cecil H. shot a 400/26X; Dave C. shot a 400/20X and Bert 
Hello fellow bench rest enthusiasts. 
It was very cold when we left our warm homes and travelled to the Minto Gun Club range. It was -26C and only climbed to -20 by noon. We had a total of ten shooters today. Two 
There was a very strange wind condition, where the wind would go absolutely dead calm just as the surprised shooters pulled the trigger. This resulted in a 1 or 2 point loss for the unfortunate person! 
Once again we had more great treats than we could eat, (or was it the fact that Bert deV. was home - down with a cold?) We were all very comfortable in front of the wood fired stove in the new club house between relays.
Bruce B., Barb J., Dave C. – RO duties