It's the end of July already - the shooting season is progressing rapidly.
Today was a typical July day in New Brunswick - hot, sticky, very little wind, a storm brewing on the horizon, and a sudden dump of heavy rain. It was very hot with temperatures rising into the upper 20s and lower 30s. It was so humid that you couldn't even sit still without breaking out into a serious sweat. Shooting required a towel as basic equipment for some!
The wind was indeed very, very light which is rare for Minto. When it showed up on the range, it was mostly from the left in the early relays but switched to a tail wind and from the right later on. There were times when the wind switched and also times when it was not visible close to the firing point but was clearly active closer to the targets.
As the second relay progressed, the dark cloud on the horizon moved quickly over the range and released buckets of water on the hapless targets. The shooting paused for a few minutes as those on the firing line enjoyed the cool moist air. Then suddenly, as quickly as it came, the cloudburst ended and shooting recommenced. Scoring soggy targets was no easy matter to be sure.
The wind conditions led to some very nice scores but also cost some a point or two. Congratulations are due to Guy H. who shot a 400/14X in Sporter Class - a feat not easily duplicated! Also, congrats to Bill H. who not only shot the best target of the season (200/15X out of a possible 200/20X) but shot a perfect 400/22X as well. And to Bert deV. who shot 400/24X.
Today, we appreciate the efforts of John McC. as match director; Don Mu. as head scorer and Matt McA. as score verifier. Thanks guys! Also, thanks to Bruce B. and Norbert S. for serving as ROs. John McC., Cecil H., Guy H., George M. and Dave C. set and changed the targets. Thanks also to you fellows. Finally, many thanks to Barb J. for her generous helpings of Date Squares and Raisin bread.
RESULTS - SPORTER CLASS:
Guy H. - 400/14X
Dan G. - 399/13X
Don Mey. - 396/7X
Volker T. - 395/13X
Bruce B. - 395/12X
Bill H. - 389/9X
John McC. - 382/5X
Bert deV. - 380/7X
Wayne K. - 367/3X
RESULTS - OPEN CLASS:
Bert deV. - 400/24X
Bill H. - 400/22X
Volker T. - 399/21X
Barb J. - 399/19X
Cecil H. - 399/18X
Matt McA. - 398/15X
Guy H. - 398/14X
George M. - 398/13X
Bruce B. - 397/15X
Dan G. - 397/15X
Don Mu. - 397/14X
Gerard D. - 397/11X
Norbert S. - 396/8X
Dave C. - 395/10X
Mac MacD. - 391/12X
John McC. - 385/12X
The sky, during the trip down to Petitcodiac, looked ominous with dark clouds on the horizon and a prediction of rain. This was not to be - clouds did persist all day with occasionally very dark conditions, but no rain fell all day. Even on our way home, not a drop fell.
We sure could have used a good rain to reduce the temperature and the relative humidity during the shoot.
The winds were welcome when they blew gently through the shooting building and across the firing point.
Out on the range, wind conditions remained mild with many periods of dead calm. The prevailing wind was from 12:00 o'clock with many opportunities in the first and third relay to wait for this condition to return. In the second relay, resighting for a calm condition was the best strategy.
This certainly worked for our top shooter today! Congratulations go to Shelly C. who shot a perfect 300/10X.
Today, Volker T. was the match director, super-duper organizer and generous scorer. John McC. did the score verification. The ROs were Dan G. and Bert deV. Targets were set and changed by Tony L., John McC., Dan G. and Shelly C. The treats were provided by Shelly C. and Dan G.
RESULTS - CENTERFIRE BR - OPEN CLASS:
Shelly C. - 300/10X
Don M. - 299/16X
John McC. - 299/16X
Dan G. - 298/15X
Bert deV. - 297/14X
Volker T. 296/10X
Tony L. - 295/11X
Tom N. - 290/7X
Malcolm McA. - 285/3X
After the Rimfire BR shoot was completed, and we all had revitalized ourselves with Jean's wonderful lunch, we went to the upper range to shoot the Centerfire match at 200m.
By this time of the day, the temperatures in the open had become quite warm and the sun beat relentlessly on those six brave souls who risked melting. Thank goodness there was a little breeze from time-to-time but it was impossible to know what the winds were further down range.
Targets were large enough and orange enough to shoot at 200m but the mirage at that time of day made it almost impossible to see where the shots were printed. As a result we would all concentrate and once in a while, when the breezes blew, we would get a hint of a dark spot on the target and this became our reference point. Needless to say, our scores were nothing to "write home about".
After one set of targets, we, very sensibly I must say, unanimously decided to call it a day. We tallied our scores and multiplied by two so that the scores today could be comparable to scores from other matches.
It was definitely another learning experience and the source of a lot of discussion on the way home.
RESULTS - OPEN CLASS CENTERFIRE BR:
(to be added when available)
Steven F. - 264/2X
Bert deV. - 236/2X
John McC. - 220/0X
Greg S. - 202/0X
It was a wonderful warm day in Petitcodiac. The high temperatures and high humidity of the past week was over and now a much drier, seasonable warm summer day lay ahead. There was not a
cloud in the sky and the sun was bright on the targets and flags. As it turned out, most of the wind flags had been placed on the right half of the range and these stayed busy whirling and twirling throught out the entire match. Considering that our winner, with a perfect score, was on the first bench where there were no flags at all, maybe the great conglomeration of flags on the right did not help out much.
The wind was certainly very tricky with prevalent left to right winds for most of the relays. What made it difficult was that without warning, the wind would switch from the opposite direction or from anywhere on
the compass. In addition the velocity was hard to read with no wind at times and then sudden gusts of well over 20km/hr at other times.
Congrats for some terrific
shooting are due to Matt McA. who scored 500/26X.
Today, Volker T. was the match director and head scorer with Dan G. doing the verification. Targets were set and changed by John McC., Guy H., Dan G., Brian P., Chris S., Shelly C. and Mike C. The range officers were Dan G., Darryl k., Bruce B. and Bert deV. We were seriously spoiled by the many treats brought by Barb J., Dave C., Shelly C. and Dan G. and we simply could not finish them all.
We were glad to see a really good turn-out of 21 shooters. It was really nice to see Barb J. and Cecil H. who had suffered a lot of flood damage during the spring flooding of the Maugerville area. They still have much to do to have normalcy in their homes again.
RESULTS - RIMFIRE BR - OPEN CLASS:
Matt McA. - 500/26X
Bert deV. - 499/25X
Daniel G. - 498/19X
Bruce B. - 497/19X
Darryl K. - 497/17X
Barb J. - 496/20X
Gerard D. - 496/15X
Brian P. - 495/12X
John C. - 493/16X
Chris S. - 493/14X
George M. - 492/15X
Dave C. - 491/14X
Volker T. - 491/14X
Guy H. - 490/14X
Mike C. - 490/11X
Shelly C. - 487/10X
Cecil H. - 484/9X
Malcolm McA. - 473/7X
Tony L. - 468/7X
Yom N. - 439/4X
John McC. - DNC
It's the end of July already - the shooting season is progressing rapidly. 
Today was a typical July day in New Brunswick - hot, sticky, very little wind, a storm brewing on the horizon, and a sudden dump of heavy rain. It was very hot with temperatures rising into the upper 20s and lower 30s. It was so humid that you couldn't even sit still without breaking out into a serious sweat. Shooting required a towel as basic equipment for some!
The wind was indeed very, very light which is rare for Minto. When it showed up on the range, it was mostly from the left in the early relays but switched to a tail wind and from the right later on. There were times when the wind switched and also times when it was not visible close to the firing point but was clearly active closer to the targets. 
As the second relay progressed, the dark cloud on the horizon moved quickly over the range and released buckets of water on the hapless targets. The shooting paused for a few minutes as those on the firing line enjoyed the cool moist air. Then suddenly, as quickly as it came, the cloudburst ended and shooting recommenced. Scoring soggy targets was no easy matter to be sure. 
The wind conditions led to some very nice scores but also cost some a point or two. Congratulations are due to Guy H. who shot a 400/14X in Sporter Class - a feat not easily duplicated! Also, congrats to Bill H. who not only shot the best target of the season (200/15X out of a possible 200/20X) but shot a perfect 400/22X as well. And to Bert deV. who shot 400/24X.
Today, we appreciate the efforts of John McC. as match director; Don Mu. as head scorer and Matt McA. as score verifier. Thanks guys! Also, thanks to Bruce B. and Norbert S. for serving as ROs. John McC., Cecil H., Guy H., George M. and Dave C. set and changed the targets. Thanks also to you fellows. Finally, many thanks to Barb J. for her generous helpings of Date Squares and Raisin bread.
