DECEMBER 17, 2017 - PETITCODIAC - CHRISTMAS SHOOT

It was a cold day in Petitcodiac with the temperature staying below the freezing mark. The sun was out at times but it was mostly cloudy - this helped us to see the white and black fun targets that were the order of
the day. The wind was brutal and kicked our little .22 bullets all over the place plus adding to the cold. 






Thank goodness there was roaring fire in the stove - we all huddled there or went to the clubhouse to warm up. One thing about a roaring fire - it produces smoke and it's hard to see through smoke!

The targets were a variety of fun targets - crows on a fence and in the air (tiny and hard to hit), black beans glued on a white sheet of paper and others. We started with a blank piece of paper (the "lucky" target). Shoot 5 shots and see what your score is when a template is applied for scoring. Not good scores but someone was lucky. 

A turkey was the prize for each of the targets (Bert deV., John C., Dan G., and Chris S. were the lucky - or skilled - shooters who will knaw on those drumsticks). Those who did not take home the turkey, selected from a table full of draw prizes so everyone went home with a prize. Thanks to John C. for organizing this.

Between targets, we enjoyed a meal of baked beans (thanks Bruce B.), brown bread rolls (thanks Dave C.), hamburg soup (thanks Bev T. and Joanne K.), biscuits (thanks Dorothy McC.), cookies (thanks John Mo.), chocolate chip banana bread (thanks Bruce B.) and our favorite squares (thanks Shelly C.). While shooting we dug into 
Barb J.'s cookies and banana bread (thanks Barb J.). 



Christmas is about friends and good food - we certainly enjoyed both today. Many thanks to Bev T. and Joanne K. for preparing and serving the Christmas shoot meal.

After the meal we honoured those who shot so well during the Wednesday evening shoots with Shelly C. Tony L. and Tom N. recognized as top shooters. Then came the presentation of prizes for today's shoot and the prize draw. 

The match director and organizer for this shoot, as well as so many others during the year, was Volker T. The scoring was done by Volker T.
as well as Bev T. and Joanne K. for the lucky targets. Targets were posted by John McC., Bert deV., Darryl K., Dan G., Bruce B., George M. and Brian P. The ROs for this event were Volker T., Dan G., Darryl K., Tony L. and Bruce B. Thanks to all for helping to make this event such an enjoyable one.

DECEMBER 3, 2017 - MINTO CHRISTMAS SHOOT

It was a pretty nice day for shoot - especially one so much anticipated.
The sun stayed behind the clouds all day which allowed for a good sight pictures for all our "old" eyes. It was a little nippy with temperatures starting out around 0C but gradually improving during the day. The wind felt raw because of the moisture in the air and so if you were not moving around or in the heated Club House, you felt cold. The wind was not too too bad for shooting though, mostly from the right at 5 to 15 km/hr. Sometimes it even stood still. Most shots had to be held over just a touch and you hoped it was enough for that present condition. Aside from the shooting, we had a wonderful time - an enjoyable fun shoot with just the right amount of competition.



Targets were a John McC. special creation. The first 20 shots were on a grid laid out in a diamond pattern. Some shooters had a little problem adjusting to the diagonal lines.
The second 10 rounds were fired on "stars" whose internal points were less than a 1/4 MOA apart. For top scores the shot had to clear all the lines - not easy! The last 10 rounds were shot on a 1/2 MOA bull - most satisfying to end a shoot on a successful note. A shooter could choose to shoot these targets with Open or Sporter Class equipment - we had both. In each class a turkey went to the top shooter, a ham went to the second place finisher and a chicken went to the third place shooter.


Today, John McC. was the match director. Don Mu. was the head scorer and Guy H. helped out with the score and stats verification. George M. did the lion's share of target setting and changing while
John McC and Bert deV. helped out. The Range Safety Officers were John McC., Bill H., Wayne K., and Bert deV. Thanks everyone, for helping out today.

A big part of the enjoyment of
a Christmas shoot are the epicurean delights - and these appeared in great bounty,(as if by magic! - not really - some of our friends worked hard for our enjoyment). Dave C. brought a huge pot of chili and bags of his wonderful brown bread rolls. Wayne K. showed us how to make baked beans that just "flew" off the stove. Barbara J. again spoiled us with her christmas minced meat pies and cookies. Thank you all so much - it would not be a Christmas shoot without this cornucopia of delights!




RESULTS - OPEN CLASS:
Bert deV. - 285/13X
John McC. - 272/13X
Barbara J. - 267/10
Guy H. - 265/10X
Dan G. - 257/9X
Darryl K. - 256/13X
Don Mu. - 246/12X
David C. - 245/9X
George M. - 238/7X
Bruce B. - 234/8X
Norbert S. - DNC

RESULTS - SPORTER CLASS:
Don Me. - 214/6X
Malcolm McD. - 194/6X
Bill H. - 192/2X
Wayne K. - 162/4X
John Mo. - DNC

FIVE YEARS OF BR BLOGGING IN NEW BRUNSWICK

Hello Benchrest enthusiasts in Canada and around the world.

It has been 5 years since the New Brunswick Benchrest scene has been reported on this Blog. During this time, we welcomed 75000 visits to the Blog site.

These "hits" have been from many places including the following "top ten":

Canada - 33,000
USA - 17,500
Russia - 10,500
Germany - 2350
Ukraine - 1800
France - 1450
Poland - 600
Spain - 500
Brazil - 350
England - 300

NOVEMBER 26, 2017 - PETITCODIAC CF-150YD FUN SHOOT - RESULTS

We are quickly heading to the end of the year and the Christmas shoots are coming up. However, for a last "hurrah" in Petitcodiac, we had a Centerfire fun shoot. The targets were set up at the end of the range at the 150 yard mark. We knew this would be a different shoot but did not think that 50 additional yards could make much of a difference in the results .  .  Wrong !! The "little mistakes" we make at 100 yds were magnified so that hits that would have touched the 10 ring were now definitely out. Humbling to say the least and the scores reflect this. I imagine if we shot this distance more often, we would become better shooters at 100yds.

The conditions were ideal. It was not too cold to reduce the enjoyment of shooting although a good fire in the stove was required. There was almost no wind at all and the single wind flag (it was a "fun shoot" after-all) that was out there hardly moved except during the last relay. It remained overcast for the whole shoot so our sight pictures remained constant and without mirage.
A big welcome to Jim who came to watch. He was not feeling well and had to go to the hospital later that day. We hope all is well with Jim.
Dan G. was the match director and head scorer. John McC. and Bert deV. shared the score verification duties. ROs were Dan G., John McC. and Darryl K. Targets were set and changed by Logan G., Brian P., John McC. and Bert deV. Dan G. brought the Timbits. Thanks, everyone, for your help today.

RESULTS - CENTERFIRE AT 150yd:
Dan G. - 298/14X - 6mmPPC
Bert deV. - 296/13X - 30BR
Don M. - 295/12X - 30BR
John McC. - 295/8X - 6mmBR
Logan G. - 291/8X - 222Rem
Brian P. - 282/6X - 6mmBR
Darryl K. - 276/2X - 223Win
Tony L. - 272/3X - 6mmBR
Tom N. - 253/2X - 308Win
John C. - 213/0X - 223Win

NOVEMBER 19, 2017 - MINTO AGM AND FUN SHOOT

The Annual General Meeting of the Minto Gun Club was held today followed by a fun shoot. John McC. organized the shoot in a different way - teams of 2 shooters competed against each other in both Open and Sporter classes (22 Rimfire) on targets that included crows, and other interesting creatures. 
Top team in Open class were Dave C. and Guy H. while in Sporter class Bruce B. and Mac McD. took home the bacon.

New Officers include:
President - Dave Chavarie
Vice-President - Wayne Kennedy
Secretary/Treasurer - Bert deVink
Chairman Rules Committee - John McCluskey
Chief Range Officer - Bruce Bennett

NOVEMBER 22, 2017 - CANADIAN TEAM TO THE WORLDS BR CHAMPIONSHIPS

For more info. see http://benchrestforum.ca

From L>R: Vic Edmunds, Tory Phinn, Rick Pollock, Hugh Williamson,
Tyler Edmunds, Dan Opel, Wayne Miller, Rob Seeman

Here's the whole story: World BR Championship on "Accurate Shooter"