community,

The unseasonal hot weather conditions on Saturday kept some members indoors but for those who ventured onto the range it was a day of triumphs and tragedies. The standout performer was Gordon Higgins in Target Rifle C Grade. Higgins, who is a tireless worker for the club, is also a dedicated volunteer fire fighter. When he is not on the range, he is helping the community in his role with the Rural Fire Service. Higgins, who is far more interested in the joy of shooting than the final score, has for some time been sitting about middle of the pack in C Grade with scores in the mid to high 80s. However, all that changed on Saturday. Despite the hot, sometimes breezy conditions, he shot two blistering stages of 48 and 45 to convincingly win C grade with a total for the day of 93 with five centres. In a personal best he also took home the handicap trophy for the afternoon’s events. Unfortunately, for Declan Heaney in F Standard A Grade the afternoon’s events were not as kind. To place a shot on another competitors target is unfortunate, but to do it twice in one stage is such a rare event that the club has a special award known as the ‘Old Mug’ which was won by him on Saturday. A lack in concentration for Declan is unusual but can be explained by the imminent commencement of his HSC exams. However, the same cannot be said for his Father, Ean Heaney who also placed a shot on the wrong target to make it a family affair. Andrew Geary and Max Purnell shot identical scores of 97 with seven centres in Target Rifle B Grade. Purnell was the winner on count back. Meanwhile Geary has returned from shooting at the NSW Queens last weekend with an excellent campaign to with a second place in both the Queens and Grand aggregate events. Robert Barlett seems to have now worked out his technical issues and shot two cracking stages of 59 with five centres followed by 60 with five centres to finish the day with an excellent score of 119 and eight centres and was the convincing winner of F Standard A grade. Mal McKenzie was dominate in Target Rifle A grade with a perfect 100 and 14 centres whilst Ean Heaney staged a comeback in his second stage of F Standard B grade to take the win from Ronan Moon by two centres. Christina Adams edged out husband Duncan Robinson in F Open by one point to take home the win for the day. Full scores for this week’s round are:

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Wingham Rifle Club news September 27, 2017