Visiting marksmen show their class on island return
AFTER a two-year break the National Rifle Association Channel Islands touring team made it to Guernsey shores for an amalgamated Spring Prize Meeting and the postponed annual team match – and what a team they were.
Used as a test bed for potential Great Britain shooters, the visitors comprised some exciting new marksmen backed up by some highly experienced coaches and team management.
The three-cornered match included a team from the Welsh Rifle Association making a first visit to the island and the Guernsey Rifle Club’s selected eight included some of the new talent emerging from Elizabeth College as well as some seasoned marksmen.
With teams of eight marksmen each firing two sighters and 10 scoring shots at each of the three ranges, there was a maximum individual score of 150.30 and a total team maximum of 1,200.240.
At 300 yards the NRA took the lead with a 390.41 to the GRC 384.36 and the Welsh 380.42.
The NRA extended their lead at 500 yards with an impressive 393.47 to the Guernsey score of 383.37, which included a 50.06 from Alexander Stewart and a 50.05 from Ollie Hudson, while Wales were a further point behind on 382.38.
With Guernsey sitting some 16 points behind, only a miracle could overturn the expected result and the visitors had saved their best for last, a truly sensational 398.53 ex 400.80 that included no less than six ‘possibles’.
The locals upped their game with an excellent 391.45 including a 50.07 for Nick Mace and a 50.03 for Charlie Brewin but, as expected, the NRA never gave anyone else a look in as they took the match by 1,181.141 ex 1,200.240 to the locals’ 1,158.118 and the Welsh 1,147.121.
In the reserve match the NRA took the honours with 293.36 ex 300.60 to the Guernsey score of 284.25, Sam Frost contributing with 145.13 and Huw Nippers adding a 139.12.
Including the reserves, the 10 NRA marksmen had recorded no fewer than eight possibles at the longest range, something very few teams can ever expect to achieve and something that really excited their team management.
The weekend had started with a range of individual competitions but such was the strength of the marksmen from the UK that apart from the occasional flash of brilliance from a few locals, it was the visitors who dominated.
The Parker Trophy is not part of the Grand Aggregate and is shot at 300 and 600 yards for a maximum score of 100.20 and it was the very experienced international, Tom Rylands, who took the spoils with an excellent 99.17, just ahead of Guernseyman Hudson and Welshman Theo Dodds on 99.13.
The Falla Trophy opens the Grand Aggregate competition and comprises two sighters and seven scoring shots at each range for a maximum of 105.21.
It was an extremely high-scoring event with the Welsh in the form of Al Haley taking command with an excellent 105.18, just shading out fellow countryman Dodds on 105.17 with Luke Malcic heading up the local challenge with 105.16.
The surprise package of the day was Frost who, just weeks after scoring her first ever 50 ex 50, placed all of her 21 shots into the bull for a remarkable 105.14 to claim the Highfield Trophy awarded to B-class shooters.
This young lady is a most exciting prospect for the future of Guernsey shooting and if the progress she has made this season continues into the Imperial Meeting at Bisley during July she will be looking to claim a place in the representative Guernsey team.
The second event of the Grand was for the Renouf Trophy, a Queen’s II comprising two sighters and 10 scoring shots at each range for a maximum score of 150.30, and this time it was NRA marksman Guy Hart who recorded a near perfect 150.21.
This was the only possible from the 43 competitors and Hart took the trophy as well as the lead in the race for the Grand with an impressive 255.37 ex 255.51.
In second spot was Dodds on 149.22 and the top GRC member was Mace on 147.21, just two V-bulls ahead of his son, Rory.
In B-class Nippers claimed the Randall Trophy with an impressive 146.16, just a single V-bull ahead of Frost.
The finale of the Grand Aggregate is a 15-round shoot at the two longest ranges for a maximum score of 150.30 and Dodds rose to the occasion with a superb 150.24 to take the Albany Trophy and. with a near-perfect 404.63, the Grand Aggregate.
Hart rued the single point he lost at 500 yards in the previous competition as he took the runner-up spot on 403.60.
Alexander Stewart recorded an excellent 150.16 and finished as top GRC member in the Grand on 399.45.
Nippers rounded off a successful meeting by claiming the B-class Shieling Trophy with 146.17 and the B-grand with 393.42 just three V-bulls ahead of Frost.
The weekend concluded with a well-attended meal and the marksmen look forward to furthering their friendships during the Imperial Meeting at Bisley.
The next local event will be for teams of six for the Astor Trophy, with the selected team shooting against Jersey for the right to represent the Channel Islands in the Astor Competition at Bisley.
As the team is based on NRA classifications it must comprise no more than two Class X, two Class A and two Class T shooters, the fact that Guernsey has many very successful beginners at the sport should be to local advantage.
