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This section is for people who shoot or want to shoot in competitions and includes future events, how to get started, choice of rifle and calibres including wildcats, how to prepare for your competition, and of course how you did!
Gun Pimp wrote:Iain,
A great report.
Any chance of a write-up on the Palma Match for the December issue of Target Shooter magazine? http://www.targetshooteronline.com
Vince (Editor)
Hiya
I am sure someone on the team will oblige - will ask them tonight once they are drunk :cheers:
And at end day 2, GB are once again World Champions.
It was a less interesting day. The weather started partly cloudy with a moderate wind, more across the range L-R than day 1. At 800 yds most of the teams simply shot through, with the result reflecting the overnight placings - GB 5 off, SA 6 off, USA 7 off, Australia 9 off, NZ 11 off I think and Canada 13 off I think. 900 yds was similar, except for a difficult patch about 30 minutes in. GB and USA slowed to a crawl, while Australia carried on regardless, possibly not a great idea as they lost a substantial hatful of points as the others played it carefully. GB again won the distance and went into the last distance 40 points ahead of South Africa. Only 3 points separated SA and USA, with Australia about another 10 points or so back and the other two well down.
The draw at 1000 seemed odd. Belmont range is divided into 3 by rows of flags, and there were 2 blocks of four targets in each 1/3 of the range. On day one GB shot in blocks 4, 2 and 6 (numbering from the left) giving them what is generally considered the most difficult block at 1000 yards. One would have expected them to be on the left in block 1, or just possibly block 3, at 1000 on day 2. But no. The final draw was, from L to R, SA, AUS, CAN, NZ, GB, USA.
The wind had picked up somewhat and was more square across the range. There were numerous towering cumulus with black bases in the area. Conditions were difficult but there was a threat that they might become very difficult.
All teams started immediately. SA and AUS shot steadily on the left and dropped 14 each in their first 4 shooters. At the other end of the range there was far less progress. GB fired all 8 sighters and had targets showing 4,3,3,4. They stopped for a short think, fired another sighter out of sequence for another inner and stopped for a longer think. USA followed a similar pattern but tended to plough on more slowly. By the time SA were 8 shooters complete with 28 off, and AUS 8 complete with 24 off, GB were only 5 in with 19 off and the USA 6 in with 26 off.
The next two shooters saw USA slip to 40 off while GB again did very little. Meanwhile Canada were racing though, possibly aiming to be first to the bar if nothing else. NZ had shot quickly early but lost many points, but towards the end slowed right down in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid being overtaken by Canada for 5th place.
40 minutes to go was called with SA and AUS nearing the finish and USA comfortably in sight of the end but shedding points on the right. GB, meanwhile, had barely passed half way and were 36 off. Jane Messer's target has always been slow in the match (Jon Underwood, nominally last to shoot on Jane's target, shot on another target for at least 3 distances), and Nigel Ball was taking it carefully to keep his back problem under control. Fortunately, the wind eased and steadied somewhat and GB were able to proceed in a more orderly fashion. With about 15 minutes to go it became apparent that, barring multiple catastrophes, GB would win. SA were first to finish with 54 off at 1000, closely followed by AUS on 61 off. USA were 54 off with 13 in and the result was obvious. The match straggled to a close with Diane Collings of NZ firing the last 7 shots as teams packed up their gear. One final misfortune for NZ - Diane was chasing Nigel Ball for top score of the match. Nigel shot 224 on Day 1 and 75, 73, 74 on day 2 for 446.44v ex 450.90v, edging out David Calvert, Andre du Toit of SA and John Whidden of USA all on 444 and Peter Haesbroek of SA on 445. Diane shot 223 on Day 1 and 75, 75 at the first two distances on day 2. She started 5,4,4 at 1000, then in the dying stages of the match needed a 7-bull finish including 4 vs to overtake Nigel. Almost unbelievably, shooting on the left-hand NZ target, she crossfired on the left-hand Canadian target 6 to the left. A good recovery with 3 bulls and 2 vs gave her 68.5, which was the crossfire and 2 vs less than she needed.
So, GB win for the 5th time in 6 Palma matches. In very difficult conditions, no match records were set. SA won the final distance, GB took the other 5. Nigel Ball was top scorer. All the teams were well-drilled, SA and AUS fearsomely so, but only GB seemed to have the rapport to provide mutual support at every point of the match. They made skilled use of ther time allowance, made no major errors and very few minor ones. To John Webster and every one of his team, well done.
The questions arise again. What improvement is available for GB to do to stay at the top? And what will it take from one of the others to build a team that can beat them?
The team are just returning to the hotel to smarten up for the Palma Dinner and presentation starting in just over an hour. After that, expect less formal and more intense celebration.
