Contestants struggle with difficult conditions

After a break last week, the wind was back again and, predictably, scores plummeted from last week's perfect conditions as contestants struggled to maintain a steady aim at the Port Hedland Rifle Range.

The massive cross-wind also caused the light bullets to drift badly at 100 meters.

No season personal bests this week.

The high score for the 22 metallic silhouette went to Andy closely followed by Ando and David.

But the difficult conditions meant the scores were bunched and even a single point made a big difference in the placings.

The interesting thing was that a number of new and particularly younger shooters like Trent and Kim snagged scores that were not far off the leaders.

This showed up many of experienced shooters present with their expensive rifles and European optics.

Beginners luck, or perhaps it was the wind or maybe they were just pretty good?

The results for the other two events were also won by tight scores.

Ian topped for metallic silhouette pistol and the centrefire rifle event was won by Ando from Andy with Cairn and Reid tied for third.

But the moral winner was Reid who with a short barrel and open sights pulled off an incredible 500 meter hit on a metal ram.

The odds with that setup would normally be a bit like winning Lotto except Reid had come close all day so it was no fluke.

If you want information about getting involved see the contact details in the sports listings page of the North West Telegraph.