Issue link: http://ssaansw.uberflip.com/i/398338
Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. 4 Records tumbled at the 2014 SSAA National Benchrest Hunter Class Championships which were held from Saturday 20 to Tuesday 23 September at the Dairyville Range in Coffs Harbour. More than 150 shooters competed over the four day event hosted by SSAA NSW Coffs Harbour Branch. The presence of showers failed to interrupt proceedings or affect the quality of the shooting with three competitors setting new Australian records, including two NSW shooters. Brian Mitchell (Goulburn) shot a new 2-gun Australian record in Rimfi re with an impressive 996.35 and Ken Eppleston (Newcastle) set a record in the 100 yards Heavy Centrefi re with a 250.24. The third shooter was Richard Powell (Sunshine Coast) who set records in the 50 and 100 yard Heavy Rimfi re with scores of 250.07 and 500.26 respectively. Congratulations to all three. Looking behind the scenes, registered Hunter matches involve more than just pinning up a target. Holes in previous backers allow light to shine through putting light dots on targets distracting the shooter. So every target needs to be replaced with a clean backer which had to be patched up from already used backers. It's a long process and on top of that each crossfi re sheet needs to be replaced. The dedicated volunteers and target crew travelled a total of almost 90 kilometres by foot, changing around 4440, targets, target backers and crossfi re sheets. Thanks to all our members and volunteers who worked tirelessly to make the shoot the success it was, without their help the Branch or events would not function. The 2014 Championship's top three winners and results are as follows: Light Rimfi re: Brian Mitchell 497.13, Bill Jupp 494.15 & Robin Cox 494.13 Heavy Rimfi re: Richard Powell 500.26, Kim Kostick 499.22 & Brian Mitchell 499.22 Rimfi re 2 gun: Brian Mitchell 996.35, Bill Jupp 993.34 & Robin Cox 992.29 Light Centrefi re: Stuart Elliott 497.19, Russell Gibson 497.19 & Paul Sullivan 496.21 Heavy Centrefi re: Annie Elliott 500.26, Russell Gibson 500.24 & Ken Eppleston 498.33 Rodney Madeley SSAA NSW Coffs Harbour Branch President New Australian record holder Richard Powell (left) with Rod Madeley (right) from Coffs Harbour SSAA NSW Branch Local shooters Danny and Beau Rosewood with their top 10 score patches The Dairyville Range from 100 yards Firing line 2014 SSAA National Benchrest Hunter Class Championships