Vic Queens F-Open Diary

[AlanF]

Hello to F-Open shooters who aren't here,

Just some early results and who's here shooting what calibres etc.

We have a good turnout of 8 shooters for the Syme and are expecting at least 2 more for the Queens - much healthier than the 6 we had last year. Here is a the Syme list with calibres :

Kelvin Bell - 6.5x284
Mick Passlow - 6.5x55AI
Bill Siegloff - 6mm Dasher (changing to 284Win for the longs)
Richard Braund - 284Win
Peter Hayden - 260Rem
Barry Duncan - 6.5x55AI
Stuart Braund - 284Win
Alan Fraser - 6.5x284

Weather was tricky as usual, light to moderate winds from various directions! Leaders after the first day are Kelvin Bell with 288, and both Mick Passlow and Bill Siegloff on 287. When the VRA posts the full results list, you will find them here.

Tomorrow is 600, then the very testing 900, followed by the relatively easy 1000 (on the PALMA target). Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to rest of the week (could be some hot days by the weekend).

Catch you tomorrow night.

Alan

[AlanF]

Hello again from Bendigo.

Well the Syme has been run and won. And yours truly managed to take home the bacon. Runner-up was Kelvin Bell, with Bill Siegloff taking 3rd badge. Full results now posted on theVRA website. As with last year, conditions were patchy. Commiserations to Mick Passlow who was leading me by 4 going into the 1000yds - I had a nice patch to shoot in then he followed immediately and got a very rough patch.

A notable performance was Stuart Braund's range win at 1000yd, his first ever shoot at that range!

And now for the Queens, and of course the Paroz factor!

Catch you tomorrow night.

Alan

[bruce moulds]

hi allan
thank you for doing this job.
don't let the braund brothers be a threat to anyone!
their tricks are well known to us s.a. guys, but by now you will have them worked out.
it sounds like conditions are making decisions as usual.
go go go.
peroz is just another shooter who hasen't practised @ the leadup.
give it to him.
bruce.
ps wish i was there, sharing the braund's red collection with them.

[bruce moulds]

the braund brothers will argue black & blue that sa reds exceed in quality anything from other states
bruce

[jlorimer]

Congratulations on your Syme win Alan,also congrats to Kelvin and Bill, for coming second and third. Just wish I could have been there - hope to get there next year.

Looks like that 800 was real nasty, and I bet there was a few words under the breath on that mound. I would have thought F Open would have more numbers, given the small distances, and the proximity to a large number of clubs, or is this the normal F Open attendance for the VRA Queens?

Look forward to seeing the results for the Queens

[AlanF]

Hello again from Bendigo,

Day 1 of the Queens - in summary : very warm, competition close, and good fun. We had 3 more shooters for the Queens making a strong field of 11. Matt Paroz and Paul McCarthy are using 6BRs at the shorts. Local Bendigo shooter Wayne MacFarlane was using yet another 284Win.

Results are posted here. Note that Matt's 100 possible at 500 caused some problems for the formatting of the VRA web site . Conditions were generally very good, with an occasional tricky little gust. Richard Braund showed that SA shooters should never be taken lightly with 3 very good scores. But as those who know say, its the longs that count , and they don't start till late tomorrow. So for those who are not frontrunners, it ain't over yet.

John,

...I would have thought F Open would have more numbers...

Actually so would I, but this is almost double last year's roll-up!

Bruce

...don't let the braund brothers be a threat to anyone!
their tricks are well known to us s.a. guys...

You could have warned us that these dodgy characters were coming!

Its going to be hot again in the morning they say, so had better get some water bottles filled and into the fridge. Will report back tomorrow night.

Alan

[AlanF]

Hello again to all who wish they were here!

Well, we're into the longs, and just one day to go. Looks like it could be interesting - its breezy outside already at 7am.

Yesterday, Matt managed to draw away from the field, made easier by another possible , this time at 600yds. Bill Siegloff was vying for the lead until the 900yds, but found out how quickly things can change at the longs if things don't go your way. Both Bill and Richard Braund are still close enough to threaten, but I Know where my money is!Results.

I hope to go a bit better today, after having some scope problems for several ranges. Thanks to Bill Siegloff and Tom Lowndes and others for helping out with getting another scope going. The Leupold will be off to "hospital" in the US soon.

So it looks like the weather won't be as hot today - should be great. I'll catch you tonight or tomorrow.

Alan

[Lynn Otto]

A heartfelt congratulations to Matt Paroz in Open and John Eland in Standard, great job guys.

Plus congratulations to Alan Fraser and Rob Halloran for their Grand Aggregate wins.

To everyone who competed at Bendigo, well done, I hope you enjoyed the week.

Nearly Richard, well done, maybe next time.

Hope everyone has a safe trip home.

[AlanF]

Hello for the last time in this diary,

As with most others, I'm back home, and settling back into a normal existence! The VRA Queens results are here, and I'll have the placegetters on this site soon.

Congratulations to Matt on another exemplary performance . He didn't clear out in the shorts as happened at his last visit to Vic Queens, but was just relentless in setting very good scores from go to whoa.

There was a variety of chamberings used in 6, 6.5 and 7mm, and all performed very well. There was some good-natured sledging over which calibre is the one to have. The 7mms certainly didn't show any advantage at the longs, and probably the best of 6.5s had the edge. At the shorts, it is fair to say that the 6s were generally better. But of course you can't make meaningful conclusions from a single event where you have such a variety of individual skills and so many variables with equipment quality and tuning.

I would sincerely like to thank those who were able to make it to the Vic Queens from interstate. The numbers were well up on last year, and I believe we will be on an upward trend from here on. I have a feeling we will have more Victorians at the next one too.

I'd also like to make mention of an incident at the 1000yds on the final day where a cease-fire caused Kelvin to get a caseful of powder in his action. It was great to see the goodwill shown by the other competitors to allow him to finish the range, not the least being Matt who lent Kelvin his prized 6.5x57AI rifle. This is the spirit we want in our sport - compete hard, but recognise when to help someone in trouble. Okay, that's enough sentimentality .

Until the next Queens that I can afford to go to, that's it for the diary. Of course if anyone else has web access at any other Queens in between, it would be good if you could run a diary in this Events Forum.

Alan

[RAVEN]

Thax also from the Braund Bros we had a ball great to see such a high level of competition actually scared the hell out of my self on Queens day one well I suppose U get it together occasionally and Matt showed all what top notch competitor he is well done Matt
and Alan and Bill watch out next year Ill make sure I don’t make as many mistakes and be aware of strange going on's in BEDIGO (1)600yd zero @ 300Yds Doh!!! (2) bring lawn mower (humm need a bigger gear bag (3) get Fraser legless before leed-up(4) stay away from bill (5) bring coloured bullets so markers can see em (6) be wary of strange wildlife around toilet blocks and unexplained UWMV's (Unidentified White Moving vehicles)@ 600 while shooting@ 1000(7) RO's doing 100m dash in 6sec I think this is a new commonwealth game event
And Alan U need to put a rocket up those Vic's to turn up to there own Queens
CHEERS
The BRAUND Bros
Thanx 4 a great time VRA

[AlanF]

A couple of people have asked me to work out some comparative performance figures between 6, 6.5 and 7mm. I have done this and the figures are below. In my opinion these figures do not give a reliable indication of the relative merits of the calibres - things like the quality of equipment and the skills of the shooters will influence these figures more than the calibres. However here they are :

Average scores :

Shorts (300 to 600yd) 6mm - 97.2 6.5mm - 95.0 7mm - 94.3
Longs (900 to 1000yd) 6mm - 88.0 6.5mm - 88.6 7mm - 87.8

I would urge people not to use these figures as the basis for any claims. Not only for the reasons above, but also because it is a very small statistical sample. Its going to take people years to realise how superior the 6.5mm is

Alan

[RAVEN]

Thanx AF
I agree this would need a larger sample to be more accurate but interesting anyway
Cheers M8
RB

[Tony Z]

edited 19/4/06

[AlanF]

... If we combine the averages of the longs and the shorts, we should all be using 6 mils back to 1000 yds...

Tony,

That is a good example of why you shouldn't put much value on these figures. 6mms were only used once at the longs (900yd on the last day of the Queens), by 2 shooters for scores of 87 and 89. The first 3 placings at that range were 6.5mms, followed by a 7mm.

However, the main thing that says to me is that the 6.5 shooters at that range had better elevation and/or read the wind better !

Alan

[Tony Z]

edited 19/4/06