QLD Queens

[bartman007]

My good wife was complaining that she could not shoot 60's. I just said to her just keep doing what you are as consistency pays off.

I think most of us struggled to get possibles, except when 500 yards appeared and 21 out of the 35 shot 60's

That was a scary range, as I knew you needed to get them there, or risk being red faced

[pjifl]

Greg Warrian wrote

How things change! I shot as a 20 yearold in the 1961 QRA Queens at the Enoggera range, 303's of course. It was a State team year and there were 643 entries. I came 26th, but there were only 20 badges!


Yes I grew up in Brisbane and shot the Queens regularly then. Maybe we were on the same target !!

Compared to today, a Queens shoot was a HUGE affair. And from memory there were always only 20 badges.
In retrospect maybe more than 20 badges would have been a good thing but the prestige of taking a badge was held in far higher regard than now.

Things change. No centres then either - just an honest score.

Peter Smith.

[Steve N]

My good wife was complaining that she could not shoot 60's. I just said to her just keep doing what you are as consistency pays off.

I think most of us struggled to get possibles, except when 500 yards appeared and 21 out of the 35 shot 60's

That was a scary range, as I knew you needed to get them there, or risk being red faced

I was one with a red face after that range... A five with the last shot. Bugger Bugger Bugger. :

Steve

[AlanF]

...No centres then either - just an honest score...

We prefer to cheat these days Peter...

[BATattack]

I think it was the 2012 SA queens that there were only 1 or 2 60's shot for the queens series. Not as many competitors admittedly but still some quality shooters. Just have to keep chipping away and hope the agg is what wins the lot.

[BATattack]

Echoing others comments. It was a great competition. With 37 in Open our sport has now well and truly taken hold. I always believed this would happen but these things can take time.
I feel FTR will grow and like F Open, may take some time to gain a foot hold. It must if we are to be on par and better of course, than the rest of the world.
The conditions at Belmont were very trying with only very brief patches of easy reading. In fact I heard some well known shooters say at times the conditions were unreadable.
My good wife was complaining that she could not shoot 60's. I just said to her just keep doing what you are as consistency pays off. This proved me right as the agg. is what counts.
Like Mike W (Bartman) has mentioned there were many memorable moments. It was great to see people helping others when things went wrong etc, etc. Marty camped with us and I could tell before we fired a shot that he was not in the "pilot mind set". Many of us who went to Raton have gone through a downer at some time since coming home. For me it was when I got home. I did not want to go to the range let alone fire a rifle. I tried as Julie was ok. My scores were shit and I just was not enjoying shooting. It has taken about 6 months for me to get some fire back in the belly. It may be hard for some to understand, but the huge amount of behind the scenes work before Raton, the trip to Raton and the competing at Raton was a huge drain mentally and physically. For myself I got through with the help of adrenalin. After the shoot all that adrenalin was used up and I was worn out. I would advise people wishing to attend the next worlds to think about this. I feel a debrief after these shoots is a must. Remember you will only get out if you put in. I can tell you now from the F Open's Team perspective we put in a huge amount of work and we were lucky as we came away with the spoils. Please understand I am not saying the FTR Team did not do likewise, as I was focussed fully on the Open Team.

Congrats to all the winners and everyone who competed.

Hopefully next year we can get to some shoots south of the boarder

Cam

That is to be expected Cam! I don't shoot anywhere near as often as some but try to have my gear and drive peak for a specific event.

Is it worth considering fatigue management in the next aus team selection process? If a large number of shooters are working on their limit and using all their best gear just for selection do you feel they will be sharp coming into the world's?

[jasmay]

I have to Echo Cams sentiment, I too went through a low point after returning, I still have my ups and downs, but what has kept me going to date is supporting the growth of FTR in Australia, actually, now that I think about it that in itself has tested me too.

This queens I was looking after a 2nd rifle and shooter, and in the weeks before was building and developing a rifle, this did 2 things to me, it took my focus away from my equipment and also seen me using a differet rig (While testing)

It really had an impact on my performance and it was not until the queens I started to get back to myself.

I certainly don't begrudge what I did, it was a fantastic experience, and the NExt time SEB comes over will be much much easier as his gear is now setup and running superbly (He managed his first ever clean, and took 3 medals also).

This just highlights where a shooter needs to be focus and energy wise to compete and their peak.

I would certainly suggest a good mental/fatigue management program would be beneficial!!!

[DannyS]

Ok everyone the QLD Queens is done and dusted, looks like it was a great event. Next is the Hamilton Rifle Club PM, the first in 20 years. All proceeds are going to Stay Residential Services, providing support for people with disabilities in the Hamilton area.

November 8th.

Cheers
Danny

[Cameron Mc]

That is to be expected Cam! I don't shoot anywhere near as often as some but try to have my gear and drive peak for a specific event.

Is it worth considering fatigue management in the next aus team selection process? If a large number of shooters are working on their limit and using all their best gear just for selection do you feel they will be sharp coming into the world's?

Adam, between now and the selection it would be a matter of doing your best at some of the major shoots if possible or just OPM's. In this digital age and with Alan's great forum the word soon get's out who is performing well regularly.
Don't stress though. I am not sure what the selection proccess will be this time. Remember it is a team event. Playing the role as a team member is a major factor. It is not for personal ego's.
As far as fatigue goes, it is really a personal thing. Keeping fit etc can only help if you want less grief with the body during and after the event. Now is not the time to be running around trying every stratergy that comes to the mind. In other words there is plenty of time to gear up.
Hope that makes sense

Cam

[RDavies]

Cam [/quote]

That is to be expected Cam! I don't shoot anywhere near as often as some but try to have my gear and drive peak for a specific event.

Is it worth considering fatigue management in the next aus team selection process? If a large number of shooters are working on their limit and using all their best gear just for selection do you feel they will be sharp coming into the world's?[/quote]

Fatigue leading up to and during the event was not a problem. Quite a few people were at their absolute best just before and during the main event. Leading up to the Worlds, we were all chomping at the bit to get out there and do our thing. If anyone had tried to settle us down, we would have beaten them with a joystick rest. In the final months, everyone was motivated and looking forward to what was to come, throttling back was not an option. It was not until some got back home that fatigue set in. Some had just ticked off the most important step of their bucket list. Some had just achieved a lifetime goal. Some had just shot personal bests at the right time. Some thought where to now, what is the next goal. They had spent the last few months dedicating so much time to one thing, that when they got home and did not have a goal to drive them, that sleeping in, doing the garden, catching up with the kids, restoring the car and all those other things which had been put on the backburner were now more important. Why did they want to get up at 5.00am to go to the range to shoot at a small prize shoot when they could just sleep in.
A fortunate few others just got more motivated when they got back and wanted to keep the ball rolling. Others who did not do as well as they hoped to individually came back more motivated to prove things to themselves, before they too decided they needed a break. Most took a break afterwards, just at different times. One thing I am fairly certain of though is that the vast majority will eventually come back just as eager and motivated as before.

[aaronraad]

I think there could be a few lessons to be learnt from Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes and especially shooters in terms of fatigue management.

I wish I could shoot long range like Michael Diamond shoots trap. I remember they were comparing his training regime to that of Russell Mark or Adam Vella back in the day. In the lead-up to the Olympics or Comm Games he would only be training 1hr/wk or using a championship event to concentrate on performance under pressure. The skill was obviously already there in spades.

Sponsorship has to make a big difference. I'm sure that Perazzi would have paid for Michael's +$20,000 shotgun even if it's 18yo by now and all the shells he needed for training.

[DenisA]

I was talking to Bob Bull today. He's the gent that marked Craig McGowans 60.10 at 500y. He said the first sighter was dead centre. As soon as he put the target back up the second round came through and he knew he had to get moving because the shooter wasn't mucking around. The second sighter overlapped the first. He held his hand up and touched his index finger and thumb tips together. He said "all 10 shots would have honestly fit inside this this hole!"

[Craig McGowan]

Aw gee, stop it. Thanks for the kind words, but one range does not make make a queens winner. I have a long way to go too honestly say I can hold my own with Australia's best, in any condition.

These are exciting times for F Class Open in Australia, and if we can continue to increase participation in F Class it will put us all in a much stronger position in future.

Now where did I put that list of questions for Rod and Mark to answers........

Regards

Craig.

[BATattack]

Craig shooting a 60.10 is pretty special. . . Maybe not quite a queens badge but defiantly a notch in the belt.

I think we should be asking you some questions for a change!?Haha

Can you tell us about your rifle and loading?

I think I saw a photo of part of your rifle and it looked pretty trick . . . .might even get you a membership in SA!

[Tim N]

Craig did do well with his 60:10, but as far as his rifle goes he must have similar genes to Alan F, smear a bit of left over navy boat paint on Craig's rifle and you won't pick it from Alan's rig