Paul I would like to see 300 go, and here are the reasons. Both TR and FC don't shoot it at the big international matches (both only use the longs at the World Champs), yes they use 300 at the Commonwealth Games but that affects 2 people once every four years. Also at some ranges such as Belmont it almost becomes a trigger pulling competion, the flags are so high they mean almost nothing so most of the time you're chasing the spotter, not exactly high skill shooting. More importantly when ET's are in use the targets get hammered @ 300 (which can affect their performance) and this is at the first range of the competition .I imagine that Range officers and their staff would also like to see it go as time spent changing faces (for both TR and FC) will continue to increase as the shooters and their gear continue to improve. I'm happy to lose the 300 and gain ET performance when it counts, at the longs. As far as traditions go, some are important and some need to change with the times, this is part of the reason we (the NRAA)are in decline and other shooting sports are growing. I can't speak for other states, but in NSW it's very rare to shoot 300 at an OPM, most shoot double 500 and 600 or similar. Respectfully Matt P
Matt P wrote:Paul I would like to see 300 go, and here are the reasons. Both TR and FC don't shoot it at the big international matches (both only use the longs at the World Champs), yes they use 300 at the Commonwealth Games but that affects 2 people once every four years. Also at some ranges such as Belmont it almost becomes a trigger pulling competion, the flags are so high they mean almost nothing so most of the time you're chasing the spotter, not exactly high skill shooting. More importantly when ET's are in use the targets get hammered @ 300 (which can affect their performance) and this is at the first range of the competition .I imagine that Range officers and their staff would also like to see it go as time spent changing faces (for both TR and FC) will continue to increase as the shooters and their gear continue to improve. I'm happy to lose the 300 and gain ET performance when it counts, at the longs. As far as traditions go, some are important and some need to change with the times, this is part of the reason we (the NRAA)are in decline and other shooting sports are growing. I can't speak for other states, but in NSW it's very rare to shoot 300 at an OPM, most shoot double 500 and 600 or similar. Respectfully Matt P
Very valid points Matt. A solution to Target Rifle wanting/needing to shoot 300 at Queens Prizes would be for Target Rifle only to shoot 300, F-Class can start at 500. A nice genteelly start for the F-Classes.
Very valid points Matt. A solution to Target Rifle wanting/needing to shoot 300 at Queens Prizes would be for Target Rifle only to shoot 300, F-Class can start at 500. A nice genteelly start for the F-Classes.
Problem is even the A grade TR shooters are now hammering the ET centres at 300. A fair proportion of A grade TR shooters would rather start at 500 or 600 now. Maybe it should be only the B and C grade TR shooters starting at 300. Yes, you might call this elegise, but we are talking about NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, not a come and try day.
It wouldn't be a great change to replace the Nationals leadup with a "Mid-Range Nationals" and shoot something like 300 to 700 over two days, then have the Queens over 800 to 1000 for 3 days, possibly in ICFRA format. Then you could shoot one or the other, or both. The grand aggregate could still apply.
TR doesn't NEED 300. Tassie and Victoria have both dropped it from their Queens without the world coming to an end. SA retained it and only got 39 TR entries, though I don't consider this to be cause and effect.
I'd be in favour of F-Class skipping the 300 if we added an extra long range onto our shoot at the end...
Sports must modernize or get left in the dust, with PRS coming aboard I can see F-Class missing out on new shooters for various reasons, and even potentially losign a few to PRS.
NQRA dropped 300 several years ago when they started shooting on E Targets. Obvious reason was as Matt stated they didn't want to degrade the targets accuracy with blown out centers on the first range! Nobody that i recall whinged about not having a 300 in the competition. All agreed that it was more important to have accurate readings.
Alan - that is a fantastic idea! We got the F Class National Team ranges aligned with the World Championship so why can't our individual Nationals be the same??! and throw in at least some 15 shot matches!! Bisley style while we are it!? Shane
The NQ queens last month had no short/medium range because of inclement weather. We shot 7,8,9,8 & 900 metres. I really enjoyed it & it seemed to thin the herd fairly quickly, and probably saved the centre of the ET's a bit, although the NQ lads gave them a bit of a hammering.
Just looking at the 500 yd results. I haven't been shooting that long- 5 years or so and I remember people getting a round of applause when shooting a 60... At the 500yd day 2 a 60 will get you 18th A very very competitive group at the nationals!!!! On another note, I'm not a fan of ET's and believe they do have a place in club weekend shoots but NOT major comps. However it is a plus for those of us at home to be able to watch a shoot take place live.
We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training. Archilochos 680-645 BC
Congrats to all winners, Nathan Johnson and Shaun Wheeler in F-Std, Michael Singleton in F-Open, and Gary Faulkner in F/TR. Looks like conditions were reasonably fair to everyone, and strong fields in all classes.
Will be interesting to know how the ETs and squadding went.
Big congrats to Michael Singleton for his first Queens win to take out F open. Garry Faulkner's win in f/tr was class all the way. Big congrats also to Nathan Paterson for his win in f/std A grade
Last edited by RDavies on Tue Jun 27, 2017 9:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
.I imagine that Range officers and their staff would also like to see it go as time spent changing faces (for both TR and FC) will continue to increase as the shooters and their gear continue to improve. I'm happy to lose the 300 and gain ET performance when it counts, at the longs. As far as traditions go, some are important and some need to change with the times, this is part of the reason we (the NRAA)are in decline and other shooting sports are growing. I can't speak for other states, but in NSW it's very rare to shoot 300 at an OPM, most shoot double 500 and 600 or similar.
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