Pro-Cal Cup

[Pete van Meurs]

Hi all,

The 500mt Pro-Cal Cup Fly shoot is on again! The match will be shot on Saturday May 3rd. The range will be open to the public on Friday 2nd but we will have an early finish to allow competitors to set their flags up. Noms are $50 for one class or $90 for both classes. Camping is available at the range. We will have some sort of 300 shoot on the Sunday as well, noms for which will be taken on Saturday. All competitors should report to the benchrest hut for sign-in each day.

Thus far I acknowledge entries from Michael Bell (2), Tony Souter (2), Tim Pavey (2), John Butts (1), Bob Wright(1) plus of course our local members. Further entries should be lodged with me by phone [phone] or 0408522420) or by email <[e-mail]> .

Pete

[Les Fraser]

sorry pete work is now interupting my shooting and i can't make it this year. I wish all shooters who make the trip to the magnificant little river range and the very best.
Les

[Pete van Meurs]

Hi All,

As the Pro-Cal Cup draws nearer I need to give you an update on activities at our range.

As most will be aware Eagle Park, as the range is correctly known, services the entire Melbourne area and its surrounds and, as such, utilization of its facilities is constantly increasing. Despite having some 80 benches on the main range we often have a waiting list of shooters wanting a bench. In the last few years the range hours were extended to include Mondays and then Fridays to take pressure off Saturdays and Sundays. Then in turn the new range was developed for the exclusive use of the Sub-clubs, again to take pressure off the main range. Despite this the range is at or near capacity most Saturdays and Sundays.

Last year in both May and November we were able to share the new range with the Military Rifle Club on the Sunday for our 300 yard Mozzy shoot. This is no longer possible due to that club having had an up-surge of activity  to the point that they require the entire range (and it is their allocated day). This means that we have no option but to resort to sharing the main range with the public for Sundays 300 yard match (details of which will follow).

Where is all this leading to? I wish to put forward a proposal for future Fly weekends that runs like this - we start a day earlier! This means that we can practice and set up at our leisure on Thursday, shoot the 500 Fly on Friday (with limited numbers of public in attendance) and we would have exclusive use of the new range on the Saturday for the 300 yard Mozzy shoot. I know that this will create difficulties for some in terms of arranging time off work and so on, however it would definitely make for a more enjoyable weekend with all day Sunday to travel home at your leisure. Please give this idea some thought and over the coming months I welcome your comments and discussion. One further note on these lines is the time in the not too distant future that we will be hosting a Fly Nationals for which we would need exclusive use of the entire range. It has been made clear to me that this will not be possible for any Saturday or Sunday but should be OK for a Friday.

Meanwhile I am pursuing the possibilty of extending the new range to 500 metres. If we can get approval from Vic Police then we still have a major task ahead in the form of earth works. Funding will likely be something of a problem as the Benchrest Club will not be able to find the money and will have to make a case to SSAA Vic for assistance. This would create many new options but is still some time away (if at all). In the short term we will have to continue as we are.

Now, finally, on to next weekends 300 yard shoot. In view of the uncertainties we faced in getting organised for this match we have a little different format on offer this time. The match will be a 'stand alone' affair run as a 'Canadian Handicap'. If you have not shot this style of event before I can tell you it's a heap of fun with plenty of banter and gamesmanship. This is how it works. Before the match begins each competitor nominates the score they think they can achieve (without Mozzy hits as they will be used for breaking ties). Group size will still be taken into account just to make it more interesting. Any shooter exceeding their nominated score will have the surplus deducted from their result (e.g. 280 nominated, shot 283, nett score 277 which is 3 short). Those shooting less will keep their actual result and be however much under their nominated score. If there are shooters that achieve their nominated scores then Mozzy hits will be counted to break the tie. If still unresolved then the higher nominated score takes that placing. Those not shooting their nominated scores will be ranked by how close they came (e.g. 275 against a nominated 276 beats 277 against 279) with the same tie breaks mentioned earlier. Before the final target is shot all previous targets will be scored and totaled so that competitors can work out what score they should try to achieve on the final target. Trying to miss the 10 ring and only hitting say the 9 ring can be harder than you might think. Noms will be $50 ($15 gate fee and $35 to the prize pool). Cash prizes to the top three with the balance in one or two draws from the hat for the rest of the field. If all this sounds confusing rest assured that it will fall into place on the day.

Pete    

 

[Anthony Hall]

Hi Pete,

Sounds like a fairly hard situation and I can see the merit in your suggestion...... but I can also see that a lot of people would find it really hard to get there for a Friday shoot..... that means travelling on a Wednesday arvo and or Thursday morning to set up Thursday, shoot Friday / Sat and head home.... Puts a big hole in a week.... I would still try and get there, but it would be a lot more difficult.  

I generally travel part of the way  down Thursday after work, then arrive Friday, shoot Saturday and go 1/2 way home so that I can be home by lunch time Sunday to unpack and clean up etc. Leaving Wednesday would be tough.

Possibly ok for normal SOTY shoots, if that is how it has to be....and those that can make it can and those that can't will live with that..... but for a Nationals you might have a lot of unhappy people if they can't get an extra day off work.....  Are you able to get exclusive use of the range for a National Title Shoot ?  Even if it has to be a different weekend ?

Cheers

Anthony