Glen Innes Clay Target Club held their Annual Sapphire Open Shoot on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 February.
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By 9:30am Friday morning campers were already rolling in and the expectation of great weather and a great program had shooters looking forward to the start of the 2 day shoot. Shooters from Ballandean, Boggabri-Gunnedah, Brisbane, Coffs Harbour, Gold Coast, Grafton, Guyra, Illawarra, Inverell, Kempsey, Mackay-Sarina, Moree, NSW, Port Macquarie, Richmond River, Scrubby Creek, Tamworth , Taree, Walcha, Warwick and Yamba. A total of 91 shooters nominated for the weekend shoot.
Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny and the crowd continued to build and by 9am event one was underway.
Event 1: 25 target Graded Cash Divide D/B: 29 possibles shot
AA Grade: 1st: Barry Dray, Geoff Jacobsen, Hank Macinnes, Greg Hope, Geoff Baxter, Scott Smith, Mark Formaggin, Kim Nealon, John Maxwell, Dan Johnson, Kev Harding, Tony Ryder, Brad Hooper, Jeff Richardson, Kevin Bourke, John Reid (25/25)
A Grade: 1st: Ross Aston, Romeo Spagnolo, Michael Sullivan, Tammy Henshall, Cameron Schoenfisch, Leah Beaumont, Ralph Larkings (25/25).
B Grade: 1st: Nancy Davis, Lyster Hart, William Saul, Ian Duncan (25/25)
C Grade: 1st: Mellissa Grennan (25/25), 2nd Nicholas Short, Helen Finch (24/25)
Event 2: 50 target Clay Targets Australia Medley Championship: (25 Target Double Barrel, 25 Target Single Barrel)
Overall: Dale Ellis (89/90)
AA Grade: 1st John Lisle (59/60), 2nd John Maxwell (129/130), 3rd Geoff Baxter (128/130)
A Grade: 1st Robert Reeves (87/90), 2nd Ian Burey (49/50), 3rd Tammy Henshall (68/70)
B Grade: 1st William Saul (48/50), 2nd Arthur Turner (47/50), 3rd Peter Jackson (55/60)
C Grade: 1st Ben Green (47/50), 2nd Nicholas Short (45/50), 3rd Adam Hone (43/50)
The final competition event to be shot on Saturday was a 50 target double barrel event, shooters had to dig deep to avoid any slip ups and many lost concentration momentarily costing them a place in one of the many shoot offs.
Event 3: 50 target Sapphire City Firearms Double Barrel Championship: 17 scores in the red
Overall: Kim Nealon (170/170)
AA Grade: 1st John Reid (170/170), 2nd Martin Smith (151/152), 3rd Geoff Baxter (125/126)
A Grade: 1st Cameron Schoenfisch (80/81), 2nd Mick Wilkins (71/72), 3rd Romeo Spagnolo (70/71)
B Grade: 1st Jason Carpenter (107/108), 2nd Megan Wilkins (54/55), 3rd Ian Duncan (53/55)
C Grade: 1st Adam Hone (48/50), 2nd Nicholas Short (57/60), 3rd Ben Green (56/60)
Before the day closed the shoot off for the Mactaggart Family Golden Spoon (5 Double Barrel, 5 Single Barrel, 5 Pointscore off 18 metres) was contested between Ralph Larkings, Aaron Knowles, Dan Johnson, Paul Turner, John Reid and Geoff Baxter and after a few early departures it was Aaron Knowles and Geoff Baxter to battled it out and after some great shooting Geoff Baxter of Guyra claimed yet another victory.
Day two started a little foggy but by the time the smell of bacon and eggs had drifted away, conditions were clear and shooters were at it again.
Event 4: 25 target Graded Cash Divide Double Barrel: 29 possibles shot
AA Grade: 1st Geoff Jacobsen, Brendon Watt, Rodney Moody, Brad Henshall, Geoff Baxter, Martin Smith, Scott Smith, Rodney Gardiner, Robert Reeves, Dan Johnson, Aaron Knowles, Kev Harding, Stephen Saul, Brad Hooper, Hank Macinnes, Jeff Richardson, Kevin Bourke, John Lisle (25/25)
A Grade: 1st Ross Aston, Romeo Spagnolo, Ralph Larkings, Scott Brereton, John Mactaggart, Greg Burey, Trevor Miller, Bill Fletcher (25/25)
B Grade: 1st Neil Grennan, William Saul (25/25)
C Grade: 1st Nicholas Short (24/25), 2nd Allan West, Mellissa Grennan, Adam Hone, Helen Finch (23/25)
Event two on the Sunday was the 50 target Glen Innes Veterinary Hospital Sapphire Event, shooters had their eye on one of the many pricey blue stones up for grabs.
Event 5: 50 target Glen Innes Veterinary Hospital Double Barrel Sapphire Event: 19 possibles shot
Overall: Martin Smith (130/130)
AA Grade: 1st Hank Macinnes (129/130), 2nd Geoff Baxter (123/124), 3rd Lawrence Doyle (105/106)
A Grade: 1st Paul Wright (64/65), 2nd Steve Picone (60/61), 3rd Ross Aston (55/56)
B Grade: 1st William Saul (52/53), 2nd Thomas Hart (74/75), 3rd Peter Jackson (73/75)
C Grade: 1st Ben Green (68/70), 2nd Allan West (67/70), 3rd Adam West (59/62)
On event five there were 19 shooters battling it out for the Overall winner, with several dropping out and leaving Martin Smith and Hank Macinnes to battled it out and after an extra 80 targets Martin Smith walked away with the overall win.
Event 6: 25 target TSG Point Score Championship: 13 possibles shot
Overall: Robert Reeves (171/171)
AA Grade: 1st Brendon Watt (168/168), 2nd John Reid (167/168), 3rd Brad Henshall (146/147)
A Grade: 1st John Mactaggart (80/81), 2nd Tammy Henshall, 3rd Romeo Spagnolo (88/90)
B Grade: 1st Peter Jackson (102/105), 2nd Lyster Hart (99/102), 3rd Thomas Hart (70/75)
C Grade: 1st Ben Green (72/75), 2nd Nicholas Short (71/75), 3rd Russell Sainsbury (70/75)
The above event also saw shoot offs for placings in grades
Macansh Tin Tray: Guyra Clay Target Club: Well done to all the team members involved. This award is given to the Club that produce the highest score in event 6. Teams must be made up of 6 shooters, with the top 5 scores counted.
The presentation concluded the weekend’s events high gun winners are as follows:
High Guns
Overall High Gun: Geoff Baxter (274/275), only dropping one point for the whole weekend.
AA Grade High Gun: John Reid (307/310)
A Grade High Gun: Romeo Spagnolo (270/275)
B Grade High Gun: Lyster Hart (259/275)
C Grade High Gun: Ben Green (259/275)
Junior High Gun: Brendon Watt (266/275)
Ladies High Gun: Tammy Henshall (268/275)
Veteran High Gun: John Lisle (269/275)
The committee of the Glen Innes Clay Target Club would like to take the time to thank all it’s helpers over the weekend who all did marvellous job, and thank you to all the travelling shooters, the Mactaggart family for their sponsorship throughout the year and for the annual Golden Spoon Trophy, and of course all other sponsors involved.
Next monthly shoot will be on Saturday 7th March commencing at 1pm, practice from 12 noon.
25 target double barrel, 25 target pointscore, 25 target double barrel continental, 25 target Handicap “Glen Severn Holden Handicap”
Glen Severn Holden, kindly donating $200 Prize money for the Handicap event “Glen Severn Holden Handicap” to be divided over 1st, 2nd & 3rd.
Also anyone shooting the program clean is in the running for $100 cash "Services Club Clean Sweep"
For any shoot details or dates please contact Ralph Larkings on 6732 4846 after hours or contact the club via our Facebook page. Facebook.com/GIClayTarget