David Dewsbury crowned national champion at home range in Narrabri

Narrabri Pistol Club hosted the 26th Pistol Australia Metallic Silhouette 100-metre Small Bore and Field Pistol National Championships at its Stoney Creek Road range from Friday, March 4, to Sunday, March 6.

Forty competitors travelled from as far afield as Childers in the north to Melbourne in the south and all points in between to take part.

That number would have been even higher, however, some competitors unfortunately had to pull out due to being either COVID positive or flood bound.

Narrabri’s David Dewsbury shot his way to another national title victory at the event on his home range, where he was crowned the 2022 Small Bore Revolver national champion.

He was the only competitor in that category to record a possible and it was the first time he had ever shot a 40/40 in Small Bore Revolver.

The Narrabri Pistol Club president’s impressive weekend also included a third-place finish in the Production category after he shot a 40/40 and advanced to a shoot-off.

Dewsbury, who was already a state, national and world champion before the weekend, told The Courier he was proud of his achievements at the event and said it was special to win a national title at his home range.

“I was over the moon. It’s been a long time between drinks,” the 63-year-old said.

“It was a while ago I won a national championship.

“I’d also never shot a possible in the Small Bore Revolver either. It was the first time I’d shot a 40 out of 40 in that, and it was a great feeling to do it.

“I’m not renowned as a Small Bore shooter. I just shot to make up the numbers basically, and it was good to have the Australian team here and show them how it’s done.”

Both Narrabri Pistol Club and its president were thrilled to receive the opportunity to host the event.

“It’s always great to get that level of competition here,” Dewsbury said.

“It was special to get the national championships here for the club and the town, and it’s always an honour and a privilege to be the president at that time.

“A lot of work went into this event, especially range preparation which was handled by Tim Anderson, Jason Anderson and Jack Ford.

“Those three guys did a fantastic job on the range.

“We had two new members, who’ve been shooting for not very long at all, who both chipped in a lot before and during which was very good. They were Billy-Dean Borodzicz and Matt Burke from Wee Waa.

“We also had Rob Boutcher as the referee for the weekend. He didn’t have to do a lot, which is always a good thing, but he helped out in other areas to take a load off others which was a real help.

“The Narrabri Lionesses always take care of the catering for us, and I can’t thank them enough for the efforts they put in. They always step up and do a great job for us.”

For the uninitiated, Handgun 100-metre Metallic Silhouette Small Bore (.22 calibre) and Field Pistol (centrefire cartridges) are 40-shot matches at animal-shaped metallic targets – 10 chickens at 25 metres; 10 pigs at 50 metres; 10 turkeys at 75 metres; and 10 rams at 100 metres.

The targets must be knocked from their stand to score.

The Small Bore Championships aggregate is made up of four categories, which includes Revolver, Production, Standing and Unlimited, with a total score out of 160.

Field pistol aggregate is shot across the same distances in a standing, unsupported position in two categories, production sight and any sight, with a total score out of 80.

Each match takes about one hour to complete.

The standard of competition at the event was extremely high, with state teams from NSW, Queensland and Victoria competing.

The Australian team members selected to compete in the World Championships in Sweden in July also competed.

The official opening of the event on Friday afternoon was performed by Narrabri Shire Council’s deputy mayor Cathy Redding and the general manager Stewart Todd also watched on.

Narrabri Pistol Club said that it greatly appreciated both Cathy and Stewart taking the time to attend.

Strong southerly winds on Friday provided very testing conditions for the competitors, but fortunately, the wind eased on Saturday and Sunday.

That change provided much more pleasant shooting conditions.

The Pistol Australia media team was in attendance, which provided live streaming on its Facebook page as well as uploading the action to YouTube.

The team reported that it received global responses to its daily reports and interviews with the competitors, which put Narrabri Pistol Club as well as Narrabri as a town on the world map.

There were seven Narrabri Pistol Club members who were among the competitors at the event, including Dewsbury Tim Anderson, Jack Ford Paul Wilkins, Jason Anderson and first match competitors Matt Burke and Billy-Dean Borodzicz.

Fellow club member Rob Boutcher was the official judge.

Dewsbury was the most successful Narrabri competitor at the event as he became national champion in the Revolver category with the only 40/40 at the event. He also placed third in Production following a five-way shoot-off, which included Tim Anderson, with 40/40.

A full list of the 2022 Small Bore national champions are as follows:
Revolver – David Dewsbury (Narrabri) with 40/40; Production – Glen Anderson (Inverell) with 40/40; Standing – Tim Davey (Inverell) with 30/40; Unlimited – Kirsten Jackes (Brisbane) with 39/40.

The four-match open aggregate was won by Tim Davey, who totalled 145/160.

The four-match women’s aggregate was claimed by Kirsten Jackes, who totalled 132/160, and the junior four-match aggregate was won by Grace Tobler (Bowral) who totalled 50/160.

A full list of Field Pistol national champions is as follows:
Production Sight – Matt Seears (Merriganowry) with 35/40; Any Sight – Jake Davey (Inverell) with 35/40.

The two-match open aggregate was won by Matt Seears, who totalled 66/80.

The women’s aggregate went to Judy Harding (Toogoolawah), who totalled 54/80, and the junior aggregate was won by Grace Tobler, who totalled 14/80.

Results for Narrabri Pistol Club members are as follows:
Revolver:
International grade: first – David Dewsbury; B-grade: first – Matt Burke.

Production:
International grade: third – David Dewsbury.

Standing:
AA-grade: second – Jack Ford; A-grade: second – Matt Burke.

Unlimited:
AAA-grade: third – Tim Anderson; AA-grade: second – Jason Anderson; B-grade: third – Matt Burke.

Field Pistol Production Sight:
AAA-grade: first – Jason Anderson.

Field Pistol Production Any Sight:
AA-grade: first – Jack Ford; second – Jason Anderson.

By Narrabri Pistol Club secretary Robert Boutcher and The Courier’s Blake Jarrett