By Robert Boutcher, Narrabri Pistol Club
Narrabri Pistol Club hosted the North West Zone Service Pistol and WA1500 Open on Saturday and Sunday, July 30 and 31.
This prestigious annual event was cancelled last year due to COVID-19, but this year there was a good roll up of 29 competitors who travelled from as far as Canberra in the south to the Queensland border in the north and from many points in between.
The North West Zone Service Pistol and WA1500 Open is a popular shoot on the service pistol and WA1500 calendar due to the great facilities at Narrabri Pistol Club as well as the support of many local businesses by way of sponsorships.
Saturday was a perfect shooting day for the service pistol matches – cool and sunny with virtually no wind. Sunday then saw some gusty winds descend on the range, but not enough to disrupt the WA1500 matches.
Narrabri’s Grahame Keys did a great job as the organising secretary of the event and was supported by a small but energetic band of workers.
Melinda Marsh, assisted by Ivan Bettens, did a fantastic job keeping everyone fed over the two days. Lewis Griffiths usually mans the barbecue but was unfortunately struck down by COVID-19 this year.
The NSW Amateur Pistol Association appointed two judges – Brian Johnson from Orange and Rob Broughall from Lake Macquarie – to ensure that the competition complied with sanctioned comp requirements as the scores across the weekend can be used for state and national team selection.
Grahame Keys was the top Narrabri Pistol Club shooter. Grahame was victorious in service pistol unrestricted and also WA1500 revolver (by a countback on Xs), and he placed second in service pistol 25 yards and WA1500 optical sight.
Other Narrabri Pistol Club members who competed are as follows:
David Hayne – fourth in B-grade service pistol unrestricted, third in B-grade service pistol 25 yards, second in expert grade WA1500 revolver;
Graham Smith – first in C-grade service pistol unrestricted, fourth in B-grade service pistol 25 yards;
Bruce Regan – fourth in C-grade service pistol unrestricted, third in C-grade service pistol 25 yards, third in sharpshooter WA1500 revolver;
David Dewsbury – fifth in service pistol unrestricted, fifth in service pistol 25 yards;
Paul Wilkins – eighth in service pistol unrestricted;
Off gun results are as follows:
Service pistol: First – Martin O’Brien (Gulgong) with 856/900, second – John Nosworthy (Port Macquarie) with 846/900, third – Wayne Turner (Blue Mountains) with 843/900.
Service pistol unrestricted: First – Grahame Keys (Narrabri) with 872/900, second – Martin O’Brien (Gulgong) with 870/900, third – Wayne Turner (Blue Mountains) with 867/900.
Service pistol 25 yards: First – John Nosworthy (Port Macquarie) with 622/650, second – Grahame Keys (Narrabri) with 620/650, third – Paul Williamson (Dubbo) with 613/650.
WA1500 revolver: First – Grahame Keys (Narrabri) with1459-76X/1500, second – Martin O’Brien (Gulgong) with 1459-65X/1500, third – John Nosworthy (Port Macquarie) with 1453-75X/1500.
WA1500 pistol: First – Wayne Turner (Blue Mountains) with 1455-69X/1500, second – Martin O’Brien (Gulgong) with 1447-67X/1500, third – Peter Roughly (Cessnock) with 1433-46X/1500.
WA1500 optical sight: First – Paul Williamson (Dubbo) with 1476-77X/1500, second – Grahame Keys (Narrabri) with 1458-70X/1500, third –
Harrison Loftus (Tamworth) with 1439-51X/1500.
