Narrabri Pistol Club hosts annual Metallic Silhouette 100-metre Small Bore and Field Pistol Open

By Robert Boutcher, Narrabri Pistol Club

Narrabri Pistol Club hosted its annual Narrabri Metallic Silhouette 100-metre Small Bore and Field Pistol Open from Friday to Sunday, August 5 to 7, which is one of the selection shoots for next year’s NSW and Australian teams.

Competitors travelled from as far as Newcastle in the south to Brisbane in the north to take part.

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 aggregate is made up of four categories – 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 was high at the three-day event. Australian national team members who recently competed at the World Championships, which were held in Sweden in July, were among the field of competitors at the Narrabri event.

Rain all day on Friday made for very testing conditions. Fortunately, the rain cleared up on Saturday and Sunday as cool but sunny weather provided much more pleasant shooting conditions.

The 100-metre four-match small bore aggregate was won by Australian team member Glen Anderson. The Inverell shooter finished the event with a score of with 143/160.

It was an Anderson trifecta, with Narrabri’s Tim Anderson and Jason Anderson placing second and third, respectively, with scores of 135 and 132. Tim Anderson is an ex-Australian team member and was impressive as always at the Narrabri Metallic Silhouette 100-metre Small Bore and Field Pistol Open.

Glen Anderson also took out the 100-metre two-match field pistol aggregate with 67/80. He was successful in winning four of the six categories – production, standing, unlimited and field pistol production sight matches.

The highlight of the competition was the unlimited shoot-off between Glen Anderson and Tim Anderson.

This was shot in a five-shot series on a selection of five unlimited targets (pig, turkey, ram, turkey, pig) at 100 metres.

This was a real test of eyesight and accuracy as the pig is only eight centimetres high, the turkey is 10 centimetres and the ram 12 centimetres (see photo below).

The shoot-off went for five rounds of five shots before Glen finally emerged the victor, shooting 3/5 to Tim’s 2/5.

There were eleven local Narrabri Pistol Club members in action at the event. They included Tim Anderson, Jason Anderson, Terry Anderson, David Dewsbury, Jack Ford, Paul Wilkins, Matt Burke, Billy-Dean Borodzicz, and Jeff Jayden and Matt Hamblin.

The club’s Rob Boutcher was the event’s official judge.

Grade results for Narrabri Pistol Club members are as follows:

Revolver:
AAA-grade – Jason Anderson first with 37/40; Jack Ford second with 32/40; Paul Wilkins third with 32/40.
AA-grade – Billy-Dean Borodzicz second with 23/40.
A-grade – Matt Burke first with 28/40; Jeff Hamblin second with 27/40; Jayden Hamblin third with 26/40.
B-grade – Matthew Hamblin first with 20/40.

Production:
INT – David Dewsbury third with 39/40 (after a shoot-off with three others on 39).
AAA-grade – Terry Anderson second with 34/40.
AA-grade – Billy-Dean Borodzicz first with 34/40.
A-grade – Jeff Hamblin first with 22/40; Matt Burke third with 21/40.

Standing:
INT – Tim Anderson second with 23/40.
AAA-grade – Jason Anderson second with 24/40; Terry Anderson third with 19/40.
AA-grade – Jack Ford first with 17/40; Paul Wilkins third with 12/40.
A-grade – Billy-Dean Borodzicz first with 17/40; Matt Burke second with 12/40; Jayden Hamblin third with 9/40.

Unlimited:
AAA-grade – Tim Anderson first with 38/40; Jason Anderson second with 36/40; David Dewsbury third with 36/40.
AA-grade – Jack Ford first with 32/40.
A-grade – Billy-Dean Borodzicz second with 20/40.
B-grade – Matt Burke first with 12/40.

Field pistol production sight:
INT – Tim Anderson second with 30/40.
AAA-grade – Jack Ford second with 26/40; Jason Anderson third with 26/40.
AA-grade – Paul Wilkins first with 18/40.
A-grade – Matt Burke first with 16/40; Billy-Dean Borodzicz second with 11/40.

Field pistol production any sight:
AA-grade – Jason Anderson first with 26/40; Jack Ford third with 22/40.
A-grade – Matt Burke first with 27/40.
B-grade – Billy-Dean Borodzicz first with 19/40.

A special thanks to the Narrabri Lionesses, who provided fantastic catering as usual, which was greatly appreciated by the competitors and spectators. Everyone’s appetite was satisfied with fare from the barbecue and a variety of sandwiches, cakes, slices and hot and cold drinks.