Results, 2007 AIHPA SERVICE AUSTRALIAN NATIONALS 2007 ASRA SERVICE AUSTRALIAN NATIONALS 2007 AIHPA AUSTRALIAN MASTERS (PRESIDENTS) 2007 AIHPA GTS Tamworth Round

The Australian Nationals and Masters were held at Tamworth on 19th and 20th of May 2007.  The event was one of the best ever held, and is a credit to all the volunteers that made it possible.

This weekend was the first merge of the two premier service rifle associations in Australia - ASRA (Australian Service Rifle Assn) and AIHPA (Australian International High Power Assn).  These two associations converged on Tamworth with some of the best shooters in the country to challenge one of the most enjoyable multi-position, multi-distance, multi-fire weekends in Australia.

THURSDAY was scheduled for Practice.  Only a few with rifle issues showed up to the range on a perfect day of bright sunshine, cool conditions, little mirage and hardly a breath of wind to check the zero's and get some last minute reassurances in before the competition heats up.

FRIDAY, the first day of the championship, and the first day of IMC had organisers in a spin.  The rain was POORING down. With the local area receiving 35mm by 8am, and after hearing reports of 150mm by 8am out west, the weekend was in doubt.  One couldn't help but thing how can this happen to the same Shooters AGAIN in 2007, after a flawless 3 or 4 years.  Hearts go out to some Grafton shooters, who showed the previous night and set up camp on the range, woke early morning saturated by a misplaced tarpaulin resulting in some wet bodies and bedding.  After the billy was boiled a few times, and people had about all the coffee and tea they could drink, at around 10am the shoot was called off for the day.  Many chose to stay on in anticipation of Saturday and Sunday forecasts being accurate, and the rain giving way to fine conditions of clear sky.  Quite a few shooters called it for the weekend and left for home - some had a very long drive ahead of them.  It was decided to muster again Saturday morning at 7.30am and see what weather, and shooters interests would be like.

SATURDAY morning broke, no rain, ground still damp but drying rapidly in a gentle breeze.  Things were looking good, but we weren't over confident just yet.

We mustered at the now very green (amazing what a little range and 1 day can do) range with 32 shooters - the numbers were down due to weather on Friday (those who left that got soaked) and those who planned on showing for Saturday and Sunday only (for those who rang, "I told you it was going to clear").  It was a shame we didn't have the numbers as expected, as that activities that were to follow set a benchmark on how service rifle meets should be run in the future.

International Match Course (IMC) Nationals

String 1            200,     Deliberate         - 2 sighters then 10 shots, Standing Off Hand, on NRA SR target – 10min.
String 2            200,     Rapid               - 2 sighters, 10 shots 60 seconds, Sitting or Kneeling, SR target.
String 3            300,     Rapid               - 2 sighters then 10 shots 70 sec, Prone on NRA SR-3 target.
String 4            600,     Deliberate         - 2 sighters then 20 shots, Prone, NRA MR-1 target – 20min

After the opening briefing and orientation, first details took the line for their only attempt at the international service match in a chosen rifle spec.  The recent rebuilding of the mounds were immediately noticed, and a welcome addition.  The other details were in the pits making ready with newly prepared targets and frames.  Thanks to the Tamworth RC working bee and volunteers for their hard work in preparing for the meet.

There was some sensational shooting across the rifle specs.  Dick Bennett, with his trusty M96 6.5 Swedish Mauser, was on fire after his overdue return due to health problems.  Peter Barnier was well on the way to recording a highest score in Australia for the IMC after a very good start at the 200m line for his standing and sitting strings.

As the day rolled on, the details cycled through, and shooters were involved in some of the BEST pit and range service duties ever seen during a multi-position shoot ever.  David Waters asked for no less than peoples best, and that is exactly what he got.  A huge WELL DONE to ALL those who attended.

By the close of the IMC, every shooter was delighted with the shoot - even if disappointed with their own marksmanship performance.  The handful of new shooters thoroughly enjoyed the match, and can't wait until the next one.  Well, there was a lot more shooting to be done this weekend.

Champions:      Spec 1   - Standard Vintage Rifle:                             Dick Bennett
                        Spec 1a - Standard Commonwealth Vintage Rifle:    Gary Sawle
                        Spec 3   - Match Rifle (Iron Sights):                         Peter Barnier
                        Spec 5   - Match Rifle (Optical Sights):                    Mark Guest
IMC Service Full Results:

AIHPA Australian Masters were rescheduled from Gilgandra due to it now being the NSW State Titles.  It made perfect sense.  At the mecca of service shooting in the world, Camp Perry, the "Presidents" match is shot during the National Matches, so we shifted the "Masters" to the Nationals.  It turned out to be fantastic for the spread of prizes, and gave even more substance to shooter vying for title rights.

String 1            200,     Deliberate         - 2 sighters then 10 shots, Standing Off Hand, on NRA SR target – 10min.
String 3            300,     Rapid               - 2 sighters then 10 shots 70 sec, Prone.
String 4            600,     Deliberate         - 2 sighters then 10 shots, Prone, NRA MR-1 target – 10min

Champions:      Spec 1   - Standard Vintage Rifle:                             Dick Bennett
                        Spec 1a - Standard Commonwealth Vintage Rifle:    Brad Hedges
                        Spec 3   - Match Rifle (Iron Sights):                         Peter Barnier
                        Spec 5   - Match Rifle (Optical Sights):                    David Cornick
Masters Full Results:

AIHPA Tactical Match Course was held Saturday afternoon after being rescheduled from Fridays washout.  Following on from the IMC, the numbers for the match were down.  This match requires some considerable skill as it was shot at 600m.  Deliberate Slow fire and Snap fire at 600 is not easy, even for the best shooters in the country at closer distances.

    Deliberate, 10 rounds in 6minutes (no marking), then directly into next string,
    Double Snap, 5x 6 second exposures, 2 shots per exposure – 10rnds total

Champion:      Any Rifle: Aubrey Sonnenberg
Tactical Service Full Results:

SUNDAY was another perfect day for shooting.

Australian Match Course (AMC) Nationals proceedings were dedicated to the ASRA (Australian Service Rifle Assn) National Titles where the faithful Australian service style "Deliberate, Rapid and Snap" is challenging version that best suits the majority of rifles we currently use.

    300m Slow Fire,           Prone U/S        2 sighters + 10 rounds              7.5min,             Type-B 4x4
    300m  Rapid Fire,         Prone U/S        2 sighters + 5+5 rounds           30-30-30sec,    Type-B 4x4
    300m  Snap Fire,          Prone U/S        2 sighters + 10 rounds              3sec per shot,   Fig 12
    200m  Rapid Fire,         Sitting U/S       2 sighters + 5+5 rounds            30-30-30sec,    Fig 11
    200m  Snap Fire,          Sitting U/S        2 sighters + 10 rounds              3sec per shot,   Fig 12

There is no doubt that the figure targets are hard to shoot on, especially the Fig 12 from 300m away.  Many shooters who question there vision of such targets typically, and are encouraged to, progress to optical sights, as we don't want to lose any shooter from this fantastic sport when optical alternatives are available.  Optical fitted rifles shoot in their own class, so there should be no concerns of advantages amongst competitors.

Over 30 shooters fronted for another brilliantly run program.  Again, were were disappointed at the numbers, especially considering the incredibly good weather we had over Saturday.  The weather was perfect, the best over the 2 days, and some of the scores shot were INCREDIBLE.

Paul Feeney, Lt Col (Ret), Secretary of ASRA, was extremely supportive of the meet and how things transpired.  Paul spoke briefly about the history of service shooting in Australia and how he hopes all states will again begin to work with each other in the promotion of service by each state running a championship, and the ASRA/AIHPA National Championships travel state-to-state each year.

There were many titles up for grabs, as each string of the aggregate match doubles as a match in itself.

Champions:      Spec 1   - Standard Vintage Rifle:                             Dick Bennett
                        Spec 2   - Modified Rifle (Iron Sights):                      Peter Barnier
                        Any Rifle- Match Rifle (Optical or Iron Sights):         Aubrey Sonnenberg
AMC Service Full Results:

Overall, the shooters who fronted, braved the early conditions and participated to the meeting end enjoyed one of the best events ever held.  We had perfect weather Saturday and Sunday, no dust, good mounds, new targets and frames, lots of green scenery, good organisation, lots of trophies and prizes, sensational BBQ's each day (gotta love that bacon), it was all at Tamworth this weekend.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL who attended, helped, and enjoyed.  We hope to see you all at Gilgandra for the NSW State Titles where we will try to do our best to repeat the best of Tamworth.