Yesterday was Friday, July 17 and the first day of shooting.

The English are very well organized and everyone has been issued squadding card books that tell you the match name, distance, range time etc. There is a small letter next on each card and only when you arrive at the range for your match do you find out which target you would be shooting at. The numbers are scrambled and so the people marking the targets have no idea who is shooting on what target number. We also have been scrambled all over the different matches at different times so I could be shooting at 11:00 am while other team members could be at 2:45 pm etc.. These matches are "3 to a mound" so there could be 200 shooters on the line at any given moment. This is a huge meet and there are about 1350 shooters from all over the world shooting the different matches. Over 200 are F-Class shooters.

3 shooters per target is a new experience for me as well as some others on the team. Right shooter shoots, left scores, middle shoots, right scores, left shoots and middle scores etc.

My first match was 600 yards and Mike downey was on the right, me on the left and a young English lady in the middle. Took a little getting used to because she was soft spoken and I had to ask her  couple of times if she got my score. It took me almost 6 shots to get in the groove and I almost fired out of turn a couple of times. That would have been the death spell for that match as it counts as a miss! Got the hang of it and ended up shooting 48 with 3V. "V" is an X and scoring goes V, 5,4,3,2,1. Maximum possible is 50 points and 10 Vs. however, over here, and only during the Imperial matches, they give an extra point for a V. Mike shot 47 with 7Vs! So, he ended up with 54 points, me with 51. There were some good scores by our shooters: Jim Murphy, Jeff Cochran, Jeff Traylor had 56 each  (highest possible is 50 + 10). Larry Bartholome and Dean at 52 each.

Then we shot the 500 yard match. All hell broke loose at 500 yards. It was pouring down rain and howling wind. My left eye was getting peltered with rain rain getting between my  left shooting glass lens and my hat. Of course, I had a full rain suit on and a small protective plastic piece over my action to keep the rounds dry. Bad things happen if you chamber wet rounds! Bob Bock had just come off the 900 yard line and he got so soaked that he did not shoot the 500 yard match.

I was reading the angle of the rain drops and shot 7 Vs in a row. Then the rain subsided and I could not see the drops. No mirage, no rain and no flags, because they give you false readings when they are wet. "Oh, oh" I remember thinking. Looking at the flags I thought the wind had reduced in speed. There was a good English shooter to my right and he must have thought the same thing. It was his turn to shoot and he must have favoured to the right like I was going to do. Bang, a 4 off to the right. I quickly favoured to the left and shot a V. I ended up with a perfect score of 50 with 10Vs. Of all the F Class shooters from all countries, Jim Murphy and I were the only ones that shot that score.

Off to 900 yards. Rain picked up again (wind never let up all day) and once again Jim Murphy and I had the highest scores at 900. 50 with 5Vs. I ended up Creedmoring Jim Murphy at 900. Scores will be posted at the bottom of this blog.

Our gear was soaked, we were soaked and tired - reminded me of my salmon fishing trips up on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Got back to the room and I was blow drying the shooting mat, my gun case, range bag. Even had to take the gun apart and dry out the action and the bedding. Coach Mead had loaned his hair dryer from his room to Bob Bock and never saw it again. At 10:30 at night he was looking for Bob bock and the dryer. Lesson learned - NEVER LOAN A HAIR DRYER TO A BALD MAN! 

Top 10 scores:

CENTURY 500 and 600 Yards (they added the total of these two matches up).

1. JM Kort, Netherlands, 116.
2. Jim Murphy, USA, 116
3. D. Brough CNRC, 113
4. DN Kent, Old Epsomium RC, 112
5. SP Barrett, Pennine Shooting Sports, 111
6. C Shorthouse, British Snipers, 111
7. S. Balolia, USA, 111
8. H. Mitera, Germany, 110
9. L. Bartholome, USA, 110
10. L. Tomlinson, Scotland, 109

ADMIRAL HUTTON 900 Yards.

1. D.Brough, CNRC, 56
2. S. Balolia, USA, 55
3. Jm Murphy, USA 55
4. DN Kent, Old Epsomian, 54
5. A. Brough, CNRC, 54
6. DN Been, Netherlands, 54
7. L. Tomlinson, 54
8. N. Tompkins, USA, 53
9. FH Van der Merve, South Africa, 53
10. J. Traylor, USA, 53

That's it for now.