Offhand Open Shoot - 25th July
George Gallichan Tom Arnold Sue Franklin
It really was a case of something old and something new, at the Jersey Muzzle Loaders’ offhand championship on Sunday morning 25th July 2010.
The “old” was represented by veteran George Arnold who has been winning medals at local, national and international events since the Jersey Branch was founded in the 1970s. Returning to short range shooting after a break of many years, George shot like he had never been away and scored a superb 90 with his Enfield rifle, which was comfortably enough to win the military rifle event.
The “new” was represented by another George, this time 14 year old George Gallichan who won the patched ball class with an excellent score of 75. George excelled in this, not only his first ever competition but also his first shoot at 50 meters. A great future in shooting sports clearly awaits Gallichan.
Another new-comer, Tom Arnold also did very well, winning the free rifle class with a good score of 80.
Competition for medal places was fierce with Larry Berridge, Martin Godel, Sue Franklin, Gareth Callan and Gerry Weir shooting well and challenging the winners.
The afternoon was devoted to running the “Hythe” competition, something the branch has not done for ten years. This spectacular event is based upon the 19th century test of marksmanship at the Hythe Infantry School of Musketry. The target is a five foot by 18 inch rectangle with a 1 foot inner and 5 inch bullseye, scoring 1, 2 and 3 points respectively. 5 shots are fired offhand at each distance of 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 yards, with no scopes, shooting jackets or other aids allowed. All equipment must be carried, with no trolleys or tables to load from – not an easy thing to do with a muzzle loading rifle. Congratulations go to Tom Arnold once again who won the event and is showing a real ability at offhand shooting.
Finally our thanks go to Callum Alexandre and Peter Laffoley who did a great job doing all of our scoring for the competitions.
Results:
| Military Rifle | George Arnold | 90 |
Free Rifle |
Tom Arnold | 80 | |
| Larry Berridge | 83 | Gareth Callan | 77 | |||
| Gareth Callan | 79 | Martin Godel | 74 | |||
| Gerry Weir | 74 | George Gallichan | 73 | |||
| Tom Arnold | 74 | Larry Berridge | 68 | |||
| Martin Godel | 59 | Sue Franklin | 29 | |||
| Sue Franklin | 58 | |||||
| Patch Ball | George Gallichan | 75 | Hythe | Tom Arnold | 44 | |
| Tom Arnold | 70 | Gareth Callan | 40 | |||
| Sue Franklin | 66 | Martin Godel | 32 | |||
| ` | Larry Berridge | 29 | ||||
| George Arnold | 26 | |||||
| Musket | George Arnold | 56 | ||||
| Tom Arnold | 9 |
Hythe Team Butt Marker Callum Alexandre Gareth Callan George Arnold
Photographs by Pete Laffoley
Schutzenfest - Wedgnock - 9 May 2010
click on thumbnail above to enlarge
Jersey Muzzle Loaders' Gareth Callan won two of his events at Sunday's Schutzenfest held in Warwick. The Schutzenfest is the British Open Competition and is also a qualifying shoot for selection to the Great Britain Rifle Team. Gareth entered 4 events, winning two and taking second place in the others. This marks a successful start to his competitive season and is good preparation for the World Championships in August, when he travels to Portugal with the GB Team.
Gareth gratefully acknowledges the tremendous support he receives from his employer, Standard Bank, and Jersey's Education, Sport and Culture.
E-mail Secretary: Adrian Le Brocq <newlandshouse@hotmail.co.uk>