STAWELL Rifle Club hosted the 2018 Victorian Match Rifle and Long Range F Class Championships at the weekend.
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With participants visiting from across the country it was a star line up on the range.
Many of the competitors took advantage of the two-day practise including members of the Australian Match Rifle Team.
Victorian Match Rifle Association chairman Lew Horwood said it was a terrific weekend for the Stawell Rifle Club.
“The weather was a bit tricky. Everyone had a great time,” he said.
More than 27 shooters competed in the event and Horwood said he was happy with the support received.
“From the shooters that came, either by themselves, with partners or families – It’s great for the township of Stawell,” he said.
“We get support from local businesses to host these events so it’s great to see a number of visitors coming into town.”
Tasmanian Mark Walters won the Match Reserve event for the weekend.
“It was a very interesting weekend for me due to the weather conditions. The first two days of practise did us a world of good,” he said.
Originally a Victorian, Walters enjoys coming and competing in Stawell.
“This is my seventh year coming to Stawell. Warrnambool is the only other place I travel to Victoria to shoot at,” he said.
Cliff Austen won the F Class Open category.
Austen has been shooting competitively for 30 years and competes although having no vision in his left eye.
“I find long range target shooting a personal challenge for myself. I also have no focal vision in my right eye without glasses,” he said.
Match Rifle Open Class champion was Paul Monaghan.
Monaghan is no stranger to the Stawell range as it was the first he ever competed on in Australia in the early 2000’s.
Monaghan is also the Australian Match Rifle Team captain who will travel to Bisley, England to compete for the Woomera Match in July 2019.
“I am the only person in the history to have played for both sides. Before I came to Australia in 2009 I played in the British team and now I compete for Australia,” he said.
Mick Punterjero won the FTR division.
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