Season Finale

The final GP of the season took place at Sywell near Northampton. This is the traditional end venue and it offers excellent facilities including a lot of space to accommodate the prize ceremony and the end of season raffle.
Sywell is famed for its wind and today would offer a severe test. The course consists of a three sections. The first is open grassland and although the wind was strong it was, to a degree, consistent. Next was a garden area, here the wind was switching and swirling and flags, indicating wind direction, showed it was going left and right at the same time! The third section was "the bank of death", here targets were placed at varying heights and the wind was blowing a hooley. The strong wind gusted up the slope of the bank and lifted pellets well above the killzone.
Of the five competitions the winner of B grade and SFT had already been determined. The C and A grade winners were still uncertain and the big one could still be won by a number of shooters.
The last 2 seasons had seen the Sywell GP won with scores of 43 and 42. Today's conditions suggested that a score close to 40 would probably win the day.
Here's Andy Gillott negotiating the bank; he posted an impressive 36 to further his challenge for the overall title.Roger shows off his kneeling technique.
Big Neil bags a pair on his way to 36 to tie for third on the day and 6th overall.
The morning session was topped by Andy Calpin who scored an impressive 38 to lead by 2. It looked like this score would not be troubled by the afternoon shooters as the wind seemed to increasing in ferocity. Dorian Falconer came close with a 37 but the day was to belong to Mr Calpin.
So to the award of trophies and the end of season mega raffle with lots of prizes on offer; many thanks to Napier for the sponsorship of the GP series.
Kate Green won a shoot off to claim her first piece of FT glassware; third in C grade. In her excitement Kate unfortunately dropped her newly won brandy glass. As soon as Mr Calpin received his then he offered it to Kate, what a gent!
Paul Schofield won A grade with an excellent 35 which was 1 more than Dave!
After the day's trophies were awarded it was on to the overall placements for the season.
Congratulation to Brian Samson who dominated the SFT class.
Piston class was a two way contest between Nick Murphy and Marc Fisher, both had won four of the previous eight rounds. Nick triumphed today and added the Piston title to the British Championship he won in April.
Ian Harford had started the season with 3 rounds of SFT before constructing six strong rounds to comfortably win C grade. Second place went to Roy Boliver, well done Arby!
Simon Higgins came top in B grade after an impressive first GP season. Tenth place belonged to Baltipal!
Midway through the presentation we were treated to some overhead aerobatics which temporarily took everyone's attention.
Ian Stoddart had a brilliant season and won A grade at a canter, Ian c'mon!
Karl Clarke finished 6th in A grade in his first GP season for many a year. And to the top man. British FT Champion Andrew Gillott.
It's been a great season and I daren't add up the miles that we have travelled. The grounds, the courses and the weather have all been variable but one thing has remained constant - we all had a great time.
So goodbye for a while, it's time for a blogging recess. Follow the adventures of the MFTA WL starting in October.

High summer in Wales

The last two summer seasons have started with the Welsh GP, yet here we were in August, in sunshine, on our way to Nelson FTC for GP8. It was a short hop from the midlands and by around 11am we had arrived and were keen to view the course.
Quite simply it was spectacular! Situated in a valley the Nelson ground consisted of varied terrain of which its most impressive feature was the number of streams that meandered through. There was woodland but never dense, open field with well spaced tress, water courses and opportunity to shoot up hill and down into the valley. The area available to the club is vast and offers great potential. What a venue for the Worlds?
Below is one of the many bridges that spanned the streams and in the distance is an extensive area for the zero range.
On my walk I was attracted to lane 9. The shooting position was atop a natural bridge and from here there was a view down a culvert into the main stream where two targets could be found. For me this was the best lane of the GP season so far.Turn through 180 degrees and meet lane 18. The targets here were elevated and slightly sheltered from the field to the left; inevitably reading any wind strength would be tricky.
Target 14 was also magic. It was placed in the middle of a small stream just above where the stream joined its larger cousin. When eyed through a scope the scene was stunning and could easily draw attention away from the matter at hand. My view again but the best target placement of 2009 albeit I missed. It's down there somewhere!!
Whilst walking around it seemed conditions were ideal but the regular dink of upright targets and the associated gasps told another story. There was wind and although never strong its direction was never constant. The far end of the course was exposed and cleverly turned through 180 degrees to continually test the competitors.
Is Dave Schofield trying a new standing technique or is throwing the rifle his best option?
After the morning round two shooters stood three clear of the field on 47, MFTA champion Neil Daniels and David Williams of Quarry.
This well dressed man, Ian Harford, carded a strong 36 which would later win him C grade and place him in a good position to challenge for top honours come Sywell.
Only 4 behind the top guns was A grade leader Ian Stoddart who would have to suffer the afternoon round to see if he was to be denied his first trophy of the season.

The afternoon session started with a briefing from Dorian Falconer who told us of how much rain they'd had recently; but not today. I had the pleasure of shooting with James Osborne and Mick Kelly and I enjoyed the company of Mick's very well behaved dog. The course was a pleasure to shoot and contained a plethora of different tests. The wind which had brought welcome relief when walking the course now became the enemy. The blue skies and hot sun belied the strength of the wind which might gust enough to lose a plate or subside and be followed by disbelief "it stayed straight on me but the grass was bent over ...".
None of the afternoon shooters could challenge the leaders of each grade from the morning except for Brian Samson who took SFT with 35 and Nick Murphy's 33 took the piston class.
So congratulations to Ian Harford, Peter Moore, Ian Stoddart and David Williams. David's success was the first for a Welsh shooter at their home GP since 1992 and was very well applauded by all.
Final congratulation to Ian Stoddart whose consistent performance this season has led him to the top of A grade but without a trophy. He now has that coveted piece of glassware and if he wins the A grade title at Sywell then he might smile!!

Adventure in Euskedi

After months of excitement our journey to compete in the Euskedi Open 2009 began late on Thursday night. Our flight from Stansted was scheduled for 7.30am and because we were transporting our rifles abroad for the first time we wanted to arrive with plenty of time to spare in case any problems arose. However, all that was required was proof that they were really air rifles and the cylinders were free of air. So just before 6am we found ourselves in a bustling departure lounge where hen and stag parties were starting their celebrations early. When in Rome!

The flight left on time and after the blink of an eye and odd nod of the head we touched down in Bilbao.Security at Bilbao also required to check that we were carrying only air which presented a slight problem as one of my gun case padlocks refused to open and I had visions of my air rifle spending the weekend at the airport. Enter Jesus whose arrival smoothed our transit and we were in Spain! Regular readers will know that Jesus visited the UK to compete in the NEFTA Classic in May where he made many friends. Today he introduced his friend Inaki who had kindly volunteered to transport our kit to the Extebarri Hotel which was to be our home for the next three nights.
Off we set for our first view of the Basque Country and our first experience of a new culture. Jesus wanted to show us his city from above but that was after a welcome drink ...
... and some pintxos!
We then walked around a plateau that offered superb views of the city of Bilbao and the green mountains which enclose it. Bilbao is an important port and industrial centre, its construction within a valley means it cannot expand outwards so up it goes!
From the heights we could see the port and the legendary "the Football Cathederal" home to Athletic Bilbao.
Next our journey lead us to a traditional Basque restaurant; a caserio. This is where the Basque farming family would live with their animals. The caserios are unique and offer visitors an exceptional eating and drinking experience. The favoured drink is cider and its method of delivery is well suited to a field target shooter. With our appetites very satisfied the journey continued to Zumarraga and the Exteberri Hotel.Bags dropped off we set out to view the shooting ground and meet up with the organiser of the event Jose; who is known as Sanjon on the internet. A walk of the ground revealed that all facets of FT would be tested. There was opportunity for depressed shots, inclined shots, varied distance, within woodland and in open field; what would tomorrow hold?
Slightly jaded now we returned to our hotel for a siesta and then our adventure continued at the welcome meal in Zumarraga. Here we experienced the great hospitality and community of our hosts. We sat at tables that contained 40 or more people and shared communal dish after dish. The beer, wine and cider flowed very easily and we had a great time.
Very satisfied and ready for bed? No! Manuel, who we had met in Northern Ireland last year, insisted we trip into the town for a night cap.
Day 2 began with breakfast and then it was off to the shooting ground to zero and check out the course. Upon arrival our attention was drawn to banners representing the shooting regions of Spain and our presence was honoured with a Millride banner. Plinking confirmed that our rifles had not suffered in the flight and so to explore the course. Jose had designed two courses each of 44 targets; a black course and a yellow course. On day 1 the piston competitors would shoot black and PCP yellow. The ground consisted of three plateaus which were joined by a steep path. The course started on the lower plateau where we would be tested first shooting downhill and then up. The course then climbed to the second plateau where there was an assortment of distances and kill zones varied from 10-40mm in an open area. The transit to plateau 3 was through woodland and here shooters would have to adapt to the shaded conditions which tested range finding. Finally plateau 3 contained some long targets and some in trees, it was this area that would be most exposed to the high sun. However, before the shooting commenced it was back to Zumarraga for lunch!
Round 1 was due to commence at 5pm thus it allowed shooters travelling time and avoided the hot afternoon. Before the action got underway we were treated to an incredible sight of two men playing this instrument; in the past it was used to communicate between caserios. It was certainly a workout!
So to our lanes. The commonest pre-charged rifle on show was the Steyr LG110; there was a handful of Walthers and the odd EV2. One guy was using the Mach 1 from the USA and there were also a number of sporters. In Spain the power limit of air rifles is 24 joules compared to the 16 joule restriction in the UK. It was interesting to watch these guns at work; they certainly whacked the plate when the kill zone was missed. There was a slight breeze and I was surprised to see that even with 24 joules that wind compensation proved tricky. The spring gun is very popular in Spain particularly the Cometa. So as the evening drew in there were two vibrant competitions unfolding. At the end Pepone top scored in PCP with 42, Colapso was second with 40 and Snowball third on 39. The piston class was lead by Victor on 35 and Mamel topped the 16 joule class with 38. In Spain the shooters are called by their pen names so Greg was Baltipal, for Roy read Arby and I was CB Chairman.
With the first round complete we headed back to the hotel and decided to relax on the terrace and take a few beers and enjoy some ham, bread and chorizo sausage.
Greg took the opportunity to show his dexterity when it came to bottled beer!Sunday morning arrived and shooting would begin at 9am; this time it was the black course for us. The shooters had been paired based on yesterday's scores. I shot with Josefe from Madrid who used a LG110 with a silencer attached. After two rounds we managed to tie on 69 from 88 and I hope he saw that 16 joules wasn't too bad! Roy and Jesus also couldn't be separated on 61 and Greg shot round with Inaki scoring 63. Pepone added a 41 to win the event on 83 and a tremendous round of 43 saw Snowball move into second place. Mamel finished on 78 to win with 16 joules and Suidos pipped Victor to win the piston class.
The prize giving ceremony started with a surprise for me as I found I was helping the Mayor of Zumarraga present the trophies. The winner of each class received a Txpalla which is the traditional headwear of the Basque men and is regularly given to the winner of sporting events.
Congratulations to Pepone
and to all the winners. Let's hope we see you at the Europeans in September.

At the end of the event Jesus, Jose and his wife presented us with their Millride banner upon which Jesus wrote an invite for Millriders to return next year.With the shooting over there was time to shower and change before joining everyone for a special lunch. There was a fantastic affair. The food and drink was superb, there was live music and spontaneous dancing, the atmosphere electric and we three were treated as VIP's. Salud!
After the parting lunch Jesus and Inaki took us on an off road trail in Jesus' jeep. He managed to drive it up paths barely wide enough to walk along; it was cracking fun! However, there were no roads to our destination which was a cross perched on a mountain high above Zumarraga. To get there required leg power but the rewards were well worth it.
We descended to Zumarraga and after an essential cool beer we took to the streets to watch something quintessential Basque. The idea is for two cows to pull, and two men to steer, a 3 tonne concrete block along a fixed route then turn through 180 degrees and do it again.
This guy steers from the front
and this guy prods from behind.
Our holiday ended with a trip to the beach resort of Zumaia where we dipped our toes in the Atlantic. Then we enjoyed some more pintxos in the beautiful city of San Sebastian; yes that is an octopus's leg!
All too soon it was time to return home. Jesus and Jose transported us to the airport and ensured we had a smooth transit into the departure lounge.
We had a fantastic time that my words cannot possibly describe. We would like to thank all those people who treated us so kindly and generously. In particular Jose for his superb course and competition organisation and Jesus for his amazing hospitality.
I hope we are the first of many future UK competitors in the Euskedi Open. Muchos gracias amigos, hasta el proximo ano!