The 2016 Summer Report, pt 3: Indoor Shooting Postal Leagues

Hampshire Indoor Summer Postal League

Last year, Portsmouth City’s A Team was very pleased to win Division 1 of the summer postal league. We would have been similarly pleased to defend our title this summer but had to settle for 3rd place this year – well done to Windsor Rifle Club and Fareham Rifle Club’s A teams for coming 1st and 2nd respectively. The upside of this competition was that we still beat Sarisbury (which doesn’t happen very often)!

Unfortunately, the summer postal leagues are never as well subscribed as the winter leagues, leaving fewer divisions and therefore meaning that teams of a wide range of ability are forced to compete against each other. This was the case for Portsmouth City’s B team - M. McCormick, D. Reeves, T. Rowe and D. Herron (with T. Sommerville very kindly subbing in for one round) - but these shooters should hold their heads up high that they competed, got all their cards shot, and all improved their shooting as is reflected by their improved averages of the second half of the season, compared with the first.

In the individual postal competition, G. Scruton won Div 2.

Dave Reeves was also very pleased to win a Moore Memorial Trophy for his performance in Class D!

Portsmouth & District Indoor Summer Postal League

The individual postal summer league finished only a few weeks ago with some of our shooters achieving very respectable places:

Ian Cooper (Runner Up, Div 1)

Jonathan Rowe (Runner Up, Div 3)

Tamsin Rowe (Runner Up, Div 9)

David Owen (3rd place, Div 10)

Eastern Region Summer League

A number of Portsmouth City shooters managed to achieve respectable scores despite not necessarily achieving a particularly high place in the division.  One notable exception to this was Tom Sommerville and Matt Simmons, who came 1st and 3rd respectively in Division 12.

Newmarket & District Short Range Open Postal

The Newmarket shoot is a short 4-card competition that happens between February and May (yes,  a little bit before summer technically, sorry) and this year Portsmouth City had 11 people competing.  The club was very proud to have a number of their shooters placed in this competition.  Gordon Scruton won the B Class and there was success further down the classifications as well.

Tom Sommerville & Tamsin Rowe both newcomers to the sport and with less than a year of experience under their belts, showed that there is certainly some raw talent that the Portsmouth City team will be looking to develop and capitalise on over the next few years.  Tamsin won the E Class with a very respectable score of 369 (out of 400), beating Tom, who came runner up, by only one point!

Tom Sommerville & Tamsin Rowe (or Mr Somerville and Tasmin as their certificates would have you believe!)

Tamsin also came Runner Up in the C/D/E class ladies' competition, meanwhile Gordon and Jonny came Runners Up in the A/B pairs competition.

One last thing that happened over the summer was a personal achievement and one that a shooter never really forgets - Lauren Haskett, now using a new jacket equal to her abilities, got her first ton!  Well done, Lauren, may it be the first of many.

The 2016 Summer Report, pt 2: Shooting Outdoors

The Hampshire Long Range Open Meeting

In preparation for the ELEY finals at Bisley (see part 1) a number of our shooters were keen to get a bit of outdoor practice in beforehand.  As a result, a few of us went up to Andover Rifle Club to enjoy a fine day of shooting on their outdoor range.

This was a Double Dewar match, meaning two cards shot at 50m and two cards at 100yds.  Each card has a maximum of 200 points on it, so final scores are out of 800.  The shooting is a little different from the standard indoor shooting, which we do at 25yds; the targets are further away but they are also bigger, and therefore because they are bigger, we can shoot more than one competition shot into each target.

Let's compare:

A standard 25-yds indoor 10-bull (the shots have been coloured red to make them clearer in these pictures).

Zoom in on the 25-yd card and you see that there is only one competition shot per target.

A shot 50m outdoor card.  Only 4 competition targets.

Zoom in on one of the targets and you can clearly see 5 competition shots

A shot 100-yds card with two competition targets.

Zoom in on one of the 100 yds targets and you will see 10 competition shots.

So the upside of outdoor shooting is that there is less moving around from one target to the next.  The difficulty lies in changing light and wind conditions.

Matt Simmons, Jonathan Rowe, and Tamsin Rowe, all shooting at 100 yards for the first time!

Owing to the fact that none of us shoot particularly regularly outdoors, this match represented a steep learning curve for those of us for whom this outdoor shooting was all new and those more experienced of us who had to remember what we were supposed to be doing.  It was a great competition that presented Tamsin and Matt with their first outdoor experience, and Jonny with his first 100 yds experience.  None of us did astoundingly well, except perhaps Tamsin, who proudly took away the Phyllis Green Trophy (top lady in C/D class).

Well done, Tamsin!

The Bisley Weekend Aggregate

A couple of City shooters, Gordon Scruton and Jonathan Rowe, decided to not just do the ELEY final but go up and do the whole weekend aggregate of the annual Bisley meeting.  This involved three cards at 50m and three cards at 100 yds, making a sum-total of 120 competition shots (thus 1,200 points in total).  This was an awful lot of fun and we'd encourage as many of you as possible to set aside the weekend next year to join us.  There was camping involved, BBQing and lots of the infamous 'Bisley wind' to throw the shots off.

Particular highlights in the shooting over the weekend were Jonny's high placing in C Class at 50m and, to a lesser extent, Gordon's placement in A Class for his 50m.

The Dacorum Open Handicap Shoot

A little time after Bisley weekend, a few more shooters decided to go up to Buckinghamshire for a handicap shoot, this handicap was based on a shooter's declared average.  Much like handicaps in golf, this is a way for shooters with different levels of skill to enjoyably compete against each other.  This competition marked a couple more firsts for Portsmouth City shooters - for Mike McCormick it marked his first time shooting at 100 yards, and for Tom Sommerville it was his first outdoor shoot entirely.

Mike and Tom shooting on the 50m range.

No significant wins in this competition but it was a great, if slightly drizzly day and a fun time was had by all!

Havant's Final Fling 'Scottish Match'

This annual competition marks one of the last competitions of the outdoor summer season.  A Scottish match is one that is only at 100 yards, and in this case was 60 competition shots.  Portsmouth shooters, Ian Cooper and Gordon Scruton took part in this competition, both in A Class, and while neither got close to winning the class (well done to Cliff Richards of Havant for that) it was pretty close between the two of them.

That's the end of the outdoor round up, but the next part of this summer report will look at the indoor postal leagues.

City wins during the Summer Season!

Now that all the scores are in from the various competitions that Portsmouth City shooters were taking part in over the summer, here is how we did!

Hampshire Indoor Summer Postal League

A Team

Winners Division 1

(Ian Cooper, Adam Nevatte, Marian Nevatte, Gordon Scruton) 

B Team

Runners Up Div 3

(Mike McCormick, Dave Reeves, Jonny Rowe, Phil Upchurch)

Portsmouth & District Indoor Summer Postal League

A lot of shooters also took part in individual competitions over the summer and for some of them it was their first competition experience.  In the P&D indoor postal league, special congratulations go to Ian for winning his division, and to Gordon, Jonny, and Mike for coming runner up in their respective divisions.

Gordon Scruton

Runner Up Div 1

Ian Cooper

Winner Div 2

Phil Upchurch

3rd Place Div 5

Lou Stafford

10th Place Div 5

Jonny Rowe

Runner Up Div 6

Adrian Fallows

7th Place Div 8

Mike McCormick

Runner Up Div 10

Dave Reeves

5th Place Div 10

Civil Service Indoor Summer Postal League

The Civil Service indoor postal leagues provided the first match experience for George, Mark, Paul, Mike Carpenter, Dave Allen, and Dan.  Well done to all of them for completing their first shooting competition.  Special congratulations go to Phil, Jonny, Mike Hellyer, Paul and David Owen for winning their divisions.

Gordon Scruton

3rd Place Div 1 

Phil Upchurch 

Winner Div 7 

Jonny Rowe 

Winner Div 10 

Stephanie Furness-Barr 

Runner Up Div 11 

4th Place Ladies’ Div 1 

Mike McCormick 

Runner Up Div 16 

Dave Reeves 

Runner Up Div 10 

Mike Hellyer 

Winner Div 19 

George Herron 

Runner Up Div 19 

Mark Lipsham 

4th Place Div 19 

Paul Scrivens 

Winner Div 20 

Adrian Fallows 

Runner Up Div 20 

Mike Carpenter 

3rd Place Div 20 

Dave Allen 

4th Place Div 20 

David Owen 

Winner Div 21 

Dan Carpenter 

Runner Up Div 21

Eastern Region Summer League

Gordon Scruton

Runner Up Div 2

Jonny Rowe

Winner Div 7

Dave Reeves

Runner Up Div 11

How much shooting does PCRC do over the summer?

The summer postal competitions are now well and truly under way.  So how much shooting does Portsmouth City Rifle Club do over the summer?

Hampshire Indoor Summer Postal League

(2 teams of 4, 10 cards each) (80 cards)

Portsmouth & District Indoor Summer Postal League

(8 individuals, 9 cards each) (72 cards)

Civil Service Indoor Summer Postal League

(15 individuals, 9 cards each) (135 cards)

Eastern Region Summer League

(3 individuals, 10 cards each) (30 cards)

317 cards = 3,170 competition shots.

So the answer is a lot!  But we still expect that our coming winter season numbers will easily exceed this.  Watch this space. ;-)

Hampshire Postal Results are in!

Over the winter months, the rifle teams of Hampshire shoot against each other in postal matches.  Here's how it breaks down:

10 divisions

8 teams per division

5 shooters per team

14 rounds to shoot

Portsmouth City entered 3 teams this season (our shooters are eager for the competition!) and I'm delighted to say that of the 210 cards shot, there were no NCRs (meaning No Card Returned; meaning unshot cards).

On our A Team was Ian Cooper, Sarah Hart, Adam Nevatte, Marian Nevatte and Gordon Scruton.  This team acquitted itself well in Division 2 and achieved 2nd place (losing first place to Shanklin), winning 9 rounds, drawing 1, and losing 4.

Our B Team (Lauren Haskett, Phil Upchurch, Steph Furness-Barr, Jonathan Rowe and David Owen) managed to pull themselves out of a mid-season slump and similarly achieve second place in Division 7 (Guernsey taking first place).  They also won 9 rounds and lost 5.

The shooters on our C Team (Lou Stafford, Mike McCormick, Adi Fallows, Dave Reeves and Mike Hellyer) have taken advantage of the experience in Division 10 to really hone their competition skills and while they only achieved 5th place, having won 8 and lost 6, we've seen the quality of their shooting improve in leaps and bounds and look forward to even better shooting from them in the coming seasons.  Well done to our sister club, Portsmouth Railway Rifle Club, for their C Team winning this division with 14 wins and no losses!

Portsmouth City A - 2nd Place (Division 2)

Portsmouth City B - 2nd Place (Division 7)

Portsmouth City C - 5th Place (Division 10)

Competition within the club was fierce for the best average within the teams.  In the A team there was a tie this year between Sarah Hart and Gordon Scruton (both achieving a final average of 97.79).  Phil Upchurch achieved the best B Team average with 93.93, and Lou Stafford led the C Team with an average of 91.57.

We've thoroughly enjoyed this season of shooting and have seen a fantastic surge in achievement and energy amongst the teams.  We look forward to building on this in the 2015 summer leagues and, come next year's winter leagues, we hope that many of our newer shooters will be able to make up additional teams that will increase Portsmouth City's contribution to the regional competitions.

In Memorium - Mary Maiden

Portsmouth City Rifle Club is sorry to hear of the passing of a stalwart of shooting in Hampshire, Mary Maiden, who died last week after a short illness.

Mary held a number of positions in the Hampshire Smallbore Rifle & Pistol Association over the years to the point where one had become indistinguishable from the other.

We'll miss you, Mary.

Dave Nevatte Remembered

A year ago today we lost an incredibly important part of our club, David Vernon Nevatte.  Dave was not only a great shot, earning a place on the Hampshire county team and getting himself up to A-class at Bisley, but he was a good friend and worked hard as secretary of Portsmouth City Rifle Club for 20 years.

Dave's trophy haul from Bisley Week 2012.  Trophies include: The Lever Brothers Challenge Cup (B-Class Championship Aggregate),  The Rutland Challenge Cup (B-Class 50m Championship Aggregate)

Dave joined PCRC in 1992, coming over from Havant Rifle Club (sorry Havant), and in 1994 he took over from Ted Trimboy who had been secretary and overall manager of the club since 1942.  Big shoes to fill but Dave filled them admirably.  In 2012, Dave finally managed to promote himself to A-class by winning the B-class aggregate (an achievement not seen from a Portsmouth shooter since Den Foster in 1947).

Dave's passion for shooting was infectious and now his wife, Marian, and son, Adam, continue his legacy as the backbone of our club; being as friendly, helpful and generous of their time as I remember Dave being when I joined 7 years ago.

Last November, Marian unveiled the Dave Nevatte Memorial Salver at the Hampshire Smallbore Association AGM as a way to remember Dave's enjoyment of his sport and his contribution to shooting in Hampshire.

Dave on the firing point

We miss you, Dave!

The Dave Nevatte Memorial Salver

This weekend saw the Annual General Meeting of the Hampshire Smallbore Rifle & Pistol Association.  Members from Portsmouth City were attending this year for a very special reason.

Dave Nevatte at Bisley Week

As many of you will know, we lost a stalwart of the club when our good friend and club secretary, Dave Nevatte, passed away in January.  We thought it fitting that a trophy be set up in his name and be open to all Hampshire shooters taking part in the British shooting event of the year and something that Dave attended religiously - Bisley Week.

The salver will be presented at the Hampshire AGM each year to the Hampshire shooter who achieved the highest placing in their division in the Bisley Weekend Aggregate (e.g. a shooter coming 4th place in D Class would beat a shooter coming 5th place in A Class).

This year the salver was awarded to Chris Dunn who achieved 2nd place in C Class.

Marian Nevatte presents Chris Dunn with the Dave Nevatte Memorial Salver