Shooters of all abilities took part in Meon Valley Airgun Club’s shoot – with great courses, great banter and a great barbecue
Competitors battled it out over two 30-target HFT courses on the same day to determine who walked away with the top prizes at the Meon Championship Shoot.
An impressive total of 52 shooters took part in the contest run by Meon Valley Airgun Club (MVAC) as part of a series of club competitions that are being supported over the year by BSA Guns, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and Airgun Shooter magazine.
The two courses were set to UKAHFT rules, one being shot in the morning, with the other being shot in the afternoon. It was open to all MVAC members and their families – both shooters and non-shooters alike.
A handicap system was applied, with new, inexperienced and club members who had never shot in any form of competition being allocated a greater number of starter points, depending on their ability, than the more experienced club shooters.
The morning session saw three shooters to a peg, these being one experienced HFT shooter plus two people with little or no experience of Hunter Field Target shooting.
Weather conditions were excellent all day at Hen Woods, the home of MVAC’s beautiful HFT shooting grounds, with sunshine and very little wind being absolutely perfect for introducing HFT to the newcomers. It was also a great way to show family members who hadn’t been before what their other half gets up to on a Sunday morning.
A free BBQ was laid on for the afternoon break, all thanks to the club’s chairman, his wife and son who volunteered to carry out the cooking duties. The BBQ and homemade cakes went down a treat and were much appreciated by all.
With a relaxed atmosphere, the day was a major success, and when the morning session was over you could tell just how much everyone was enjoying it from the amount of banter and discussions, especially from those taking their first steps into HFT, about the course and difficulty.
The second course followed in a similar vein as the first one, albeit with it being a tad more challenging.
The overall winner and Meon Champion was Colin Medway, who won a BSA gun bag and a magazine subscription.
Colin, who admitted it was difficult concentrating on two shoots in the hot weather, was asked the secret of his success. He explained: “Practice, be lucky, try to relax and enjoy the whole experience. Oh, and few gins the night before help to relax the mind! The best part (apart from the win) was the fantastic setting, great company and banter.”
The second place went to Vince Blackman, winning himself a BSA scope and a subscription, while Nigel Grigsby came third, coming away with a BSA knockover target and a subscription.
For more details about Meon Valley Airgun Club visit www.mvac.co.uk
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