The team's tour brochure. - National Rifle Association

Gary’s anecdotesreading. However, it is catastrophic inTarget Rifle where 10 to 15 round matches allow no scopeto recover from lost points.The Target Rifle shooter must make every shot count and knowsthat he must approach every shot with maximum concentration and the determination to makeit a bull.In this respect, the small bore shooter has something to learn from hisTarget Rifle counterpartin the mental approach to every shot. If theTarget Rifle shooter carries this approach into smallborecompetitions, performance can be improved.There is no doubt that successful shootersin both disciplines adopt this approach, although it is perhaps better understood inTarget Rifle.Conversely, the Target Rifle shooter is sometimes guilty of sloppy technique in the knowledgethat the relatively generous Target Rifle bull size allows some room for error; the effectivediameter of the Target Rifle bull is over 60% larger than that of the small-bore bull.This meansthat a group tight enough to score bulls on NSRA small-bore targets would score V-bulls forthe full-bore shooter.This is where the Target Rifle marksman can profit from adopting the small-bore approach,where good technique (eg position, hold, shot release, follow through, etc) is essential to highscoring.‘The Plank’It was July in the mid 1980s and the occupants of “Tyrone Corner” were somewhat scepticalwhen Gary modestly let on that he had scored a 50-25 in the Donegal (in those days insteadof V bulls you fired 5 extra tie shots if you got a 50). Sure enough, when the prize list waspublished, it was confirmed that Gary was in the tie shoot with 7 or 8 others. It seemed fateto Gary that an Irishman should win the Donegal and he set of to the trophy exhibition tocheck out how much Silvo he would need to keep the trophy in pristine condition. If youhave a chance during the meeting have a look at the Donegall – it is one of the mostimpressive trophies. [can we get photos for the brochure] The tie shoot was held on a dampevening and unfortunately Gary didn’t win and he vowed never again to tempt fate by lookingat a trophy before he’d won it !!In 1993 Gary once more caused consternation & disbelief in Tyrone Corner by claiming tohave shot a 50.10 in the Admiral Hutton (yes by then V-bulls had been introduced !). By thetime the prize list came out it transpired that it was a 2-way tie shoot and Gary spent thenext couple of days giving the trophy exhibition a wide berth !! The evening of the tie shootcame and Gary was victorious !! With victory secured Gary & friends headed for the trophyexhibition to feast his eyes on the trophy – however the first few minutes of searching didn’tuncover it. Finally it was found – it’s quite a small trophy which was irreverently described byone of the party as “two candlesticks cunningly nailed to a plank of wood”. Since then Garyhas won his share of impressive pots – but his first individual trophy at the meeting was “ThePlank” !!Tight scoring rings mean that the small-bore marksman must develop good techniqueand build a stable position.In conclusion then, I hope I have convinced you that small-bore target shooting is a brilliantway of keeping in practice through the winter months. More than that though, small-boreshooting is an excellent sport in its own right, especially as an outdoor discipline at the longerranges. I don’t expect everyone to agree with my ideas. Indeed it would be a dull world if theydid, and this article will have achieved its purpose if it just stimulates a bit of thought anddiscussion.* A copy of Tim Elliott’s paper ‘Differences between small-bore and full-bore prone Target Rifle shooting’,and otherTarget Rifle shooting notes, are available on request by contacting him on tje@easynet.co.uk.Tim’sassistance in reviewing this article is gratefully acknowledged.“The Irish Open”A quiet evening at home was disturbed by an excited phone call from Gary.“Tom,Tom, Do you want to speak to the Irish Champion ?”(I’m actually Tim, but it sounds like Tom in Gory’s accent !)“Put him on Gary, put him on !!” I replied“No its me” he said (without checking if I was sitting down first !)After the initial disbelief the story of Gary’s triumph emerged.