Kirley back on target

By John Wood
COOL and sunny weather greeted the competitors for the Maori Creek Championships at the Woods Point Gun Club.
The Eye Opener saw Mick Ward and Phillip Desmond shoot the full 30/30 points to share the cash prize.
The first of the championships was 20 targets Double Barrel shot points score – three points for a first barrel hit, two for a second barrel hit and nil for a miss.
Rob Kirley, who is slowly getting back into clay target shooting with daughter Jessica, was back to his old form with a perfect 60/60 score to win the event outright and take the sash.
Matt Woods, Mick Ward and Phillip Desmond shot 59/60 but when Kirley is on song he is a hard man to beat. Allan Guppy with 57/60 was the next best score.
In the Grades Kirley took AA, Ward second. A Grade saw Desmond first, Guppy sneaking into second. B Grade was an easy win for junior shooter Matt Woods, followed by the Hoon, 56/60. Shawnti Coolahan continued her good run in C Grade with a win, 56/60, Chuck Lay a distant second, 36/60.
Next was a 15-target Double Barrel Silent Rise in which the shooter cannot call for the target. The referee manually releases the target after the shooter is ready with a random delay of between one to three seconds.
Again Kirley posted the best score, 14/15 to win this event outright. Laurie Poile and Eddy Woods went into a shoot off for second and third with Poile taking second with 19/27 from Woods with 18/27. Ward was fourth with 11/15.
The last championship was 25 pair Deauville Doubles, two targets thrown simultaneously, two shooters, only two shots allowed each. Both targets must be broken to score. Three teams shot 24/25, the Hoon and Ward, Matt Woods and Coolahan and Tom Allen and Kirley.
A 10-pair shoot-off resulted in Allen/Kirley winning the event, 34/35, Woods/Coolahan second (33/35) and Hoon/Ward third (28/30). Desmond and Harry Ward teamed up with 23/25 to take fourth.
Jessica Kirley, new to shooting, with team member Chuck Lay, managed a credible 16/25 with Jessica pulling off some great shots to hit her partner’s missed targets.
The overall best shooter on the day and winner of the High Gun Sash was Rob Kirley with 98/100. Not too far behind and winning the Junior High Gun was Matt Woods, 93/100, easily beating his father Eddy’s 86/100.
The next shoot at Woods Point is on Sunday 24 July with the feature event being the Tear Arse Gully 40 target Double Barrel Championship.