California State Palma Championships

Posted on 02 Mar 2014 by WH

The rains had finally subsided. Game on. The conditions were cloudy, with bulging, overweight bags of grey silk threatening to pour down soggy threads at any minute. Thankfully, they held up. The wind, however, wasn't so polite. It was immediately apparent that today would be a test of not only releasing good shots, but getting them off at the right time to stay a step ahead of the fickle wind.

The Scots put in a strong opening bid at 800 yards. Four of the team recorded maximum scores of 150, with Ian Shaw finishing joint second on the range and first of the tourists.

At 900 yards the test really began and point gathering became more precious. Wind brackets increased and the field began to thin out. Ian Shaw, Richard Scott and Iain Hindshaw all put in respectable 148s, whilst Will Hanley won the range with the only 149 and thus led the competition going into the final distance.

Once again, at 1000 yards in the local vernacular, the foreplay was very much over. The first detail was blown regularly into the seven and six rings and the competition leader was another casualty of the relay. The second two details thankfully had better results; Iain Hindshaw was our highest scorer with a very impressive 146 given the conditions.

The overall competition was won once again by Noma Mayo with a score of 444.21. Ian Shaw led the Scots with a 442.18 followed by Richard Scott on 440.20 - the second highest X count on the range, and second to Ian in Master class, followed by Matt Charlton on 436.13.

The top five in Expert were also Scottish team members - a great improvement and very satisfying after the work everyone had put in over the last week. Will Hanley led that group with a knock of 440.12, with Iain Hindshaw second on 438.13 and James Shepherd third with 435.16. Steph Dick was rewarded with an impressive shield for winning the junior category too.

Proceedings concluded after a quick BBQ burger, prize giving and the loading of rifles and some kit into Gord Hulbert's trailer; he had kindly offered to transport everything to Sloughhouse for us, and those who were heading for the National Parks needed to check out of the Harris Ranch and get on the road.

All in all, it had been a great week for the tourists. Following our victory over the USA in the Palma teams match, some well-earned R&R in Sequoia, King's Canyon and Yosemite National Parks and at the ski resorts of China Peak, Badger Pass and Kirkwood awaited. Then, bring on Sloughhouse.