By John Wood
At the Woods Point Gun Club in November, even though it is nearly summer, a winter storm descended on the shooting grounds and its name was John Winters, who had a day of shooting to remember.
But first to the Eye Opener, where Don Rhodes won AA Grade, 30/30, Daniel Chinn and Daryl Ewert shared A Grade, 30/30, and Tony Armstrong won B Grade outright also with 30/30.
C Grade was an easy win for Winters who also scored a perfect 30/30 for a good start to the day.
The first of the President’s Championships was 25 targets Double Barrel sponsored by David and Kathryn Frazer.
Daniel Chinn, Trevor Ewert, Jim West, John Winters, Phillip Desmond and Andrew Estcourt went into a shoot off for the Championship sash after scoring 25/25 each.
Fourteen targets later Estcourt from Warrnambool took the sash 49/49 and the AA Grade prize as well.
Phillip Desmond won AA Grade 2nd with 48/49.
Jim West 27/27 was successful in A Grade with, 27/27, from Chinn 26/27.
Club Secretary, Laurie Poile won B Grade, 26/27, Tony Armstrong runner-up, 25/27, while in C Grade Winters’ 25/25 easily won the prize, Peter Lang second 25/26.
The main event was the 45th year of the President’s Trophy sponsored by John and Annette Wood.
The tension was palpable as a new perpetual trophy board, made by Greg Shahin was revealed.
Poile, Chinn (D) and Winters, all 25/25, went into a shoot off for the engraved clock personal trophy and to have their name engraved on the perpetual trophy.
Poile and Chinn let the nerves win and both lost their first target, leaving Winters to break his target and become the 2017 President’s Trophy winner, 26/26.
Poile’s 26/27 gave him second place, Chinn third, 25/27.
Shawn Wood won fourth place, 29/30, after a shoot off with Peter Lang, Matthew Ewert, Trevor Ewert and Matty McLachlan.
Trevor Ewert sponsored the final President’s event, 25 targets Tower.
At the end only Trevor Newman and Phillip Woods shot all targets to battle for the sash.
Seven targets later Newman was the the 2017 President’s Tower champion, 32/32, Woods second, 31/32.
Daryl Ewert, Trevor Ewert, Jim West, Ken Skinner and Phillip Desmond, all 24/25, competed for the minor placings with Ewert (T) taking third, 43/45, Skinner fourth, 42/45.
The overall Vice President’s High Gun sash sponsored Peter and Ellen West was presented to Trevor Ewert with 73/75, John Winters just one target behind, 72/75 to finish an extremely successful day.
Anne Skinner made sure the troops were well fed while Kirsten Chinn was a ball of energy, referring, scoring, selling raffle tickets and generally keeping the males present in their place.
The club’s last 2017 shoot is their Christmas extravaganza on Sunday 10 December to be well underway by 10am.
See you there!