Ed Vickers attended the Benchrest UK National Open at Portishead Shooting Club in Somerset this weekend, where he faced off against some of the UK’s top Benchrest shooters, including Trevor Eling – who recently ran a workshop at Rugeley. Shooting at 50metres, the matches were shot to International WRABF rather than NSRA rules, allowing the use of a rear rest under the butt of the rifle, in addition to the front rest.
In the “Light” Air Rifle (<10.5lb) event on Saturday, Ed fought tricky conditions to finish 38th of 40. On Sunday, Ed rallied in the “Heavy” Air Rifle (<15lb) to place 14th/35, edging Trevor into 15th place by three points!
On Saturday 9th November Rugeley Rifle Club held its first ever 1-day Benchrest Workshop, presented by Trevor Eling from Driffield Rifle Club in East Yorkshire.
Trevor is a renowned International Benchrest shooter and has this year, successfully, competed for the UK BR teams in both Spain and Germany.
Trevor has been shooting BR since 2010 and has represented the UK BR teams over the last 14 years in the Czech Republic; Australia; South Africa and the USA.
The Workshop was attended by 9 of our Club members, with the youngest being 12 and the most senior member being in their mid 70’s.
The content, of the day, was designed by Trevor and he provided each participant with a welcome pack. This pack was filled with a variety of interesting and useful information, which included target samples. He clearly, presented an excellent balance of theory and practical information in a relaxed and comfortable manner.
Areas which he covered included:
● Benchrest Equipment
● Shooting Process
● Outdoor shooting
● National & International Shooting Federations
Following on from the Equipment and Shooting Processes, Trevor gave a demonstration of his experienced shooting skills and techniques.
Teams of 3 groups, then, put into practice, what they had learned and observed. Initially, this was in the indoor 25yds range and then, later repeated in the outdoor 50m range.
In addition to the NSRA 25yds shooting practice, we had the opportunity to try out a new electronic scoring system, which is currently under development by Eley with RRC support on our 25yds range.
The Workshop finished with a round of applause for Trevor from the group. I think it is fair to say that everyone really enjoyed the day and are all hoping for a return visit very soon. Trevor expressed how much he enjoyed meeting the group, how impressed he was with the club and the facilities that our property team have built up, and sharing his experience with an attentive squad of BR shooters eager to improve.
