More than 80 visitors from the local community tried their hand at Rugeley Rifle Club’s Open Day on Saturday. Despite drizzly weather, young and old received a tour of the club’s facilities and tried their hand at air rifle and air pistol, before enjoying the barbecue on the outdoor range.
Local councillor Olivia Lyons formally opened the new range wall on the 100yard range. The club successfully crowdfunded to replace the old wall, which had been in place 51 years.
Megan Bamsey, Mike Bamsey and Richard Hemingway represented Wales at the recent Commonwealth Shooting Federation (European Division) Championships. Club Chairman Martyn Buttery also attended, captaining the England team.
Mike medalled in every event he contested, winning:
Rich Hemingway placed 4th in the 50M Prone Final, whilst Megan placed 6th in the Women’s 10M Air Rifle. Friend of the club Liam Webster earned his first cap for Wales, shooting in the Prone Development match.
The 2022 Championship was hosted by the Welsh Target Shooting Federation, with airgun shooting taking place at Sport Wales in Cardiff and .22 at Tondu Target Shooting Club near Bridgend. Free practice opened on Thursday 8th September. With the passing of Her Majesty the Queen on Thursday evening, it was initially thought the Championships might be cancelled. Guidance was received from the Lord Lieutenant to continue discreetly and respectfully in memory of Her Majesty. A minute’s silence was held before each match.
Full Results can be found on the WTSF website.
Rugeley members made their mark at the Centenary edition of the NSRA’s Bisley Rifle Meeting, which returned after a two year hiatus. A strong contingent, the club sent 10 shooters down, competing over the weekend and full week.
Richard Hemingway finally broke his run of middling Bisley performances to earn promotion to X-Class, joining Martyn Buttery and Ryan Williams in the top tier. Finishing third in the Weekend Aggregate and equal-fourth in the Grand Aggregate, either result was sufficient for promotion. Rich also won the incidental Prince William of Wales match and placed third in the Centenary Competition.
Vic Tyne placed third in Class for Competition 10 – the 100Yard portion of the Weekend Aggregate.
The meeting was opened by Michael More-Molyneux (Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey), on behalf of the Queen, who is patron of the NSRA. Lord Lieutenants represent the monarch in their county. The week included a number of 1922-inspired competitions, including deliberate and rapid-fire matches using targets from the period.
Michael More-Molyneux DL, Lord Lieutenant of Surrey at the Bisley 100 Opening Shot Ceremony with NSRA President Geoff Doe (left) and Chief Range Officer Jon Leech (centre).
credit: Hemmers, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
