THE normally quiet surrounding of the Nyah Bushland Reserve came to life on the Queen’s Birthday weekend as the Mid Murray Pistol Club celebrated its 50th year.
On this weekend, the club hosts the North West Pistol Championships and 2013 saw one of the largest number of competitor entries in many years.
Contestants began arriving Thursday afternoon and set up their camps in the surrounding bush.
By Friday night when the first of the competitions began, there was a sea of caravans and tents as alternate accommodation was difficult to find due to the busy Swan Hill area.
With shooters from as far away at Traralgon and Adelaide and everywhere in between, competition began at 8am each day and was continuous until about 4.30pm.
On Sunday night, the club provided its renowned roast dinner and campfire where many tales were told and new acquaintances welcomed to a real bush shoot.
Both the weather and the competition were perfect and with many hoping for qualifying scores for the approaching Commonwealth Games, the standard of shooting was very high.
Although only having a small membership, the club astounds the visitors by hosting the largest competition in Victoria, with five International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) matches, three service pistol matches and two black powder matches which are all sanctioned by the governing body, Pistol Australia.
Two national judges are appointed to oversee all competition and to make sure that the standard of competition meets world standard.
In fact, there were three additional judges present from South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria who all assisted over the weekend.
Shooting finished about 1pm Monday with trophy presentations, thanks to all who made this another great shoot and a fond farewell to all with the hope of seeing new and old again next year.
If the comments heard by all can be believed, this was another top shoot with much already reserving accommodation for next years’ event.
The quiet has returned to the reserve and the kangaroos can rest easy again.
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