Pistol League 2022

Coming soon - scores, stories, pictures, excuses, scurrilous attacks and more.

We Have a Winner!

2/11/22.  It's long been a tradition to take the mick with Steve P's shooting exploits but there's no room for that here as, with nine rounds to shoot in a single evening, Steve had his work cut out for him.

A keen supporter of the Pistol League and winner of the inaugural series, he Borg'd up with shooting specs and ear plugs and, having barely shot a pistol all year, put in 10 practice shots before signing a massive 18 cards.

For those not wise to the ways of the Pistol League or Olympic style pistol shooting, this is a truly daunting amount of competition shots - a full-on, top level competion is only 60 shots in 75 minutes and Steve was committing to 90!

And, with Russ for company and moral support on the 10m lanes, he rose to the challenge and got all the shots in - Legend!

Such dedication was rewarded with an average (for the evening) of a shade below 77/100 - pretty amazing under the circumstances.  Very much in the ballpark with a solid third place and the respect of his fellow Pistoleros.  

(Rumour has it that his arm had more or less stopped working by the end of the night and he had to hold the steering wheel with his teeth on the drive home though.)

This means that Russ is the winner of our 2022 Pistol League with Bri the runner-up.

Russ and Steve

26/10/22.  Two shooters finished their long journeys to Round 10 this evening.  Both Russ and Bri wished each other the best of luck and did their best, their best being, by the numbers, average and below average.

Still, every little helps and Russ' 79 was enough to build a six point lead over Bri's 74.  

Which means Russ has the top spot with one week of the competition still to go.  But it ain't over until there's some warbling from the generously proportioned operatic person who self identifies as a woman and it's possible that others shooters could still overtake him.  

Which means that, if Stef and Steve P's car tyres get mysteriously deflated on Wednesday evening, we'll roughly know which direction to point the finger.

Will there be any surprises?  Tune in next week to find out. 

STOP PRESS!  Reigning champion SteveP has stated (via the GARC Forum) that's he's going to try and get all his remaining nine(!) rounds in on Wednesday. 

Work and degree studies have kept him away from Denwood for almost the entire year so it remains to be seen how rusty he is.  Ninety, one-handed shots in an evening is quite an undertaking so top marks for effort and dedication already.

Best of luck Steve.

19/10/22.  Well, it's suddenly got very real.

With the AGM just around the corner, there's a frantic scrabble to get all 10 rounds in.  The recent rule change meant multiple rounds could be shot and that's exactly what Bri did.  Two sets of cards - a 75 and 84 - took him up to Round 9 with a total of 707.

Russ, forgetting to bring his Izzy, borrowed Bri's and rattled off a 78 for a Round 9 total of, wait for it, 708.

Yep, just one point separating the top two shooters and, with one round still to go, there's everything to play for. 

Of course, it's possible that Les, Stef and Steve P may emerge from the shadows and overtake everyone but they've only got two sessions to get their remaining shots in.

15/10/22.  With the Club AGM just around the corner, we're running out of time to get all 10 rounds in.  With this in mind, an executive decision has been made to allow more than one Round to be shot in a single evening.

This means anyone can shoot as many Rounds as they like at one time.

7/10/22.  All four 10m lanes saw some action this evening as Les, Jean, Russ and Bri were all trying their hands at Target Bothering.  Les was just having a relaxed shoot and Jean hasn't got his AWL yet so was using a borrowed Izzy from Russ for practice which left Russ and Bri to sign some cards.

Both shooting Izzys, an average 78 for Russ and a well above average 86 for Bri closed the gap between the two of them.

With Stef running out of time to get the full 10 rounds in, it's looking like a two horse race.

21/9/22.  Some people really should pay more attention.  During a knockabout, shooting the breeze session on the 10m lanes with Russ (who was breaking in his new Crosman 600 pistol,) Bri thought he'd submit a couple of cards.  

The first one went pretty well with all shots in the black and towards the centre.  Handed over to Russ for scoring, he then rained on the parade by pointing out that he'd used the wrong Bisley targets instead of the proper NRSA ones.

D'oh!

Starting again, the scores were, predictably, poorer - a disappointing 34 followed by a marginally less miserable 42 - with an average, stuck in a rut, 76.

C'mon Pistoleros, get shooting otherwise Russ is going to steal the top spot almost unchallenged. 

31/8/22.  The 10m lanes saw some interesting developments this evening.  A French chap Jean (apologies if I've got the name wrong,) was keen to join and especially interested in 10m pistol shooting.  Also keen to encourage another prospective Pistolero, Bri offered him the Izzy and a fresh target.

Having said that he'd shot some pistol in the US before, Jean calmly weighed up the Izzy, carefully and deliberately positioned himself in the lane and proceeded to punch out the bull with his first shot.

Fantastic shooting and an unacceptable breach of GARC etiquette.  He was immediately ejected from the premises.

Not really.  We look forward to seeing him again.

Along with the new face, there was an old hand that we hadn't seen for a while as Stef made a return to Denwood.  Tied up with work all Summer, he's largely got that behind him and now he's free to play on Wednesday nights. 

Reacquainting himself with his Walther, it was practice only for this session but I can report that his shots were disappointingly grouped towards the centre of the targets which doesn't bode well for the other shooters chances.

Bri concentrated on the rifle and, although he did break out the Izzy for a few shots, declined to submit any cards due to [insert excuse here.]

With Russ away on top secret YouTube business, that left Les to fly the Pistolero flag, his 73 with the Steyr keeping the spirit alive. 

27/7/22.  Where the hell is everyone these days?  Steve P has his head in a book, Russ is down't road, Bri is busy with new, prospective members, Nick R always has to leave early and Stef is MIA.

Praise be to Les then for being the only comp shooter this evening.  Wielding his Steyr pistol, he rattled off a 73 with a few of those shots in the 10 ring.

20/7/22.  A day of double rejoicing as not only did Bri make it to the 10m range, he (just) broke into the 80's!

7/7/22.  Life often gets in the way of important stuff - shooting -  and conspires to keep The Faithful away from the 10m lanes.  Russ, however, will not be diverted and keeps the pistol comps going with fresh scores at every opportunity.

A dip for him this week with a 73 but he's still way out front.

22/6/22.  It was one of those strange, midsummer nights where, for unexplained reasons, hardly anyone turned up to Denwood.  A crying shame really as conditions were absolutely perfect for a relaxing evening of shooting - glorious weather without a breath of wind.

Whether it was Covid, holidays, pressure of life/work or other reasons, the majority of us missed a great night for it.

Apart from a few of the usual suspects on the 50m range, only Russ and Bill H used the 10 & 25m ranges and Bill has an aversion to pistols that he really should seek medical help about which left our in-house journo as the sole Comp. shooter this evening.

Following the tried and trusted method of high practice scores and lower official results, he racked up a 76 with his Izzy which propelled him to the top of the table.

Will Stef let that stand?  I think we know the answer to that.

18/5/22.  Three shooters, three different scores tonight. 

Nick was harrased into taking part with a borrowed Izzy.  Not having bothered much with pistols recently, he went straight into things without any practice and his two cards gave a 54.  Time was pressing and his heart wasn't really in it but thumbs up for taking part and we know he's capable of much better when he puts his mind to it.

Bri continues to wallow in his mid-70s rut and we're not talking about listening to The Bay City Rollers, going on strike or watching The Persuaders and The Sweeney although he does all that too.  This week's 76 is pretty consistent with previous results but Must Try Harder.  Which, coincidentally, is what his mid-70s school reports used to say as well.

No such issues for Russ though.  Wielding his Izzy for a very respectable 85, he's just six points off the top spot and nipping at Stef's heels.

20/4/22.  Three pistoleros took up the challenge this week.  Russ was the first to sign some cards and, having had variable results in practice, got a respectable (but disappointing to him) 79 with his Izzy. 

Also shooting an Izzy, Bri continued his slightly upwards trajectory with a 78.  Another month or two at this rate and he'll break the 80 barrier.

Wielding a rather nice Steyr, Les kept the 70's theme going with 76 - if we'd known the night was going to be like that we'd have worn flares!

6/4/22.  With Russ on his Open Pistol week and Bri overseeing some new members, the only official entry was Steve P.

Long overdue for some shooting, our reigning champion kicked off his 2022 campaign with a 75. Citing pressure of work, family and home study for a degree course, he's concerned that he may not find the time to get a full 10 rounds in this year.

If no one objects, we could consider the possibility of Steve shooting a couple of rounds on each visit in future?

30/3/22.  There's never enough time to get as much shooting in as you'd like and this Wednesday was a prime example.  Despite bringing along his Izzy for a crack at this and the Open Pistol comps, Bri got diverted with the new 10m Rifle comp and some tour duties so never managed to compete.

In the absence of other Pistoleros, it fell to Russ to make a dent in Stef's lead and he made a good effort with that - an excellent 85 which narrows things down a bit.

23/3/22.  Just the one entry this week, a slightly down on average 77 from Stef.  Speculation is rife that his goatee is the source of his shooting strength and there is no truth in the rumours that other Pistoleros are furiously growing chin hair or scouring the dubious areas of the internet in search of stick on face fuzz.

16/3/22.  A week off from Target Bothering and Los Pistoleros were back to challenge both themselves and their friends again.

Can't remember who shot first but, after obviously just the right, nicely gauged, amount of practice, Russ and Stef both touched the 80's with 80 and 81 respectively.

Bri put in some good mid 80's practice cards with his lesser used Hammerli 480 K2 PCP but that didn't translate well to an official entry - a somewhat underwhelming 77 which puts him two points behind Russ.  Obviously, not an acceptable state of affairs and that will be corrected in the coming weeks and months.

Les was weighed down with a ton of different guns all needing shooting and making demands on his time so he declined to have a crack this week.  Nick R (who's keen to get stuck in) was on holiday, Steve L was a no-show for various reasons, Captain Chris along with Paul S were on Introduction/Guide duties (thanks on behalf of the Club, guys) and Steve P was presumably away ensuring that we have a constant (but b***** expensive) supply of oil to keep the wheels of industry turning.

All of this puts Stef out in front by a distance and this cannot be allowed to stand - the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Pistoleros, it's time to man up and shoot straighter!

And even if you can't (yet) shoot to that standard, you should at least give it a try for the craic - you never know, you might enjoy it!  

2/3/22.  it was all quiet on the 10m front this week as a couple of pistoleros (Les and Russ) were distinctly under the weather and not up to attending.  Steve P was also a no-show for reasons unknown.

With no new entrants, that left just Stef and Bri to keep the flag flying and repel boarders in the form of some strange, mud loving troglodytes intent on besmirching our noble quest.  

(Note to said cave dwellers, we can shoot both rifles and pistols, you can only shoot rifles - want to reconsider who's the limited ones here?)

Stef opened the proceedings with a 79.  Perfectly respectable of course but a dip down into the 70s for him after some excellent practice cards. 

Bri remembered to bring a pistol with him this time and also put in some respectable practice cards.  However, his first round entry went a bit south.  Or should that be north as his first three shots went high and white.  34 with the first card but a more acceptable 41 with the second for a disappointing 75 - 10 points off the pace of his practice cards.

Three possibilities for this - he changed from the Excite Econ practice pellets to the more expensive  R10s for the official entry.  Known to give pretty much the same velocities, he didn't think it'd make much difference in his hands.

The second possibility is that he's a rubbish shot.  Can't rule that out.

Lastly, competition pressure.

Competition pressure is a right ****, no matter how well you're shooting or calm you feel, it can creep up unseen and make an unwelcome appearance.

In a post-shoot analysis, both shooters agreed that it's a big factor and can really mess with your head.

Still, adversity builds character and we'll stand our ground - no running away for us - and improve our scores in the next round.

23/2/22.  The usual suspects were in attendence on Wednesday, all four lanes were full and there was a lot of earnest shooting going on - more proof that certain people are taking it very seriously.

Apart from the Pistolero who forgot to take a gun along with him - d'oh!

Steve P put in his first appearance in a while.  Keen to hold on to his 2019 crown, his opening practice card with the LPM-1 was, to be kind, only fit for the bin and showed that he's in the same boat as a few of us and suffering a Lockdown related deterioration of skills.  It was good to see that he's still sporting the Borg Look though.

His scores did improve over the evening but wisely went with Discretion over Valour and didn't enter officially.

Les had a "what the hell" moment, pre-signed a couple of cards and had a stab with his Steyr LP2.

His bravado was rewarded with a 79, his highest score so far in a pistol comp and an excellent Round 1 start made all the more impressive by shooting left-handed instead of his natural right.

Russ declined to compete this week, preferring to alternate between the Pistol League and Open Pistol comps to extend the fun.

And that leaves us with the elephant in the room.  Stef has quietly strolled into the comp with his LPM-1 and put in some pretty solid cards with an 89 this week, equalling the previous PL top score.  And it's only Round 2 for him.

Early days but he's looking like the man to beat so far.  I don't know what the shooting equivalent of a pool hustler is but I wouldn't play him for money.

Everyone's outwardly playing things cool and relaxed at the moment but there's certainly something in the air with the serious practice and approach of some people.  The signs are already there that this year will surpass the 2019 comp in terms of scores and contest - get onboard and join in the craic!