Pistol League 2023

Denwood's premier competition where the elite of GARC shooters compete in a noble challenge.

Alternatively, a small bunch of social outcasts shooting holes all over a series of paper targets on the 10m lanes.

15/11/23.  We have a winner and (was there ever any doubt?) it's Jean.

A foregone conclusion from the first time he appeared on the 10m range, picked up a borrowed Izzy and drilled the centre out of the bull with his first shot.

Head and shoulders above the other Pistoleros, he didn't even need to shoot his last round for a resounding win.  Well done, Sir!

Things were much closer in the fight for 2nd place though.  Bri had four rounds to shoot before the AGM and, with no particular hope of beating Russ, somehow managed to outscore him by a single point to lift the silver.

And that's us done for another year.  Time will tell if we run the Pistol League in 2024 due to the possibility of Jean and Russ relocating to pastures new so we'll just have to wait and see.

1/11/23.  As we hurtle towards the end of Competition Season, it's a scrabble to get all the remaining rounds in.

Russ gamely shot an above average 78 with his Izzy but the main event was Jean turning up and rattling off a whole three rounds in one evening.  There was speculation that Jean, used to slowly and carefully considering every shot, would shoot poorly when confronted with a time challenge and this proved to be the case as his scores (89,91 & 89) plummeted from the normal "Bl**dy Hell!" to merely "Very Bl**dy Good!"

Enough to regain the top spot and pretty much an unassailable lead.

Which means the real competition is for the second place silverware and that'll be decided on the night of the AGM - good luck, Pistoleros!

25/10/23.  Well, this is interesting.  Russ is up to Round 9 (a 78 this week) and Bri underwhelmed himself with 67 and 76. 

Their averages are more or less equal but way lower than Jean's who hasn't been seen for a while.  Jean is famous for his precise, unhurried approach to the comp but, with time running out to get his remaining four rounds in, will his scores suffer from haste?

We shall see.

We're nearing the end of this year's comp so it's time for the Pistoleros to get their remaining rounds in.  No limits now so shoot as many rounds as you like in a single evening.

4/10/23.  There were three Pistoleros on the firing line this week, Bri, Jean and Russ.  With Jean concentrating on practice rather than competing, that left Bri and Russ to throw caution to the wind and sign some cards.

A flyer from Russ and the Izzy left him disappointed with a 77 but still happier than Bri who completely lost the plot with a first entry of 66 followed by a marginally less rubbish 70.

He really should know better but that's what happens when you don't practice and rush things.

The outcome though is that the pair of them climb up the table a bit - right up to the top in Russ' case.

20/9/23.  To say Jean and his Steyr are getting on well would be understating things - an outstanding 94 just smashed all records and propelled him into 1st place.

Already 12 points ahead of Russ with a round in hand, he's looking like a forgone conclusion for gold.

Meaning that the real competition is going to be for 2nd place - get shooting, Pistoleros!

30/8/23.  The Pistol League was set up to include and involve members in some light hearted competition with the aim of becoming better shots.

Jean has embraced that and constantly pushes himself to improve, shooting a 91 which is the highest score yet seen.

How annoying.

23/8/23.  An interesting evening on the 10m lanes with Bri, Jean and Steve present.  Jean was immersed in his usual bubble, earnestly focussed on bullseye bothering so it took a while to notice that he was playing with a new toy. 

And what a toy it is.

A Steyr LP50.  Five shot semi auto 10m pistol.

Nice, nice, nice.

This was its first outing at GARC and Jean is still pellet testing and getting familiar with it so no official cards were shot but it's a clear contender for the Nicest Pistol in GARC award.

Another nice pistol was wielded by Steve.  His rare, unusual and exquisite Walther LPM-1 converted to PCP power also got some fresh air and exercise this evening.  Some excellent practice cards (mid 80s to 90) were shot but, just in the same way that this font suddenly got smaller, 

things went totally to ratshot and a properly disappointing pair of rounds were shot.  C'mon Steve, you can do better than a 70 and 75.  Jeez, at this rate Russ'll outscore you.  Ignore the distractions of Life, Family, Work and all the other stuff that prevents you getting Trigger Time and get those scores back up.

That is an order.

As for Bri, the less said the better.  In a rare case of sense and discretion, he declined to sign any cards and put down the Hammerli and Izzy almost as soon as he picked them up.

16/8/23.  Some good shooting this evening as Russ picked up the Izzy and rattled off an 80.

Stef had some catching up to do and, encouraged by his 84 with the Walther, signed a couple more cards and shot an extra round* as finding the time to attend and compete can be difficult and we Pistoleros like to keep things easy and accessible.

Of course, it doesn't always follow that preceding  scores get repeated and the resultant 80 was a slight dip but, hey, it starts with an 8 and that's good enough for us.

Unless your name is Jean. 

*Let's make that a new rule - you can now shoot two rounds in an evening.

26/7/23.  As last week, enthusiasm overcame experience for Russ.  Shooting the still unfamiliar FWB 80, history repeated itself and respectable practice scores transformed into sub-par official ones.

A 66 this week which was followed by a promise to bring the Izzy back into service next time.

19/7/23.  Even in the North East there's a time and place for enthusiasm and a positive mental attitude.  However, for Russ, it wasn't this evening.

Clutching a newly acquired 10m toy - an FWB 80 - he was keen to give it a try and see what this once Olympic level pistol was capable of.  And, after a bit of zeroing and familiarisation, that was practice cards in the mid 80s.

Buoyed by this, official cards were signed and duly sent out on the whizzer.  To say that the cards that returned were again underwhelming would be an understatement.  It's probably more accurate that his whelm was given a sound beating with bats and then buried in a shallow grave.  A lowly 64 is way off his normal pace and will hopefully be a one-off.

Bri also had a crack at things.  Shooting the newer (well, less old...) and more sophisticated 480K2, he got a much more respectable 86.

28/6/23.  Russ managed to give his whelm a good undering with an Izzy based 76.  Not a happy chappy about it but he'll be back.

Jean also had a disasterous night, dropping down to an 89 this week and joining the mere mortals who have never shot a competition 90.   If this decline continues, he'll be as good as the rest of us in just a few months.

7/6/23.  Steve has long been known for his meticulous planning and preparation. Even before the funny glasses are donned and the earplugs go in, there's a selection process for his pellets where only the nicest, cutest ones make the grade.

Rumour has it that they're all inspected, named, washed and (whisper it) lubed, wined and dined – such are the lengths he goes to in the pursuit of 10m accuracy.

And it seems to work for him – his 10 flying brides got him an opening score of 85.

The downside is that, after they've served their purpose and carried out his bidding, they're then abandoned and forgotten, left lying flattened on the range floor to be swept up and discarded while he moves onto the next batch of willing followers like the charismatic leader of some deranged cult.

On some less disturbing notes, Russ was away attending to family matters, Jean was having a “rifle week” and Bri was concentrating on the Open Pistol comp so no input from them this week. 

 A new face – Peter - turned up on the 10m lanes and put in some impressive practice cards. The more the merrier so we hope to see him again.

31/5/23.  The average had a bit of a dip this week with both Russ and Stef shooting sub 80 rounds.  Their respective 77 and 75 were definitely below par but at least Stef has the excuse of being distracted while shooting with Russ going into the gory details of a recent physiotherapy session.

Still, Bri and Jean will return soon and boost the average back up from the 82.5 or so that it's dropped to.

24/5/23.  Jean the newest Pistolero continues his flagrant disregard for the traditions of the Pistol League by putting in another excellent 90.

With six scores in, the average so far is nudging 85 - good going and well above the norm.

17/5/23.  Last week's practice session of Jean's paid off this evening.  Ensconced in his 10m bubble on the end lane, he cut himself off from the outside world and got down to the serious business of bullseye bothering.

With his precise and unhurried pre-shot procedures (he makes SteveP look like Ghengis the ADHD nine yr old on a sugar rush,) he shot the highest score yet recorded in the Pistol League's history with a 90/100.

And he looked disappointed when he handed the cards over for scoring saying that he'd shot better in the past.  Towards the end of the evening, he was seen to do a 47/50 practice card. 

Early days but he's looking like the man to beat.

Russ put in a good, consistent 80 while Bri ran out of shooting time but assures us that he's going to put the rifles down and concentrate on the pistols next time. 

3/5/23.  While Stef (now a fully fledged Pistolero) had some practice in 10m corner, there were no official entries this week because someone (who will remain nameless) didn't check that his PCP pistol had any air in it - D'oh!

26/4/23.  With Jean playing with rifles on the 50m range, Russ on his Open Pistol rotation and S Club 2 (Steve and Stef) missing, it was down to Bri to keep the 10m flag flying.

An 86 in the 1st round was surprising but very welcome (well, to Bri at least...) and will hopefully be repeated and improved upon in the coming months. 

19/4/23.  Not many shooters tonight but one significant entry with Jean notching up 82 on his first attempt.

Good enough for 1st place. 

5/4/23.  Reigning champion Russ has launched the 2023 Pistol League with a repectable 81.

Steve and Bri are still at the practice stage but will enter the fray in due course.  Cool Hand Stef will doubtless drift in, shoot a high score and then not be seen for a while and Wildcard Jean has yet to be tried in the Crucible of Competition Pressure.

I don't think it'll worry him too much.

Yep, it should be fun this year.