Wigan TSC 50m Shoot 2017

Over the weekend of 17 / 18 / 19 February the Wigan TSC 50m shoot was held for the 14th year. This shoot has become a ‘part of the shooting calendar’ for many shooters up and down the country, with entrants from as far afield as Southampton and Inverness, Ian Thomson bringing a contingent from the Scottish Junior Squad down for the weekend. It is an English Match competition, this being 60 shots at 50m, and is held at this time of year as a ‘warm up’ for the Summer outdoor season. It’s also a few weeks before a major international indoor 50m shoot in Dortmund, so attracts many high performing shooters.

Every year there is a big number of entries but this year has been better than ever. Over the weekend there were only 3 free slots, giving a total of 85 ‘shooters’. I know how many there were as I scored 265 50m cards over the weekend! The number of people entering is less than this as many shoot twice over the weekend – no point travelling hundreds of miles and only shooting 60 shots!

Unfortunately a few shooters had to be turned away as they sent their entries in a little late and their preferred shooting time was fully booked.There was some excellent shooting over the weekend. In A class 2 shooters shot 597s and had to be split by countback. Again, many prizes are going ‘North of the Border’, with the Scottish Junior Squad winning several of them. It was nice to see some shooters new to the competition and hopefully we’ll get more next year – if they get their entries in early!!Thanks must go to the ‘Range team’, who again did a great job changing targets and supervising the range. Also the ‘Catering team’ did a great job of supplying us all with food (including an excellent chilli) during the weekend. In the background, several members of Wigan TSC spent many evenings cleaning and repairing the range for the shoot.It’s hard work organising and running the shoot but I think you’ll all agree that it’s worth it. As well as being an enjoyable event it brings funds into the club, this year £614 (equivalent to over 3 full member subscriptions) and over the 14 years about £5000. Again, I must thank all members who helped out on the weekend or in the weeks leading up to the shoot. Without their hard work the shoot couldn’t take place and the club would be over £500 poorer. Why don’t you give a hand next year? The more members that help, the easier it is for everyone. Also, if anyone wants to run another open shoot during the year, I’m here to help with the organisation – how about an LSR Open Shoot? I’m sure there’s an opening for one in the area. Martin Lowe