ast Thursday Stratford Air Gun League trialled a new competition, Back to Basics (B2B), at Wilmcote Social Club. Shooters were only permitted to use specific accessories attached to the gun which meant that specialist clothing designed to aid the shooter such as shooting jackets and gloves which have become common place were not allowed. Two targets were used and shooters had five shots on each with the aggregate score deciding the winner.

Bull shots proved to be most elusive on Target A with only Lester Langford scoring a mini possible when he shot five bulls, three of them “clean”, leaving no mark on the target for 25.3 points. Steve Hodges and Joe Powell managed four bulls for scores of 24.3 and 24 respectively. Target B was marginally more generous with Bill Fleming who only hit one bull previously and Rob Dipple who failed to find the bull on the first target going on to shoot five bulls for mini possibles. Chris Reed and Paul Clingan both managed four bulls for 24.1 and 24.2 points on the second target.

Final scores ranged between 47.4 and 38 out of a possible 51. Normally “clean” bulls determine a match but on this occasion both Lester Langford and Steve Hodges finished on 47.4 points which required a five shot shoot off in which Langford shot four more bulls to win the competition adding to his success as a very competent shooter. He currently holds from last season, the Youth Cup, the Under 21 Highest Average trophy and is joint holder of the Pairs trophy. This season he has won the Whitbread Individual trophy, the Snap Shooting Challenge and now the Back To Basics Competition.

Report by Juana Everett, to be published on 22nd March 2018