SHOOTINGTWO popular competitions kicked off the new season for Newport and District Rifle Club.
The Albion Cup, a rapid-fire shoot over 200m at Bisley targets was held at Newtown.
The course of fire is two strings of ten shots, each to be shot in one minute each, which is a tall order when the start is made with an empty rifle and no preloaded magazines.
Shooting in miserable weather, Rob Bollen was the very worthy winner, with David Atkin a long way behind as runner up.
However, Atkin had his day the following week, when the Ward Platter was shot at Sainham. This is a two-stage competition for pistol calibre rifles.
The first stage is a precision shoot with 20 rounds deliberate, followed by 20 rounds snap shooting, where the targets are only exposed for three seconds at a time.
With no allowances made for stoppages, this is a very intense shoot and Atkin won with a score of 343. Mike Jolliff was second on 323, with Pete Blackwell, third, on 321.