Monday 30 November 2015

City vs Sarisbury: The Highest Scoring Match in Recent League History!


This evening was the away match at Sarisbury and it was a night of superlatives.
The last match of the year.
The first possible (100) from a City shooter this season.
The highest team score of the season so far.
The highest scoring match in the Portsmouth & District League for at least the last three seasons.
Unfortunately, it was also:
The first possibles scored against City this season, and...
The first City loss of the season.
Here were the scores:

Sarisbury - 495

T. Gleed (100)
M. Guille (98)
P. Pearce (98)
M. Frost (94)
M. Holdway (99)
G. Barber (97)
P. Fitzsimmons (100)
D. Cleeve (96)
Portsmouth City - 492

I. Cooper (97)
M. Nevatte (98)
A. Nevatte (98)
P. Upchurch (94)
G. Scruton (100)
L. Haskett (93)
S. Hart (98)
R. Ashman (98)

So this was a high scoring match that saw City rise to the occasion admirably.  Our team average is now 486.6 and the team score of 492 solidly bests our previous best this season of 489 and is the best team score we've had for at least the last three years!

However, Sarisbury ain't the reigning league champions for nothing, folks!  Many congratulations to them for also shooting their highest score of the season so far and their highest scores for the last three seasons as well!

Special congratulations to T. Gleed, P. Fitzsimmons and G. Scruton for their possibles.

Mid-Season Report

Portsmouth City has shot 7 of its 14 matches of the Portsmouth & District 2015/16 shoulder-to-shoulder season.  So far we've had 6 wins and 1 loss and our current team average is 486.6.

(483) Portsmouth City vs Havant (480)
Win (see results)
(481) Portsmouth City vs Fareham (473)
Win (see results)
(487) Portsmouth City vs Chichester (465)
Win (see results)
(481) West Meon vs Portsmouth City (487)
Win (see results)
(487) Portsmouth City vs Portsmouth Railway (482)
Win (see results)
(483) Wickham vs Portsmouth City (489)
Win (see results)
(495) Sarisbury vs Portsmouth City (492)
Loss (see results)

Best shoulder-to-shoulder averages so far are:

1st: Ian Cooper (97.57)
2nd: Marian Nevatte (97.29)
3rd: Sarah Hart & Gordon Scruton (97.17)

Monday 23 November 2015

City adds another win to the season!


Portsmouth City goes from strength to strength as it adds another win to what is turning out to be a very successful season.  We were away at Wickham tonight and achieved the best score of the season so far (and equalling our last match against Wickham in the 2014/15 season).

Wickham A - 483

S. Dismore (94)
R. Heasell (97)
T. Caister (92)
M. Barnes (98)
M. Ward (92)
I. Nichols (96)
R. Long (96)
E. Malleson (96)

Reserve
J. Willsher (92)
Portsmouth City - 489

I. Cooper (97)
M. Nevatte (96)
A. Nevatte (98)
S. Hart (97)
J. Rowe (96)
P. Upchurch (99)
G. Scruton (95)
R. Ashman (98)

So we now have 6 wins, no losses or draws and that gives us 12 championship points and a team average that now equals our average from last season, 485.7.  Next Monday sees us face last season's champions, Sarisbury, in our last match of 2015 so we're all hoping to keep the momentum going.

Friday 20 November 2015

City vs Railway


Last night, the main Portsmouth City team faced off against fellow Portsmouth team, Portsmouth Railway Rifle Club, and it looks like City's moment is far from slowing!

Portsmouth City - 487

M. Nevatte (98)
S. Hart (99)
L. Haskett (94)
I. Cooper (98)
A. Nevatte (97)
P. Upchurch (95)
J. Rowe (95)
R. Ashman (95)
Portsmouth Railway - 482

J. Ring (96)
M. Carter (94)
K. Hardyman (99)
C. Richards (96)
N. Toms (95)
N. Perman (96)
C. Coles (95)

This home match saw City score its third successive 487 and now has a team average of 485.  Portsmouth City's championship points are now in double figures (10) with 5 wins, no losses and no draws.  Still no possibles (perfect 100s) but we'll all get another chance to do that at our away match at Wickham on Monday. :-)

Well done to Portsmouth Railway for their very respectable scores and providing a relatively close match.

Tuesday 10 November 2015

West Meon vs Portsmouth City (Our 1st Away Match of the Season)


This evening saw the City team trek up to deepest, darkest West Meon!  It was our 4th match of the season and our 1st away match.  Thankfully, after a shaky start, City appears to have found its form.

West Meon - 481

G. Dalton (94)
A. Smith (95)
M. Atkins (98)
G. Stone (95)
P. Hannington (97)
D. Corbett (96)
R. Amor (91)
Portsmouth City - 487

M. Nevatte (98)
I. Cooper (98)
A. Nevatte (93)
J. Rowe (94)
G. Scruton (98)
S Hart (99)

City equals its score from our last match against Chichester and our team average for the season now rests at 484.5.  Not bad but come on City, we can do better - there hasn't even been a ton yet!

So despite not having a full-strength team, we've managed to chalk up another win and look forward to meeting Portsmouth Railway next week!

Tuesday 3 November 2015

City wins during the Summer Season!

Now that all the scores are in from the various competitions that Portsmouth City shooters were taking part in over the summer, here is how we did!


A Team
Winners Division 1
(Ian Cooper, Adam Nevatte, Marian Nevatte, Gordon Scruton) 

B Team
Runners Up Div 3
(Mike McCormick, Dave Reeves, Jonny Rowe, Phil Upchurch)



A lot of shooters also took part in individual competitions over the summer and for some of them it was their first competition experience.  In the P&D indoor postal league, special congratulations go to Ian for winning his division, and to Gordon, Jonny, and Mike for coming runner up in their respective divisions.

Gordon Scruton
Runner Up Div 1

Ian Cooper
Winner Div 2

Phil Upchurch
3rd Place Div 5

Lou Stafford
10th Place Div 5

Jonny Rowe
Runner Up Div 6

Adrian Fallows
7th Place Div 8

Mike McCormick
Runner Up Div 10

Dave Reeves
5th Place Div 10



The Civil Service indoor postal leagues provided the first match experience for George, Mark, Paul, Mike Carpenter, Dave Allen, and Dan.  Well done to all of them for completing their first shooting competition.  Special congratulations go to Phil, Jonny, Mike Hellyer, Paul and David Owen for winning their divisions.

Gordon Scruton
3rd Place Div 1 

Phil Upchurch 
Winner Div 7 

Jonny Rowe 
Winner Div 10 

Stephanie Furness-Barr 
Runner Up Div 11 
4th Place Ladies’ Div 1 

Mike McCormick 
Runner Up Div 16 

Dave Reeves 
Runner Up Div 10 

Mike Hellyer 
Winner Div 19 

George Herron 
Runner Up Div 19 

Mark Lipsham 
4th Place Div 19 

Paul Scrivens 
Winner Div 20 

Adrian Fallows 
Runner Up Div 20 

Mike Carpenter 
3rd Place Div 20 

Dave Allen 
4th Place Div 20 

David Owen 
Winner Div 21 

Dan Carpenter 
Runner Up Div 21



Gordon Scruton
Runner Up Div 2

Jonny Rowe
Winner Div 7

Dave Reeves
Runner Up Div 11

Sunday 1 November 2015

Portsmouth City vs Chichester (The Home Match)


Thursday evening saw Portsmouth City's third match of the 2015-16 shoulder-to-shoulder season  It was another home match, this time against Chichester, and this time the City team was at full strength and on fine form.

Portsmouth City - 487

I. Cooper (98)
A. Nevatte (98)
P. Upchurch (97)
M. Nevatte (98)
S. Hart (95)
R. Ashman (96)
J. Rowe (95)
G. Scruton (94)*
Chichester - 465

S. Sadler (94)
C. Wade (88)
J. Peart (89)
W. Williamson (94)
N. Logan (96)
S. Jenkins (92)

City now appears to be finding its form with a score of 487, which is on the far more preferable side of the team average last year (485.7) than the 483 or 481 of our other matches this season so far.  It was a pity that Chichester wasn't able to field a complete team of 8 but we look forward to facing them again later in the season on their own range.

So Portsmouth City now has 6 championship points this season.  3 wins, no losses, no draws.  However, we expect more exciting shooting is to come as the first City possible (perfect 100) has yet to be shot and we have a number of matches happening over November.

* P. S.  G. Scruton's poor individual score that led to him being counted out of this particular match is not the reason this match report was late in being posted online... despite the ribbing he received at the match! :-)

Thursday 22 October 2015

City vs Fareham


The season continued this evening in City's second match of the season.  It was another home match, this time against against Fareham and here's how it went.

Portsmouth City - 481

I. Cooper (98)
M. Nevatte (96)
A. Nevatte (95)
G. Scruton (99)
P. Upchurch (92)
D. Reeves (92)
R. Ashman (93)
Fareham - 473

N. Grimstead (96)
D. Spendlove (98)
D. McCourt (96)
M. Capewell (89)
D. Blake (94)

It was an enjoyable night but a disappointing match as neither team was at full strength (remembering that match teams should have 8 shooters on the team, with the best five scores getting counted in).  Nonetheless, despite another low team score, PCRC benefited from the home range advantage, and healthier team numbers and achieved a win.  It's another home match against Chichester next week and then we have our first away match against West Meon in mid-November.

Friday 9 October 2015

City vs Havant (The 2015-16 Shoulder-to-Shoulder Season Kicks Off)


Last night saw City's first match of the 2015-16 Portsmouth & District shoulder-to-shoulder season.  We were runners up last season, narrowly losing out to Sarisbury, so we were keen to start strong this season with a view to having another swing at the championship cup.  It was a home match against Havant and here's how it went.

Portsmouth City - 483

M. Nevatte (97)
A. Nevatte (97)
I. Cooper (97)
G. Scruton (97)
S. Hart (95)
L. Haskett (92)
J. Rowe (95)

Havant - 480

D. Cotton (96)
T. Brown (95)
S. Lavin (86)
J. Allsop (94)
A. Perry (96)
A. Morley (96)
J. Alexander (92)
L. Hanna (97)

So while the team scores on both sides were a little lower than we would both like, PCRC managed to capitalise on the home range advantage and achieve a win.

Jonny and Sarah's 95s were both competing for a spot on the scoring team (the rules of the matches are 8 in the team, best 5 scores are counted in).  First the number of bulls were considered (both the same), then the number of shots requiring the gauge (the same), and finally it came down to the number of absolute bulls (where the middle spot was completely taken out).  Based on this, Sarah's card was deemed the superior card.

This gives the team it's first two championship points and we look forward to our next match in a couple of weeks against Fareham.

Thursday 3 September 2015

Members' Fun Shoot on 15th September

To celebrate the end of a very full and fun summer season of shooting (everyone shot all their cards - results will be coming in soon), the rifle club will be having a fun shoot for all members to come along to on Tuesday 15th September!

It will be a tile shoot (click here for more information about what that is) and there will be prizes.  There will be no £2 range fee, just £5 entry for the tile shoot but we'll be including tea, coffee, biscuits... and homemade cake!


The winter competitions are just round the corner so this should be a nice opportunity for people to come back to the club if they've been away for a while.

Look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.  Please contact Gordon if you intend on coming, as he'll need to know teams to organise the competition.

Monday 17 August 2015

Portsmouth City is well represented at the Bisley National Meeting


This weekend three of our members, Marian Nevatte, Jonathan Rowe and Michael McCormick, took part in the NSRA/ELEY final up at Bisley.  These three had already proven themselves by getting through the 1st and 2nd rounds of this national competition, so now they were able to simply enjoy the experience of shooting outdoors at the annual national competition.

I'm pleased to say that Mike McCormick, in his first experience shooting outdoors, achieved 9th place in Class F.


Jonathan Rowe, taking part in his second ELEY final, bested his 7th position last year in Class F and this year achieved 4th place in Class E.


And our club captain, Marian Nevatte, did us all proud by getting 6th place in Class B!


Here were their scores (they were shooting two sets of cards at 50m outdoors).

M. McCormick - 170 (79, 91), 182 (91, 91)
J. Rowe - 185 (91, 94), 192 (97, 95)
M. Nevatte - 192 (96, 96), 188 (95, 93)

If any of you would like to try this next year, let one of the committee know down at the club so that we can add your name to the list of competitors for the NSRA/ELEY match next season.

Friday 5 June 2015

Spot takes one for the team...

Click here to see full size.

The Newmarket Results


A couple of months ago several members of PCRC took part in a short 4-card postal competition run by our friends up at Cambridgeshire Target Shooting Association, Fred & Sandra Haskett.

Here's how the Portsmouth City shooters did in the 2015 Newmarket Competition:

Gordon Scruton (2nd place, B Class)
Jonny Rowe (2nd place, C Class)

Lauren Haskett (3rd place, Ladies C/D/E)

Gordon Scruton & Ian Cooper (2nd place, A/B Pairs)
Jonny Rowe & Phil Upchurch (3rd place, C/D/E Pairs)

Well done to everyone who took part.  We'll be back next year.

Tuesday 2 June 2015

Come down to the range for a game of Tennis!

The above topic line might have you confused (tennis in a shooting range?).  Those of you who are not new to shooting may well know this game by another name, but I know it as 'Tennis' and it's a great way to keep practice a little more fun and competitive.

Here's how it works:

You need two shooters (A & B), one target, and one umpire.

Both shooters are given time to sight themselves in.  After this, a numbering of the 10 targets is agreed.  For example:


By virtue of a coin toss, A goes first.

The umpire randomly selects a target and calls out its number.

A shoots that target first, then B shoots the same target.

The umpire sees who has gotten closer to the bull and declares the winner of that target.

The umpire selects another target.

B now shoots first, followed by A.

The umpire declares the winner of that target.

This continues until all 10 targets are shot.

Shooters get 2 points per target won, 1 point for a drawn target and 0 points for a lost one.

Here's how it benefits your shooting:

It's easy to get stuck in a downward spiral and stop trying if you know the card is going to be a bad one.  This is a bad thing as what's important to remember is that a lot of this sport and some of its competitions are won or lost based on average - so for the sake of your overall average it's still worth making every shot count (even if it's a bad card overall).

Tennis is a great way to get into the habit of focusing on your current shot, not the one you've just taken or the one that comes next.  It's 10 one-shot games and once you've done one target you move on and focus on the next target.

Umpire-less Tennis

It is possible to play a game of tennis without an umpire.  Providing both shooters have a spotting scope to see where their shots go, A selects the target, B shoots first followed by A.  This alternates from shot to shot until the card is finished.

Range Etiquette

The rules on most ranges are that you must be quiet on the firing point and not do anything that might distract a fellow shooter.  This being the case, Tennis can really only be played if the two competitors have the detail to themselves (or providing any other shooters on the same detail are comfortable with the talking required during a tennis match, but this is quite unlikely).

Monday 1 June 2015

Havant Outdoor Double Dewar

This Sunday saw Havant host their annual Double Dewar competition.  A double dewar is two cards at 50m and two more at 100 yds - 80 competition shots in all.  I'm pleased to say that Mrs Marian Nevatte achieved 3rd Place in B Class.

Well done, Marian!

Friday 22 May 2015

Remember to Support us on Facebook!


If you are a Facebook user and you haven't already, please follow this link (www.facebook.com/portsmouthcityrifleclub) and follow our page.  Thanks.

Thursday 21 May 2015

How much shooting does PCRC do over the summer?

The summer postal competitions are now well and truly under way.  So how much shooting does Portsmouth City Rifle Club do over the summer?

(2 teams of 4, 10 cards each) (80 cards)

(8 individuals, 9 cards each) (72 cards)

(15 individuals, 9 cards each) (135 cards)

(3 individuals, 10 cards each) (30 cards)

317 cards = 3,170 competition shots.

So the answer is a lot!  But we still expect that our coming winter season numbers will easily exceed this.  Watch this space. ;-)

Tuesday 12 May 2015

Fareham vs Portsmouth City (The Arthur Lee Local Final)


This Monday saw the local final of the Arthur Lee cup.  The winners of this match go on to face whichever club wins to represent Southampton & District League.  For the first time in quite a few years, Portsmouth City managed to reach the local final where we faced Fareham.  Just like the Duttson Final we shot on a neutral range, this time Portsmouth Railway Rifle Club kindly provided the use of their range and a big thanks go to John Ring for scoring the cards, and again to Wayne Dugan for running the event.

This competition was teams of 6, shooting 2 cards each.  Unlike a few of our other competitions, every team member's scores counted.  Here's how it went:

Fareham - 1158

J. Lacey (97, 96)
D. Shepperd (96, 97)
D. Spendlove (99, 99)
P. Randall (98, 98)
T. Read (96, 94)
J. Hounsell (94, 94)
  Portsmouth City - 1151

M. Nevatte (99, 97)
S. Hart (97, 95)
G. Scruton (99, 99)
I. Cooper (96, 99)
A. Nevatte (96, 94)
P. Upchurch (90, 90)

So a close match but unfortunately Portsmouth City will not go on to represent Portsmouth & District this year against Southampton.  Well done to Fareham and we wish them good luck in the final.



Sunday 3 May 2015

Sighting

With so many beginners, I thought it would be a good idea to go through the basics of sighting a 0.22 rifle at 25 yards.  To that end, I've put together this video which looks at a general approach to sighting:


Depending on whether you are shooting with a bolt-action rifle or a BSA Martini, you'll also want to take a look at one of these videos which shows exactly how the sighting wheels need to be used:




Thursday 30 April 2015

The Duttson Cup final comes down to graduated gauging... against Sarisbury... again!

On Tuesday, members of the Portsmouth City squad took part in the semi-final and final of the Duttson Cup.  This particular cup dates back to 1936, when it was donated by William Noel Duttson, the then-president of Portsmouth & District Rifle League (and also director of Portsmouth Brewery on Admiralty Road).

William Noel Duttson (1935)

This year it was Fareham, Portsmouth Railway, Sarisbury and Portsmouth City through to the semi-finals and, as always, we had both the semis and the final on the same evening and all on a neutral range, the Tipner indoor range, kindly provided by the HMS Excellent Rifle Club.  By virtue of drawing names from a bag, PCRC first faced Portsmouth Railway.


Here's how the semi-finals went:

Portsmouth City - 389

I. Cooper (99)
A. Nevatte (99)
M. Nevatte (97)
G. Scruton (94)
Portsmouth Railway - 372

J. Nicholson (91)
N. Toms (93)
N. Perman (94)
J. Stockham (94)

Fareham - 384

P. Randall (96)
T. Read (97)
D. Shepperd (95)
D. Spendlove (96)
 Sarisbury - 387

G. Barber (95)
T. Gleed (96)
M. Guille (98)
P. Pearce (98)

This brought about the same final as we had last year: Portsmouth vs Sarisbury.  Last year it came down to graduated gauges; this is where the two teams' scores using standard gauges come out as the same - graduated gauges put the shots under a harsher spotlight and tell us who came closer to centre.




Portsmouth were the victors last year but would it be the case this year too?


Portsmouth City - 390
(.25G score - 384)

I. Cooper (97) (96)
A. Nevatte (99) (96)
M. Nevatte (97) (95)
G. Scruton (97) (97)
 Sarisbury - 390
(.25G score - 389)

G. Barber (98) (97)
T. Gleed (95) (95)
M. Guille (98) (98)
P. Pearce (98) (98)

So, as with the Portsmouth & District shoulder-to-shoulder league this year, Portsmouth had to settle for second place to Sarisbury.  Well done, Sarisbury.

The Duttson Cup has taken pride of place on our trophy shelves in the last few years and we'll be sorry to see it leave us... but we'll get it back next year!

Current 1946 Duttson Cup Trophy replacing the 1936 trophy presumed lost during the war

Overall Portsmouth City hasn't done too badly in this competition, in fact we were the first ever winners of it!

Inaugural Winners of the Duttson Cup (1936).  The captain, H. E. G. Abrams is sitting; standing left to right is L. G. German, H. V. Young, and E. S. German.

1936 - Portsmouth City
1937 - HMS Victory
1938 - HMS Excellent
Suspended during World War II (1939-1945)
1946 - Portsmouth City Police
1947 - Civil Defence
1949 - Portsmouth City
1950 - Portsmouth City
1951 - Havant
1952 - Portsmouth City
1953 - Portsmouth City
1954 - Portsmouth City
1955 - Portsmouth City
1956 - Portsmouth City
1957 - Portsmouth City
1958 - Portsmouth North End
No Competition (1959)
1960 - Portsmouth City "B"
1961 - Portsmouth City
1962 - Royal Marines "B"
1963 - HMS Collingwood
1964 - Portsmouth City
1965 - Portsmouth City
1966 - Portsmouth City
1967 - Portsmouth City
1968 - Portsmouth City
1969 - Royal Marines
1970 - Fareham
1971 - HMS Excellent
1972 - Havant
1973 - Havant
1974 - Havant
1975 - HMS Excellent
1976 - Havant
1977 - Havant
1978 - Havant
1979 - Havant
1980 - Havant
1981 - HMS Nelson
1982 - HMS Nelson
1983 - HMS Nelson
1984 - HMS Nelson
1985 - HMS Nelson
1986 - HMS Nelson
1987 - HMS Nelson
No Competition (1988-1991)
1992 - Portsmouth City
1993 - Portsmouth City
1994 - HMS Excellent
1995 - HMS Nelson
1996 - Chichester
1997 - Sarisbury
No Competition (1998)
1999 - Havant
2000 - Sarisbury
2001 - HMS Excellent
2002 - Portsmouth Railway
2003 - Havant
2004 - HMS Excellent
2005 - Sarisbury
2006 - Havant
2007 - Sarisbury
2008 - Havant
2009 - Havant
2010 - Havant
2011 - Sarisbury
2012 - Portsmouth City
2013 - Portsmouth City
2014 - Portsmouth City
2015 - Sarisbury

For those of your keeping a tally, PCRC (21 wins), Havant (15), HMS Nelson (8), HMS Excellent (6), Sarisbury (6), Royal Marines (2), Chichester (1), Civil Defence (1), Fareham (1), HMS Victory (1), HMS Collingwood (1), North End (1), Police (1)

Wednesday 29 April 2015

Portsmouth City win the Hayes Cup!


The good news just keeps on coming from the Civil Service Sports Council's Target Shooting Association.

After winning the second division of the winter postal leagues, Portsmouth City qualified for a shoot off competition against the winners of the other divisions.  Thankfully our team managed to keep it together and were victorious, getting the good name of Portsmouth onto the Hayes Cup as a result!  Here were the winning scores of the team:

Ian Cooper (100)
Adam Nevatte (96)
Marian Nevatte (98)
Gordon Scruton (97)

Well done to Ian for shooting another possible when it really mattered!

While a shoot-off against winners of different divisions may sound incredibly unfair (who can imagine a Division 6 team standing a chance against the winners of Division 1?) this was not decided by gun score but by percentage improvement.

What does 'percentage improvement' mean?

Put simply, each team was competing against their own previous scores in this knock-out, not each other.  For this competition, our best five rounds were taken:


1st Round
2nd Round
3rd Round
4th Round
5th Round
6th Round
7th Round
8th Round
9th Round
Ian
97
93
97
99
95
95
95
96
95
Adam
96
97
97
99
98
98
96
98
98
Marian
100
99
100
98
97
97
97
95
98
Gordon
99
97
97
95
98
98
99
97
96

(392 + 391 + 391 + 388 + 388)/5 = 390.

Using these rounds, the team's average was 10 (remembering that we focus on points lost).

The exact percentage improvement equation for this competition works as follows:

(Average minus Score) divided by Average, multiplied by 100.

So in our case,

( (10 - 9)/10 ) x 100 = 10%

Our Hayes Cup score of 391 (or 9) shows that we shot a full point better than our average which equates to a 10% improvement over our average.  

Ok, but how did PCRC win?

In the end, it was all down to one point.  Had any of us scored anything lower than what we got, we would have been third or worse.  Fortunately, our improvement was better than those of the other teams:

1st: Portsmouth (10.00%) (9)
2nd: Yealmpton B (1.16%) (17)
3rd: Bicester F (0.94%) (84)
4th: Plympton C (-1.83%) (49)
5th: Benfleet (-6.90%) (29)
6th: Darlington (-13.45%) (27)