Shooters triumph in Orkney
A group of clay shooters travelled to Orkney at the weekend to take part in the annual inter-county, an event which has been ongoing since 1980.
The team included competitors who first represented Shetland in the early 1980s, underlining that clay shooting is a sport for all age groups.
The competition was shot over four disciplines – automatic ball trap (ABT), down the line (DTL), national skeet and sporting – with each shooter shooting 25 of each. The six-man A team comprised Peter Ratter, Alan Moar, Jim Work, Ewen Johnson, Peter Davies and Christopher Williamson with with all scores to count.
Prior to starting the targets were checked by representatives from both teams. To remove any home team advantage the sporting was set up on the day with input from both teams.
Weather for the event was poor gales and squally showers that made any score over 20 in a round hard to achieve. The rain was also difficult for anyone wearing glasses as it was impossible to keep the lenses dry making targets difficult to see.
The A team competition was won by Orkney with a score of 502.5 to Shetland’s 482.5. Individual scores to note were maximums of 25 in the ABT from Orkney’s Alan Clouston and Bryan Foreman in the skeet in the most difficult conditions.
The high gun of the A match went to Foreman with an incredible 90. Top scorer in the Shetland team were Ratter who finished on 87.5 and had been in the hunt for the high gun.
Man of the match in the Shetland team was Moar who was making his first inter-county appearance and finished on 86.
The B event had four in each team with Shetland being represented by Joe Kay, Magnie Mouat, Chris Johnson and Dennis Middleton. They also lost to Orkney who shot a total score of 307.5 to Shetland’s 283. However, Kay hit the highest score of all the B competitors to take the team high gun with a total of 83.
On Sunday, again in poor weather, a 100-target double rise was put on and Shetland shooters were in the hunt for the top score. Moar equalled the highest score of 77 and shot off but lost to Orkney man Raymond Waters to come second. They were followed by Orkney’s Clouston on 76 and Johnson and Work on 74.
A spokesman said: “Thanks to the members of Orkney’s Clay Target Club for putting on very fair targets that but for the weather would have seen more high scoring rounds. “ This Sunday the club is putting on universal trench practice with a 10am start. The skeet range is set to national skeet that is ideal for beginners and will be open.
