Dorchester Rifle & Pistol Club

Dorchester R&PC v. Bayeux Tir Club at Dorchester

Dorchester shooters welcomed their compatriots from Bayeux last weekend [24th - 26th June 2011] to their ranges at Dorchester and Piddlehinton for the 26th set of rifle and pistol competitions between the shooting clubs of the Twin Towns. This is believed to be the longest established regular international competition of its type.

The Police Pistol competition, shot against the clock on advancing targets at 20, 15, and 10m with air pistols, was the first competition. Dorchester were narrowly beaten in France last year, and having put in a lot of practice four of the team came out ahead of all the Bayeux shooters, with Steve Hubble top scoring [238] and Marco Dal Pont [221] heading the French. Dorchester won convincingly by 1127 to 989.

The second competition on Friday afternoon was the 10 metre precision air pistol where Bayeux traditionally have not only exceptional skills but also strength in depth. This year was no exception; four of the five Bayeux shooters scored over 260, with Jean-Jacques Durand and Francoise Huart both scoring 267. Gill Carter was top for Dorchester [263] followed by Scott Civil and Lucas Weschke, both on 256. Bayeux retained the trophy with 1317 against Dorchester's 1266.

Friday evening's social at the Dorchester Clubhouse included entertainment on the fiddle from Colin Thompson and an opportunity to try the older sport of archery, where Club Treasurer, David Jenkins was particularly successful.

Saturday morning at Piddlehinton was grey and overcast, with a blustery wind blowing over the left shoulder and varying along and across the range. The rifle competition involves each of the 5 shooters in the teams having 40 shots; 20 at 50m and 20 at 100yds. In the testing conditions Ian Davison was by far the best shot on the range [386], well ahead of Richard Burden [373] and Dave Carter [370]. The top Bayeux shooter was Marie-Claire France [362] and the youngest shooter, 14 year old Colas Dubourg, scored a creditable 353. Dorchester won 50m by 924 to Bayeux's 893 and 100yds by 929 to 883 to retain the rifle trophy with a total of 1853 ahead of Bayeux's 1776.

The afternoon was brighter, but still blustery, for the Black Powder pistol competition at 25m using replica historic arms similar to those used by highwaymen or for duelling. The shooters measure their own powder and load the lead ball down the muzzle of the pistol between each shot and because of the variability that provides they are allowed 13 shots with the best 10 to count for the match. In the difficult conditions scores were not as high as in previous years and Steve Maros [88] and Sean Thomas [87] of Dorchester were top scorers with Jean-Jacques Durand [86] just a point behind. However the greater consistency of the Bayeux team enabled them to score a team total of 414 against Dorchester's 386.

The Mayor of Dorchester, Tess James, accompanied by Roland Tarr, joined the Black Powder shooters and both scored well for their first attempt. The Mayor presented the trophies, two to each team.

The celebration dinner was held at La Caverna in Dorchester where Jacques Lechevallier, the President of the Bayeux Club, presented a framed element of the famed Bayeux Tapestry to the Dorchester Club who reciprocated with a print by Eric Ricketts and a Dorset County flag. Recognising that the core membership of the teams from both Clubs has been quite consistent, and growing older, for many years newer and younger shooters [Scott Civil, Karina Chegwidden, Steve Hubble, Wendy Thomas, Julia Huart, and Colas Dubourg] were welcomed by both sides.

Richard Burden, Chairman
RFB 29 6 11

Score Sheet