Sporting Finish Leaves Shooters Misty-Eyed

Fabrizio Spring All-Rounder

The annual Fabrizio All-Round Cup was this weekend’s hot competition at Meary Veg, Santon, where 13 competitors battled driving fog, gusting wind and variable light to shoot 125 targets across five disciplines. Even clay target shooters have their strengths and weaknesses, which makes for interesting competition and great banter during these mixed events of Trap, Skeet, and Sporting, with each of the five rounds carrying a maximum score of 75 points.

The first discipline was English Skeet, and resident specialist Paul Mihailovits made his mark with the only straight 75, closely followed by Micheal Cross, Peter Kelly, and Giulio Fabrizio all on 72 points thanks to just one miss, which in Mikey’s case was the last target – an unfortunate occurrence. Trap expert Stevie Craine failed to find his groove during this first round, but more than made up for it by scoring a perfect 75 in the second discipline, Down The Line (DTL), where he was pursued by Brian Faragher on 71 and John Moore on 70.

Our third discipline was Olympic Skeet, which differs from English Skeet by virtue of much faster targets, a random delay of up to three seconds, and only being allowed to raise your gun once the target has been spotted. The need to quickly mount the gun from a lowered position places lady shooters at something of a disadvantage, but that didn’t stop Nicky Barnett from putting in a respectable 36, highlighting the beauty of all-round competitions by staying three points clear of the last round’s winner. At the other end of the field, blessed with youthful reflexes and unencumbered by female anatomy, Micheal Cross led the pack with a healthy 69 points, closely followed by Giulio Fabrizio on 66 and Jeff Corkill on 57.

Just as Olympic Skeet could be called an evolution of English Skeet, Automatic Ball Trap (ABT) is very similar to DTL, but now there’s a random vertical component added to the unseen trap’s left-right swing. Once again Stevie Craine was in his element, joining ABT veteran John Moore at the top of the pack with 63 points apiece, closely followed by Micheal Cross, Jeff Corkill, Stanley Cross, Peter Kelly, and Mark Barnett with 57 points each.

The fog thickened outside while competitors were re-grouped in order of merit over mugs of tea and hot baps, before being released to face a final round of 25 very variable targets. Designed to mimic what one might encounter at a game shoot, Sporting targets can differ tremendously in their speed and trajectory, with individual easy ‘birds’ often combining to make challenging pairs. Jeff Corkill’s recent focus on Sporting paid off during this round, bagging him 48 points alongside Brian and Joe Faragher, Mark Barnett, and Stan Cross. Micheal Cross stayed a few points ahead of Dad with 54, but the undisputed victor of a very challenging round was Giulio Fabrizio with 57.

Nothing re-shuffles the pack like a well designed Sporting layout, and today’s final round was no exception – great shooting Mikey!

Results

High Gun

  • Micheal Cross (316)

Class A

  1. J Moore (295)
  2. P Mihailovits (291)
  3. J Corkill (290)

Class B

  1. G Fabrizio (313)
  2. S Cross (293)
  3. M Barnett (286)

Class C

  1. P Fabrizio (233)
  2. N Barnett (183)
P Fabrizio, P Mihailovits, G Fabrizio, N Barnett, S Cross, M Cross, J Moore, J Faragher, J Corkill

Sporting Leagues Continue in Mixed Weather

Pro Sporting League Round 3

The third round of The Dave and Pam Corlett Pro Sporting league was held at Meary Veg, Santon, in wet and misty conditions but the shooters stayed dry shooting under the new shelters built over the past year.

The leader after the first 25 was John Moore with 23 points in second place on 21 were Will Rand and C class shooter Mark Sweetman. Leading B class were Steven Craine and son Calum with 20 points. After the second round in C class Brian Kelly finished in third place on 28 points with lady shooter Nicky Barnett taking second place with 31 points but the run away winner of  C class with 40 points was Mark Sweetman.

In B class Brian Faragher was third on 41 points with Calum Craine in second place on 42 but winning B class and overall highgun was Rob Corlett with 43 points. We had a three way tie for first place in A class between the first round leader John Moore, Stan Cross and Peter Kelly who had a 25 straight in his second round

Results

Class A

  1. J Moore (23, 19 = 42)
  2. S Cross (20,22 = 42)
  3. P Kelly (17, 25 = 42)

Class B

  1. R Corlett (19, 24 = 43)
  2. C Craine (20, 22 = 42)
  3. B Faragher (19, 22 = 41)

Class C

  1. M Sweetman (21, 19 = 43)
  2. N Barnett (L) (13, 18 = 31)
  3. B Kelly (18, 10 = 28)

English Sporting League Round 3

In the afternoon the third round of the Suntera Global Sporting League was held in dry sunny conditions.

We had a three way tie after the first stand between A class George Davies and B class shooter Stan Cross and Will Rand with perfect ten’s. We still had a three way tie after the second stand but this time it was between George Davies and B class Rob Corlett and Peter Kelly all on 19 points followed by Will Rand, Brian Faragher and unclassified Calum Craine on 18.

After stand three we still had a tie for first place between Will Rand and Rob Corlett with 27 points, in third place on 26 was Peter Kelly with George Davies and Brian Faragher next on 25. It was till a tie for first place after stand four between Rand and Corlett on 34 points but not far behind in third place was Stan Cross on 32.

With all to play for on the last stand Rand and Corlett scored 7 but Cross scored 9 to make it a three way tie for first place in B class on 41 points. George Davies was the leading A class shooter with 39 points with Ben Richards in second place on 33 and taking third in A was Jack Clague on 27. In C class Mark Sweetman made it a double by winning both C class’s on the day with 26 points, Rob Marshall was second in C with 24 points and Alan Wright was third with 21 points.

A big thank you must go to Will Rand and Brian Faragher for setting the course’s up which were well received by all.

Results

Class A

  1. G Davies (39)
  2. B Richards (33)
  3. J Clague (27)

Class B

  1. S Cross (41)
  2. W Rand (41)
  3. R Corlett (41)

Class C

  1. M Sweetman (26)
  2. R Marshall (24)
  3. A Wright (21)
A Wright, G Davies, S Cross, R Corlett, W Rand, M Sweetman, R Marshall

Cross, Wade and Davies Dominate

Suntera Global English Sporting League

The second round of the Suntera Global English Sporting League was held at Meary Veg, Santon, in cold but dry conditions.

Fast out of the traps on the first stand was Alan Wade who shot a perfect 10 to lead from Michael Cross and George Davies by one on 9 with Peter Kelly, David Morgan and junior Zac Bellhouse next on 8. We had a three way tie after stand two with Wade, Cross and Davies all tying on 16 followed by Stan Cross, Will Rand and Dave Corlett on 15.

We sill had a three way tie after stand three with Cross and Davies being joined by Stan Cross on 25, John Moore was next on 24 with Wade, Corlett and Kelly next on 23. It was all change after stand four with Davies in the lead on his own with 34 points followed by the Cross’s Stan and Michael on 33 with Moore and Corlett next on 32.

After the fifth and last stand Mark Sweetman finished in third place in C class on 23 but we had a tie for first place between Rob Marshall and Brian Kelly with 25 points each. In B class Brian Faragher finished in third place on 36 one point ahead in second place was Will Rand but taking B class with a well shot 39 was Stan Cross. Alan Wade was third in A class with 39 points with Michael Cross second on 40 but A class winner and overall highgun was George Davies with 41 points.

Results

Class A

  1. G Davies (41)
  2. M Cross (40)
  3. A Wade (39)

Class B

  1. S Cross (39)
  2. W Rand (37)
  3. B Faragher (36)

Class C

  1. R Marshall (25)
  2. B Kelly (25)
  3. M Sweetman (23)
R Marshall, A Wade, B Kelly, S Cross, G Davies, M Sweetman, M Cross

Pam & Dave Corlett Pro Sporting League

In the afternoon the second round of the Dave and Pam Corlett Pro Sporting league was held again in dry but cool conditions.

The leader after the first 25 was Alan wade with a well shot 22 who lead by three from George Davies and Peter Kelly on 19 followed by Stan Cross, John Moore and junior Joe Faragher on 18 who was the leading B class shooter at this stage. Leading C class was Mark Sweetman with Brian Kelly second on 14.

After the second 25 Brian Kelly finished in third place in C class with 27 points, in second place on 28 was lady shooter Allana Wade with Mark Sweetman taking first place on 29. Mark Barnett was third in B class with 35 points with Brain Faragher taking second place on 37 but winning B class with a well shot 39 was newcomer Calum Craine. George Davies was third in A class with 36 points with Stan Cross taking second place on 37 but highgun and A class winner was Alan Wade on 40.

Results

Class A

  1. A Wade (22, 18 = 40)
  2. S Cross (18, 19 = 37)
  3. G Davies (19, 17 = 36)
  4. J Moore (18, 18 = 36)

Class B

  1. C Craine (17, 22 = 39)
  2. B Faragher (17, 20 = 37)
  3. M Barnett (17, 18 = 35)

Class C

  1. M Sweetman (16, 13 = 29)
  2. A Wade (L) (12, 16 = 28)
  3. B Kelly (14, 13 = 27)
M Barnett, M Sweetman, B Kelly, G Davies, S Cross, All Wade, A Wade, B Faragher, C Craine

Windy Start to Summer Leagues

DTL Round One

The first round of the Tower insurance DTL summer league was held at Meary Veg, Santon, with 21 competitors taking part in very windy but dry conditions.

The leader after the first round was B class shooter Calum Craine with the only 25 straight of the round scoring 74 points beating his dad Steven Caine by three points who was the leading A class shooter in second place on 71 points. In equal third overall were Arthur Hayes, junior Arran Wade and leading C class shooter Michael Cross on 70.

After the second round we had a three way tie for first place in A class between Steven Craine, Mike Parr and Arran Wade all on 138 points. Calum Craine claimed B class with 137 points with Rob Corlett second on 136 and dad David third on 133. In C class Mark Sweetman finished in third place on 116 points, in second place on 131 was Rob Marshall but beating them all and claiming overall high gun was Michel Cross with 143 points who shot the only 25 straight in the second round – well done Mike!

Results

Class A

  1. S Craine (47 / 138)
  2. M Parr (48 / 138)
  3. Arr Wade (J) (47 / 138)

Class B

  1. C Craine (47 / 137)
  2. R Corlett (46 / 136)
  3. D Corlett (47 / 133)

Class C

  1. M Cross (49 / 143)
  2. R Marshall (45 / 131)
  3. M Sweetman (41 / 116)

ABT Round One

In the afternoon the first rounds of the Sadler Agricultural Supplies ABT and the Manx Petroleum’s Olympic skeet leagues were held. Robert Watterson was the winner in the Sadler Agricultural Supplies ABT league scoring 45 with Alan Wade second on 44 and Mark Riley third on 41. Junior Arran Wade was the handicap winner with 45 points

Results

Overall

  1. R Watterson (23, 22 = 45)
  2. A Wade (20, 24 = 44)
  3. M Riley (21, 20 = 41)

Handicap

  • Arr Wade (J) (37 + 8 = 45)

Olympic Skeet Round One

In the Manx Petroleum’s Olympic skeet league James Bradley was the winner with 46 points with Stan Cross second on 39 and taking third place with 38 points was Jeff Corkill. David Clague was the handicap winner with 49 points.

Results

Overall

  1. J Bradley (22, 24 = 46)
  2. S Cross (20, 19 = 39)
  3. J Corkill (19, 19 = 38)

Handicap

  • D Clague (37 + 12 = 49)
R Marshall, S Craine, M Sweetman, M Cross, R Corlett, A Wade, D Corlett, C Craine, M Parr

Cross Retains All-Round Cup

Winter 2021 Finishes in Style

Twenty-two competitors took part in the Isle of Man Clay Pigeon Shooting Club’s annual Winter All-Rounder at Meary Veg, Santon, shooting three rounds in windy and increasingly wet conditions. 75 points were available during each round, with a hit scoring 3 points across all disciplines and a second-barrel hit scoring two points in Down the Line (DTL).

The combination of horizontal rain and unpredictable gusts of wind proved no match for class B shooter Micheal Cross, who only missed a single target on pad 4 in the opening round of English Skeet for an impressive score of 72. The same pad also proved tricky for Stan Cross, who dropped two targets and finished three points behind his son with 69. Continuing the trend of narrow margins were Neil Parsons, Will Rand and Mark Barnett, each bagging 22 targets and 66 points.

With two ranges at our disposal we were able to split the five squads between English Skeet and Down the Line, where the wind and rain continued to provide some interesting targets. None of this mattered to class B shooter Ted Davis, who missed just one target and hit the rest with his first barrel, setting the bar at 72 points. Standing firm in joint second place were Dave Corlett and Mark Riley, both class A competitors with 68 points a piece, followed by Neil Parsons, Will Rand, and Brian Faragher – all on 67 points.

To keep the adrenaline building we reorganised all 22 competitors into four squads based on their scores so far, before embarking on the final challenge of the day, a very wet and windy round of Pro Sporting. Once again Ted Davis put in a great performance, letting just a single target get away during the instant pairs for an impressive 72 points. Never far behind with 69 points each were Neil Parsons and Micheal Cross, both of whom shot well but succumbed to the Curse of the Rabbit – a fast and well camouflaged target making a bee-line for its burrow. Stan Cross was once again just one target behind his boy, sharing third place with Rob Corlett on 66 points.

At the end of three rounds and with 225 points to play for, our Winter All-Round cup goes to Micheal Cross for the second year running with 207 points. A Class was won by Neil Parsons with 202, followed by Dave Corlett on 191 and Stevie Craine on 179. Ted Davies and Stan Cross topped B Class with 201 points each, and Will Rand claimed third place with 193. Class C was won by Alan Wright on 139, with Allana Wade and Brian Kelly in joint second with 137.

The Club All-Rounder marks the end of our winter season, and once again we’ve seen some fierce competition, great sportsmanship, and above all some very challenging weather! Our sincere thanks to all our sponsors for making these leagues possible; Cu-Plas Callow for DTL, Utopia Hair Salon for English Skeet, and Brian, Stan, Will and Peter for Pro Sporting. Full results are available on our website iomclays.com/results – now onwards to Summer 2022!

Results

High Gun

  • M Cross (207) 🏆

A Class

  1. N Parsons (202)
  2. D Corlett (191)
  3. S Craine (179)

B Class

  1. T Davis (201)
  2. S Cross (201)
  3. W Rand (193)

C Class

  1. A Wright (139)
  2. B Kelly (137)
  3. A Wade (L) (137)
2021 Winter All-Round Winners: A Wright, S Cross, N Parsons, M Cross, P Kelly, A Wade, W Rand, D Corlett, T Davis