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Shooter and spotter at the firing point for the Any Which Way You Can stage - engaging a  42" high auto reset popper with a 12" round at 1250m.  Darryn's scoring.

Introduction

To attend a mid-winter shoot at Lake Tekapo requires an acceptance that conditions could be extreme.  Snow storms had blown through a couple of weeks earlier and about half a foot of snow was left on the ground.  While much of the rest of the country was encountering heavy rain warnings, the Mackenzie country seemed to experience a perpetual high, with daily temperatures reaching ten degrees, with full sun and clear blue skies.  But before the sun got into the valley (around 9:00am)  and after the sun left the valley (about 4:30pm) it was definitely sub-zero temperatures.  But wind was either mostly absent or sometimes up to about 6mph, although it seemed to vary in different parts of the valley.  
 
As usual the majority of shooters were from the Christchurch / Canterbury area, with a couple driving down from Auckland, one from Wellington, and one from Dunedin.  As usual for the Gunslinger shoots the equipment restrictions were quite relaxed, with some shooters using benchrest forerests, and some using two rifles on the Gunslinger Extreme Long Range Challenge (eg .308 and .338).  A wide variety of firearms were present, including ten .338s, and two .50 cals.
 
Don MacDonald, one of the writers for the New Zealand Guns and Hunting magazine, attended as a competitor, so look for a write-up in the September / October 2010 issue. 

The location was the Dead Man's Creek valley, once again on Sawdon Station - about 10km along the road from Lake Tekapo village or Burkes Pass.  The marshalling area was about 2km up the valley.
 
The match was operated by Gunslinger PLRS Limited, and there were four range officers present for the three days:

• Shane Cossar (Match Director / Chief Range Officer)
• Darryn Haffenden
• Bill Terry
• Lake Sinclair

Practice Day - Friday

More than a dozen shooters turned up bright and early for the Practice Day.  There were paper targets at 100m and 320m, with options to then fire west from Dead Man’s Creek onto unknown distance metal targets at up to 1000m, or north onto some extreme long range targets. 

Tony S. had brought nine of his metal targets down, so there was a wide variety of targets and ranges to shoot at.

Five hits were made on the full sized IPSC target out at 1550m – two from the .50 cal by Andy and Archie.  These guys came prepared with a theodolite and an artillery range finder for very accurate range estimation.  Whereas most of the others suffered severe degradation of the performance of LRFs in the bright sunlight off the snow.

Dead Man's Creek, Sawdon Station, Lake Tekapo.

Competitions - Gunslinger Rifle Challenge, and Gunslinger Extreme Long Range Rifle Challenge - Saturday

Some 24 shooters, four range officers and a few non-shooting spotters turned up around 8:30am for the competitions.  Everyone was provided with a chamber safety flag (courtesy of the Mountain Safety Council), and a few data book pages in order to optionally record their shooting.

Four squads of between four and seven were assembled and after a safety briefing shooting started at 9:00am on 320m paper targets and two stages on metal (not scored). 

At 11:00 the competitions got underway, and continued throughout the day until about 5:30pm, by which time the sun had gone and temperatures were plummeting.  The day had progressed slower than anticipated, and so the night shoot was cancelled.  Each squad shot six of the eight stages, depending upon which competition they were in.  Once again, those squads where competitors actually assisted each other with range estimation and spotting tended to do far better than those which didn’t share information.  The combination of snow on the ground, tussock and Matagouri made many of the targets very difficult to find.  Late in the day there was a significant mirage coming off the snow which made things even more difficult.

Score Board

ReShoot - Sunday

About a dozen shooters showed up early for the re-shoot and after a brief presentation to the prize winners, shooters were able to reshoot some stages or any of the other metal targets around the valley.  About mid-day Simon and Stu got the BBQ going and there was venison steak and bacon butties for everyone.  Those still around then helped retrieve targets, and by 2:30pm the targets had been packed up and everyone was heading home..

Legal:  In consideration for being permitted to attend this practical long range shooting event, the competitor is agreeing to the following:
The competitor holds a current firearms licence, including any endorsements applicable to the firearm being used.
The competitor expressly assumes the risk of taking part in the match, which includes; instruction in the use of firearms, the discharge of firearms, and the firing of live ammunition.
The competitor agrees to indemnify, hold harmless and defend Gunslinger PLRS Limited, its staff, and the match location owner, from all fault, liabilities, costs, expenses, claims, demands or lawsuits arising out of or connected with the competitors presence at and / or participation in the event; the discharge of firearms by the competitor or other competitors; the competitors presence on or use of the event location.
The competitor understands, and will at all times abide by all event Standard Operating Procedures, Course of Fire and any other rules and procedures stated by the Match Director or Range Officer/s.

Disclaimer:  Shooting is potentially dangerous and damaged equipment can be expensive to fix.  You should confirm all changes to be made to your rifle system and shooting practices with your local gunsmith or gunshop owner.