St. George's I

The St. George's match is considered by some to be more difficult to win than the Queen's Prize.

The 1st stage is 15 rounds at 300yds. In the field of about 1000, the "cut" line is 300 shooters. So the top 300 scores are selected to progress to Stage II. The cutoff is usually a score of minimum 74 out of 75. Sometimes, in a smaller field, the cut-off drops to 73 or even 72.

Not this week.

Competition was very fierce and the cut-off line was 74.4v.

I was on a 74.7v when I lost my 14th of 15 shots high over the center of the bull. Collective intake of breath on my shooting point because all of us knew I would miss the next stage.

All I can think is that I mounted the gun poorly before taking the shot, because the sight picture and release were nigh perfect.

Here's the plot sheet from the shoot. What is nice is that I held an excellent elevation for 13 of my 15 shots.

Tomorrow is the first stage of the Queen's Prize (the main event). I have to do this all over again, and also shoot a 35 (7 shots) with high v-count at each of three matches (300yds, 500yds, and 600yds). Only those scoring 103 or better will progress to Queen's II. It too, is an elimination event, with the top 300 shooters progressing to Queen's II. Then, the best 100 riflemen (and women) in the world go "over the hill" to Stickledown to the Queen's Final at 900 and 1000 yds.