Armidale Rifle Club

08/06/2026

Armidale Rifle Club 400m 07 June 2026

It was a glorious day for a 400m shoot, the sun was out and the wind was light. As per usual the notorious 400m range struck again. It was not an easy morning. The wind and mirage would not make up its mind and was switching between almost every shot making it hard to get a good run. Thirteen super centres seemed to be the number with Joel in FO 120.13, Andrew in TRA 100.13 and Jen in PC 100.13. Toby in PCO wasn’t far behind the supercentre count finishing with 12.

As per normal the friendly atmosphere and generosity of the Armidale Club shooters was once again evident. It is a wonderful to witness shooters being encouraged to achieve greater accuracy and improve their scores. Listing to the discussion at the scoring tables is forever insightful and we always come away with a few gems to remember. Not to mention the good-natured banter and quick sense of humour always provides a laugh or two.

Shorty was kept busy with his new role as the Country Team wind coach getting in some practice before the upcoming City vs Country vs ACT. Next Sunday at 500m will be the last chance to hone our skills prior to the NSWRA shoot at Malabar.
Congratulations to Al Mathison for taking out F-Standard A at the Wingham OPM over the long weekend and a big Happy Birthday to Andrew Cameron.

F-Open Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Joel Sorensen 60.7 60.6 120.13
Cal Orman 60.8 60.4 120.12
Blair Orman 60.2 58.3 118.5
Matt Foster 57.3 60.8 117.11
Cassandra Fullagar 57.4 58.2 115.6
Tom Keys 57.3 57.4 114.7

Target Rifle Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Andrew Cameron 50.7 50.6 100.13
Darryl Stace 49.4 49.2 98.6
Isabelle Cameron 48.4 46.2 94.6
Leah Baklien 47.4

Production Class – Open
Toby Anderson 59.5 57.2 116.12
Drew Winkel 57.4 56.3 113.7
PJ Bradford 59.5 56.1 113.6
Garry Cluey 57.6 54.1 111.7
Thomas Bradford 52.3 55.4 107.7
Craig Morgan 48.4 52.2 104.4

Production Class
Jen Winkel 50.7 50.6 100.13
Greg Keene 50.8 49.7 99.15
Murray Hill 49.3 50.6 99.9
Shawn Keene 48.4 50.6 98.10

Bisley
Isabelle Cameron 48.8
Andrew Cameron 48.6
Greg Carson 48.2

31/05/2026

Armidale Rifle Club Report 300 Yards 31St May 2026

On the final day of Autumn the chill and a blustery westerly reminded us that winter is just around the corner. Don’t take the beanies and jackets out of the shooting kit everyone they will be needed in the coming months.

In preparation for the upcoming City vs Country challenge it was an ideal training run for Shorty who is the wind coach for the Sporter Production Open Class (Jen owes you Shorty!). With scores today reflecting Shorty’s talents. Jen took out PC with a 100.16 pipping Greg on a count back. Drew had a smashing second stage scoring a 60.10 to follow a first stage of 59.06 taking out PCO with 119.16. Drew called two bad shots which turned out to be pins. (Shows you what he knows. You need to have more faith in Jen’s rifle Drew). Once again Andrew demonstrated outstanding consistency with a score of 100.16 taking out Target Rifle A. Darryl took out Target Rifle B with a 95.07. Shorty took out FO continuing his great form with a 120.17. Great job Shorty juggling range officer duties and wind coaching a calibre he doesn’t normally shoot. Joel is on washing up duty this week, Cassandra flogged him by 2 super centres.

June is a big month in the shooting calendar. All shooters not attending Wingham or Eugowra OPM are welcome to join us to shoot at 400m next Sunday 7th June. It will be great preparation for the upcoming NSW Champion of Champions, City vs Country vs ACT, not to mention the NSW Kings and the lead up series.

Keep an eye out on our page for details re our upcoming presentation evening.

For those interested in trying target shooting, contact us through our page.

F- Open
Greg Carson (Shorty) – 120.17
Cal Orman – 120.13
Rowan Urquart – 119.14
Cassandra Fullagar – 119.12
Joel Sorensen – 119.10
Tom Keys – 118.12

TR-A
Andrew Cameron – 100.16

TR-B
Daryl Stace – 95.07

PCO
Drew Winkel – 119.16
Toby Anderson – 117.10
Craig Morgan – 114.06
Nick Winkel – 113.05
Tony Marshal – 58.2

PC
Jen Winkel – 100.16
Greg Keen – 100.16
Murray Hill – 100.13
Brice Herbert – 96.06
Adrian Waters – 94.07
Nev Hack – 79.03

29/05/2026

A great read. This is what makes Hexta the Rolls Royce version of electronic targets.

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲? 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬...
Target's open sensors work exactly like a weather station anemometer — they measure wind without knowing it. As the bullet's shock wave travels to each sensor, the crosswind carries it sideways. The downwind sensor gets hit early, the upwind sensor gets hit late — and the target can report an error of over 15 cm in a strong crosswind.
👉 Curious about the physics? Check out our interactive diagram and full explanation — https://www.hexsystems.com.au/productdescription/acoustic-chamber-targets-what-you-need-to-know/simple-animation-how-crosswind-fools-acoustic-shooting-targets/

24/05/2026

Armidale Rifle Club Report 700 Yards 24th May 2026

Following our AGM the traditional Armidale Rifle Club event was reinvigorated with a Club Captain Versus Club Secretary Teams event where two teams were selected. One by Matt Foster (Club Captain) and the other by Gary Cluley (Club Secretary/Treasurer).

After a challenge that was like herding cats, two teams were thrown together with equal representation of disciplines.

Once sorted “Gaz’s Gang” versus “Matt’s Mob” got down to business. Gaz’s Gang were quick off the mark with three shooters done before the captains’ team had even started. Matt’s Mob, despite having two Australian team members as wind coaches faced allegations of cheating from Cal regarding fouling shots.

As per normal the Wallamumbi range provided what some would call sporting conditions whist others would say they were atrocious. Rain pooling on mats and a sight picture described by Leah as a squircle! Lots of friendly conversation, good sportsmanship and good willed competitive banter.
It came down to the wire with all checking the final count…….. Gaz’s gang was victorious despite having uneven teams’ numbers! (Who was accountable for this remains undecided.) Accountants and mathematician (and a little help from the peanut gallery) did a double check of calculations and levelled the playing field by subtracting one shooters score. Best summed up by Shorty’s comment “They still flogged the S #&T out of us!” Morgs responded with “What else could we do?”.

Suggestions included, DQ Gaz who dashed back to his vehicle for one last round as he found himself requiring supreme accuracy.

Matt finally congratulated Gaz but suggested taking in to account the 30% capital gains tax and declared it a draw. On a more serious note, the camaraderie and sportsmanship highlight what a great event it was. As stated by Matt “This is what makes our club so special.”

17/05/2026

Armidale Rifle Club Report 600 Yards 17th May 2026

An overcast morning saw 29 shooters descend on the Wallamumbi range as the conditions held off long enough to complete the shoot. The winds were light and variable with some stages shot on the Easterly wind, some from the West but only out to 1 minute on the 7mm’s. The mirage wobbled very subtly but had minimal impact on sight picture. It was a rare day with all grades represented with the exception of TRC and FTR.

F Open enjoyed a large field and it’s a hard day at the office when the lowest score is 118! Super centres mattered today and the podium was separated by just one. Blair Orman set the tone early with a solid 60.8, only to be bettered by Greg Carson who smacked out yet another 60.10. Possibles were everywhere with Nik McRae (60.7), Cal Orman (60.7), Donna Davis (60.7), Chris Davis (60.7), Rowen Urquhart (60.6) and Joel Sorensen (60.5) all keeping them in the middle. The rest were already thinking about next weekend.

The second stage saw Blair Orman (60. 8 )completely finish the job to finish with 120.16, leaving Greg Carson needing a 60.7 to take the win. He fell one super centre short. Next up was Cal Orman who needed a 60.10 to take the win, he fell 3 supers short. Rowen Urquhart came from the back fence with a 60.9 to finish 2nd on the podium as Joel Sorensen (120.13, his first double in F Open) and Donna Davis (120.12) also went on to complete the double possible. Great shooting peeps, solid outing.

Target Rifle A grade saw Andrew Cameron back in form with his first double possible of the new season with a very solid 100.11, including a second stage 50.8. James Wood made a return to finish second with a rusty 96.5. Great knock Andrew.

In B Grade we saw three likely candidates vying for line honours with Darryl Stace, Reece Bithrey, and Don Foster all hit the mound early in the piece. It was great to see the leather clad crew in numbers. Darryl Stace (98.7) rose to the top to take the day from Scott Bithrey (96.9) and Reece Bithrey (96.7). Awesome work Darryl.

F Standard A Grade saw Alan Mathison casually knock out a double possible on the old 308 to take a 120.11. The first stage 60.7 was the pick as Al easily took the day. We had visitors Jess Murphy and Cindy McRae at the range for the first time in B Grade and the ladies shot beautifully with Jess (108.2) and Cindy (99.3) enjoying the day out in the hills.

Precision Class was very hard fought with Gary Cluley swapping out his F Open rig for his beloved 6x47mm Lapua to harass the rest of the usual crew. Gary shot the double (100.18) to take not only the win, but the “Top C**k” for the day. Great shooting Gaz, great to see you back on the socials with C**k in hand! Jen Winkel (100.15) was just behind with Craig Morgan (99.12) just holding out team Bradford.

Production Class saw Scott Bithrey (normally dressed like a cow in leather and holding iron sights!) take the win with a solid 96.9, holding off Shawn Keene (96.6) and the old fella Greg Keene (95.5).

F Open Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Blair Orman 60.8 60.8 120.16🥇
Rowen Urquhart 60.6 60.9 120.15
Greg Carson 60.10 60.5 120.15
Cal Orman 60.7 60.7 120.14
Joel Sorensen 60.5 60.8 120.13
Donna Davis 60.7 60.5 120.12
Charlotte McRae 59.8 60.7 119.15
Nik McRae 60.7 59.5 119.12
Matt Foster 59.4 60.7 119.11
Kayla Watson 60.4 59.2 119.6
Chris Davis 60.7 58.5 118.12
Tom Keys 58.3 - 58.3

Target Rifle A Grade Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Andrew Cameron 50.3 50.8 100.11🥇
James Wood 48.3 48.2 96.5

Target Rifle B Grade Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Darryl Stace 48.4 50.3 98.7🥇
Don Foster 36.1 37.1 73.2

F Standard Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Alan Mathison 60.7 60.4 120.11🥇
Jess Murphy 56.2 52.0 108.2
Cindy McRae 52.1 47.2 99.3

Precision Class Open Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Gary Cluley 50.8 50.10 100.18🐓🥇
Jen Winkel 50.6 50.9 100.15
Craig Morgan 50.6 49.6 99.12
PJ Bradford 49.5 50.5 99.10
Thomas Bradford 50.8 48.3 98.11

Production Class Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Scott Bithrey 47.3 49.6 96.9🥇
Shawn Keene 49.4 47.2 96.6
Greg Keene 48.4 47.1 95.5

Our next club shoot is at 700 Yards on Sunday the 24th May 2026 (starting at 10am). For those interesting in trying target shooting, contact us through our page.

13/05/2026

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

10/05/2026

Armidale Rifle Club Report 500 Yards Night Shoot 9th and 10th May 2026

This weekend saw two shoots for the weekend in a festival of Jeff. A Saturday night shoot and the usual Sunday morning outing.

Saturday 9th May

A farewell dinner for Jeff Crawford saw 19 shooters turn up to the range late afternoon to enjoy a sensational BBQ dinner followed by our first night shoot of 2026. The conditions could not have been more perfect for load development as a cool gentle Easterly breeze settled in on dark as the lights took effect. The 7mm hot rods only had 0.5-0.75 minutes from the left with an excellent sight picture and scores were extremely high.

In F Open there were two perfect 60.10’s with Captain Matt Foster knocking out a 60mm group in the first stage to take an early but definitely not comfortable lead, with Jock Foster (60.9) and Greg Carson (60.9) right on his tail. Possibles were also shot by Adam Turnbull (60. 8 )
and Cassandra Fullagar (60.5).

With the customary banter in the break it was a case of who would blink first! Jock piloted his new rifle to a 60.10 to put Shorty and Matt on notice. Greg blinked first with another 60.9 to shoot a 120.18 and Matt dropped his 9th super centre to finish with a 60.9 and have Jock flog him on a countback and take the “Top C**k”.

Tough crowd when you shoot 120.18 and come 3rd! Shorty you need to be better! Adam Turnbull (120.14) and Cassandra Fullagar (120.10) also knocked out double possibles. Of note this is Cassandras first double at Armidale, well done chick.

Target Rifle saw Darryl Stace defect to F Standard to check Lindseys rifle, leaving Leah Baklien flying solo in TRA. The new barrel and some F Class tuning has Leah flying and it is a screamer. Another shoot, another double possible. The finish was 100.11 with a first stage 50.6 followed by a solid 50.5. Tremendous shooting Leah.

F Standard saw Darryl Stace embrace the scope in the dark to knock out a double on Lindseys mighty 223. A casual 120.11 must surely get Darryl thinking about converting back? Great shooting Darryl.

Precision Class was a case of who had the most accurate gun, and it was Drew Winkel who proved his Dasher certainly holds that mantle. His double possible (120.14) included a second stage 60.8 which was tight. Great shooting drew, Toby Anderson was one mistake behind with a very respectable 119.14 which included a 60.6. Tony Marshall overcome a few ammo issues to finish on a 59.8, solid mate.

In Keene family class (Production Class) it was a battle of the Keenes vs Jen Winkel. Jen held her nerve to shoot a 100.19, which included a 50.10. Shawn Keene was closest with a solid 100.16, with Greg one point behind (99.14). In the battle that really mattered Cooper beat older sister Paige leaving 7 days before possible redemption.

F Open Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Jock Foster 60.9 60.10 120.19🐓🥇
Matt Foster 60.10 60.9 120.19
Greg Carson 60.9 60.9 120.18
Adam Turnbull 60.8 60.6 120.14
Cassandra Fullagar 60.5 60.5 120.10
Joel Sorensen 58.3 60.7 118.10

Target Rifle Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Leah Baklien 50.6 50.5 100.11

F Standard Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Darryl Stace 60.7 60.4 120.11🥇

Precision Class Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Andrew Winkel 60.6 60.8 120.14🥇
Toby Anderson 59.6 60.6 119.12
Tony Marshall 58.2 59.8 117.10

Production Class Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Jen Winkel 50.9 50.10 100.19🥇
Shawn Keene 50.9 50.7 100.16
Greg Keene 50.6 49.8 99.14
Paige Keene 45.4 48.3 93.7
Jeff Crawford 49.5 44.2 93.7
Cooper Keene 45.3 45.2 90.5
Brice Herbert 41.2 48.4 89.6

Sunday 10th May 500 Yards

Firstly a very Happy Mothers Day to all the beautiful women in our lives. Without their support we can’t enjoy the sport we love, so we hope that the lads made it up to you all after some pew pew time.

There were a few dusty heads with empty bottles and a late night beside the firepit but what could only be described as a picture perfect Autumn day greeted 24 shooters. Light and variable winds that wanted to come from the East saw a few caught out with the sneaky mirage change and odd puff of wind. The best conditions were the first shooters down with those in the middle and latter stages copping the washing machine. The second stage saw everyone battle the same switchy conditions, and unlike last night, there was some bark taken off!

F Open saw Nik McRae (60.10) break out of the blocks quickly (and I mean quickly) with Greg Carson (60.6), Blair Orman (60.6) and Donna Davis (60.6) close enough if good enough. Tony Marshall (60.2) shot a hollow possible and needs to get better! The rest were already thinking about next weekend.
The second innings saw Blair Orman (60. 8 ), Matt Foster (60.7), Adam Turnbull (60.7), Nik McRae (60.6), Cal Orman (60.6) and Joel Sorensen (60.5) keep them in the middle. That left Nik McRae (120.16) to take the day and the “Top C**k”, followed closely by youngster Blair Orman (120.14) with Matt Foster (119.13) taking second loser spot on a countback (119.13) over Cal Orman.

F Standard saw Alan Mathison (116.11) edge out Lindsey Stace (113.5) in a head-to-head battle between the 223 and 308. A second stage 58.8 left Al shaking his head but was enough for the win. Great shooting Alan.

Target Rifle saw Darryl Stace fall back to the dark side strapping on his coat and glove to shoot a creditable 97.7 with a second stage 49.5, dropping you guessed it the last shot!

Precision Class saw Jack Gerdes line up against the usual cartel and he put everyone on notice with a first stage 60.9 off the bipod! His second stage 55.3 was enough to hang on for the win with a 115.12. PJ Bradford (111.6) shot well on his first foray on the 6-ring target taking 2nd spot with Drew Winkel struggling after the double possible hangover from the previous night. Great shooting Jack.

Production Class saw Jen Winkel knock out another double possible for the weekend (100.13) meaning she only missed the V bull 8 times from 20 shots, phenomenal shooting Jen. Can anyone stop this run! Murray Hill (100.10) knocked out a double to finish second with Shawn Keene (96.11) taking the lower step on the podium.

F Open Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Nik McRae 60.10 60.6 120.16🐓🥇
Blair Orman 60.6 60.8 120.14
Matt Foster 59.6 60.7 119.13
Cal Orman 59.7 60.6 119.13
Greg Carson 60.6 59.6 119.12
Donna Davis 60.6 58.6 118.12
Cassandra Fullagar 59.6 59.5 118.11
Joel Sorensen 58.3 60.5 118.8
Adam Turnbull 57.2 60.7 117.9
Tony Marshall 60.2 57.2 117.4

Target Rifle Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Darryl Stace (TRB) 48.2 49.5 97.7🥇
Matthew Clifton (TRC) 47.2 39.3 86.5

F Standard Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Alan Mathison 58.3 58.8 116.9🥇
Lindsey Stace 57.3 56.2 113.5

Precision Class Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Jack Gerdes 60.9 55.3 115.12🥇
PJ Bradford 56.4 55.2 111.6
Drew Winkel 59.7 45.2 104.9
Thomas Bradford 50.0 52.0 102.0

Production Class Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Jen Winkel 50.6 50.7 100.13🥇
Murray Hill 50.7 50.3 100.10
Shawn Keene 47.5 49.6 96.11
Jeff Crawford 48.5 46.4 94.9
Brice Herbert 47.4 46.2 93.6

Our next club shoot is again at 600 Yards on Sunday the 17th May 2025 (starting at 10am). For those interesting in trying target shooting, contact us through our page.

04/05/2026

12 members from Armidale ventured down the hill to the annual SpringRidge OPM that is always a great camp out and social event

- Saturday was a sweepstakes and time to dial in ready for the main event and then courtesy bus to the SpringRidge Pub for dinner and drinks and cards highlighting the social part of the event

Sunday it was down to business and the Armidale crew started to dominate the ranges. In FOpen we had 6 members compete being Beau,Greg,Rowen,Cassandra,Joel & Adam with Beau kicking off taking the 1st stage win (60.8 ), Greg Carson taking the 2nd stage(60.8 )beating Beau on a countback - Rowen and Greg stayed clean for the weekend though Greg had the higher centre count resulting in a 3 way shoot off between father & son team Cal & Blair Orman- Greg came out victorious for the No.1 Badge so that meant with SpringRidge tradition Shorty had to fire a shot to mark the lucky bull , with a TR rifle and sling - 20 minutes later and similar amount of shots job was done! Great shooting Shorty! OPM count is certainly stacking up!

In F-Standard Al Mathison also took a stage win and held on for a No.3 badge overall - Great shooting Al well done!

In PCO Drew Winkel continues his on point performance with yet another 50.10, taking the No.1 badge and 26 centres! Sensational shooting Drew - I think the X-ring is calling!

PC had our final 4 members Jen, Jeff, Greg & Marray battle it out in a hot field - with an absolute highlight of Jeff Crawford who travelled back from VIC, zipped home grabbed his gear and managed a 2nd stage win with a sensational 50.9! What an effort Jeff and great shooting!
It shows again the Winkel strength and consistency is key with Jen staying clean for the day and managed yet another No.1 badge - congratulations Jen! Great shooting!

An absolute cracker weekend full of camaraderie laughs and competition - ARC represented well again and look forward to doing it all again next year!

27/04/2026

23 shooters turned up on the Anzac long weekend for some group therapy.....some of us shot some groups, some of us needed therapy after not shooting groups! Typical of the Wollomombi range it looked pretty easy shooting at 300 yards......as if!

There were a few double possibles shot and a couple of near misses....just ask Joel about his last shot in the first round!

In PCO Toby was on fire and was rewarded with being able to hold the c**k and the end of the day with 100.18. Drew and Jen were again fighting to see who would be washing up and after a count back it looks like Drew will putting on his apron again.....better keep an eye on PJ though....he is really keeping the veteran PCO shooter honest.

In PC Murray easily took the win with 100.10 with Brice 2nd (go the 223) and Jeff 3rd. Simone visited with her 6.5 and had a cracking second stage with 48.2.

F open had the usual suspects with only 2 possibles shot. Shorty banged out a casual 120.13 to leave Gaz in his wake with 120.11 Tom would shoot a lot more possibles if he would stop shooting 5's!

In Target rifle A grade Andrew snuck past Leah with 99.12 to 98.11 while Darryl managed to hold off Don by a couple of points after Don's 2 year hiatus.

Next week is the Spring Ridge OPM so there will be no shooting at Wollomombi.

25/04/2026