Day 11: Raton bites back

Thursday 12th September | Written by Charlie Sykes

Supper last night was left-overs – as we enter the climax of the tour and concurrently start to wind down the commissariat. The three kitchens competed with each other and delivered pizza, spicy beans and spaghetti carbonara. Today was the last day of the Spirit of America Competition and the last chance to nail your position in the Grand Aggregate. And for those of us sadly not selected for the Match – perhaps a chance to show the Touring Captain what he was missing!

However, breakfast was more of a challenge as some kitchens ran out of the basics (bread, milk and tea) leading to some imaginative use of remaining ingredients to ensure we hit the range ready to go. Rob reported he’d had the best night’s sleep this tour, the empty bottle of Kraken Rum perhaps explaining why he felt so well rested and refreshed! A calm start to the day’s shooting was interrupted by a call from senior range officer Ricky Hunt for a downloaded version of the Doors “Riders on the Storm” – leading us to ponder what might be coming this afternoon…

Even before the wind hit us at 1,000 yards, we seized the opportunity to nail a few gremlins in the day before the America match. Jem had a surprising misfire with the otherwise outstanding Berger Factory Load and an anonymous member of the team managed to cross shoot an X at 600 yards for an outstanding 90.3X.

But the story of the day has to be the 1,000 yards. The last shoot of the Grand provided a reminder that Raton still has much to teach us ‘greenhorns’. A fishtailing wind that changed both speed and direction with a rhythm that bemused even the most seasoned shot brought us back to earth with a bump. While there will be enduring arguments about which detail had it worse – none had it easy. Jon Cload’s magnificent 148.6X was 2 clear points ahead of the next best score to win both the long range match and the day’s aggregate. Many of the team (whether caned by the wind or improving on their string-shooting strategy and carrying a little bit of luck) agreed it was the most fun shoot of the day, if not the tour. However, we strongly suspect that this one shoot will have shaken up the Grand Aggregate result. Although we haven’t got the formal results, we think that the Americans may overtaken our leaders to take the first 3 places – but by the time you read this you will be able to find out.

With a shopping trip to top up depleted kitchens and set ourselves up for a successful BBQ on the range tomorrow night, some of the team out shooting at a steel buffalo at 1,123 yards from the decreed standing position and Jon Cload ‘pushing’ handloads we await this evening’s awards banquet (hopefully brisket) with anticipation.Tomorrow the America Match against the USA and Scotland – which we intend to publish live at: America Match. With our superb hand-loaded ammunition (Berger bullets, Lapua cases and Vihtavuori powder), outstanding Phoenix barrels and magnificent preparation we look forward to doing Tom Rylands proud.