On the weekend of 14 and 15 January, 45 scouts from across the county gathered in Altrincham to take part in the second Greater Manchester West Shooting competition. The competitors were aged from 10 to (well) over 18 and were divided into two age groups, under 14, and 14 and over.

A number of scouts had previous experience of shooting, some had none, but that did not matter because after a safety briefing some basic coaching was given to all entrants that wanted it. The competition consisted of 20 shots with an air rifle and 20 shots with an air pistol.

There was some excellent shooting, bearing in mind that quite a number of entrants had no previous experience. First place in the U14s was taken by Daniil Mironov of 7th Sale with 268, followed by Michael Mo and James Nightingale both of 17th Sale with 260 and 257 respectively. In the older group Richard Gould of Altrincham District Panther Explorers was first with 229, Drew Broatch a leader at 1st Timperley Snowden Explorers was second with 221 and just one point behind, Daniel Fairchild of 100th Salford was third with 220. The top three in each age group achieved a score higher than the winner in the previous year, demonstrating a clear improvement in the standards. In case you are wondering why the younger shooters scored higher than the older ones, they are allowed some additional support.

The competition was organised and run by the members of Altrincham Rifle and Pistol Club, and without the support of many of the club members the competition could not take place.

A group of the top scoring entrants from each age group has now started weekly training towards the National Scout County Team competition, which will take place on the last Sunday in March at Wolverhampton. The aim is to improve on last years eighth place.

In the attached picture are, Left to right
Back row: Daniel Fairchild, 100th Salford, Drew Broatch, 1st Timperley Snowden and Richard Gould, Altrincham Panther Explorers.
Front row: Daniil Mironov, 7th Sale, James Nightingale and Michael Mo, both of 17th Sale.