Top Gun

The latest Provincial Charity Shoot took place on 25 and 26 August at the Lea Valley Shooting Association ground at Hertford.

The likely winner was always going to be the weather with predictions of gusty winds and torrential rain. However, both days were good enough to stage a friendly charity competition for 93 shooters in 19 Teams; facing 100 sporting birds each.

Covid-19 safety was paramount and to avoid excess gathering on-site, the event was staged over two days. This did cause extra work for everyone involved and the sincere thanks of Provincial Grand Charity Steward, Chris Noble go to his team, Martin Francis (Provincial Grand Charity Steward designate), Stew Willett and Roger Glynn.

The event saw teams from Essex, Buckinghamshire, Metropolitan Grand Lodge, Middlesex and the Park Street Shooting Club join with ten teams from the Province of Hertfordshire, including Lodge of True Aim No 9930, Redbourn Lodge No 8484, Knebworth Lodge No 6941, Old Hertfordian Lodge No 8083, East Herts Border Lodge No 6641, Mimram Lodge No 4818, Welwyn Viaduct Lodge No 9555 and Wormley St Laurence Lodge No 9621.

It was a very high scoring competition, with 19 scores of 90 or more. The Top Gun Individual of the day was James McAlevey of Redbourn Lodge with a score of 98; dropping just two birds. Redbourn Lodge also took High Gun Team with an average of 95.8.

The Top Gun Team Runner Up went to Metropolitan Grand Lodge Team A and three shooters tied for the Top Gun Runner Up (Phil Goddard from Buckinghamshire, David Brown from Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Graham Elliot from Redbourn Lodge); each scoring a very impressive 96.

The true winner was Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice who will receive a donation of £600.

The Province would like to thank all the participants for their support; Chris Noble, Roger Glynn, Steve Savory and Martin Francis for their generous donations of raffle prizes, masks, hand-sanitiser and water; and very special thanks to the ground team and caterers at the Hertford Clay Pigeon Shooting Club (LVSA) for providing such an enjoyable and well-managed day.

You can view the full score sheets and photos of all the competing teams by clicking the links below: