Fired the same day was the 500 yard match. Laurent Smaniotto (France) won the Original class and Josef Ruoss (Switzerland) the Reproduction class. The top three in Original scored 42 and had to be separated by v-bull and count-back. This was a similar story in Reproduction where the top three each scored 45. Wednesday morning concluded the mid-range individual matches with the 600 yard event. This brought another gold medal for Great Britain in Original class, which was won by Jersey’s Mike Alexandre scoring 40. Norway’s Arne Riis won Reproduction with 43.
Germany got off to a strong start in the 300 yard element of the Mid-Range Team match on Wednesday afternoon. Their team score of 150 was however closely followed by Sweden (148) and South Africa (147).
Conditions on Thursday morning for the 500 and 600 yard shooting in the team match were perhaps the best of the week - clear and calm. Competition was keen and everyone was striving to make the most of the conditions. Germany made an outstanding team score of 178 at 500 yards. This included Harold Ruediger’s 50.5. This is the first maximum score fired in an MLAIC Long Range World Championship and the first known to the author at all at this range and is a remarkable achievement.
USA made a strong finish at 600 yards with top team score at that distance but could not close the gap on the leading nations. Germany retained their early lead for first place, followed by Sweden and South Africa.
Thursday’s shooting was concluded in the afternoon with 900 and 1000 yard practice in hot weather and an entertaining mirage. The long-range individual matches were held on Friday, 900 yards in the morning and 1000 yards in the afternoon. Competitors by now had several days shooting to be sure that both they and their equipment were performing at their best; long-range is however where all the rifleman’s skills in reading the wind and understanding the atmospheric conditions comes to the fore.
South African shooters have obviously been putting much work into their long range training, shooting consistently well throughout the Championships. At long-range they took gold medals at all distances and
39
The Eighth MLAIC Long Range World
Championships Bisley England by David Minshall
in both Original and Reproduction classes. Kobus de Villiers shooting an Original Gibbs-Metford match rifle won at both 900 and 1000 yards, scoring 63.2 and 64.2 respectively, whilst in the Reproduction class Tertius Smit won 900 (score 65.3) and 1000 yards (score 64.3).
Saturday morning concluded the Championships with what for many is regarding as the premier event, the four man long-range team match. Eight nations competed for this. Given South Africa’s strong performance in the individual long range events, with strength in depth, it is unsurprising to find that they won the team match.
The outcome was not quite so certain though after the 900 yard stage where USA had established a strong lead on 243, followed by South Africa 224 and France 218. Moving back to 1000 yards saw some significant changes in fortune with South Africa drawing on their consistent team to score 217 at the distance, followed by USA 191 and Great Britain 185. The 1000 yard results mirrored the final order for medallists with South Africa gaining gold (441), USA silver (434) and Great Britain bronze (396). The weather had remained kind to the shooters during this concluding event; the afternoon however saw a torrential downpour of rain and hail. By then though, shooting had finished and competitors were left to bask in their glory or ponder their strategy for medal success in forthcoming events.
An awards ceremony was held late afternoon at the MLAGB’s Club House, the Exhibition Hut, which was full to capacity. With national flags flying outside, the magnificent medals and trophies on display and competitors in their uniforms, this was a splendid occasion which ran smoothly. Following the closing speeches, competitors, family and friends mingled at the Club House before re-grouping for the closing banquet in the evening. Held in the Army Rifle Association Officers’ Mess all enjoyed a carvery and each others’ company before parting.
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