Thirteen eager competitors took part in the IOM Clay Pigeon Shooting Club’s annual Tynwald Day Pro Sporting Grand Prix, aiming for 100 sporting targets across four layouts.
Class A shooter Alan Wade made his mark on the first layout with just one target missed for an impressive 24 points, pursued by Peter Kelly and Rob Corlett on 22, with Rob’s father Dave Corlett on 21 points. Peter Kelly put in another strong performance on the second layout with 23, where he was joined by Stan Cross and Neil Parsons, with both Corletts, Arran Wade, and Mark Barnett level on 22 by the halfway stage.
Rob Corlett and Peter Kelly hit the ground running after lunch, each scoring 21 points on a tricky third layout, followed by John Moore, Stan Cross, and Alan Wade on 20. Layout four was dominated by Mark Barnett with 22 and Neil Parsons with 21, followed by Rob and Dave Corlett, Stan Cross, and Mark Sweetman – all on 20 points.
The overall winner of C class was Mark Sweetman (71) followed by Brian Kelly (66). Class B consisted of Mark Barnett (78) and junior Arran Wade (72) while class A featured Alan Wade (83), Peter Kelly (82), Stan Cross (81) and Dave Corlett (81). Today’s High Gun goes to Rob Corlett (85) who was the only competitor to score 20 or more in each layout – fantastic shooting, Rob!
Results
High Gun
R Corlett (85)
Class A
A Wade (83)
P Kelly (82)
S Cross (81)
D Corlett (81)
Class B
M Barnett (78)
Arr Wade (J) (72)
Class C
M Sweetman (71)
B Kelly (66)
Teams
A Wade D Corlett (164)
S Cross N Parsons (161)
B Kelly, M Sweetman, N Parsons, R Corlett, A Wade, Arr Wade, S Cross, P Kelly, D Corlett, N Barnett
The annual Ballaneven Side-by-Side Championship was held at Meary Veg, Santon, on Wednesday 15th June. Eighteen competitors took part in ideal conditions, including two non-members and one club member with a non-conforming gun, leaving fifteen individuals competing for prizes across five stands.
Visiting shooter Tony Grainger was the only competitor to clear stand 1 with a perfect 10, hotly pursued by Stevie Craine, Micheal Cross, Stan Skinner and Dave Corlett on 9 points. Corlett’s patience was tested as several shots refused to go off due to a sticky pin, a common gremlin found in many classic shotguns. Craine scored another 9 on stand 2 and was joined at the top by Peter Kelly, followed on 8 by Jackie Clague and sponsor John Kneen.
Micheal Cross found his form on stand 3 with a perfect 10, as did Mark Barnett and reigning champion Richard Kneen. The same trio landed another set of perfect 10s on stand 4, as did juniors Calum Craine and Arran Wade, Peter Kelly, Rob Corlett, and Stan Skinner. Barnett, Kelly, and Corlett also cleared stand 5 with full marks, joined by Alan Wade with a perfect 10.
After fifty targets of fierce but good natured competition, class C was dominated by sponsors Richard and John Kneen with 41 and 29 points respectively, while class B consisted of Rob Corlett with 36, Stan Cross with 38, and Peter Kelly on 39 points. Alan Wade and Dave Corlett tied for third place in class A with 38 points each, led by Micheal Cross on 41 and Stevie Craine on 42.
Meanwhile with 43 points the Ballaneven Cup goes to Mark Barnett, who would like to express his gratitude to previous champion Richard Kneen for the loan of his gun today.
Results
High Gun
M Barnett (43)
Class A
S Craine (42)
M Cross (41)
D Corlett (38)
A Wade (38)
Class B
P Kelly (39)
S Cross (38)
R Corlett (36)
Class C
R Kneen (41)
J Kneen (29)
R Kneen, P Kelly, S Craine, D Corlett, J Kneen, M Barnett, R Corlett, M Cross, S Cross
The annual Fabrizio All-Round Cup was this weekend’s hot competition at Meary Veg, Santon, where 13 competitors battled driving fog, gusting wind and variable light to shoot 125 targets across five disciplines. Even clay target shooters have their strengths and weaknesses, which makes for interesting competition and great banter during these mixed events of Trap, Skeet, and Sporting, with each of the five rounds carrying a maximum score of 75 points.
The first discipline was English Skeet, and resident specialist Paul Mihailovits made his mark with the only straight 75, closely followed by Micheal Cross, Peter Kelly, and Giulio Fabrizio all on 72 points thanks to just one miss, which in Mikey’s case was the last target – an unfortunate occurrence. Trap expert Stevie Craine failed to find his groove during this first round, but more than made up for it by scoring a perfect 75 in the second discipline, Down The Line (DTL), where he was pursued by Brian Faragher on 71 and John Moore on 70.
Our third discipline was Olympic Skeet, which differs from English Skeet by virtue of much faster targets, a random delay of up to three seconds, and only being allowed to raise your gun once the target has been spotted. The need to quickly mount the gun from a lowered position places lady shooters at something of a disadvantage, but that didn’t stop Nicky Barnett from putting in a respectable 36, highlighting the beauty of all-round competitions by staying three points clear of the last round’s winner. At the other end of the field, blessed with youthful reflexes and unencumbered by female anatomy, Micheal Cross led the pack with a healthy 69 points, closely followed by Giulio Fabrizio on 66 and Jeff Corkill on 57.
Just as Olympic Skeet could be called an evolution of English Skeet, Automatic Ball Trap (ABT) is very similar to DTL, but now there’s a random vertical component added to the unseen trap’s left-right swing. Once again Stevie Craine was in his element, joining ABT veteran John Moore at the top of the pack with 63 points apiece, closely followed by Micheal Cross, Jeff Corkill, Stanley Cross, Peter Kelly, and Mark Barnett with 57 points each.
The fog thickened outside while competitors were re-grouped in order of merit over mugs of tea and hot baps, before being released to face a final round of 25 very variable targets. Designed to mimic what one might encounter at a game shoot, Sporting targets can differ tremendously in their speed and trajectory, with individual easy ‘birds’ often combining to make challenging pairs. Jeff Corkill’s recent focus on Sporting paid off during this round, bagging him 48 points alongside Brian and Joe Faragher, Mark Barnett, and Stan Cross. Micheal Cross stayed a few points ahead of Dad with 54, but the undisputed victor of a very challenging round was Giulio Fabrizio with 57.
Nothing re-shuffles the pack like a well designed Sporting layout, and today’s final round was no exception – great shooting Mikey!
Results
High Gun
Micheal Cross (316)
Class A
J Moore (295)
P Mihailovits (291)
J Corkill (290)
Class B
G Fabrizio (313)
S Cross (293)
M Barnett (286)
Class C
P Fabrizio (233)
N Barnett (183)
P Fabrizio, P Mihailovits, G Fabrizio, N Barnett, S Cross, M Cross, J Moore, J Faragher, J Corkill
The first round of the Summer 2022 Pro Sporting League was held at Meary Veg, Santon, on the morning of Sunday 6th March, with twenty-one competitors enjoying 50 targets in perfect conditions.
Class A shooter Neil Parsons took the lead after round one, dropping just one target in the instant pairs for a healthy 24. Hot on his heels were Brian Kelly with 22 and junior Joe Faragher on 21, with Rob Corlett also scoring 21 to make up the top three.
Round two featured some tricky targets, and Parsons was joined at the top by Brian Faragher with 20 points apiece, followed by Guilio Fabrizio and Stevie Craine with 19 and 18 respectively.
The combined scores after two rounds saw Neil Parsons claim top slot on 44 points, with Joe Faragher in second on 38 and John Moore in third with 37.
Results
Class A
N Parsons (24, 20 = 44)
J Moore (20, 14 = 34)
P Kelly (19, 14 = 33)
Class B
J Faragher (J) (21, 17 = 38)
G Fabrizio (18, 19 = 37)
B Faragher (17, 20 = 37)
Class C
M Sweetman (20, 12 = 32)
N Barnett (L) (16, 15 = 31)
B Kelly (22, 8 = 30)
Our heartfelt thanks to Pam and Dave Corlett for once again sponsoring the Pro Sporting League this summer.
B Faragher, G Fabrizio, J Moore, N Parsons, M Sweetman, N Barnett, P Kelly, J Faragher, B Kelly
English Sporting – Round 1
Sunday afternoon again saw twenty-one competitors taking part in another season opener, this time Meary Veg’s Summer English Sporting League, also in cold but bright conditions. This discipline was originally created to simulate a game shoot, presenting fifty ‘birds’ across six stands as instant pairs, report pairs, or tricky single targets requiring both barrels.
B class shooter Mark Barnett hit the ground running with a perfect 10 on stand one, closely followed by Neil Parsons, Rob Corlett, and Richard Kneen with 9 points each. Parsons made his mark with 10 points on stand two, which also saw Brian Faragher and junior David Cowin shake off an iffy start to begin an impressive run of nines. Stand three featured a low incoming pair, proving a popular half-way respite which saw four shooters scoring top marks, with seven shooters letting just one get away.
The long-overdue sunshine and entertaining targets made for a buoyant atmosphere throughout the afternoon, at the end of which Parsons finished neck-and-neck with Alan Wade on 44 points, followed by Barnett on 43, with Richard Kneen, Peter Kelly, and Rob Corlett level on 42. Our sincere thanks to Suntera Global for once again sponsoring the English Sporting League this summer.
Results
Class A
A Wade (44)
N Parsons (44)
G Davies (36)
Class B
M Barnett (43)
P Kelly (42)
R Corlett (42)
Class C
R Kneen (42)
Allana Wade (33)
J Faragher (J) (33)
P Kelly, G Davies, N Parsons, A Wade, R Kneen, All. Wade, R Corlett, J Faragher, M Barnett
Twenty-two competitors took part in the Isle of Man Clay Pigeon Shooting Club’s annual Winter All-Rounder at Meary Veg, Santon, shooting three rounds in windy and increasingly wet conditions. 75 points were available during each round, with a hit scoring 3 points across all disciplines and a second-barrel hit scoring two points in Down the Line (DTL).
The combination of horizontal rain and unpredictable gusts of wind proved no match for class B shooter Micheal Cross, who only missed a single target on pad 4 in the opening round of English Skeet for an impressive score of 72. The same pad also proved tricky for Stan Cross, who dropped two targets and finished three points behind his son with 69. Continuing the trend of narrow margins were Neil Parsons, Will Rand and Mark Barnett, each bagging 22 targets and 66 points.
With two ranges at our disposal we were able to split the five squads between English Skeet and Down the Line, where the wind and rain continued to provide some interesting targets. None of this mattered to class B shooter Ted Davis, who missed just one target and hit the rest with his first barrel, setting the bar at 72 points. Standing firm in joint second place were Dave Corlett and Mark Riley, both class A competitors with 68 points a piece, followed by Neil Parsons, Will Rand, and Brian Faragher – all on 67 points.
To keep the adrenaline building we reorganised all 22 competitors into four squads based on their scores so far, before embarking on the final challenge of the day, a very wet and windy round of Pro Sporting. Once again Ted Davis put in a great performance, letting just a single target get away during the instant pairs for an impressive 72 points. Never far behind with 69 points each were Neil Parsons and Micheal Cross, both of whom shot well but succumbed to the Curse of the Rabbit – a fast and well camouflaged target making a bee-line for its burrow. Stan Cross was once again just one target behind his boy, sharing third place with Rob Corlett on 66 points.
At the end of three rounds and with 225 points to play for, our Winter All-Round cup goes to Micheal Cross for the second year running with 207 points. A Class was won by Neil Parsons with 202, followed by Dave Corlett on 191 and Stevie Craine on 179. Ted Davies and Stan Cross topped B Class with 201 points each, and Will Rand claimed third place with 193. Class C was won by Alan Wright on 139, with Allana Wade and Brian Kelly in joint second with 137.
The Club All-Rounder marks the end of our winter season, and once again we’ve seen some fierce competition, great sportsmanship, and above all some very challenging weather! Our sincere thanks to all our sponsors for making these leagues possible; Cu-Plas Callow for DTL, Utopia Hair Salon for English Skeet, and Brian, Stan, Will and Peter for Pro Sporting. Full results are available on our website iomclays.com/results – now onwards to Summer 2022!
Results
High Gun
M Cross (207) 🏆
A Class
N Parsons (202)
D Corlett (191)
S Craine (179)
B Class
T Davis (201)
S Cross (201)
W Rand (193)
C Class
A Wright (139)
B Kelly (137)
A Wade (L) (137)
2021 Winter All-Round Winners: A Wright, S Cross, N Parsons, M Cross, P Kelly, A Wade, W Rand, D Corlett, T Davis
