Thread: J M Wilkinson Shoots

Greetings All,
Thanks for your replies, likes and mentions. I think my first target shoot was in 1981 using my standard Remington 700 ADL with a 2.5 power Tasco scope and a hard plastic butt plate. Loads were full power either 180 or 150 grain. 20 to 30 shooters turned up to most shoots on the now lost Roy's Hill range. Reading through the replies sees the same story repeated with loss of interest and loss of ranges. Most of my shooting is on a local range that has shotgun, pistol and rifle clubs using it. It is not open to the public, only the clubs and there is no target shooting program. The Wilkinson was last shot by the two Hawkes Bay NZDA branches in May 2019 and only the Taruarau shoot still uses the deer target to my knowledge. I would love to know if there are any others.
Regards Grandpamac.

South Canty and North Otago branches have held a combined Wilkinson shoot the last few years.

Sth Canty at least was also taking part in it on their own prior to that.

Also using the deer targets still I believe.

Originally Posted by StrikerNZ

South Canty and North Otago branches have held a combined Wilkinson shoot the last few years.

Sth Canty at least was also taking part in it on their own prior to that.

Also using the deer targets still I believe.

Greetings StrikerNZ,
I had a vague memory of South Canterbury and Nelson had shot it previously and am glad that at least one of them still does. Thanks for that, I will look them up.
Regards Grandpamac.

Your not wrong though.......

The world has changed and so has the shooting scene, shooters are not interested in doing the same dicciplanes over and over anymore. They want change - and on a regular basis. Proof of this can be seen in the huge growth in PRS compared to any other shooting disiplane.

I'm of the opinion that NZDA should focus more on getting members involved in range activities. Developing new and updated disiplanes that will capture members interest and draw them back to the range(s) on a regular basis.

In a recent poll, by a shooting enthusiast in our area, 75% of respondents indicated that they would rather want to see more practiacal/field/PRS type shooting compititions to be hosted by their local branch.

Keep the 4P disiplane for it does have a place, but evolve and refresh to stay in touch with the shooting scene today..

Greetings Small-calibre and Jaco Goosen,
Pretty much agree with you both. Our problem in Hawkes Bay is that there is little of any type of competitive shooting to my knowledge. The NRA boys do their FTR an FO shooting at 300, 600 and 1,000 yards but none of their kit looks like anything I would want to climb a hill with, or wander too far from the truck with for that matter. I am no longer physically able to shoot prone anyway. I don't know anything on what PRS shooting entails but will look it up on the interweb.
Regards Grandpamac.

We put some up at different distances to see how far we could realistically kill a deer (in ideal conditions).
This is a couple of different shooters at 350m using a bipod or improvised rests (stacked up bumbags).
The shots have each been patched out with white dots.

Originally Posted by Bagheera

We put some up at different distances to see how far we could realistically kill a deer (in ideal conditions).
This is a couple of different shooters at 350m using a bipod or improvised rests (stacked up bumbags).
The shots have each been patched out with white dots.

Attachment 166568

Greetings Bagheera,
We ran a shoot years back, before the days when anyone dialed up. This was on the old Roy's Hill range. Using the deer target we started at 300 yards with 4 shots prone with a day pack rest, walked up to 200 yards for 4 shots sitting and then to 100 yards for 4 shots standing. Roy's hill had rising target frames and a proper markers gallery so the marking was done while the shooters were walking to the next position. It was a pretty steep learning curve for some. The 5 scoring ring was 183mm for yard ranges and the Wilkinson was shot at 100 and 200 metres (or yards with reduced rings) in those days.
Regards Grandpamac.

We run the shoot every year and quite like it, numbers at the northland nzda has dropped off over the years we get about 12 shooters to each event even tho the club has many more members than 12

@grandpamac. Tom and I will look to getting this back and running again. The new laws and the Covid problem put the Wilkinson shoot on the back burner at least for the Hastings NZDA branch.
I will look to see who we can have available as a range officer and give you a shout with arrangements for shillouettes and scoring.
It's always been a good exercise in my opinion. If you can't shoot a stationary cardboard cutout you're already putting yourself on the back foot when in the field.

Originally Posted by kiwijames

@grandpamac. Tom and I will look to getting this back and running again. The new laws and the Covid problem put the Wilkinson shoot on the back burner at least for the Hastings NZDA branch.
I will look to see who we can have available as a range officer and give you a shout with arrangements for shillouettes and scoring.
It's always been a good exercise in my opinion. If you can't shoot a stationary cardboard cutout you're already putting yourself on the back foot when in the field.

Greetings Kiwi James,
Thanks for that, will look forward to it. I thought something might be in the wind when I spotted your WTB for a target rifle.
Regards Grandpamac.