Gun club's drought broken

Vance Butcher broke a 26-year drought for the Woodville Clay Target Club when he was named in the New Zealand Open Mackintosh team after competing in Christchurch recently.

The team competes against Australia, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, South Africa, Scotland and Canada annually.

Each country shoots its Mackintosh score in its respective country, in summer weather. New Zealand shot theirs recently, but will not know how they fared until the northern hemisphere teams have completed their shoots in the coming months.

Butcher is joined in the team by Palmerston North's Callum Beattie. They shot at the National Down the Line Championships and were named after the competition concluded.

Butcher also shot his way to a silver medal in the New Zealand AA grade points score championship.

Beattie, a Palmerston North Boys' High School student and a member of the Palmerston North Gun Club, won the New Zealand junior single rise championship, the New Zealand junior points score championship and was the top qualifier for the New Zealand under-21 Mackintosh international team.

His high score over the qualifying events also made him the only under-21 shooter eligible for the national open team this year.

Both shooters shot the possible 100-100 in the International teams' shoot at the completion of the national championships, Butcher missing out on High Gun by only one point.

Beattie is a member of his school's clay target shooting squad based at the Palmerston North Gun Club.

Boys' High has produced several nationally recognised shooters, including current squad member Matt Lynch, who also earned national honours in November last year by gaining a place in the five-man under-21 Trans-Tasman skeet team.

- © Fairfax NZ News