BFTA GP Series 2015 – GP7 Redfearns The BFTA GP series represents the pinnacle of field target competition. The winner must shoot to a very high standard and do it consistently across 7 events: that’s 350 targets. Recent winners:

2007 – James Osborne 2008 – James Osborne 2009 – Andrew Gillott 2010 – John Costello

2011 – Neil Daniels 2012 – John Costello 2013 – Andy Calpin 2014 – Andy Calpin

With 300 of the 2015 season’s 350 targets complete only three shooters could add their name to this illustrious list.

Ian Taylor –World Champion in 2003, 2005 and 2008 and multiple winner of BFTA and NEFTA competitions.

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Points after GP6 = 478.88 Maximum points total = 487.39 Season highlight – winning GP1 with a score of 49

Jack Harris – BFTA Masters and European Champion in 2013 and multiple winner of WAFTA competitions.

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Points = 477.86 Maximum points total = 487.62 Season highlight – three third place trophies.

Andrew Gillott – GP champion in 2009, world Champion in 2012 and multiple winner of MFTA competitions.

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Points = 473.07 Maximum points total = 485.27 Season highlight – winning GP6 with a score of 48

The maths: If Ian wins GP7 and Jack does not tie then Ian will win the title. If Jack wins GP7 or ties for the win then he will win the title. If Andrew wins GP7 and he beats Ian and Jack by 2 targets then he will win the title. If none of the three win GP7 then … it’s complicated!

The clock ticked to 5am and “Sweet child o’ mine” startled me into consciousness and thirty minutes later I was whizzing up the motorway to Pelsall to pick up the chairman. The journey to Redfearns was clear of traffic but not of 50mph restrictions – when will the M1 be finished!!!!! We arrived just after 8am and already the ground was busy and there was an air of anticipation. The three main protagonists were shooting the first session but there plenty of others with personal goals to meet.  In A grade Keith Gilyard has led since he scored 100 points at GP2. Although Keith held an eight point lead over 2nd place Ian Jerram a top performance from any of the top 5 could see them land the title.  B grade had been hotly contested across the season and as the last chapter approached the top 11 shooters could still feasibly win.  C grade had been dominated by NEFTA shooters and although the top 4 {Gavin Hopps, Glenn Walsh, Neil Woodhead and Peter Thorneycroft} were favourites to take the top prize the shooters down to eighth could still challenge.  Piston Class was all but sealed for Stephen Privett. To oust him from top spot would require Nick Murphy to win the GP outright and hope that Stephen scored less than 75%. Nick would also need to look backwards as Martin Owens and Brian Samson were on his heels fighting for second place.  Ian Challis has wrapped up Open Class in Wales but he would still be keen to reach the perfect 500 points. Second place was still up for grabs between David Clarke and Tony Fouracres and Geoff Hawes and Andrew Slade would fight for fourth and fifth.

I was fortunate to be partnered with one of the big guns in Andrew “Captain Gilly” Gillott so it would be interesting to see how his day developed. We were joined NEFTA shooter Chris Ascough who was making his season debut. We started on lane 24 so didn’t have long to walk into the beautiful woods of Redfearns. Local knowledge informed us that today’s wind was calm for Redfearns’ standard but would still switch directions regularly. Both my partners started strongly until Gilly dinked a long one, then he missed the lollipop stander and shortly afterward Gilly missed the £40 elevated long target. Chris knocked over all the seated shots but got caught out by the lollipop and its shorter friend. Gilly then dug in determined not to miss another and Chris kept pace. When marshals or spectators passed Gilly was keen to find out how others were doing: Ian 3 down, Jack 1 down and Berty clear – advantage Jack. The course meandered around the woods offering targets in all directions and Gilly and Chris continued to add kisses to their cards. With ten or so targets to go Chris was 4 down, Gilly remained only 3 and then he missed a high long target and I think he knew that was one too many. It was then that we bumped into Roger Moy; it was good to see him looking in good health and he reported he’d be back shooting in the winter! Our round finished in the bowl where we met an interesting standing lane – one up and one down – and then we were done. Gilly finished on 46 and would improve his total points score but alas not by enough. Chris’ season debut was an impressive 45 and showed that he’d be a contender should he make more GP next season.

Upon finishing it was clear by the hugs Jack was receiving that he’d done well: Jack finished only 2 down and Ian 3 which meant it was Jack’s title.

Although the afternoon squad was still to shoot their scores could not now affect the outcome but there was still pride and places to be fought for. The conditions remained similar for the pm shooters and they too put in some big scores with Neil Hague and Chris Keyworth matching the morning top score.

It was good to see Dylan back on an FT course

Bob enjoying a standing shot

A future champion?

We didn’t win but we smiled

John’s first shoot for a while – well with an air rifle

AA gurner

Grades AA Grade 1st Neil Hague 48 2nd Jack Harris 48 3rd Mark Bassett 48 A Grade 1st Tony Waistnage 46 2nd Chris Ascough 45 3rd Steve Lloyd 44 B grade 1st Redvers Gallagher 43 2nd Martin Gibbons 42 3rd Andy Purseglove 42 C grade 1st Neil Woodhead 40 2nd Gavin Hopps 38 3rd Jason Cheeseman 38 Piston 1st John Amos 39 2nd Martin Owens 37 3rd Rob Farnworth 35 Open 1st David Clarke 47 2nd Pete Rowley 46 3rd Tony Fouracres 45

Superb shooting from Neil who has shot consistently well since GP4 and he didn’t miss in the shoot-off. Jack and Berty made it 2 out of 3 trophies for the WAFTA travellers. Tony’s 46 gave him his second GP win of the season and surpassed his 45 at North Oxon. Chris’ first GP outing proved a successful one and Steve ended the season with a maiden trophy. Red keeps getting better and better and today his PB was rewarded with first place. Martin’s second outing of the season was somewhat different to his last at Tawd and Andy enjoys more trophy success. Neil lands his third GP win of the season and another trophy for Gavin means it’ll be very tight for the overall. Jason makes it two trophies from the last 3 GP in a strong end to the season. All eyes were elsewhere but it was Castle’s John Amos who took top honours. Martin’s second place would ensure he finished above his travelling companion Brian and it was good to see Rob hitting consistent form with his springer. High scores in the Open Class but no perfect score for Ian. David makes it 2 wins from the last 3 GP and such form means he could challenge for the title next year. Pete’s first try in the open proved to be successful and another strong showing from Tony would seal second place overall.

Team Competition – sponsored by Air Arms League 1 1st Rowan 1415 2nd Air Arms C 1391 3rd Air Arms A 1372 4th Air Arms B 1364 5th BASC 1280 6th Southern Schutzs 1233

League 2 1st Millride Fab Five 1276 2nd NEFTA Old Boys 1254 3rd Air Arms D 1203 4th Castle Crew 1169 5th Springers 1157

Rowan had already secured the title but they saved their best for the last round in scoring 295.8 which was the top team score of the season. The Air Arms trio eventually went the way of the C team who also finished the season with their best score. Captain Ozzy led his A team to 3rd place and it’ll be a long winter at the drawing board or doing lines sent by Claire. The Fab Five have dominated league 2 all season but the rumour is that some of their team will be AA grade come the winter. Will they draft in some youngsters or have to buy big for their attack on league 1? Well done to the Old Boys for going one place better than last season. Air Arms lived up to their D tag and will probably be sent to boot camp over the winter. The Crew struggle to put out a full team due to injuries but hopefully they’ll be back next year. The Springers offered suspension to the rest but we know they’ll bounce back.

Overall positions

Posn. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th

AA Grade Jack Harris Ian Taylor Andrew Gillott Mark Bassett James Osborne Matt Hirst Neil Hague Justin Wood Andy Calpin Chris Keyworth

Points 487 483 481 472 468 464 463 458 458 456

Comment Jack topped the table only once but at the most important time: the end. Commiserations to Ian and Andrew who pushed hard for the title. A strong finish from Berty and a consistent year for James. Matt slips to sixth and Neil jumps to 7th after a strong final GP. Justin moves up two places to eighth just ahead of 2014 champion Andy. Chris’ 48 today promoted him into the top 10 for the first time this season. Last word to Dan – unlucky and get well soon!

Posn. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th

A Grade Keith Gilyard Ian Jerram Paul Davies Simon Francis Jonathan Noon Dave Robinson Tony Waistnage Steve Lloyd Trev Ryan Kevin Sayers

Points 447 443 439 434 432 431 426 424 415 414

Comment Ian took some more points off Keith but it was not enough to oust him from top spot. Another high score for Paul advances him from 5th to 3rd and Simon and Jono continue to shoot consistently to land 4th and 5th spot. Early contender Robbo slips to sixth and today’s hot shot Tony secures 7th ahead of Steve. Two FT stalwarts, Trev and Kev, complete the trophy placement.

Posn. 1st

B Grade Redvers Gallagher

Points 405

2nd

Andy Purseglove

401

3

rd

Graham Fleeman

397

4

th

Steve Grimshaw

397

5

th

Mark Burrows

392

6

th

Richard Shepherd

389

7

th

Dave Mitchell

387

8

th

Nigel Leeming

386

9

th

Andy Pearson

376

10th

Gordon Eley

374

Posn.

C Grade

Points

1st

Gavin Hopps

387

2nd

Neil Woodhead

379

3rd

Peter Thorneycroft

372

4th

Glen Walsh

366

5th

Jason Cheeseman

350

Comment Just like Jack, Red saved the best until last and topped the table at the end. It’s great to see a young shooter enjoying success in FT. Andy benefits from swapping 56 points with 87 to shoot up to second place. Graham and Steve are only separated by decimal places and Mark zooms up from 10th to finish 5th. Richard shakes off his Tawd score but drops to sixth. Dave has a good shoot and wins the raffle – he’ll sell it . Nigel is the third Castle shooter in the top 10 and Andy makes it two from the Fens. Gordon ensures that there is one end of season trophy in the Eley family.

Comment Who said “watch out for Gavin”? Oh, that was me! It has been a great contest and Gavin and Neil would have placed in B grade. It went down to the wire and despite another win for Neil today Gavin took the title. Glen had problems today and he falls from the top 3 for the first time this season and Peter’s consistent end to the season is rewarded with third place. Jason rounds off the trophy places in beating Martin into sixth.

Posn.

Piston Class

Points

1st

Stephen Privett

403

2nd

Nick Murphy

375

3rd

Martin Owens

373

4th

Brian Samson

362

5th

Rob Farnworth

310

Posn.

Open Class

Points

Ian Challis

493

2nd

Tony Fouracres

482

3rd

David Clarke

467

4th

Geoff Hawes

425

5th

Andrew Slade

380

1

st

Comment It was only very slightly in doubt but in the end Stephen wins by a huge margin from Nick who now retires from GP piston class. Martin edges out Brian to take the NEFTA bragging rights and Rob gets that springer working just in time for Lithuania.

Comment Ian secures a hat-trick of Open Class titles. Tony came close and with a full set of GP next season will surely push Ian close. Likewise for David who finished the season strongly. Geoff stays ahead of Andrew to win the battle of the Newbury stalwarts.

Last Word It has been a great season and once again BFTA shooters have shown that they are amongst the best in the world. Many thanks to all the people that have contributed to making this year’s GP series such an enjoyable and competitive experience; in particular I’d like to thank Brian Samson for his innovation in designing the scoring system. Good luck to all BFTA shooters attending the World Championship in Lithuania! Many thanks to Kevin Sayers and the Trade Liaison team and to the companies that have contributed prizes across the season and for the end of season raffle. Many thanks to Claire West, from Air Arms, for her superb support throughout the season; Air Arms have provided prizes for each GP winner, rifles for the end of season raffle, entered 4 teams into the team competition and sponsored the medals for the team competition.

Well done Jack!