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QUIGLEY SHOOTING ASSOCIATION

400YD MINI BILLY DIXON SHOOT – 17th FEBRUARY.

(Or The Defence of Diggle Ranges).

 

          Down in the lowlands the weather today was fairly dull with rain and a light breeze but cold enough to chill the old bones. The competition is based on Billy Dixon’s famous “long shot” of 1,538 yds in 1874 at the battle of Adobe Walls in the Texas panhandle, no record of the original feat mentions the weather conditions on the day, but I suspect that it was somewhat warmer and less windy than that at Diggle.

 

          The Quigley Shooting Association runs an annual competition based on the famous “long shot” in which a scaled down figure of a mounted Indian is engaged at 400 yds using pistol calibre underlever rifles and carbines.

 

          Eighteen firers braved the cold to shoot the competition which consisted of two stages, stage 1 being two sighters and ten to score at a Bisley bullseye target, each shot being indicated, and then on to ten consecutive rounds to count at a mounted Indian figure scaled to give a theoretical range of approximately 600yds. Shot from the sheltered firing point front rests were permitted and spotting scopes were allowed to see the spotting discs. Scoring on the target was 5pts for a hit on the figure, 3pts for a hit on the horse and 1pt for a hit on the backing.

 

With only “Kentucky” windage available to most shooters, some difficulty was expected, however the conditions didn’t stop most shooters from scoring hits on the backing once its initial effect had been calculated. Top scorer on this stage was Ken Hall with 42.2 ex 50 but the scores on this stage only count if there is a tie on Stage 2. Only one firer failed to score on the next stage with several scoring with all ten shots but overall scores were less than expected possibly due to the effects of the wind on these small, light and slow moving bullets.

 

          It is significant that the larger calibres did seem more able to resist the effect of the wind, with some firers having difficulty with elevation; a tang or ladder type sight is definitely an advantage at ranges beyond 200 yds.

 

          Congratulations to Ken Hall who managed 3 hits on the figure to clinch the trophy for this year, although the top scorer of the day was Paul Seymour with 4 hits on the figure shooting his .45/70 rolling block for Honours only.

 

The complete results are as follows: -

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Position   Name                         Rifle                     Calibre

 

       Paul Seymour                Remington RB     .45/70 (Honours only)

       Mike Davenport            Winchester ’76     .45/60 (Honours only)

1.      Ken Hall                       Winchester ’73     .44/40 (Black Powder)

2.      Dave Bownass              Rossi          ‘92         .44 Mag

3.      Sammy Clarkson          Winchester ’94         .44 Mag

4.      Ralph Davenport           Spencer                  .44/40

5.      Darren Wallis                Marlin                     .44 Mag

6.      Bob Marsh                    Winchester ’73    .44/4 (BlackPowder)      

7.      Bob  Hodson                  Winchester ’73        .45LC

8=     Steve Hodge                  Marlin                    .44 Mag

8=     Ian Lord                         Marlin                    .44 Mag

10.     Peter Bannister              Winchester ’94       .44 Mag

11.      Keith Buckley                Winchester ’66       .44/40

12.      Keith Ball                      Marlin                    .45LC

13.      Dennis Richardson        Uberti Henry         .44/40

14.      Matthew Myers             Marlin                    .357 Mag   

15.      Dave Malpas                 Winchester ’73    .45LC  (Black Powder)

16.      Lyndsay Watson           Marlin                    .41 Rem Mag        

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