Joined: No idea!
Member number: 128
Club Positions Held:
Current – Air Pistol Scorer,
Committee Member, Vice-Captain,
My top suggestions:
Take your time. Set yourself up for it. Take as long as you want it. You gotta take your time, get your accuracy going. You gotta focus on a good aiming point.
What inspired you to become a member and what were your early experiences like?
My old mates is from England and used to shoot air pistol over there. And there was no laws regarding air pistol. You could just buy them over the counter. He heard about the club, so I went along with him and. We started having a few shoots he didn’t join. He decided not to join and I did.
It was good, I’ve just. I met up with Rob (Tomkins) when I started and we hit it off and he basically gave me a bit of training. And after being there a short time, then I started giving him a hand of signing the guns out as well. After the club moved to Auburn and with some training from Rob, we both developed into Speed Shooting Action matches which we both liked.
What is/was your favourite caliber and shooting event?
9mm speed shooting action matches. When I went to Horsley Park, they had a couple of 9mm Tanfoglio’s there and it just fitted beautifully in my hand. So we sent it off to the gunsmith to get it ported and compensated. Made it into a race gun and put a red dot sight on top of it. *Rob and Paul still hold the record for teams shooting – 6 bowling pins were set up and a call was made for both shooters to being shooting. The idea was to clear all 6 pins on both tables off. Rob and Paul hit all 6 in 4.5 seconds.
What would you say has been your biggest role or contribution to the club?
For many years, Rob and I ran every match at Auburn on Sundays. And we’ve been running this (the Air Pistol range) for 20 years. Rob was the chief builder (of the Air Pistol Range), and I was his apprentice and all the others just did what they were told to do. Now I score the Air Pistol matches.
How has the club evolved?
Well over the years, I think we’re we’re starting to see a lot of new young members in. Which is good. I’m going to run out of time and we need new ones to step up to the mark, step up to the committee, and we’re getting that. We’re getting, you know, we got some good young people on the committee as well.
Are there any traditions or values you hope future members will preserve?
I want them to remember that this is a social as well as a sporting club. So it’s social, it’s friendly. People wanna come sit down, have a chat, and have the excuse enjoy the night and go away having a fun time. It doesn’t matter whether you shoot 298 out of 300 or whether you’ve got 50 out of 300, as long as you enjoyed your shoot.
Who were some of the most memorable characters or mentors in the club’s history?
People like Rob and Dave Miller. Those people were two guys who helped train me and are still around today. Yeah, it was just a friendly atmosphere coming in and it was always good.
Can you share a funny, touching, or unforgettable story from your time here?
The Club had an invite from the Orange Pistol club, one of the guys knew people up there. So Tony Hodge and a few of us went and we met Dean Bruce. If you have a look in the back of your APA when it comes out, you’ll find his name and his son’s name there. They still hold (shooting) records.
What advice would you give to younger members just starting out?
Take your time. Set yourself up for it. Take as long as you want it. You gotta take your time, get your accuracy going. You gotta focus on a good aiming point, and if you’re shooting live fire. Yeah, obviously a good grip, good grip control and make sure you got a. Good stance.