It was a weekend of all seasons that saw some of the best skeet shooters in Australia converge on the Melbourne Gun Club for the Victorian State Skeet Carnival, February 4th, 5th and 6th. The sun, rain, humidity and wind didn't stop the 73 shooters from Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia making their way to the beautifully presented grounds for a weekend of great shooting and great company.

Friday the 4th of February saw a very humid day with a few rain showers that did nothing to bring down the temperature. The 50 target Victorian State Skeet 20 Gauge was the first event to be shot, and the bar was set high early, with David O'Sullivan, Eddy Elder and Blake Slater all posting 50s on the board. After a brief shoot off, Blake Slater emerged victorious to take the overall with a score of 55/55.
There were plenty of shooters just on their tails, and after a number of shoot offs the results were finalised.

With the shoot off for the Handicap sorted out, it was time for everyone to head out into the dowpour and shoot the 100 target Victorian State Skeet Championship. Again the shooters seemed unbothered by the rain, with Mal Briggs, Gil Farish, Michael Buttigieg and Shane O'Brien all shooting possibles. (Congratulations on your first hundred Michael!) One lengthy shoot off later, (And Michael turning his 100 break into a 150 break!) the overall went to Shane O'Brien with a fantastic score of 166/166. The quality of the shooting was obvious as most of the grades and sections were decided with shoot offs.

With the 100 target event concluded, and the rain still coming down, the Postal Teams still had to be shot, and the Shoulder to Shoulder teams decided.

With the shooting finished for the day, but the rain still coming down, the shooters waited with bated breath to find out whether the shoot would continue on to the Sunday. With the drive way flooded, and the road in half underwater, the fate of the Victorian State Skeet Carnival was in the hands of the committee. All the shooters were told to check the website in the morning, and with little more that could be done, everyone went home and prayed to the Rain Gods...

Sunday the 6th of February saw everyone up early and logging on to their computers to find out if the shoot was still on. It was!! With a warning of 4x4's only, and an offer of ferrying those without them, everyone headed back out to the Melbourne Gun Club to shoot the last day of the Skeet Carnival. Almost everyone made it through the floods (there was a little car trouble for some!) and the preparations began for the first event of the day, the 50 target Melbourne Gun Club Skeet Champion of Champions. It was the maiden voyage for this particular event, which has replaced the 50 target VCTA Championship. The event is shot 25 12 gauge, 25 20 gauge and hopefully by next year, it will be ratified into a State Title.

The last event of the 2011 Victorian State Skeet Carnival was the 50 target Victorian State Skeet Doubles. The conditions were extremely trying as the increasing winds played havoc with the targets, and not to mention the very brave (or stupid) little possum that found a home in the high house chute of ground 5! Despite all of the distractions though, with an amazing score of 49/50, Eddy Elder won the overall, no shoot off required.

With all the High Guns decided, that concluded the 2011 Victorian State Skeet Carnival.

I'm sure I speak for all of the participants when I send a massive thank you to the Melbourne Gun Club and everyone who helped out over the weekend, particularly Paul Johnston, Adrian Cousins, Steve Pellagrino and John Mollica who ensured the shoot ran smoothly from start to finish.

Thanks must also go to Jenny Porcellana for her wonderful work in the office, and to our Webmaster, Ivan Spiller who, on short notice, updated the website with the status for Sunday's events. All of the kitchen and bar staff, the trap boys, everyone who helped get the traps out to avoid the floods, all of the referees and scorers, and anyone else who may have been forgotten.

And finally, a huge thank you to all of the shooters for coming to Melbourne Gun Club, especially all of the travelers and making the weekend fantastic despite the weather.