Today's shoot, very sadly, marks the end of Tattenhall Gun Club as a regular shooting organisation.  After 63 years of wonderful shooting, friendships and camaraderie we have been forced to disband the club.  The decision to wind-up the club was taken at the AGM which preceded today's shoot. 

So, given that backdrop, the shooting was very emotional and poignant for everyone; knowing that this would be our very last shoot after so many years.

Today's competiton was for both the Rob Ankers Trophy and for the final of the newly introduced Tom Welch All Round Challenge Trophy. As is customary for the August shoot, this was a 10-pairs Double-Rise event.

Tom Devaney showed his usual mastery from the start, with a 14/20 on his first card.  Tim Gazes was the only one to mount a response with a 14 of his own on his second card.  But, being the true pro that he is, Tom rose to the challenge with a pretty magnificent 17/20 on his very last card with this club.  Russell Pierpoint grabbed third spot with a very respectable pair of 12's.

And so, The Rob Ankers Trophy will be residing on the Devaney mantelpiece for the forseeable future.  As will the Tom Welch All Round Challenge Trophy, along with many others. Another great year's shooting from Tom - pity it has to end.

It would be remiss to sign off without once again thanking Keith for all he has done in providing this wonderful shooting opportunity for us all, for so many years.  We are all truly grateful and wish you a very happy retirement!

Very best wishes to all and hope we can all get together at Christmas like we said.

The very of best shooting conditions greeted us today as we arrived to shoot for the Albert Nixon Trophy.  The field was parched dry from all the recent summer weather, no wind to speak of, and a covering of light grey cloud made visibilty just about perfect.

It's a pity more people weren't there, but the turnout of only 6 people had a very enjoyable and competitive shoot.  John Tennison, last years winner, was first out of the blocks with a 38/45 on his first card.  Russell Pierpoint came very close to a full house with a 44/45 on his second card. John battled hard on the third card but came up just short with a 43.

And so it ended with Russell claiming the trophy, John runner up and Tom Devaney third on 39.  Very well shot to all those three.

Which brings us on to the important and somewhat sad news of our EGM which preceded the shoot.  Keith confirmed that he will be standing down from all his work as club secretary, as of the next shoot (August 30th).  Keith has been running the club for 25 years now and has done sterling work in steering the club through thick and thin. We all thank him for what he has done and wish him the very best for the future.

Nobody has expressed any  interest in taking over from Keith and the six members present at the EGM could not find any solution other than closing down the club.  The general decline in interest for DTL shooting, combined with increasingly onerous legislation was generally felt to be at least partially responsible for our own fall-off in numbers.

So, very regrettably, it is likely that the August shoot will be our last one.  That, coincidentally will be our AGM and the main subject of that meeting will be the orderly winding up of club affairs.

Please do try and get to the next shoot so that we can finish on a high note, if that is indeed to be the outcome.

Best wishes everybody and hope to see you on the 30th August.

Conditions could not have been better for today's shoot.  The glorious summer weather continues and a gentle breeze prevented us from overheating.  The field was drier than anyone can remember, which was great for us - but not for the cows who inhabit it when we aren't there!

Once shooting got under way there were really only three contenders.  Tom Devaney won the first card with a 36.  John Tennison and Russell Pierpoint both beat that with a 40 and a 38 respectively on the second card.  But then Tom asserted his authority on card numer 3 with a spectacular full house (45/45).
Card numer 4 saw John and Russell mount a brave fight back with 42 and a 44, close but no cigar.

In the second half, only John managed to improve his score, with a 43, so that's how it ended.  Tom gets the trophy for the third year in a row,  Russell claimed a very well deserved second spot and John came in third.  Only 2 points between the three of them!

Next up is the Albert Nixon Trophy and that's on the 26th July.  See you then!

Perfect spring weather again today for our oldest trophy shoot.

Again we were down on numbers but that didn't stop those who did turn up having a very enjoyable shoot.

At the end of the first round things looked very finely balanced with Tom Devaney and Dave Bithell sharing the lead on 62/75.  John Tennison was breathing down their necks with a 61.

As is often the case, Tom showed his class in the second round by upping his game to a 67 to claim the day and the trophy for the third time in four years.  Very well done to him.  John managed to better his first score too with a very respectable 62 and, by virtue of our "second card" rule, that was enough to give him second spot, with Dave running out third.  Very well done to all those three.

Next time its the Phil Morgan Trophy and that's on the 28th June.  See you then.

Our summer series of trophy shoots got under way today, with the Rob Law 50-birder.  Conditions were pretty much perfect - light grey cloud, no wind to speak of and, most importantly, dry.  The only dissapointment was the very low turnout of only 9 shooters.

At the half-way point it was last-years winner, John Tennison who looked to have an unassailable lead with a 21/25 with the next in line being Russell Pierpoint on 16.

But, the second half belonged to Tom Devaney, who put in a very impressive 19.  Sadly for John he faltered a bit and the final scores ended up with Tom and John tying on 34/50 and Russell coming in third with 33.  So a sudden-death shoot-off was needed to separate the two leaders and that was over after the very first shot, with Tom running out the winner.  Very well done to him and hard luck to John.  Very well done to all three placed shooters.

Next up is the Ken Dodd Trophy on the 31st May.  See you then.

A sunny but bitterly cold day was a fitting end to the 24/25 Winter Series today.

Tom Devaney led the way from beginning to end, capping it all with a very respectable, given the conditions, 41/45.  That means that Tom retains the trophy for yet another year- great shooting indeed!

The excitment was provided by the race for second spot, between John Tennison and Russell Pierpoint.  In that race both ended up on 38, but John prevailed by virtue of our "2nd card" rule.  So very well done to those two and Russell did have the consolation of claiming runners-up spot in the Winter Series, so doubly well done to him.

Next up is the Rob Law Single Barrel trophy on the 26th April.  See you then!

Our January shoot was yet another casualty of this horrible winter and so today's shoot was to settle the Rob Law Double-Rise Trophy for the year and also counts as the thrid shoot in this years Winter Series.

As if all that isn't confusing enough, the shooting today proved very difficult indeed.  Shooting straight into the sun is never easy, but today was particularly bad.  But at least the sun shone!

Tom Devaney ran out the overall winner with a14/20, and so the trophy goes back to exactly were it has spent the last year.  Very well done Tom.

Russell Pierpoint claimed second spot iwth an 11/20 and Mark Shand got third with a 10.

Our next shoot will be on the 29th March and that will be the final for the Winter Series, just four shoots this year.  See you then.