First National Muzzle Loading Skeet Championship Report.
 
The first National Muzzle Loading Skeet Championships were held on Sunday 16th September 2007 at Lakenheath Clay Target Centre in Suffolk, one of the premier shooting grounds in the country. We were fortunate to have a bright sunny day with a variable gusting wind which presented some tricky targets at times. The event was hosted by the recently formed Lakenheath Muzzle Loaders.
 
The Championships attracted a good number of competitors from as far as the Midlands, Hertfordshire & London. Most of the usual Muzzle Loading Association of Great Britain (MLAGB) muzzle loading regulars were there but it was also good to see newcomers Marie Shinn, Derek Richardson, Steve Tomasso & Pete Heisig. The ladies competition was well supported with 3 entries, which is the most we have seen at a muzzle loading event for years. It was good to see both Mike Swingler & Peter Capewell, two veterans of muzzle loading shotgun shooting, who had travelled a considerable distance to be with us on the day.

Special mention must be made of Steve & Pete, two Americans, who sourced muzzle loading guns, wads, powder & shot all within a week to shoot this competition – well done gents!

Some of the regular Lakenheath skeet shooters had dug out, borrowed or possibly stolen hammer guns (only joking officer) so that they could shoot this event & had been busy loading black powder cartridges, apart from Alan seated in the picture that is, who was just happy to sun himself.

It was a delight to see the muzzle loading regulars mixing with the regular skeet shooters & what made this event very special was the way in which the two skeet referees, Mike & Alan together with the competitors really entered into the spirit of the competition. Although competitive, the atmosphere was friendly & relaxed with plenty of willing help on hand for the newcomers. A short lunchtime break allowed everyone to mix & have a chat.
 
The competitions were all on a re-entry basis & consisted of 15 birds for the single barrel, ladies & flintlock events & 25 birds for the double barrel & hammer gun events. The competitions were closely fought & resulted in some exciting shoot offs.
 
The Ladies shield was one by Clare Mills with an outstanding score of 12, closely followed by regular muzzle loading stalwart, Jane Capewell. In third place was Marie Shinn who delighted us all with her enthusiasm when she hit the clays – well done!

The flintlock event saw some superb shooting with both Barney Kilpatrick & Dave Elvin tying for first place with 13. In the shoot off, Barney kept his cool to beat Dave. So the Flintlock shield went to London with Barney. With Dave picking up the silver medal, Richard Morris picked up the bronze medal with another good score of 12.
 
The single barrel shield was one by Bev Keeble with a very convincing 13. Martin Crix picked up the silver with 12 & Allan Wellings won bronze with 11.

Excellent shooting was again evident in the double barrel event with Mark Bonner & Bev Kebble both shooting 22 early in the day. On the last round of the day Martin Crix slipped in a 22 to join them in the shoot off. The shoot off was a simultaneous pair was from peg 4. Bev uncharacteristically missed both & Mark & Martin dropped one each. Mark then missed one of the pair but Martin won the event by hitting the pair leaving Mark with the silver medal.
 
The hammer gun event was unusual in that it featured some of the regular Lakenheath Skeet shooters, namely, Peter Bloomfield, Nobby Clarke & Dave Ellis. Competition was fierce & Peter Bloomfield came through to win with a 22. Nobby & Martin tied on 20 for a shoot off, with Martin eventually winning the silver, leaving Nobby with the bronze. Special mention must me made of Nobby, one of Suffolk's greatest shooting characters, as he is 78 & is as keen a shooting man now as ever he was. He's been shooting skeet for 50 years!

This event turned out to be a great success & thanks go to Clare Mills for the preparation and Susan Keeble for taking the entries on the day. Very special thanks go to Pete Usher & his staff for all the encouragement & help with making this competition possible.
 
Thanks to all the competitors for your support – see you next year. For those who couldn't make it, we hope to see you next year & for those muzzle loaders who may be daunted by skeet – don't be! They're only close in crossers & the sequence is simple & in any case is written out at each peg. We look forward to welcoming you all next year!
 
Report by Martin Crix

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