Photo by Vince Fedoroff
IN THE CROSSHAIRS 鈥� Cassandra Henderson finished first in B Division Hunter and second in B Division Standard at the Yukon Rifle Silhouette Championships held on the weekend (top). SNIPER 鈥� Felix Maltais competes in the territorial shooting championships June 16.
Ten local shooters lined up their sights and aimed for the heart at the annual Yukon Rifle Silhouette Championships held Saturday and Sunday at the Whitehorse Rifle and Pistol Club on Grey Mountain.
Ten local shooters lined up their sights and aimed for the heart at the annual Yukon Rifle Silhouette Championships held Saturday and Sunday at the Whitehorse Rifle and Pistol Club on Grey Mountain.
The event was put on by the Yukon Shooting Federation.
Competition began at 9 a.m. both days in small-bore (rim fire) competition. The marksmen competed with .22 rifles with 6x24 scopes.
"The rim fire comes in two classes,鈥� federation president David Wipp told the Star. "There's standard, which is any gun you want to buy or build, and hunter, which is an off-the-shelf gun. That's where most of the interest is, because people can afford those.鈥�
Marksmen shot at a variety of small targets located at different distances. Wipp said steel silhouette were the targets 鈥� chickens at 25 metres, pigs were at 50, turkeys at 75 and rams at 100.
Wipp said there were no surprising results, but steady improvement continued to be shown from the event's younger participants.
The territorial championships are key, as next year Wipp said the club is aiming to host the national event.
"Next year will be really busy,鈥� he said today.
Wipp said membership has gone down over recent years, and clubs across western Canada have begun to focus on recruiting marksmen from families interested in the sport.
Six of the shooters at the weekend meet were father-son or father-daughter pairings.
The Whitehorse Rifle and Pistol Club is the only still-active shooting club in the territory.
"Twenty years ago, there was quite a club in Ross River, and there was a club in Watson Lake, and Carcross shot skeet mostly, but they had a range there,鈥� Wipp said.
"We're going to try and reach out this fall and see if we can find these people from the clubs and get the communities back involved.鈥�
The Yukon Handgun Championships will be held July 21 and 22.
Results
AAA Division Standard
1st Dave Buchanan
2nd Lyle Thompson
3rd Ken Speiss
AAA Division Hunter
1st Lyle Thompson
2nd Dave Buchanan
3rd Ken Speiss
B Division Standard
1st Dyson Hale
2nd Cassandra Henderson
3rd Lyle Henderson
B Division Hunter
1st Cassandra Henderson
2nd Lyle Henderson
3rd Dyson Hale
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Comments (1)
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mike madder on Jun 20, 2013 at 10:12 am
I believe that this marksman tournament should pay respects to the best marksman the Yukon has ever had. Andy Anderson was a good role model, a kind hearted, easy to get along with, willing to help anyone, well respected standup guy who unfortunately passed after a long battle with cancer .Andy if you can hear me I hope you're well and thanks for your friendship I learned more than you know.Thank You