The Guyana Sport Shooting Foundation Practical Pistol Section brought the curtains down for 2015 on Saturday 5th December, 2015, when they hosted the P&P Insurance Brokers & Consultants Practical Pistol Match at the GDF Timehri Range. The event saw local practical shooters testing their skills in four dynamic stages setup by the GSSF Match Committee competing for prizes in two divisions. The Production Division shooters used out of the factory firearms which were limited to a magazine capacity of 10 rounds only while the Limited or Standard Division shooters where allowed some add-ons to make their guns more race worthy for the sport.
Match Director for the event, Mr. Ryan McKinnon in his opening remarks, welcomed the shooters and encouraged all to follow the strict safety rules set out by the discipline and introduced the range safety officers who would be monitoring the action. McKinnon also noted the attendance of sanctioned and established practical shooters of IPSC Guyana along with the Regional Director Mr. Harold Hopkinson. The stages selected for the competition from the get go appeared to be a rigid test of the ability of the shooters to balance the three elements of practical shooting: Speed, Power and Accuracy. To get things on the way the MD introduced the Range Master for the event, Mr. David Dharry, who was tasked with ensuring all the rules of the sport were followed correctly.
Competitors were all very eager to start their navigation of the Foundation’s new stage props while safely engaging targets. The first stage called “Without a Paddle” required the competitor to start seated in a “boat” and upon the signal to start, the shooter had to engage targets on either side from a seated position then stand, move to the bow of the boat and engage more targets to the front and sides. The “boat” was suspended by way of a creative piece of engineering to re-create the effects of a swaying boat which was enhanced with the movement of the shooter on its deck. This stage was adjudged the most challenging but at the same time, the most fun to shoot.
The second stage called “Something Else” consisted of 8 static paper targets with 3 No-Shoot targets, a drop turner and a swinging target. Sadly for all present, the two moving targets had to be modified and ultimately removed due to the heavy winds that the Timehri Range is known for. The start position saw the competitors starting from anyplace outside the fault lines. Competitors thus had to remember to firstly step inside the shooting area before engaging targets and moving through the stage. The midpoint of the stage required that a window be opened to expose additional targets beyond it. For this arrangement there were several methods employed to quickly solve the tasks that the stage provided.
The third stage ‘Decorating Interrupted” was a festive stage with lots of Christmas decorations adorning the stage. The final prop addition of a Christmas tree was strategically placed by Hopkinson who seemed eager to usher in Christmas cheer amongst the sounds of guns making ready. The shooters ability to move safely up range or backwards was tested as they had to be cognizant of ‘the 180 degree angle’ that their firearm muzzle must stay within. This brought out the fancy footwork from some while others seemed unfazed and resorted to sprinting back and across the width of the stage engaging targets in the shortest possible time. Some targets were dubbed as “tricky” as they were positioned behind screens with windows and no shoot targets on either side of the stage. It was agreed by all the competitors that this stage required the most planning.
The fourth and final stage “Boom Boom Boom” whist prima facie an easy stage with 3 classic and 3 steel plates was declared a fun way to end the 2015 shooting activities. Shooters were required to retrieve their firearm from on top a drum, load it and then engage the steel targets, then switch to one hand shooting first the right then the left or vice versa for left handers. Mandatory reloads were required between each segment of shooting. To make things more complicated, any make up shots on the paper targets could only have been shot after the last string was completed.
Mr. Vikash Panday representing the sponsor company, P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Ltd. located at Lot 35 North and King Streets, Georgetown, was on hand to see some competitors in action and shared positive comments on the Match and the abilities of the shooters. In the Production Division, Rajiv Latchana used his experience gained from taking part overseas in the recent IPSC Level III Suriname Open 2015 to put up some good runs, challenging Division favourite Ryan McKinnon who finished albeit having an injured trigger finger. New-comer Surujbali Persaud shot a steady match to gain the third prize. Returning to the practical shooting arena after many years was Andrew Phang who declared the stages as fun and that he looks forward to the next match.
For the Limited Division it was a battle of experience and speed, since accuracy was the common ground for all the shooters. Veteran ‘TopGun’ Harold (Hondo) Hopkinson traded places with Vidushi (Trinity) Persaud, David Dharry and Pravesh Harry. Newbie Roberto Tewari was the only shooter of the day to shoot a ‘possible’ or clean one of the bigger stages in the match. Tewari shot all Alphas in a rarely seen feat in local practical shooting. However it was the speed of Azaad Hassan who cut his own racing line to overtake the jostling group for first place.
After the sand that was kicked up settled and the smoke cleared, Stats Officer Dr. Pravesh Harry presented the results as follows:
Limited Division
Azaad Hassan – First
David Dharry – Second
Vidushi Persaud – Third
Production Division
Ryan McKinnon – First
Rajiv Latchana – Second
Surujbali Persaud – Third
Scoring for practical shooting is done by recording the competitor’s time with an electronic device which ‘hears’ the shots and records the time from the audible beep which signals the start to the sound of the last shot fired. The targets are then scored and the total score gained is divided by the time recorded for that competitor the result of which is termed a Hit Factor. The highest HF will win that stage. Ultimately a balance of short times and accurate shooting is required.
P&P Insurance Brokers & Consultants branded Match Plaques for the Overall Winners in the Limited Division were presented by Mr. Harold Hopkinson, Guyana’s Regional Director for the International Practical Shooting ConFoundation and for the Production Division prizes were presented by Ms. Vidushi Persaud, President of the GSSF.
Our local practical pistol aces then ushered in the festive season and shared Christmas Cheer in typical Guyanese fashion enjoying some homemade sorrel drink with some black cake as they called it a wrap at the last pistol shooting event for the GSSF’s 2015 calendar year.
The Board of Directors wishes to commend the Match Director, Range Master, Stats Officer, Range Officers and the shooters for ensuring an efficient event. Special thanks also to Brigadier Mark Phillips, the Guyana Defence Force, Commissioner of Police Mr. Seelal Persaud, Asst. Commissioner Mr. David Ramnarine, Commander of A-Division, ACP Hickens, the ranks of TSU and the Guyana Police Force, Mr. Tulsi Ramnarine, the Media and GSSF members for their support in promoting sport shooting amongst all Guyanese. Sincere thanks were extended to CEO, Mr. Bishwa Panday of P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Ltd.’s located at Lot 35 North and King Streets, Georgetown
In Photo below: Prize Winners of GSSF’s Practical Pistol Match pose with P&P Insurance Brokers Plaques alongside IPSC RD, Harold Hopkinson.
