Lady’s Wood Challenge – Super Final

Lady’s Wood’s shooting challenge super final concluded our recent 2017 competition.

The inaugural Lady’s Wood Challenge came to a thrilling conclusion on 4th August. We invited twenty of the competition’s top qualifying shooters to the school for a “super final” and the opportunity to compete for a first prize shooting experience worth £1000.

The competition launched in April and is kindly sponsored by Hull Cartridges. Qualifying rounds have challenged competitors to use their skill, patience and accuracy to shoot a wide range of 100 moving targets. These targets simulate moving game, pigeons and wildfowl amidst Lady’s Wood’s 55-acres of natural woodland.

Fierce competition for Lady’s Wood shooting challenge super final

The final saw a morning of fine weather and impressive shooting. The competitors faced an assault of challenging targets, not least from Lady’s Wood’s 120 ft high tower.

Nick Portlock, from nearby Berkeley in Gloucestershire, eventually clinched first place, after a flawless run took him to a score of 48 out of 50, with two shots remaining. Only a slight hesitation on a pair that burst from the high tower prevented a perfect finish.

Second place went to Phil Marks, with a highly impressive score of 45 out of 50. Phil shot very consistently throughout the final with only a small number of high tower birds beating him.

Colin Waite and Don Brunt hotly contested for third place, both reaching 41 out of 50. They shot the final high tower sequence again to determine the winner. Don shot a very impressive 9 out of 10. This put the pressure on Colin, who managed to shoot a respectable 5 out of 10.

A complimentary lunch followed the competition. Nick was presented with a peg on a 200 bird pheasant day, with 250 Hull cartridges to use on the day.

Lady’s Wood awarded Phil and Don a peg on Lady’s Wood sim day and 250 cartridges each. Jenny Cartwright won Lady High Gun and place at a Lady’s Wood event. Spencer Jones, aged 14, won Junior High Scorer winning 500 Hull Cartridges.

A few words from Lady’s Wood manager, Chris Hanks

Chris Hanks, manager and instructor at Lady’s Wood said: ‘We have enjoyed superb support for our first Lady’s Wood Challenge. It has been a joy to witness such inspired shooting throughout the qualifying rounds and, in particular, today. We thank everyone who took part and very much look forward to welcoming them and others to future challenges. I would also like to thank Hull Cartridge for sponsoring the prizes so generously.’

Keep a lookout for next year’s Lady’s Wood Challenge!