Shot my qualification scores and set a new Canadian 10m Finals Record!

October has been a great month! I shot in Cookstown, Ontario a couple weekends ago and shot 1 of the 2 qualification scores I needed to make the 2018 Canadian Team. I also set a new Canadian Men's 10m Finals record with a score of 235.2!

New Canadian Men's 10m pistol record of 235.2!

This past weekend in Calgary, Alberta at the 2017 Western Canadian Airgun Championships I shot my 2nd qualification score with a 567/600! It's been a long road this year shifting focus back to 10m from the last 2 years of 50m focus I'd been doing. This past month things really came together to secure my spot on the team. Focus!

I've got a new target sports program for youth starting up in November at the Sunshine Coast Rod & Gun club and will post updates once that program kicks off. I'm looking forward to helping a new generation of Olympic style shooters get started!

2010 WCAGC Match Winner!

Busy week! I was down in Redmond, WA at the Microsoft campus on Friday and then drove back, in time for a few hours sleep before flying to Calgary Saturday morning.

John Berta and I were the BC Team that attended the 2010 Western Canadian Airgun Championships. We took a 7am flight out of Vancouver and drove from the airport straight to the Calgary Rifle & Pistol Club and were shooting our first match of the day a few minutes later.

I shot a 560 / 600 and a 564 / 600 which put me in 1st place going into Finals on Sunday. I was 14 points ahead of 2nd going into Finals so there wasn't a lot of pressure -- but it is Finals and anything can happen. ;) Ultimately, I pushed a bit further ahead and locked in the 'Match Winner' title.

Here are some photos of the scores for 10m Air and 10m Rifle Finals:

10M Pistol Men

10M Pistol Women

10M Rifle Men

10M Rifle Women

Impressive, as always, are the World class rifle scores that Cory Niefer shoots... 594! 54 10's out of 60! Awesome.

Thanks to Bernie, CRPC, the range officials, and volunteers for hosting an excellent match in Calgary.

My next competition is at the 2010 Hibernation Match in Richmond, BC in a couple of weeks.

Oct 22-24 2010 - Western Canadian Airgun Championships (Calgary)

The Western Canadian Airgun Championships are being held a week later on October 22-24, 2010 in Calgary Alberta. These will all be shot on MEGAlink electronic targets and the competition is limited to 36 competitors.

Registration form is available online here.

2009 Western Canadian Airgun Championships October 16-18

After a 4 week break with only a couple of shooting sessions I'm back to training on September 14th to get ready for the 2009 Western Canadian Airgun Championships being held in Calgary, Alberta on October 16 - 18.

Another busy work week, some drinks with friends, then back to shooting 10s starting next week.

Out for several weeks

For about 4 weeks now I've been dealing with shoulder pain and going to physio to help get my shoulder better. Problems started the week of Nationals and got worse up until 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, I have to cancel going to the Western Canadian Airgun Championships next month and am unable to practice at all for at least another 3 weeks.

I contemplated getting a left handed grip and start shooting left handed but it would be difficult to be competition ready by September.

For now... I take a break and will build up my shoulder strength and get all the tendons and everything working correctly again before competing in November.

Finished 3rd at the Western Canadian Air Gun Championships

I went into the Finals in a tie with Edmond Lee at a score of 1114 / 1200. I shot a 95.8 in the Finals which gave me a total score of 1209.8 which left me short 0.7 points behind Edmond who finished at 1210.5.

The best part of this weekend was seeing my average go up. Shooting more 10s, fewer 8s and an overall tighter grouping. I shot many 9s which just missed the 10 ring.

Stan Wills shot way ahead of us with a combined score of 1241.1. I remember shooting in the early 90s and seeing Stan shoot some amazing scores. I still have yet to beat him... I will do it in 2008. :)

Later that afternoon I went to the Calgary Firearms Centre with Dorothy Ludwig and Lynda Hare to meet up with Jason Caswell to try skeet shooting. Jason is one of Canada's best skeet shooters and went to the 1996 and 2000 Olympics games.

Skeet Shooting with Jason Caswell

Jason gave us a quick overview of what Skeet Shooting is all about. It was definitely a great experience being able to shoot a shotgun and get tips and advice from one of the best in the sport!

A great weekend in Calgary, beautiful weather, experienced so much and had an incredible time. I can't wait to come back next year. My next competition is on November 2-4, 2007 called the Hibernation Match being held in Richmond, BC in the same building I train in.

Arrived in Calgary for the Western Canadian Air Gun Championships

I arrived in Calgary Friday morning and ventured into downtown to see what Calgary is all about. I haven't been here in many many many years, actually I don't think I've spent much time here other than at the airport.

Medal ceremonies for the 1988 Winter Olympics were here

I started out by checking out the Calgary Tower and the various parks and buildings left over as legacies from the 1988 Winter Olympics held here. The Tower is pretty cool, then again I'm a huge fan of buildings and man made structures. I particularly liked the glass floor of the observation floor. Freaky!

Looking up at Calgary Tower

Stepping on the glass floor of Calgary Tower

Later on Friday I met up with my friend Lynda Hare who I was staying with and we got to the range and went through equipment check and had about 6 minutes to practice. It felt good. The range is well lit and the target carriers are electronic.

On Saturday I was on the last relay so I would be shooting at 11:00 am and then again at 5:00 pm. The first match went well with a score of 560 / 600. I can definitely tell the training and practice is starting to get me back to my old scoring range.

In between matches my friends Lynda and Dorothy and I ventured out to the Canada Olympic Park. This was something I really wanted to see while here as I always missed getting to see it on my other visits to these parts.

The Canada Olympic Park is buzzing with activity year round

We didn't have long but I got to see and experience what I wanted to see. I definitely want to come back in the Winter time. It's neat seeing the park so active in the Summer.

Good thing this wasn't actually on ice... I'd probably hurt myself. ;)

The Ice House at Canada Olympic Park

The indoor training facility called the Ice House is a pretty cool facility. Literally. ;) Apparently it is the only indoor training facility in the world for sliding athletes. We got to see bobsleigh athletes training on the indoor track.

Back to the shooting range, the second match started out well but my endurance for shooting so much in one day is not up to where it needs to be. My first 3 strings were 94, 95, 93 and it got harder and harder to lift the gun for the last 30 shots. I'm going to be working on this over the next few weeks as I have a local competition coming up in November where 3 matches are shot over 2 days.

I'm currently tied in 2nd with another BC shooter and will be shooting in the Finals tomorrow morning. I haven't shot in Finals since Nationals in 1995 when I shot in the 8th position. I was still a Junior at the time but shot high enough to shoot with the Men that year.

Finals are shot to the decimal point so shooting a perfect 10 is worth 10.9 points. BC shooter Edmond Lee and I are currently tied with 1114 points each.

Flying to Calgary Friday

I wasn't able to attend the match this past weekend. I've been getting out to practice when I can and the recent changes I've made seem to be working out well.

Who would have thought moving and super busy work schedules could be so time consuming! ;)

I fly out Friday morning and will be home late Sunday night. I'm going to try and find some time during the weekend to post up event photos and scores. Stay tuned to allanharding.com.

Registered for two competitions in September

I've submitted my registration forms for two matches in September. I'm excited that I have the opportunity to attend two matches only a week apart. In Europe I could probably compete every weekend if I wanted to, but here in Vancouver there are only a few matches every year.

The first match I'll be attending on Sept 7-9 is the 2007 BC Top Gun Match. It is a 5 gun event, but until I get my firearms license paperwork finalized I can only shoot Olympic Air Pistol. This is okay though as it is my favorite event. :) I will definitely be writing about the experience of navigating through Canada's firearm laws as I go through the process.

The second event is the Western Canadian Air Gun Championships, this event will have two matches with the combined score used to determine the winner.

I'll be making some modifications to my training over the next 3-4 weeks. I'll be adjusting my stance a bit and working on my grip and trigger control. For my stance I'll be shifting my feet around so that I'm raising my shooting arm more in front of me instead of out towards my side. In the image below my shooting arm goes out directly to my right.

The new stance brings the left leg forward and rotates the right leg

As you can see from the shoe prints it isn't a major change, but the slightest change in foot position can actually make a big difference in a precision sport.

My busy work schedule is starting to pick up so I'm hoping to get out to train enough before I leave for Calgary.