Stratstone Ultimate One draws near

Following the success of the Stratstone Super Seven competition last year, Royal Berkshire Shooting School will launch the Stratstone Ultimate One on Friday 3 October. Yesterday, members of the press were privileged enough to be invited to a preview of the event, which comprises a 50-Sporting warm-up, then two attempts at the 25-bird high tower sequence. Robert Cross has tweaked the target presentation for the main competition with the most challenging clay being a left-to-right curler that requires full use of the gun – and quite a few more for the assembled press. It is a tiring challenge pulling the trigger 26 times in under two minutes, but regular competition shots should prove more capable than the desk jockeys and journalists who attempted the Ultimate One yesterday. It is a mental game as well, as most shooters found when going from the warm-up to the main competition. Each shooter tensed up to engage focus, but began to over think and occasionally rush shots. Even Royal Berkshire’s Robert Cross and Dylan Williams took on the tower and found it difficult. Despite the tower’s intimidating presence, each person wanted a second attempt. This challenge is addictive and it’s a delight to see the format return, but this year with bigger sponsorship. Though the winner of the final had a choice of one car from seven automobiles last year, the £130,000 Range Rover Long Wheel Base Autobiography is the single vehicle up for grabs if said champion hits 23ex-25 in the final. Another change is who will get to win the Vintage Rolex Submariner watch donated by David Duggan. The person with the highest score out of 100 (50 Sporting warm-up and two goes at the Ultimate One) from each week will return for a shoot-off on the day of the final to battle it out for the prized watch. That person will also win a bottle of Champagne Bollinger – the sponsor also said it will place award a methuselah of champagne to the winner hits 23. The top competitor who uses a side-by-side will win £1,000 worth of Really Wild Clothing vouchers, but last year’s winner of this, Chris Childerhouse, and the watch, George Digweed, will not be in with a chance of winning the same prize again. The Stratstone Ultimate One will commence on Monday 6 October and finish on Saturday 31 January 2015. The final will take place in February. Visit the Royal Berkshire Shooting School website for more information.