Don Brunt headed to Mid Wales Shooting centre for the annual highlight of the DTL calendar, the Krieghoff!
Few things in life are as reliable and consistent as the Krieghoff DTL, which in its 21st year is as popular as ever, with a full entry of 480 shooters taking part in the main event.
The team at Mid Wales had as always done a great job of preparing for the mass influx of DTL devotees, with everything from the cut grass to the Laporte traps and the new retail store all looking in tip-top condition.
Things kicked off on Thursday with the 100-bird shoot, which is more of a warm-up, but there were plenty amongst the field of 266 who took it very seriously.
Ian Mullarkey and Jeff Cole made their intentions for the week crystal clear by sharing the top spot with a pair of 100/300s, closely followed by five 100/299s, many by those who would be considered to be the usual contenders.
The Lucky Numbers event on Friday is always popular, as it opens up the opportunities to win to people who might otherwise not normally make it to the podium. The weather was kind, with minimal wind and no rain, which is always a bonus at Mid Wales.
Accordingly, scores were high, but although 11 shooters managed a 299, nobody among the 443 who took part completed a clean sweep. However, the scores, as impressive as they might have been, were almost immaterial, with those whose scores ended in either a 1 or a 5 being chosen to compete in the class shoot-offs for a chance to win big money in the Superfinal.
It’s not unusual for this event to see something of an upset in the form book, such as a shooter from the lower classes walking off with the top prize, but this time it became a straight fight between Jan Powell and George Turnes, as one by one the rest dropped away. With the scores all tied, it eventually came down to sudden death.
Nerves clearly began to play a part, as on two occasions each man missed, only to be followed by another miss from his opposition. In the end it was Jan who kept it together to head home £1,000 better off.
The Saturday and Sunday saw the main event underway. Seven shooters managed a perfect round on Saturday, forcing a shoot-off to find the finalist who would go into the Super final against Sunday’s winner to compete for DTL’s ultimate prize.
In the end it was Dan Price who prevailed to go through. However, there was a surprise in store. On Sunday 480 shooters took part in the competition amid some very mixed weather conditions, and when the last cartridge was spent there was only one who had managed to finish on the magical 100/300.
That shooter just so happened to be Dan Price, so having won both days there was nobody for him to shoot off against, and he was automatically crowned the champion; this was the first time in 21 years that the event has finished that way.
A runner up was needed, so Saturday’s second place went head to head against Sunday’s, and eventually Lee Byard took the place ahead of Willie Armstrong.
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