European federation president Caricato in Malta visit

Last Sunday, the Malta Airgun Shooting Club (MASC) held the second round of the 2008 Air Rifle Benchrest competition. Present for the occasion was the president of the European Rimfire and Airrifle Benchrest Shooting Federation (ERABSF) Carlo Caricato, who hails from Pisa, Italy.

Members and officials of the local club had the opportunity to discuss with Caricato several aspects of benchrest shooting. The ERABSF head also had the opportunity to attempt a score card in the Hunter Class, scoring 205-2X.

In last weekend's competition, shooters were re-assigned to ERABSF air rifle classes and for the first time, local competitors shot at official ERABSF targets, consisting of 25 scoring marks at distances of 25 or 50 metres, depending on the class.

The wind force was 3-4 but this is the biggest challenge in benchrest. Each shooter had to complete his score card within 30 minutes, firing one single shot at each scoring target.

This year's benchrest event has a league format where participants accumulate points over six rounds. At the last session, scheduled for December, prizes will be awarded to the top three shooters.

The best shooters for the second round were: Hunter Class - David Giardina (215-3X points); Unlimited AR Class C - Anton Grima (164-1X points); Unlimited HP AR Class D - Eric Camilleri (154).

At the end of the event, Caricato was presented with a MASC memento to commemorate his visit to Malta.

The next session of the Air Rifle benchrest competition will be held on June 8.

For more information on the MASC, which is affiliated to AMACS, visit www.maltaairgunshootingclub.blogspot.com.