Deadly duo

DOUBLE MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Pistol shooters Aaron Manson and Natalie Hawes enjoyed success at the South Island IPSC championships in Dunedin. Manson won the open and grand masters titles, and brought home the Champions Cup for overall winner. Hawes won the women’s standard division. Picture by Liam Clayton

GISBORNE shooter Aaron Manson was a man on a double mission as he prepared for the South Island International Practical Shooting Confederation championships in Dunedin.

And it proved a case of mission accomplished when the North Island IPSC open champion won the South Island grand masters and open titles. He also collected the President’s medal and Champions Cup for overall winner.

President’s medals are awarded at level 3 or higher competitions with more than five shooters in the divisions, or five or more in the categories of junior, women, senior and super senior.

It was Manson’s third time at the champs. He was third in 2012 and second in 2013. He did not compete last year as he had just returned from the IPSC World Shoot in the United States.

“There was a couple of stages in Dunedin I lost a few points on over the weekend but it has given me something to work on before the nationals next month in Wanganui. Otherwise the rest of the stages went well,” said Manson, who is sponsored by Gun Supplies and Gun & Bell Custom in Rotorua.

Manson’s partner, Natalie Hawes, competed in the South Island champs for the first time and made it a debut to remember, winning the women’s standard division.

“Never having shot at the South Island champs before, I was excited to be shooting in a different environment and with a different group of people,” said Hawes, who also picked up bronze in the C-grade standard division. “I had my sights set on winning gold against the other women in the standard division, which I achieved by a small margin — nine points — over 12 stages.”

Pleased with her resultsHawes said she was pleased with her third in the C-grade.

“I wasn’t very confident after the first day when I had a couple of misses and hit a no-shoot, which cost me points, but I got it together on day two and had a fantastic day, gaining a lot of the missed points back.”

Hawes said she and Manson went on a South Island road trip a week before the champs to get some experience on different ranges.

“We started in Nelson, then headed to Marlborough for a interclub fun competition, then on to Christchurch for a practice with some of Christchurch’s finest shooters.

“All the members of the clubs were very hospitable.

“Finally it was off to Dunedin for the South Island champs, where we found it a bit colder that it had been in the other parts of the South Island.

“We arrived a day early so we could watch the pre-match (range officers shooting before the main match), and to get the lie of the land.

“We both shot the same stages but with Aaron using an open division pistol and me, a standard division pistol.

“Getting practice in on the way always helps. Aaron is to stop in Palmerston North for training with a friend on the way to the nationals next month.