Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post / Sport

Shooting: NZ aiming for glory in pistol competition

By Gary Hamilton-Irvine
Rotorua Daily Post·
26 Feb, 2013 09:51 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Pistol shooting runs in the blood for Colin Bell, who worked as a gunsmith in Johannesburg.

He moved to Rotorua five years ago where he has been a standout representative for the Rotorua Pistol Club.

He is competing today in the biggest pistol shooting competition the country has seen - the International Practical Shooting Confederation Australasia 2013 Handgun Championship.

The four-day competition, which started yesterday, is in Rotorua for the first time with more than 750 competitors shooting for 25 countries.

The relatively unknown sport of practical shooting sees competitors racing around obstacle-laden courses shooting targets as quickly and accurately as possible.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Bell said it was hard to predict how well his four-man New Zealand production pistol team would go, with many international sides looking strong.

"For most New Zealanders [pistol shooting] is just fun, but a lot of these guys do it professionally. They are paid to shoot."

Bell, along with all the other competitors, will be shooting 24 stages during the four days, which are all different.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

One stage will see competitors sitting in a canoe before firing away at targets.

"The main thing [I like about the sport] is it's different all the time and we don't stand and shoot in the same spot over and over."

He said scores are added up according to a shooter's accuracy and speed during each stage. Bell said that he was definitely better at speed rather than accuracy.

He said the sport had changed quite a bit over the years with tighter gun laws.

He said in the "olden days" shooters would dress in camouflage, which is now banned, and would shoot at targets shaped as people in real-life scenarios, such as hostages and criminals.

The competition starts at 8am each morning with shooting going late into the afternoon.

The categories include open, production, standard, revolver and classic pistol shooting, which relates to the type of pistol and modifications made to each pistol.

The country with the best score in the five categories will be crowned champions.

The Rotorua Pistol Club, on Mead Rd, has spent three years preparing for the competition, upgrading their facilities from eight shooting ranges to 32.

The facility is now the biggest in the southern hemisphere, according to club president Don Perry.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

An opening ceremony was held at the Village Green on Monday to welcome all the competitors.

The International Practical Shooting Confederation Australasia 2013 Handgun Championship is every three years.

Spectators are welcome to attend the event.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Premium
Opinion

Elliott Smith: McMillan's record adds pressure to Chiefs' big game

19 Jun 06:01 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Watch: 'Hand of God' controversy in schoolboy rugby scrum

19 Jun 04:29 AM
Premium
Opinion

Opinion: How Crusaders and Chiefs unearthed great talent from other regions

18 Jun 06:01 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Premium
Elliott Smith: McMillan's record adds pressure to Chiefs' big game

Elliott Smith: McMillan's record adds pressure to Chiefs' big game

19 Jun 06:01 PM

OPINION: Clayton McMillan faces a potential fourth final loss in five years tomorrow.

Watch: 'Hand of God' controversy in schoolboy rugby scrum

Watch: 'Hand of God' controversy in schoolboy rugby scrum

19 Jun 04:29 AM
Premium
Opinion: How Crusaders and Chiefs unearthed great talent from other regions

Opinion: How Crusaders and Chiefs unearthed great talent from other regions

18 Jun 06:01 PM
Silence of the fans:  Chiefs supporters told to leave cowbells at home

Silence of the fans: Chiefs supporters told to leave cowbells at home

17 Jun 11:41 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP