Albany shooter wins two-gun title

Star Albany shooter Steve Hurley claimed his seventh overall two-gun title in thrilling fashion at the WA State Open Lever Action Rifle Championships held at the Albany Lever Action Rifle Club range at the weekend.

The 42nd edition of the WA titles had close to 90 nominations across the two days which included two competitors from New South Wales.

The overall two-gun title is decided by combining the scores from the open classic event on Saturday and the open shoot on Sunday.

Since the inception of the two-gun championship in 2002, Hurley has been a dominant force in the event winning six titles including the last four in a row heading into this year’s shoot at the Mutton Bird range.

The 45-year-old, who earlier this year was named the overall Albany Sportsperson of the Year, appeared on track to claim a fifth consecutive two-gun title when he won Saturday’s classic calibre shoot from Perth’s Keith Mills and fellow ALARC member Joel Evans.

But there were some nervous moments for Hurley on Sunday in the open competition as his rivals closed in on his lead in a tense final day.

Albany’s David Sobik prevailed in the open event, surviving a spirited challenge from Mills to win by six V-Bulls but a third placing to Hurley was enough for him to win a seventh overall gong.

Hurley led by seven points after the opening day and finished with 845 points, edging out Mills on 844 with Albany’s Mick McDonnell filling third place on 804.

“I thought in my own mind that Keith Mills would be my main competition in the two-gun and that’s how it worked out,” Hurley said.

“I was kicking myself because I made a little mistake on my last event in that open shoot.

“I didn’t adjust my sights for the target and didn’t score as well but in the end that seven-point buffer I had in the open classic got me across the line.”

Hurley said the standard of competition was extremely strong and praised his fellow Albany shooters.

“In that open event it was probably the highest standard of shooting I’ve seen,” he said.

“Dave, Keith and myself all happened to be shooting alongside each other but I was very impressed with how Dave kept his nerve.

“I knew I was capable of winning (the two-gun) but I was just relieved after making that mistake.

“The Albany shooters did incredibly well and made up the majority of the top 10.”

Perth’s James Hay finished fourth, and fifth in the two-gun was NSW competitor Don Chesworth, while Evans (Albany), Robert Gill (Albany), Brett Worner (Perth), Sobik (Albany) and Mark Ferre (Perth) rounded out the top 10.