,Hurley holds nerve for title

Albany shooter Steve Hurley won his ninth straight 3-gun title in dramatic fashion at the Australian National Lever Action Championships in Casino, New South Wales on Monday.

Seven competitors from the Albany Lever Action Rifle Club notched impressive results across the board in the three-day tournament.

Sue Knapp retained her ladies’ national championship while the ALARC earned three of the four positions in the WA team for the national competition, which WA won after setting a new national record.

After winning the 2-gun event by 10 points on Sunday, Hurley performed well on Monday in the classic calibre but led Don Chesworth by only three points going into the final target.

Hurley shot a near-perfect score on the last target to extend his dominance in the national competition to nine years, a feat that had never been achieved before.

The 45-year-old said he was happy to get through the championship with another win.

“It was a cliffhanger — my heart was racing on that last target and you know what’s on the line, so it was just great to win my ninth title,” he said. “In years to come I’ll realise what a feat it was.

“You do it for yourself, you set your goal and you know what you can achieve.”

Hurley said the goal was to win 10 straight now.

Mick McDonnell and Joel Evans also made the State team with Hurley. Evans was competing at his first national championships, and Hurley was impressed with his performance.

“He shot well and has the potential to go all the way and win it one day,” he said

Peter and Bob Tulloch and Kim Knapp rounded out the ALARC competitors who were up against more than 60 other contenders from across the country.