Thursday 8 January marked the commencement of a four-day frenzy at the Melbourne Gun Club in Yering.
From the Commonwealth Championship competition to the Australian Clay Target National for Trap, the Melbourne Gun Club saw endless spells of bullets long into the weekend.
Shotgun Programme Manager at Shooting Australia Adam Hosking said, “We work closely with the Australian Clay Target Association to deliver the nationals for the Australian Clay Target.
“We at Shooting Australia have used this event as a selection event for a series of competitions to choose athletes to represent Australia at World Cup events early in 2026,” Mr Hosking said.
According to Mr Hosking, World Cups are a good preparation point for the shooting athletes as they progress through the four-year cycle to the Olympics.
A number of Olympians ventured out to the Yarra Valley to compete in the competitions, with Mitch Iles, James Willett, and Penny Smith among them.
Some competitors from New Zealand also attended the Commonwealth Championships at the club.
Mr Hosking said, “This event, because there is a selection overlay, really attracts all those top quality Australian shooters to Melbourne.”
“Melbourne Gun Club is one of the best in the country. They have a sufficient amount of layouts and are well equipped to host a competition of this size,” Mr Hosking said.
“We are always really happy to come here and compete.”
Unlike many other Olympic sports, many of the shooting athletes are not paid for their profession, and work part time jobs on top of competing.
“These guys are really pursuing their dreams and passions when they travel to be here,” Mr Hosking said.
Treasurer of the Melbourne Gun Club and Coldstream local Lenny Harrison started shooting at Melbourne Gun club in 2022.
“We are one of the best venues in the country. We are known as one of the premier shooting facilities,” Ms Harrison said.
“We have beautiful grounds with eight trenches and eight layouts in total,” she said.
Originally planned to be held in Echuca, last week’s competitions were moved last minute to the Melbourne Gun Club, due to heat wave fears.
Ms Harrison told Star Mail, “They contacted the president, Craig, and they said, ‘We need your grounds,’ and Craig, of course, said, ‘yep, okay.’”
“It was a flurry of text messages to see if we could all help get the place ready and we did, just in time,” she said.
Ms Harrison was most eager to see Mitchell Iles and James Willett take aim last week.
“They are just so fluid in the way they shoot,” she said.
“It is exciting to watch.’
One of the things Ms Harrison loves most about the club is the members.
“It feels like family,” Ms Harrison said.
“Everyone is friends.”
The club encourages everyone to come down and have a try.
“We sometimes get people who have never shot a gun before and they are really tense at first, but then they loosen up and go ‘wow,’” Ms Harrison said.
“Anyone can come along,” she said.
In terms of 2026 events, the club looks forward to hosting the World UT Championships in February.
