WHAT A RIDE!!! We were all set to head to the North Island and New Zealand Secondary Schools Nationals in Waikato. We had fundraised, booked tickets, paid the deposit for accommodation then Covid came again. For some of my training partners, this was their last chance as they are leaving school, so we were thrilled to hear the great news of the event going ahead even in a different format. Lockdown affected our build-up so we had limited preparation. I had great communication with Scott Wilson with entries/squadding. It was fantastic to shoot at Waihora as they have such a large Junior shooting programme with great camaraderie. I posted a pretty hot score for the Beretta NZ 2 day High Gun and had to shoot off, I blew my first target in the triples shoot off in fading light and a cold southerly wind, I knew I had to run the rest clean to have a chance at winning. Getting the phone call from Scott Wilson to inform me I was the provisional winner of the Beretta NZ 2 day High Gun was overwhelming, special thanks has to go to my squad, training partners and supporters. After 2 months of waiting the confirmation came in…. I am the official winner of the Beretta NZ 2 day High Gun.

Initially, I was hesitant to head to the Covid capital of New Zealand being from Christchurch. It was an early morning flight to Auckland where we were met by Arthur Cozens from the NZCTA and he took us to Beretta NZ Headquarters. This is a high-security facility, after going through the electronic gates we noticed the car park markings being all the different calibres/gauges. We parked in .308. We were greeted at sign in by Henry McCook to guide us through the security sign in procedure. We then headed up to the newly finished showroom. We were the first members of the public to see the new showroom which had racks of guns and accessories with amazing antler chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. We had morning tea with Niccolo d’Amico General manager, Justin Jones Marketing Manager, Henry McCook North Island account manager and Gavin Paton, before heading downstairs to Gavin’s workshop to fit the A400 Multitarget to me. He changed the stock shims as I am left-handed and removed the kick-off system and shortened the gun to suit me, refitted a pad and ground to shape. He had a fantastic well-equipped workshop. From there it was upstairs for some photos and off to Auckland Met Clay Target Club with a bunch of Beretta’s Trust and RC ammunition to try out the new guns. It was fantastic having so much experience setting up the gun with me one on one. The A400 Multitarget is a dream to shoot and it wasn’t long before I was smashing clays like I had shot it for years. Arthur then dropped us off at the airport for the trip home.

I would like to thank Beretta NZ for their wonderful support of New Zealand Clay Target Shooting. It is a huge honour to win the Beretta NZ 2 day High Gun and the A400 Multitarget with the gun fitting at Beretta headquarters. The level of professionalism of their set-up and dedication to shooting in New Zealand is mind-blowing. This is the biggest thing I have won in my shooting career to date. I will never forget this experience special thanks again to the NZCTA and Beretta NZ.