Aiming for perfection

Benchrest is one of the most demanding yet rewarding of the shooting disciplines. It requires exceptional accuracy from the rifle, shooter and ammunition. Bill Collaros has mastered this sport, with Gold team medals in the WRABF World Championships. Here he provides this introduction for new shooters looking to take up the sport.

“Benchrest shooting matches extreme precision with in-depth knowledge of the equipment and mastery of the outdoor elements. To succeed you need state of the art custom designed rifles and quality high power scopes. Couple this with wind flags to help read the conditions, and of course accurate ammunition. Ammunition you can count on to hit the bull every shot!

It’s like other shooting disciplines in that you need to train hard in all conditions, then be relaxed and ready to repeat your training in competition. It is a confidence game at the very high end – confidence in yourself and your gear, one shot at a time.

The beauty of Benchrest is you can participate at any age from very young to very old. I have seen people of all ages win competitions. What they all had in common was the patience and precision required in this discipline. Very little margin for error gives extreme satisfaction each and every time you hit that 10x.

My personal interest in shooting began when I attended a match at the Athens Olympics in 2004. With no prior experience of the sport I set my mind to success. Within four years I was Captain of the Australian Team for the 1st World Championships in Milan.

The next World Championships takes place in Pretoria, South Africa in 2019. With over 250 shooters from 35 countries expected to compete per event, I can’t wait!”