GlenPresley
Well-known member
Thought I would add this I know most have seen it but maybe some fellow shooter want an insight in to whats on offer in the future here.Friday 12th AugustThe 2nd Fitasc Grand Prix staged at the beautiful Dorhout Mees Club is due to start today and what a shoot it promises to be. I started my journey by car Friday morning at approx 9 a.m. The journey was not too difficult from where I am based in Germany and I arrived at the Hotel which is part of the complex at 11.30 a.m. so it was a very easy and pleasant trip.On arrival the complex looks unbelievable, beautiful golf courses and lakes and very green everywhere. The hotel is also very nice and extremely comfortable, the room we have is fantastic: very big, with a bathroom that also includes a Bath and a stand in shower there is also a separate toilet.Booking in for the event was quick and easy and the goody bag consisted of a berretta cartridge carry case which inside it had 25 Eley VIP cartridges a very handy gun cleaning kit, a Beretta or Dorhout Mees hat, a salami snack, a little bottle of booze and a pen! All information on squads and times and schedules for the weekend were also included in the goody bag! Probably one of the best entry goody bags I have ever had!I went and met Martijn at the ground which is 200 yards from the Hotel at about 14.30. He had kindly organized me a gun to shoot and some cartridges. We also shot a couple of practice rounds which was good. Practice rounds were priced at 10€ for 25 clays which is about right price wise. The refs and scorers on the practice rounds were all very welcoming and very helpful; I like it when a ref gives you a target again to try if you struggled in practice. I think that is good customer service and a good gesture.The Opening Ceremony began at 18.00 on entry to the opening ceremony we were greeted with a glass of champagne. A short presentation and welcoming was given by the host of the ground showing photos of last year’s event and a rundown of this year’s schedule. The Captains Dinner began at 20.00 we sat down with some Italian shooters and a Dutch shooter who we had met that day. The dinner was very pleasant 4 courses and just enough to eat and great service.Looking forward to today’s (Saturdays) events with plenty organized for after the shooting:Saturday 13th August Competition Day 1 Layouts – First 100 targets, LeadersChampions League Finalists and WinnersEvening BBQ, Disco, Casino and Live ActSaturday 13th August Competition Day 1 The first Days Competition is over and 100 targets have been shot.The layouts included – Browning, Miroku, Beretta and Winchester. All layouts had plenty of targets for all levels and the possibility for good scores to be achieved. A very good variation of angles and distances nothing with extreme range but all the targets could be killed or lossed if you were not concentrating all of the time. Have really enjoyed the shooting today and the squad I have been in have been superb. We have had some good laughs throughout the day. It was especially nice to have a 2hr lunch break after the first 50 so competitors could take a break and have a good lunch. The layouts have had a good combination of shooting against banks and also close to the green wooded area of the shooting course.Champions League FinalThis was a great head to head series with the top 3 shooters from the first Days shooting battling it out to become the Champions League Winner. The standard from all was extremely high and these head to head battles were excellently presented with the shooters entering the main arena like they do in darts. The head to head battles were all flash clays which put another superb touch to the event. The rain set in during the Champions League but the crowd watching was still very large and it was well supported.Ben shot off in the head to head final against the young Dutch lad Wienholts. Superb shooting from both these guys with Ben coming out on top and taking the Champions League Trophy! After this event it was straight off to get the BBQ ticket, at 25€ a head it sounded expensive but it was eat as much as you like and the meat on offer was superb. All fresh salad and sauces were available as well, from my point of view it was worth it. The Disco didn’t really get going too much as the rain spoilt that part a little bit but when I left there were still a lot of people around the club house and a few playing their hand at the Casino table! Looking forward today (Sunday) but the rain is pouring down so it will be interesting to see how people perform in the wet conditions.Sunday 14th August Competition Day 2The final 100 targets consisted of the same named layouts however all stands were changed and the target presentation again was of the highest level. Personally I believe both days targets were set up perfect. There was plenty of targets on which to build a good score on however there were also plenty which if you did not pay them respect were easily missed. The day was very wet to begin with but it didn’t ruin the shooting by any means and this is definitely the best shoot I have participated in all year. Personally I was pleased with my overall performance which dropped a little on Day 2 but I managed 162 ex 200 so just around 20 a layout with a gun I started shooting with on Friday I was more than happy. Just before 6pm the presentation began with Ben winning this year’s title by just one clay, maybe yesterdays Champions League Final win against the Dutch leader on Saturday just edged him mentally into the lead for Day 2? As for steel shot if I had to shoot it at clays it would not bother me one bit! There were some good ranged targets on a couple of layouts and they were killed as good as anything I have seen. I was shooting 28gram White Gold 7’s and IM chokes in both barrels and I could smoke clays no problem out to 45 yards. I believe the longest target thrown was around 65 yards max and they killed these targets no worries. I saw teal killed on the way down and they were also good kills! As for ricochets personally it is a load of rubbish from what I have seen over the three days. The only issue is if we have to shoot steel in the future for clays will this have a direct effect on live shooting thereafter. For clays though no issue! Throw a 70 yard looper and they will get it no problem. If anybody wants to argue the case set it up and I will gladly come and show you!I want to say a personal thank you (and I am sure I speak for all participants as well) to all of The Dorhout Mees Team. The shoot ran like clockwork I saw probably 3 no birds all weekend, no breakdowns and great help and service.I also want to thank Martijn Visch who is a participant on the site; he helped me out over the weekend and is a credit to helping the foreign shooters. I will be definitely going back next year and I am sure this competition will only get bigger! Also I wanted to thank Robin Visch who was shooting his first major comp and helped me get my hands on an exclusive Dorhout Mees Polo Shirt! Thanks!!! All there is left to say is what a truly brilliant weekend and if you can go next year you have to go to this ground and shoot this event! I have lots of photos so I will send some to Nige to see if he can put and album for the site together for this event.
