Our esteemed target producer, Richard Green, has made a specific Island based target which is now on the course. You have to shoot the white disc located within the red squirrel for it to score a hit. Yes, we know, Red Squirrels are a protected species but it will have to do until we locate some grey paint!

Walking back across the mini range I tripped on something metallic partially buried in the ground. After much effort digging it up, I found not only a brake disc but a dishevelled target attached to it. The mechanism had seized solid and, judging by the rust and pitting, must have been buried years. After clearing the mud and weeds the target was oiled extensively to get it moving again. The target was then sanded and repainted, rather a satisfying job. Here are the before and after pictures.

After 7 rounds contesting the winter league, the Carisbrooke team finished in a creditable third place, not bad for such a small club. The CSFTA winter league is contested by 7 clubs within the region, these are, Frobury, Bisley, Meon Valley, Soton Buccaneers, N. Oxon, Newbury and us. Five club members, sometimes six, regularly undertook the ferry crossings to travel to these clubs for the season 2022-23. Apart from the team event, club member, Richard Green, achieved 1st place in C grade, Dave Hollingdale 1st in Open grade and Barry Warren 3rd in AA grade.

The early part of this year, the club committee discussed the possibility of erecting a covered range that members could shoot from, all year round, without having to worry about the weather. Hopefully this would encourage new members to join the club which, essentially, is an outdoor pursuit. Once the plans, and finances, were agreed on, work started in June 2022 progressing through a very hot summer and finished October 2022. A few pictures are shown here of the work at various stages.

After nearly 5 months of working on our new covered range, we have finally finished what is undoubtedly a great facility for the club. The range offers all round shooting, whatever the weather, it even includes 20 mini hit zone targets set in trees and bushes at varying distances. These can be shot in any position you wish, be it at a bench, prone, kneeling, or whatever. The other side of this area is devoted to novelty targets where the action is "having fun". Thanks must go to Andy Winch, Richard Green, Barry Warren and Allan Dyke, our "builders". Thanks are also due to Terry Grant and Wayne Challender for sourcing and transportation of some of the materials. We must not forget Holly who held on to a piece of timber while we sawed it! Apart from the club paying for a lot of the materials, contributions were also received from Andy Winch, Richard Green and Barry Warren.

Well done to Andy and Richard on starting to build the new covered zero range. The skeleton of the structure is almost complete however, we will need quite a number of OSB boards so if anyone knows of a competitive retailer, then please let us know. We are experiencing a lot of interest in attracting new members and feel the covered range is a great facility for these visitors.

Our resident swamp clearer, Richard "Swampy" Green, has been doing a remarkable job of draining the area near the zero range at Borthwood. It's always been a bit on the murky side but, when Richard set about digging a few channels and clearing the stream, we notice the ground has firmed up quite nicely. Well done Rich.

A very windy day at Meon Valley AGC FT Open Competition, last Sunday, 13th March, 2022. The course was quite long, consisting of 50 targets shot to BFTA rules (3 minutes per lane of 2 targets). I'm pleased to report the Carisbrooke Massif did rather well. Allan Dyke scored an amazing 39, just 3 targets behind the winner, and ex world FT champion, Dan Eley. Allan won the 'A' grade. Richard Wood, this time out with a pre-charged pneumatic he cobbled together a week before the shoot, won 'C' grade after a thrilling shoot off against another competitor who tied on the same score. Not to be outdone in the honours, our very own treasurer, Andy Winch, not only achieved 3rd in 'C' grade but also won an item in the free raffle. A great day out at a picturesque venue.

Here is a couple of pictures of the Borthwood Farm club house. Members and guests can shelter from inclement weather here while enjoying a free cup of tea/coffee from the kitchenette. This is where the world is put to rights with educated and informed discussion, and much mickey taking on why somebody missed that easy target. As you can see, the club has an air bottle where fills can be had at 50p a go.