Since 2019, a year after the club was founded, OSRA has competed for the Kent Astor, the most challenging and important competition that we can enter as a small alumni rifle club. This county heat, shot between Kent-based rifle clubs, has been held since 1904, the winners of which go on to shoot against other victorious county clubs in the Astor Final in July. Having shot in the match three times before, and lost to the reigning champions, TAGEME – who have been undefeated for a decade – the OSRA has taken the time in recent months to train and prepare. New jackets, barrels, and plenty of trigger time led to an exceptional performance on a warm Saturday in June.
The Team was comprised of Anthony Bromley (Captain and Wind Coach), Chris Pawlik (Adjutant), Tom Fermor, Harry Percival (Wind Coach), Edward Ervine (Plotter), Chris Dale, and Freddie Pawlik. With Ted’s foresight breaking at 0700, a swift change of the firing order, including a weary Harry Percival dragging his rifle out of his locker, meant that we were prepared for the shoot, which was a 2×10 and a 2×11 at 600 yards.
The brisk and fickle wind on Century meant that Harry and Anthony, who were sharing wind coaching responsibilities, had to focus, making swift and significant changes at vital moments to help the Team hold the bull. Despite TAGEME fielding two Great Britain shooters and a county wind-coach, the OSRA was able to clinch victory with a score of 602 to TAGEME’s 599. Special mention should go to Tom Fermor, for the highest team score, with a 102.12 (ex. 105.21). The Team will now go on to shoot in the Astor Final in July. This is an outstanding achievement for the club that marks the summation of our efforts as a team to train and develop over the last five years.
It is an especially exciting moment as the OSRA is increasingly noticed on the county stage: three Old Suttonians – Anthony Bromley, Chris Dale, and Freddie Pawlik – have been selected to represent Kent at the Inter-Counties competition on 10-11 June.
I would like to congratulate the whole team on their exceptional performance. We have achieved a goal we set ourselves a number of years ago, due exclusively to the hard work and effort we have put in as a team. As I have always said, the future remains bright with the glint of silverware.
| OSRA – Astor 2023 | |||||
| Name | Distance | Elevation – FS | Elevation – RS | SCORES | |
| Chris Dale | 600x | 10 | 10.5 | 49.04 | 101.09 |
| 52.05 | |||||
| Anthony Bromley | 600x | 15 | 20.25 | 48.04 | 101.11 |
| 53.07 | |||||
| Chris Pawlik | 600x | 15 | 47 | 46.02 | 99.08 |
| 53.06 | |||||
| Harry Percival | 600x | 54.04 | 101.08 | ||
| 47.04 | |||||
| Freddie Pawlik | 600x | 15 | 33 | 51.06 | 98.09 |
| 47.03 | |||||
| Tom Fermor | 600x | 5 | 11.5 | 49.07 | 102.12 |
| 53.05 | |||||
| TOTAL | 602.57 | ||||
Old Suttonian Rifle Association 