THIS year, as well as all the usual indoor 25 yard prone rifle winter league competitions, the Okehampton Smallbore Rifle Club has entered two teams for a competition called the Middlesex Time Limit League.

This is a national prone rifle competition and a team consists of three members. In each round, at 25 yards on their indoor range, each competitor has to shoot a 'time limit' card, which is a standard target of 10 shots, in 90 seconds and then a 'skirmisher' card in 60 seconds and then the scores are added together. A 'skirmisher' is a special sort of target where eight small black 'egg' shapes are arranged on paper just over A4 size, placed 25 yards from the shooter.

Using a single shot .22 rifle, the competitor has to fire two shots at, and hit, each black shape – 16 shots – in under 60 seconds.

Both parts of the competition are very difficult to do well in the limited time allowed, but it is great fun practising and competing.

Five rounds have been shot so far and the club is delighted that both teams are doing well at the moment.

Okehampton's A team of Paul Batten, John Chiverton and Martin Elliott are in division two; after five rounds, having won four rounds and only lost one, they are currently in the lead on aggregate (1583 points) with Petworth A team in second just five points behind.

In division three Okehampton's B team of Richard Miles, Chris Short and Amanda Elliott, have won four rounds and drawn one. This has also put them in the lead with the A team from Boston, Lincolnshire close behind.