Results | JULY 2026 Sporting Clays + DTL incl. Club Championships

Wairarapa Clay Target Club
4 days ago
5 min read

Updated: 15 hours ago

July Sporting + DTL Weekend – Results & Wrap-Up

The July Sporting + DTL Weekend has wrapped up, with close to 50 shooters taking part across English Sporting, Super Sporting and the DTL Single Barrel Club Championship.

As with June, the forecast looked fairly foreboding for much of the lead-up and undoubtedly influenced when people chose to attend. Entries remained a little cautious through Friday and Saturday, before a much more promising Sunday forecast brought a strong crowd onto the grounds to finish the weekend.

Given the conditions and the uncertainty surrounding the weather, another attendance approaching 50 shooters represents an excellent result and continues the very strong support these weekends have received throughout the year.

This month’s programme featured:

English Sporting, 40-target cash match
Super Sporting, 60-target cash match
DTL Single Barrel Club Championship

The DTL Single Barrel Club Championship produced the standout individual performance of the weekend, with Hawke’s Bay visitor James Mabin shooting two perfect rounds to finish on 50/50 and take the championship.

That is outstanding Single Barrel shooting and set a very high standard for everyone else contesting the event.

English Sporting and Super Sporting again produced extremely tight competition across the grades. Despite the testing winter weather, the targets were there to be shot, and the scoreboards remained close throughout the weekend.

It was particularly enjoyable seeing shooters returning for another round, trying to better an earlier score and laying down fresh challenges for one another as the weekend progressed.

That is exactly what the flexible format is intended to encourage.

Rather than everyone shooting one compulsory round in one fixed squad, people can return when it suits them, mix with different shooters, try another approach and keep working at a target or discipline until they begin to understand it.

The result is not only good competition. It creates far more interaction between people around the club.

Shooters move between squads, meet people they may not normally shoot with, share ideas, compare scores and push one another along. There is plenty of competition, but it remains positive, social and focused on everyone continuing to improve.

One of the most encouraging things we are now seeing is the number of newer shooters and recently joined members returning month after month.

With each visit they are becoming more confident, learning how the different disciplines operate and becoming increasingly comfortable participating within normal club squads. Watching that progress is hugely rewarding and is an important part of the culture we are trying to build.

Anyone wanting further help is encouraged to keep asking.

Whether it is Sporting technique, DTL, gun fit, target reading or simply becoming more comfortable within a squad, there are experienced shooters around the club who are only too happy to offer advice and help newer members continue developing.

Nobody arrives knowing everything, and there should never be any hesitation about asking a question or looking for some guidance.

We want Wairarapa to be a club where men and women, juniors, families, gamebird hunters, complete newcomers and experienced competitors can all participate alongside one another and feel equally welcome.

The positive attitude around the grounds continues to be one of the strongest features of these weekends. People help with scoring and refereeing, share what they know, encourage others and genuinely enjoy seeing newer shooters make progress.

That is the sort of club environment we are proud to be building, and the continued attendance, repeat participation and positive feedback suggest that people value it too.

A huge thank you again to everyone who helped make the weekend happen, including those who set and maintained the fields, loaded traps, worked in the office, scored, refereed, coached, photographed and helped keep everything moving across the three days.

Our next shoot in August will launch the 2026 Sporting Series, a four-event series running from August through November and culminating in the Series Final and John Donald Memorial Weekend.

English Sporting and Super Sporting will continue throughout the series, with increased prize pools and plenty more being developed behind the scenes.

We will also be introducing a new and entertaining challenge event in front of the clubrooms, giving shooters another opportunity to test themselves and challenge their friends throughout each weekend. More information on that will follow shortly.

Check the event dates on the front page of the club website and get the four weekends into your calendar now.

The full July results, prize winners and giveaways are listed below.

English Sporting

AA – Paul de Lara-Bell / James Mackie (39)

A – James Mabin (37)

R/U – Greg Bishop (35)

B – Duncan Sutherland / Frank Keegan (34)

C – Gary Rawlinson (35)

R/U – Nick Marvell (30)

Novice – Richard Capel / Steve Lamb (27)

Super Sporting

AA – James Mackie (54)

R/U – John Hillier (53)

A – Greg Bishop (52)

R/U – James Mabin (50)

B – David Donald (50)

R/U – Royden Terry / Duncan Sutherland (49)

C – Boyd Norwood (50)

R/U – Ross Cottle (33)

Novice – Liam Macdonald (41)

R/U – Sara Moore (31)

DTL Single Barrel

(Club Championship)

AA – James Mabin (50)

R/U – Duncan Sutherland (42)

B – Yvonne Ker (42)

R/U – Ian Buick (41)

C – Tim Crum (44)

R/U – Peter Gallagher (40)

Novice – Liam Macdonald (22)

R/U – Philip Moore (10)

💰 Prizes & Giveaways

As always, the Wairarapa Clay Target Club aims to give back as much as possible to those who support and participate in our shoots.

Across the weekend we’ve allocated cash prizes to 1st and 2nd place in each grade across all three disciplines.

Prize amounts are $50 for grade winners and $30 for runners-up.

We’ve also allocated Falcon Ammunition prizes and a selection of random prize draws from shooters who posted at least one official score during the weekend.

All prizes are available for collection from the club office, with collection to be finalised by the conclusion of the next Sporting Weekend 14 - 16 August. Any unclaimed prizes at that time will be returned to the club prize pool.

As with previous events, prize eligibility is limited to paid-up Wairarapa Clay Target Club members for 2026 (Full, Junior or Associate members)

Ammunition prizes will only be issued upon presentation of a valid NZ firearms licence.

Falcon Ammunition

Steve Lamb – 3 boxes
Tim Crum – 3 boxes
Yvonne Ker – 3 boxes
Liam Macdonald – 3 boxes
Boyd Norwood – 3 boxes
Frank Keegan – 3 boxes
Gary Rawlinson – 3 boxes
Duncan Sutherland – 3 boxes
Richard Capel – 3 boxes

🎁 Random Prize Draws

The following prizes were drawn from shooters who posted at least one official score:

Beretta shotgun cleaning kit – Vincent Iwikau
Weber carving knife set – James Mabin
Magnetic shot shell retriever – Barry Mumford
Beretta multi-lens mask style shooting glasses – Sara Moore
Decoy pack (4x GHG Mallards) – Greg Hamilton

🔜 Next Shoot

Our next shooting weekend will be held:

14 - 16 AUG

This will be the kick off of our 2026 sporting clay series. First of four events, so come and support it and get involved with great prizes and payback to shooters. Including some exciting new games.

We look forward to seeing you back at the club.