Burwood Motel
Dublin St
Whanganui
People:
2x Adult
1x Child
Duration:
2 nights
Cost:
$300 NZD
Reason for booking:
Pool
Free wifi
Free Parking
Private Spa
Cooked Breakfast
Close to the city centre
Supermarkets some 500 mtrs away to Countdown, P&S and New World
Bottle stores handy
Fast food outlets handy
First impressions on arrival:
Quaint, but a bit dated
Front desk was helpful
What I liked:
Beds were comfortable with fresh linen daily
Plenty of space in the lounge (doubling as a single bedroom)
It was a quiet complex
Parking at the unit door
What didn't work:
The Private Spa was broken
The Public Sauna was broken
The hotel kitchen was not operational, so we couldn't order breakfasts
The ladder into the pool was loose and had broken rungs
The air conditioner in the room did not produce ANY cold air
Light fittings were loose
Window latches were a bit 'iffy'
Would I stay there again ?
Most likely not
If you just need a bed, then its good.... but if you're expecting anything else, then look elsewhere.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
River City Open 2017 - Level 3
My return to the shooting arena
OMG !!
Well, I've returned back to shooting and have completed my first Level 3 match in some 6/7 years
It definitely was an interesting experience LOL
So... here's the story of the past few days :)
Friday.... half day of work....
Yep, I'll take the motorbike today... only me going to town...
Ride home - RAIN !
Pack all of the gear into the car + wife & kid, hit the road.
Rain.... rain... oh, and some more rain.
Get to the Whanganui range in time for registration - bonus... sleep in tomorrow.
Find the hotel, (check my accommodation reviews for the Burwood Motel), check in, unpack car, off to the supermarket to buy food, and the bottle store for medicinal supplies :)
Relax for the evening, read over the stage booklet and do some pre-planing, have a few quiet bevvies
Shark & taytees for tea......mmmmmmm
Day 1 - RCO2017 - 18/02/2017
Arrive at the range, snuggle the commie into a parking spot, get the gear ready (in the drizzly humid rain)
Briefing at 0830 - first rounds at 0900
Head to the starting range (range 8), meet the rest of the squad, sort my shit out, holy hell Im shooter #3 (LOL - wife was #2)
Right - my turn....
Shooter ready, Standby, *beep*
1st shot at popper - miss
2nd shot at popper - *clang*, pop up target appears through port
I breeze through the stage like a man possessed - first stage at a proper comp in years... feels good, muscle memory is kinda there...sorta...
RO scoring call. Alpha Charlie, two Charlie, steel, two mike, two no shoot.... ARGH FARK.
I didn't bother listening to the rest
Next stage - Chrony
Well at least this stage went well.
Shooting Shadow 1 this comp (2nd time I've shot it), running Winchester 9mm 124gr factory (5.0gr powder), Chrony at 132 (or 137 - I cant remember which), either way, well within the 125 power factor requirement for Production class.
So, read back to my stage 1 above. Those were my ONLY No shoots of the competition !
AWESOME !
But the not so good news, is that the prick by the name of Mike followed me around for most of the weekend.
For the rest of day one, in between the rain, humid, heat, sun, and more rain, I managed to rack up a nice collection of Mike's on Day 1
After being held up wating for the squad ahead of us a couple of times, we only managed to get 7 of the 14 stages done :(
Day 1 end - back to unit to re-stow the gear, supermarket to buy HEAPS more water for next day
Then in for a swim in the bloody cold pool - but it was goooddddddd !!!
Pizza for tea. Free pizza voucher as they couldnt make the delivery on time... score !!
Fitbit - 16303. plus maybe another thousand for the times I wasnt wearing it for rest of the day
Day 2 - RCO2017
Day 2 started with rounds out 0830.
Misty to begin, but that burnt off, and out came the sun (and the heat)
A much better day of shooting for day 2. Slowed myself down, kept reminding myself to line up the sights and just squeeze the trigger.
I actually got a couple of clear stages.... yay me
Held up another 3 (or 4) times due to slow squads, so we didnt finish shooting until 2pm (no stopping for lunch)
I was lucky not to be DQd on the last stage as I was at the point of just being mentally drained and holstered my pistol with hammer back (luckily no round in chamber), and safety off.
Anyway... wifey & I finished the comp, went back & loaded all the stuff into the car, said goodbye to a few people and then we were outta there. Not waiting for prizegiving.....
Lunch in Levin (KFC), then onwards home. Drive was mixture of wet & fine, but we got home.
Unpacked car, sorted out the ammo, locked away the toys etc.
Fitbit - 13469, plus whatever when I wasn't wearing it.
Guessing for the entire weekend, somewhere in the 35-40k steps.
Round count for both of us - estimated 730 rounds. required rounds 600+, so not too bad (yes the Shadows do shoot straight when you use the sights :) )
At the end of the day, it was a good shoot with some challenging placements and targets.
The heat got to me. I have no idea how much water I drank over the 2 days, but it was a lot ! (guessing 3-4 litres per day average)
Great squad, awesome to catch up with some people I havent seen in a long time
Time to now start developing my load for the Shadow and get in whatever practice I can before the next one.
Have fun.... cause if you're not, then you obviously aint shooting !
OMG !!
Well, I've returned back to shooting and have completed my first Level 3 match in some 6/7 years
It definitely was an interesting experience LOL
So... here's the story of the past few days :)
Friday.... half day of work....
Yep, I'll take the motorbike today... only me going to town...
Ride home - RAIN !
Pack all of the gear into the car + wife & kid, hit the road.
Rain.... rain... oh, and some more rain.
Get to the Whanganui range in time for registration - bonus... sleep in tomorrow.
Find the hotel, (check my accommodation reviews for the Burwood Motel), check in, unpack car, off to the supermarket to buy food, and the bottle store for medicinal supplies :)
Relax for the evening, read over the stage booklet and do some pre-planing, have a few quiet bevvies
Shark & taytees for tea......mmmmmmm
Day 1 - RCO2017 - 18/02/2017
Arrive at the range, snuggle the commie into a parking spot, get the gear ready (in the drizzly humid rain)
Briefing at 0830 - first rounds at 0900
Head to the starting range (range 8), meet the rest of the squad, sort my shit out, holy hell Im shooter #3 (LOL - wife was #2)
Right - my turn....
Shooter ready, Standby, *beep*
1st shot at popper - miss
2nd shot at popper - *clang*, pop up target appears through port
I breeze through the stage like a man possessed - first stage at a proper comp in years... feels good, muscle memory is kinda there...sorta...
RO scoring call. Alpha Charlie, two Charlie, steel, two mike, two no shoot.... ARGH FARK.
I didn't bother listening to the rest
Next stage - Chrony
Well at least this stage went well.
Shooting Shadow 1 this comp (2nd time I've shot it), running Winchester 9mm 124gr factory (5.0gr powder), Chrony at 132 (or 137 - I cant remember which), either way, well within the 125 power factor requirement for Production class.
So, read back to my stage 1 above. Those were my ONLY No shoots of the competition !
AWESOME !
But the not so good news, is that the prick by the name of Mike followed me around for most of the weekend.
For the rest of day one, in between the rain, humid, heat, sun, and more rain, I managed to rack up a nice collection of Mike's on Day 1
After being held up wating for the squad ahead of us a couple of times, we only managed to get 7 of the 14 stages done :(
Day 1 end - back to unit to re-stow the gear, supermarket to buy HEAPS more water for next day
Then in for a swim in the bloody cold pool - but it was goooddddddd !!!
Pizza for tea. Free pizza voucher as they couldnt make the delivery on time... score !!
Fitbit - 16303. plus maybe another thousand for the times I wasnt wearing it for rest of the day
Day 2 - RCO2017
Day 2 started with rounds out 0830.
Misty to begin, but that burnt off, and out came the sun (and the heat)
A much better day of shooting for day 2. Slowed myself down, kept reminding myself to line up the sights and just squeeze the trigger.
I actually got a couple of clear stages.... yay me
Held up another 3 (or 4) times due to slow squads, so we didnt finish shooting until 2pm (no stopping for lunch)
I was lucky not to be DQd on the last stage as I was at the point of just being mentally drained and holstered my pistol with hammer back (luckily no round in chamber), and safety off.
Anyway... wifey & I finished the comp, went back & loaded all the stuff into the car, said goodbye to a few people and then we were outta there. Not waiting for prizegiving.....
Lunch in Levin (KFC), then onwards home. Drive was mixture of wet & fine, but we got home.
Unpacked car, sorted out the ammo, locked away the toys etc.
Fitbit - 13469, plus whatever when I wasn't wearing it.
Guessing for the entire weekend, somewhere in the 35-40k steps.
Round count for both of us - estimated 730 rounds. required rounds 600+, so not too bad (yes the Shadows do shoot straight when you use the sights :) )
At the end of the day, it was a good shoot with some challenging placements and targets.
The heat got to me. I have no idea how much water I drank over the 2 days, but it was a lot ! (guessing 3-4 litres per day average)
Great squad, awesome to catch up with some people I havent seen in a long time
Time to now start developing my load for the Shadow and get in whatever practice I can before the next one.
Have fun.... cause if you're not, then you obviously aint shooting !
Monday, December 12, 2016
PPC Dinner - 10 Dec 2016
What an awesome night on Saturday (10 Dec)
A mere group of approximately 42 people descended on the Petone Working Mens Club to enjoy a Christmas Buffet meal.
It was so nice to have a group that was comprised not only of some of the shooters, but also made up of partners and kids. It was such a nice relaxing evening.
PPC even put on a few bottles of wine. Maybe next time Warren will just make the decision instead of roping me into the discussion at the bar..... I drink Bourbon brother... not wine LOL
The food was great.... nothing overly fantastic, just nice simple hot and cold selections, along with desserts.
To top off the evening, we had the opportunity to recognise one of our Committee.
Over the past few weeks, we had done a serious level of covert discussions amongst a number of the committee.
With Mrs Brown being the lead instigator (ie: nominating Alan for the award), I then secured approval from each of the committee members, drew up the cert, had Mar & Warren co-sign along with myself, and we presented Alan with his Lifetime Membership Certificate.
It was a real honour to be able to present this to Alan, and I was extremely humbled.
To add to the mix, Mrs B then shared a number of photo's around the tables as well as provided us with a narrative or few about Alan and his time shooting etc.
For the years I've been a member of the club, this has got to be the only time that I have truly seen Alan lost for words.
After dinner, a number of people left, while a few of us headed downstairs to the bar for a couple of drops and further chinwagging.
All in all it was a bloody great night to have spent with people from the PPC.
Look forward to next years one.
A mere group of approximately 42 people descended on the Petone Working Mens Club to enjoy a Christmas Buffet meal.
It was so nice to have a group that was comprised not only of some of the shooters, but also made up of partners and kids. It was such a nice relaxing evening.
PPC even put on a few bottles of wine. Maybe next time Warren will just make the decision instead of roping me into the discussion at the bar..... I drink Bourbon brother... not wine LOL
The food was great.... nothing overly fantastic, just nice simple hot and cold selections, along with desserts.
To top off the evening, we had the opportunity to recognise one of our Committee.
Over the past few weeks, we had done a serious level of covert discussions amongst a number of the committee.
With Mrs Brown being the lead instigator (ie: nominating Alan for the award), I then secured approval from each of the committee members, drew up the cert, had Mar & Warren co-sign along with myself, and we presented Alan with his Lifetime Membership Certificate.
It was a real honour to be able to present this to Alan, and I was extremely humbled.
To add to the mix, Mrs B then shared a number of photo's around the tables as well as provided us with a narrative or few about Alan and his time shooting etc.
For the years I've been a member of the club, this has got to be the only time that I have truly seen Alan lost for words.
After dinner, a number of people left, while a few of us headed downstairs to the bar for a couple of drops and further chinwagging.
All in all it was a bloody great night to have spent with people from the PPC.
Look forward to next years one.
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
So many toys..... explains why there is.... so little money
Well... somewhere along the line of the past few weeks I seem to have invested a few dollars into the sport.
I have now taken possession of a new Dillion B Square press.
Just need to finish my reloading bench, new table top so that I can set the press up.
I've gone and tumbled somewhere in the vicinity of 7-8000 9mm cases, and they look all lovely & shiny
Got a few thousand primers & projectiles, along with a bunch of powder waiting to now be formulated up into a small bunch of test loads for different powder weights, so that I can then move forward and create a whole bunch of little bang bang cartridges for the apocalypse
I have also taken possession of my new (2nd hand) CZ75 Shadow that will become my new primary shooter.
It is now just waiting for the test rounds from the above press and a range where I can do some Chrono's
My new mags (extra's) for the Shadow have arrived.
Some for me, some for the Mrs
My new shooting belt, mag pouches and holster have arrived and been setup.... all ready for a range visit.
Wife's new belt & mag pouches are also setup, just need to shift her holster to the new belt & get it all ready for her.
Then the Tanfoglio and its gear can be given a bit of a rest and just used as a backup more than anything.
Somewhere in amongst all of this, I need to talk the new shotgun out and run a few hundy through her as well to break in the barrel.
And then there's the wife's AR..... that could do with a bit of loving as well..... LOL
Oh what a fun problem to have..... :)
I have now taken possession of a new Dillion B Square press.
Just need to finish my reloading bench, new table top so that I can set the press up.
I've gone and tumbled somewhere in the vicinity of 7-8000 9mm cases, and they look all lovely & shiny
Got a few thousand primers & projectiles, along with a bunch of powder waiting to now be formulated up into a small bunch of test loads for different powder weights, so that I can then move forward and create a whole bunch of little bang bang cartridges for the apocalypse
I have also taken possession of my new (2nd hand) CZ75 Shadow that will become my new primary shooter.
It is now just waiting for the test rounds from the above press and a range where I can do some Chrono's
My new mags (extra's) for the Shadow have arrived.
Some for me, some for the Mrs
My new shooting belt, mag pouches and holster have arrived and been setup.... all ready for a range visit.
Wife's new belt & mag pouches are also setup, just need to shift her holster to the new belt & get it all ready for her.
Then the Tanfoglio and its gear can be given a bit of a rest and just used as a backup more than anything.
Somewhere in amongst all of this, I need to talk the new shotgun out and run a few hundy through her as well to break in the barrel.
And then there's the wife's AR..... that could do with a bit of loving as well..... LOL
Oh what a fun problem to have..... :)
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Bloody hell... I found the BLOG page :)
Hhmmm.... Amazing what you find when you do a search on your name.
This site has been dormant for the past few years, so there is ALOT of stuff that we need to catch up on.
So, we've lost our range :(
Transmission Gully is barrelling ahead, and PPC (along with PSA) had to leave the Porirua range a couple of years back now.
We are still on the hunt for a new home, and that will continue.
Personnel in the club has changed over the last few years.
Some have moved on to other clubs, some have left (although very few).
But the best thing is that we have a bunch of new people who are keen on the sport... yay.
This is especially great considering we don't have a range !!!
A HUGE THANKS goes out to the other clubs who allow us to come and participate in their events.
You really don't know how much we appreciate this !!
Club Committee.....
The guard around the head table has changed slightly, which is also great as it helps promote new ideas and ways to do things while still providing a good grounding from the old crew to help foster the new members through.
My wife has even joined the club :)
She's now got her endorsements, owns her own pistol and has started shooting competitions.
River City next year will be her first 'Level 3' comp, so grading is on the way for her LOL
Nationals has just finished a few days ago, and a number of members came away with medals, and even a spot prize of a new Shadow2.... Well done to everyone !!
The PPC travelers still continue to venture to competitions around the country, and this is really awesome to see.
We've always been known as a club who turns up and gets the business done, and it is great that this level of dedication has continued through the trials that PPC has suffered over the past few years
Whats up next for us at PPC....
Christmas is approaching, and the club dinner is on in a couple of weeks.
Looking forward to enjoying a relaxing meal with those who can make it.
So my aim is to try & get this BLOG site back up and running.
I'll see who I cancon.... I mean persuade.... into becoming an author for this page so we can start getting some 'stuff' uploaded here :)
Have fun.... safe shooting
This site has been dormant for the past few years, so there is ALOT of stuff that we need to catch up on.
So, we've lost our range :(
Transmission Gully is barrelling ahead, and PPC (along with PSA) had to leave the Porirua range a couple of years back now.
We are still on the hunt for a new home, and that will continue.
Personnel in the club has changed over the last few years.
Some have moved on to other clubs, some have left (although very few).
But the best thing is that we have a bunch of new people who are keen on the sport... yay.
This is especially great considering we don't have a range !!!
A HUGE THANKS goes out to the other clubs who allow us to come and participate in their events.
You really don't know how much we appreciate this !!
Club Committee.....
The guard around the head table has changed slightly, which is also great as it helps promote new ideas and ways to do things while still providing a good grounding from the old crew to help foster the new members through.
My wife has even joined the club :)
She's now got her endorsements, owns her own pistol and has started shooting competitions.
River City next year will be her first 'Level 3' comp, so grading is on the way for her LOL
Nationals has just finished a few days ago, and a number of members came away with medals, and even a spot prize of a new Shadow2.... Well done to everyone !!
The PPC travelers still continue to venture to competitions around the country, and this is really awesome to see.
We've always been known as a club who turns up and gets the business done, and it is great that this level of dedication has continued through the trials that PPC has suffered over the past few years
Whats up next for us at PPC....
Christmas is approaching, and the club dinner is on in a couple of weeks.
Looking forward to enjoying a relaxing meal with those who can make it.
So my aim is to try & get this BLOG site back up and running.
I'll see who I can
Have fun.... safe shooting
Thursday, April 8, 2010
AGM 2010
Well the club AGM for another year has come and gone.
A few personnel changes have happened on the committee this year. Aaron and Marg stepped down after their years of service. Richard got nominated to VP, and accepted the role. All other executive positions remained as per previous. Karl, Malcolm & Scotty were accepted onto the committee as ordinary members.
One remit was tabled, and accepted by the committee.
All in all, a successful meeting that was done & dusted in just on 25 mins :)
Onwards to the next busy year in the club !!
A few personnel changes have happened on the committee this year. Aaron and Marg stepped down after their years of service. Richard got nominated to VP, and accepted the role. All other executive positions remained as per previous. Karl, Malcolm & Scotty were accepted onto the committee as ordinary members.
One remit was tabled, and accepted by the committee.
All in all, a successful meeting that was done & dusted in just on 25 mins :)
Onwards to the next busy year in the club !!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Christmas Shoot 2009
Well the final shoot (or should I say blaze fest) of the year was a lot of fun.
This is the 1 shoot in the year where literally 'anything' goes (as long as it is safe)
The weather decided that it would play ball, albeit cloudy & a bit breezy.
A good showing by the club members for the day, and a lot of fun (& some politically incorrect) targets were presented for the shoot.
We had people shooting at targets of chickens, pool balls, political leaders, balloons, clay targets etc.
Aaron & I threw our 2 course ideas together to make 1x team event course, and everybody seemed to enjoy it... so much so that we had to run it 2 more times so that everybody got to try the different positions of the team.
It involved teams of 3. 1x runner, 1x gun holder & 1x trigger puller.
All team members started at the line with 5 rounds in their hand. Member #1 then had to run 10mtrs to a table to retrieve the magazine, load it & present it back to the gun holder at the line.
The gun holder then had to load the mag, rack the gun & take aim on target.
The 3rd member then had to insert their finger in the trigger well & pull the trigger while trying to score the best possible points on the IPSC target.
In short... it was absolute mayhem & a bloody funny thing to watch as the table got knocked over... magazines were strewn across the grass... people frantically trying to load rounds... 1 person trying to hold the gun steady & aim while another person is pulling the trigger...
Even just thinking about it still brings a smile to the face :)
The breeze even made the balloon shoot a funny thing to watch also as people tryed to pop balloons waving around on the sticks.
The 'Pool ball' challenge was interesting also. Teams of 2 had to shoot out their string of balls (1-7 or 9-15) then aim for the 8 ball. OK... so it was just another reason to shoot heaps of ammo LOL
Video of the Pool Challenge shoot on YouTube: Pool Challenge
People had various prizes to present for their COFs which was great.
Once shooting had finished, the BBQ got under way. Enough food to sink a battleship (or feed their crew at least !)
The kids had fun running around the range & climbing up the grass banks.
Things could not have worked out better actually.
I was the last to lock everything up and leave the range, and literally as I walked in my front door at home, the heavens opened & it poured.
All in all.... another great shoot & heaps of fun (and a hell of a lot of rounds)
Cheers
Reuben - PPC President
This is the 1 shoot in the year where literally 'anything' goes (as long as it is safe)
The weather decided that it would play ball, albeit cloudy & a bit breezy.
A good showing by the club members for the day, and a lot of fun (& some politically incorrect) targets were presented for the shoot.
We had people shooting at targets of chickens, pool balls, political leaders, balloons, clay targets etc.
Aaron & I threw our 2 course ideas together to make 1x team event course, and everybody seemed to enjoy it... so much so that we had to run it 2 more times so that everybody got to try the different positions of the team.
It involved teams of 3. 1x runner, 1x gun holder & 1x trigger puller.
All team members started at the line with 5 rounds in their hand. Member #1 then had to run 10mtrs to a table to retrieve the magazine, load it & present it back to the gun holder at the line.
The gun holder then had to load the mag, rack the gun & take aim on target.
The 3rd member then had to insert their finger in the trigger well & pull the trigger while trying to score the best possible points on the IPSC target.
In short... it was absolute mayhem & a bloody funny thing to watch as the table got knocked over... magazines were strewn across the grass... people frantically trying to load rounds... 1 person trying to hold the gun steady & aim while another person is pulling the trigger...
Even just thinking about it still brings a smile to the face :)
The breeze even made the balloon shoot a funny thing to watch also as people tryed to pop balloons waving around on the sticks.
Video of the balloon shoot on YouTube: Balloon Shoot
The 'Pool ball' challenge was interesting also. Teams of 2 had to shoot out their string of balls (1-7 or 9-15) then aim for the 8 ball. OK... so it was just another reason to shoot heaps of ammo LOL
Video of the Pool Challenge shoot on YouTube: Pool Challenge
People had various prizes to present for their COFs which was great.
Once shooting had finished, the BBQ got under way. Enough food to sink a battleship (or feed their crew at least !)
The kids had fun running around the range & climbing up the grass banks.
Things could not have worked out better actually.
I was the last to lock everything up and leave the range, and literally as I walked in my front door at home, the heavens opened & it poured.
All in all.... another great shoot & heaps of fun (and a hell of a lot of rounds)
Cheers
Reuben - PPC President
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