It was a long journey, but it was well worth the trip for Hilton Robinson.
The Vancouver, B.C. native was able to hit 387 out of 400 clay targets over the course of three days at the Prince Albert Pistol & Rifle Club to capture the overall crown at the 2018 Western Canadian Skeet Shooting Championship Sunday.
“It’s been a lot of fun and it’s been a really enjoyable weekend here in Prince Albert,” Robinson said.
“It’s always exciting to compete on a different range with a different layout than what I’m used to, which makes things a bit of a challenge sometimes.”
Having competed in his first Western Canadian Championships last year in Langley, B.C., Robinson had a good idea of what to expect against the top shooters from British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“The intensity level is ramped up quite a bit,” Robinson said. “You have to bring your best every time you shoot.
“With that said, this is a great group of guys to be with. They made the weekend a lot of fun.”
The biggest issue that Robinson faced was with the windy conditions that surrounded the shooters during all three days.
“That’s quite a bit different from what it’s like back home, so I had to make some adjustments to that,” Robinson smiled.
“The background that we have here is great. With the trees all around and no berm like there was in Langley, you can see the clay flying through the sky.”
In speaking with the shooters after the weekend, event organizer and PAPRC member Myron Sosnowski was pleased with how warmly the club was received in their hosting duties.
“One of the things that they mentioned was how they had an excellent view of the targets, which led to some really high scores,” Sosnowski said.
“I think everyone had a really good time in Prince Albert and that should bode well for us for having future events.”
The next major skeet shooting event for local competitive shooters will be the provincial championships in Saskatoon from Aug. 10-12.
The PAPRC is also planning an open house for next month, but an exact date has yet to be finalized.
