Well, we're camped at the shooting range of Broken Hill Field and Game Association. We come to be camped here because our traveling companions, members of the Bermagui Field and Game Association, are shooting in the current competition over the weekend and it worked in well to incorporate this shoot in our wider outback adventure.
An experienced lot of campers, we've been rubbing shoulders with the Bermagui and Cooma clubs, each district not all that far from our home, but quite a trip to this competition at Broken Hill in central west New South Wales (NSW).
Having been quiet for the several days since our arrival, the range has come to life today with exploding shotguns surrounding us as multiple squads of target shooters follow the course around the traps.
Great images abound of the shooters and their firearms in this temporary, special interest camp.
Cheery campfires are a feature, along with the obligatory camp oven cooking and friendly competition in the cooking stakes.
The clay target shooters are concerned about the perception of sporting shooters as rednecks, determined to destroy the ecology of the planet, regardless of others.
I, as a non-shooter, doubt that such a strong negative view is commonly held in the community and I'm quite sure it would be unjustified.
Being the photographer in camp, I was asked to take a group photo of the Bermagui and Cooma shooters before the first event, all dressed ready for their sport.
