MAKING Australia’s team for next Commonwealth Games in Manchester is Dean Brus’ goal after taking out his fifth service pistol unrestricted master’s title at last Sunday’s State Championships in Cessnock.
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Brus won the NSW title with a score of 880 and also placed third in the masters division’s service pistol restricted.
Fellow Orange shooter Max Wicks also travelled to Cessnock to win the B grade service unrestricted and the A grade restricted.
Brus is now firmly focused on securing a sixth state title, while making the Commonwealth Games team has been a long-time dream.
"I'll be going for my sixth title next year. If it weren't for a gun malfunction in 1998 I might have got the sixths already," Brus said.
Wicks, who won his fourth restricted pistol title at Cessnock, is trying to break through to A grade in the service pistol unrestricted division to make travelling all over the state to events more worthwhile.
"I originally only shot restricted but these events are a two-day shoots and instead of only shooting one I decided to do both days," Wicks said.
"You have to shoot a score of 870 to get into A-grade and the best I've shot is 867, so I'm very close."
And what makes a successful shooter? Brus gives a few tips.
"You need to be concentrating and focused to basically handle the pressure your own body puts on yourself, because if your heart's pumping out of your chest the hand's going to be jumping that's holding the gun," he said.
"So basically you need to control your nerves on the pressure shoots."
Brus will head to Melbourne in December with the NSW team to contest the inaugural Australian 25-metre Service Pistol champioships.
Brus was grateful for the support of the Orange Ex-Services Club, BP Go 24-hour, Boral Concrete and Fair Dinkum Waste.
