Krieghoff DTL Championship 2026 - Shoot Report

What a weekend we had at Bywell Shooting Ground for the 2026 Krieghoff DTL Championship 2026, held over the 21st to the 24th of May.

300 of the very best Down The Line competition shooters flooded In at Bywell for 4 glorious days of premier class competition shooting for this year's Krieghoff.

Competitors shot 100 clays on each day of the 3 day competition with the addition of 1 day practice, pushing each competitor to really prove their skills were fast, accurate and consistent.

The stage was set with glorious sunshine with temperatures reaching 28C leading to some great tan lines by Sunday afternoon.

We had great attendance for Practice on Thursday with lots of guests both old and new taking advantage of the fantastic weather and Bywell facilities, some also taking the opportunity to upgrade equipment from our vast selection in the Gunroom.

Friday

Krieghoff Lucky Numbers - 100 DTL, an exciting crowd favourite with competitors shooting 100 clays and a prize fund of £3,000 up for grabs.

Scores were incredibly close at the top with Cory Doble, Darren Murray and Jack Ruane all tying for top spot with flawless shooting and scoring 75 across all 4 lines. Fridays competition concluded with the top 21 separated by only 3 targets before we moved on to draw Friday's Lucky Numbers.

Lucky Numbers 8 and 9 were drawn, competitors with scores ending in 8 or 9 were invited to shoot off, with winners from each class AA, A, B and C moving on to the Super Final plus a wild card drawn at random from the entire competition.

Class Winners:

AA Class - D Price

A Class - M Hartley

B Class - A Milroy

C Class - J Curran

The Wild Card, drawn at random was M Lawrie

Winners progressed to the Super Final and shooting 25 targets per line to determine who was taking home prestigious 1st place and £1,000 Jackpot.

Every target was hard fought and earned with D Price holding his nerve and concentration to take the top spot and £1,000.

Lucky Numbers Super Final Results:

1st £1,000 - Dan Price

2nd £800 - Mike Hartley

3rd £600 - Mark Lawrie

4th £400 - Andrew Milroy

5th £200 - James Curran

Saturday – Main Event Krieghoff Championship 100 DTL

The weather was scorching once again in the idyllic Northumbrian countryside with more visitors flooding in from across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland with many taking advantage of the caravan and motorhome facilities here at Bywell.

Each Competitor faced 100 targets of Championship DTL shooting, Saturday’s winner would eventually face Sunday’s winner in a Super Final to determine the overall 2026 Krieghoff Championship Champion.

Once again, the competition was extremely close, each and every target break was vital in securing top spot and securing the High Gun of the day.

It was Jim Doherty who secured High Gun for Saturday with sublime shooting and scoring 100/299, Jim would go on to face Sunday's High Gun to decide overall champion and this year’s Krieghoff Champion!

At close of Saturday's competition only 4 points separated the top 12, with the top three places tied by 9 shooters the competition was certainly extremely close going on to Sunday:

1st & High Gun - 100/299 Jim Doherty

=2nd - 100/298 C Mckeown

=2nd - 100/298 D Price

=2nd - 100/298 K Jones

=2nd - 100/298 M Robertson

=2nd - P Neal

=2nd - R Greenlaw

=3rd - C Wooley

=3rd - D Bell

Eventual Krieghoff Championship Champion - Shaun Gardner finished Saturday on 99/293.

Sunday – Main Event Krieghoff Championship 100 DTL

Going into Sunday the heat was on, not only in the competition either, conditions were perfect with highs of 28C and a most welcomed light breeze across the ground.

Richard Greenlaw was on top form shooting a perfect 100/300, giving him a total of 598/600 and the title of overall High Gun over 2 days.

Jenifer O'Neil shot extremely well to win the Ladies High Gun, shooting 582/600 over the two days.

Ade Parish had a superb weekend at Bywell, Ade won High Gun in the Super Veterans and won 1st in A Class. Outstanding Shooting!

Craig McKeown won the Juniors High Gun with a fantastic 585/600, looking forwards to see what's to come for Craig as he pushes on with his competition experience.

As the afternoon pushed on, the competition became even more intense, sun still beaming on beautiful Bywell making for a nail biting shoot off between 3 competitors.

Shaun Gardner, Richard Greenlaw and Steve Allen all scored an emphatic 100/300 earning them very well-deserved places in the shoot off to decide Sunday's High Gun.

However, It was Shaun Gardner who emerged victorious In taking the Sunday High Gun and moving him in to the Super Final to face Saturday's High Gun Jim Doherty.

The Scene was set as Shaun and Jim lined up on the layout, anticipation built, tension was in the air as the Bywell crowd settled in to watch on and see who would become the 2026 Krieghoff DTL Champion of champions!

Unbelievably Shaun and Jim tied, after a short break it was time to do it all again. Great entertainment and yet more suspense for both shooters after a long weekend of shooting in the sunshine, but who would emerge victor and Champion?!

After an intense second Super Final shoot off it was Shaun Gardner who held his nerve and emerge victorious as Krieghoff DTL Championship Champion!

Bywell would like to thank;

All Competitors, Alan Rhone and the Krieghoff Service Team, CPSA, CPSA Northern, CPSA Referees, Team Bywell, all volunteers and those who came to support.