Several members of the Manchester Rifle and Pistol Club (MRPC) will look to continue honing their skills with the intention of making their mark at next week's Florida Open when the second monthly match at the Manchester Rifle and Pistol Club begins tomorrow.

The match is highly anticipated by all the competitors with an eye on just more than local interest. In a little over a week's time, several members of the MRPC will be travelling to the United States next week to participate in the Florida Open at Frost Proof, matching their skills against shooters from across the globe. Frost Proof is also the site of the next World Gun Shoot slated for 2014.

readiness skills

This weekend's competition will feature action in the Limited Division over six stages. It will be a chance for the shooters to test readiness skills as well as to score points that will later factor towards a first-time international rating.

While Orville Henriques is the top shooter in his division locally, and will not lose his top billing regardless of this weekend's results, the recent tournaments are proving that the gap is shrinking between the top-and-second tier shooters.

Henriques had closed the year in style winning the Christmas Rappa Pam Pam, the last tournament of the year, which featured eight stages. Then he showed he was not only the one to beat this season, but looked to have stepped up his game a notch, with specific focus on breaking new ground in the international ranking scheme. However, while he was dominant, the second-tier shooters enjoyed a relatively close finish, a sign of their continued development.

"You can see where more shooters are learning and gaining on the curve, but my focus is always to win in a way that prepares me for bigger battles ahead on the international scene," Henriques said.

"You have the Florida Open coming up, and last year, even though I got a few top-three places, this year I hope to do a bit better.

'You can see where more shooters are learning and gaining on the curve, but my focus is always to win in a way that prepares me for bigger battles ahead.'