Sport
6 July, 2022
Shooting down the line
In a rare occurrence, three generations of the local Barton family competed recently in a clay target shooting competition.
Young Eddison, who lives in Allora with his father Justin & family, has recently taken up the sport of clay target shooting.
Patriarch of the shooting family, Greenmount resident Max, has a long history with clay target shooting stretching back several decades and a swathe of awards.
Max was inducted into the Queensland Clay Target Association Hall of Fame last year, an honour which he said he was overjoyed with.
He was president of the Toowoomba Clay Target Club for over twenty years and has competed in numerous state and veteran teams, his accolades including a national championship.
Max’s shooting has taken him overseas, competing in New Zealand many times as part of trans-Tasman contests and even participating in two world championships in the United States in 1996 and 1997.
Son Justin is no slouch either, who despite being very busy with family life and his local business, Bartranz Petroleum, manages to perform very well whenever he picks up a gun.
The competition in May had 208 shooters, which Max said is the biggest in Queensland and one of the biggest in Australia.
Justin won his category shooting 96/100 despite not shooting for ten months beforehand, & was the Overall winner of this 3 day event in 2019 and 2021.
He also represented Queensland on several occasions as a junior.
Eddison has clearly taken to the sport quickly as well, claiming a second placing in his first competition.
Eddison’s older brother, Ambrose, is also a very competitive clay target shooter, but taking a break this year to concentrate on Year 12 studies.
Both Justin and Max are heavily involved with the Southern Downs Sporting Clays club based out of Morgan Park on the southern side of Warwick.
The club has had a few different homes over the journey, formerly being based out of Old Koreelah, Millmerran and Cherrabah.
Max said Justin and his wife Gretta have been important “movers and shakers” as volunteers and sponsors for the Southern Downs Sporting Clays, in addition to sponsoring fuel through their business.
