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Tom H opened up his home and property to the Southwest Airgunners field target club yet again, for a weekend full of fun and friends.
Target and course prep started long before the weekend. Lots of work goes into this, and we all appreciate that work. Thank you Rex and Tom and etc who make it all happen. Here are some of the old standbys, as well as some of Rex's newest additions.
Friday Afternoon- 1/10th size silhouettes using FT pistols and shooting sticks.
5 early birds jumped in on this competition. Total possible score of 40 points. Ram, turkey, pig, chicken, chicken at: 15, 20, 25, 30 yards. Fun challenge.
Friday Evening- 1/5th size silhouettes using FT rifles and shooting sticks.
Similar to above, but distances are 50, 60, 70, 80 yards.
Saturday Morning Field Target
But first, Tom not only shares his property with us, but invited us into his home and cooked breakfast for the gang! What a deal. Hospitality above and beyond. Thank you Tom!!!
This was the course layout and Troyer factors. Easy course? Rex has never heard of her. Yes, there was a 114.75 Troyer target on the course, and while we called it a bonus, it counted towards the total possible score of 62.
The areas of bright sunshine and dark shade within the brushy areas of the river bottom certainly complicate the ranging by focus aspect of the game. Add in some sharply angled shots down, and UP, and well....it makes for a fun, frustrating, difficult, maddening, enjoyable couple hours with friends and a shared interest (obsession?).
And here's how we all fared...
Could be argued that field target is largely a group of people playing with their newest toy(s) or excited about the next one, it's always fun to be involved in the equipment side of discussions with the competitors. These are only a few little anecdotes that I was told about or was made aware of...... I know that Franz shot his new-to-him field target pistol this weekend. He seems pleased as punch with it, and rightly so, it's a looker, and shoots just as good. The BSA "Union Jack" that I reviewed (the exact gun) a few years ago got lent to a couple of brothers to enjoy for the match. They shot very well with it, and were grinning ear to ear every time I saw them. And the lender (not me) was just as happy to see the gun get used and enjoyed. One of the top 3 competitors was telling me about needing to work through some minor flyers he noticed during the match. I told him they must be pretty minimal, to have only missed a couple on such a hard course. As for me, I really struggled to range the middle and far on lane 1, and simply couldn't recover from that.
After scores were announced, we all jumped in and had the targets all collected within about 35-40 minutes. Rex noted that it'd sure be nice if it was as easy to set up a course as it is to tear one down.
I think I can speak for all of us when I say a fun time was had by all. Congrats to the winners. Thanks to Tom for the hospitality, and to Rex for all the behind the scenes work.
If this looks like fun to you, Rex is still planning on an AAFTA Grand Prix in May. We'll get more details out as we get closer.
(photo credit to Rex and Bobby)
Target and course prep started long before the weekend. Lots of work goes into this, and we all appreciate that work. Thank you Rex and Tom and etc who make it all happen. Here are some of the old standbys, as well as some of Rex's newest additions.
Friday Afternoon- 1/10th size silhouettes using FT pistols and shooting sticks.
5 early birds jumped in on this competition. Total possible score of 40 points. Ram, turkey, pig, chicken, chicken at: 15, 20, 25, 30 yards. Fun challenge.
Friday Evening- 1/5th size silhouettes using FT rifles and shooting sticks.
Similar to above, but distances are 50, 60, 70, 80 yards.
Saturday Morning Field Target
But first, Tom not only shares his property with us, but invited us into his home and cooked breakfast for the gang! What a deal. Hospitality above and beyond. Thank you Tom!!!
This was the course layout and Troyer factors. Easy course? Rex has never heard of her. Yes, there was a 114.75 Troyer target on the course, and while we called it a bonus, it counted towards the total possible score of 62.
The areas of bright sunshine and dark shade within the brushy areas of the river bottom certainly complicate the ranging by focus aspect of the game. Add in some sharply angled shots down, and UP, and well....it makes for a fun, frustrating, difficult, maddening, enjoyable couple hours with friends and a shared interest (obsession?).
And here's how we all fared...
Could be argued that field target is largely a group of people playing with their newest toy(s) or excited about the next one, it's always fun to be involved in the equipment side of discussions with the competitors. These are only a few little anecdotes that I was told about or was made aware of...... I know that Franz shot his new-to-him field target pistol this weekend. He seems pleased as punch with it, and rightly so, it's a looker, and shoots just as good. The BSA "Union Jack" that I reviewed (the exact gun) a few years ago got lent to a couple of brothers to enjoy for the match. They shot very well with it, and were grinning ear to ear every time I saw them. And the lender (not me) was just as happy to see the gun get used and enjoyed. One of the top 3 competitors was telling me about needing to work through some minor flyers he noticed during the match. I told him they must be pretty minimal, to have only missed a couple on such a hard course. As for me, I really struggled to range the middle and far on lane 1, and simply couldn't recover from that.
After scores were announced, we all jumped in and had the targets all collected within about 35-40 minutes. Rex noted that it'd sure be nice if it was as easy to set up a course as it is to tear one down.
I think I can speak for all of us when I say a fun time was had by all. Congrats to the winners. Thanks to Tom for the hospitality, and to Rex for all the behind the scenes work.
If this looks like fun to you, Rex is still planning on an AAFTA Grand Prix in May. We'll get more details out as we get closer.
(photo credit to Rex and Bobby)
