What a weekend! Jim Clarke and Daniel Rowe attempting to create the illusion they're enjoying the pistol competition. By the time I finally finished all preparations for the 2024 TEXtreme Field Target State Championships weekend about midnight before Friday’s Pistol match,
already exhausted as I was, sleep was elusive and fleeting. Probably because by then I was second-guessing not only my wherewithal to endure the coming three days of rain and cold forecasted for the TEXtreme State Championships, but also my will to continue moving forward with TEXtreme.
Those dreads displaced all hopes of my last two hours of possible slumber, as I dwelled on the frustration of the third major TEXtreme State Championships or Grand Prix competitions in a row suffering suppressed attendance due to foul weather; said weather-related suppressed attendance thereby raining out all hope(s) of approaching minimum wage-esque return on countless hours of not easy work. Suffice to say upon rising my future outlook pretty much SUCKED as much as my immediate attitude. Nevertheless, the full three-day weekend schedule allowed no room whatsoever for procrastination; much less whining or self pity.
Usually avoiding caffeine entirely on match days, I hoped hot coffee would help maintain body heat through the cold, wet practice-range preparations required before my shooters arrived, expecting to get pre-match sight-in/practice. Thankfully my overnight guests’ ever-positive optimism almost immediately overwhelmed my sleep-deprived, grumpy old coot pessimism, to make the wet and muddy practice-range work seem less brutal than it actually was. My self-pity succumbed to good friends’ good humor and attitude; said pity supplanted with a hard resolve to make the most of difficult conditions. Yes, I
am going somewhere with this.
By the time other shooters started arriving with more good humor and other contributions to the collective cause, they found an uncharacteristically happy and gregarious match director. Must’a been the coffee. I successfully resisted the overwhelming urge for another cup.
Given the forecasts, I expected no more than 8-10 pistol shooters to brave risking the well-beings of their obscenely expensive pellet pistols. While assembling the shooting squads and realizing we not only had
14 pistoleros, but at least 4 or 5 state and/or national champions, it occurred to me that my baby named Pistol Field Target had not only survived and grown to maturity, but this was our largest and strongest Pistol field ever,
despite the crappy weather. That speaks to the strength and resolve of the pistol field. Thankfully overnight precipitation petered-out by match time, and stayed petered-out through the pistol match.
Though cold and muddy, we didn’t get wet. Perhaps more importantly, our $50,000 pellet pistols didn’t get wet!
The evil match director having set the highest Troyer difficulty pistol course in EFT history (43.8T average), his prediction that there would be no perfect scores posted all weekend held through the pistol match. To no-one’s surprise, Derrick Wall is the 2024 TEXtreme Pistol State Champion.
Derrick posted an excellent-for-conditions-and-Troyers 55/60 with his .20 caliber Brocock Commander P topped with an Athlon Talos scope, and shooting 13.73 grain JSB pellets 800 FPS. For those fine efforts he pocketed a $450 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate, a 24 karat solid gold (colored) State Champion gong on custom hardwood frame, and a TEXtreme State Champion engraved pellet tin.
Fantastic shooting, Champ! Evil Match Director Ron Robinson posted a 53/60 score for Second Place in the Pistol competition (must’a been the coffee). I shot my .22 caliber Brocock Sniper XR rifle-to-pistol conversion wearing a Weaver V-24 scope, and shooting 18.1 grain JSB pellets. I’m a $250 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate richer (not for long), have a solid sterling silver (colored) gong in a custom hardwood frame to brag endlessly about, and another TEXtreme SECOND Place engraved pellet tin to hold gold-dust sweepings from my gun closet floor. Yeay Me! Correction,
lead-dust sweepings.
Caleb Dickenson captured Third Place in the pistol competition with his .177 caliber Brocock Pathfinder topped with a 4-16X Helix scope. CD shot Rangemaster pellets 805 FPS to capture a $200 AoA gift certificate, the solid bronze (colored) Third Place gong on custom hardwood frame, and TEXtreme Third Place engraved pellet tin. Good shooting, Caleb.
Unfortunately not only did Saturday’s Rifle Match #1 foreboding weather forecast prove accurate, but it effectively suppressed the rifle competition to 14 shooters; same as the pistol competition. I don’t recall that ever happening in my quarter-century of Field Target experience(s).
We endured not only colder temperatures, but rain throughout Rifle Match #1; sometimes heavy. Despite all efforts, everyone’s $100,000 rifle rigs got totally water-logged. So, also, the score-cards. Somehow the scores survived, but I had the shooters replicate their scores on fresh, DRY cards before tallying Rifle Match # 1 results.
Derrick again posted high score with a 53/60. I again posted second high score, again 2 points behind with a 51. Brian Stafford came third with a 49.
Sunday’s somewhat better weather forecast proved wrong. Though traces of precip made practice-range prep-work messy, thankfully the precip ended before the shooters meeting, and stayed ended all day!
In fact the cold succumbed quite nicely to rising temperatures that had us shedding layers during the ever-improving match conditions.
Shooters being squadded by their Match 1 placings, Derrick drew the short straw of being squadded with the evil match director in Rifle Match 2. To illustrate how FT fortunes can turn on a dime, by our third lane I had taken the two points out of Derrick that I needed, by cleaning the first four lanes (24 shots). And to illustrate turning FT fortunes
more graphically, I was snake-bit on our fifth lane by dropping those two points
… plus another!
I dropped another point in the second half of the match, while Derrick cleaned those last five lanes to add another two points to his aggregate lead over me.
Hence, Derrick Wall is also the 2024 TEXtreme Rifle State Champion, virtue of his awesome 111/120 aggregate. He shot an Athlon scoped .30 caliber Kalibrgun Cricket 2 Tac, and 56 grain Zan pellets at 890 FPS. Phenomenal shooting Derrick! The double surprises no-one, and no-one is more deserving, Bud.
Derrick Wall- 2024 TEXtreme Pistol and Rifle State Champion! Derrick added a $700 Airguns Of Arizona gift certificate for $1150 total, another 24 karat solid gold (colored) State Champion gong on custom hardwood frame, and another TEXtreme State Champion engraved pellet tin to his weekend bounty.
Congratulations, DW! My 56/60 Rifle Match #2 score for a 107/120 aggregate captured Second Place in the Rifle competition. I also shot a .30 caliber Cricket 2 Tac; mine wearing a Sightron S Tac 4-20X scope. However mine shoots 56 grain Zan pellets
ONLY 884 FPS; the 6 FPS disadvantage obviously accounting for the difference between my and Derrick’s performances.
The $400 Airguns Of Arizona Rifle Second Place gift certificate brought my weekend GC take to $650; not too shabby for a couple hundred hours of blood, sweat, tears and psychological scarring.
I also added another solid sterling silver (colored) gong in a custom hardwood frame to brag endlessly about, and another TEXtreme SECOND Place engraved pellet tin to my overflowing First Loser showcase. But truth be told, considering the caliber of competition, I’m very happy with my finishes.
And extremely happy with the levels of fun and camaraderie that seemed magnified by the adverse weather challenges and hardships endured by all. So much so that by weeks-end my aforementioned second-guessing and self-pity succumbed to renewed enthusiasm for what defines me. No doubt that has much to do with realizing the crotchety old evil match director
ain’t yet lost my FT mojo. 
Jeff Cloud’s excellent 53/60 in Rifle Match 2 combined with a 48/60 in Match 1 for a 101/120 aggregate was good for the Third Place $250 AoA gift certificate, the solid bronze (colored) Third Place gong on custom hardwood frame, and TEXtreme Third Place engraved pellet tin. Jeff’s .25 caliber RAW HM1000X is topped with a Sightron S3 scope, and shoots 34 grain AEA pellets 930 FPS. Nice shooting, Jeff.
Is this Jeff Cloud awarding my Second Place gift certificate, or me awarding his Third Place GC? Ummmm... maybe! As always,
many thanks to Airguns Of Arizona for making TEXtreme Airgun Sports competitions possible with their generous sponsorship support. You bring incalculable amounts of joy to airgunners; many of which consider airgunning their favorite recreation and/or therapy.
Friends, please return the love by patronizing Airguns Of Arizona with your airgun wants and needs. In fact, just give Santa a credit card and AoA’s phone number, and they’ll make sure you have a great Christmas. As for your Christmas want-list, this might a good time to think about how good you always are to your loved-ones, and not be shy about what you’d like to see under the tree come Christmas morn. In other words,
let AoA help Santa help you! I would now thank others for all their help was it not for the fact there are SO MANY, that contribute SO MUCH, this senile MD would no doubt miss someone, and therefore seem unappreciative. So I’ll just thank everyone that contributes so much, and hope you realize how much I truly appreciate you all. You restore my faith in Humanity.
Happy Shooting And Holidays Y’all!
Ron & Maggyy
.
That's the cycle, unless I say other wise. The gun runs great. I bought the plenum extensions and barrel removal tool cause I had plans on going up to a .30 cal. I recently took them off since there was no added benefit, only hurting my SD and Spread. In the picture the Reg is set just under 100 bar. It is now set just above, (@102 bars I would guess.) in the chrony numbers PDF. $1300 shipped. Thank you!!