Ben hosted the second XFT night match at Phoenix Rod and Gun Club this past Saturday night and it was an absolute blast!!!
Colben and I arrived at 730, just as the sun was setting (no daylight savings time here in AZ
).
I was more than a little concerned watching the shrubs and trees blowing around in those last few miles of the drive, and the flag at the sight in range was whipping pretty good. But it settled down quickly and laid down to the point that I personally feel like this was the XFT match with the least amount of wind to account for, at least of the ones that I have attended. Granted, I still held when I didn't need to a time or two, or didn't hold off enough here and there, and other shooters reported the same.
We had a total of 9 shooters, 7 shooting pellets and 2 shooting rimfire.
Unloading back at the range...
That secondary parking area sits above some of the course and it was super cool to look out and see all the targets lighting up as Ben was getting all the lights on (this next one was taken at twilight and it was actually darker than it appears in this photo).
Here's a short un-edited video showing the main graveled foot path and the shooting stations and how Ben went about lighting them. He went through some trial and error prior to opening this up to the public. In that testing he found that too much light right on the rubber mats that we shoot from was creating glare in the scope, so the lights right by the shooter are quite dim. The lights along the main footpath are staggered on either side. There was plenty of light to get around safely. In fact, the only time I needed auxiliary lighting of my own was dialing turrets, marking the scorecard, and making sure the pellet was pointed the right direction prior to shutting the cocking lever. Somebody made the comment that the city light pollution actually kept it from ever getting completely dark. I had no problems walking safely and otherwise negotiating the course.
Ben set a 32 shot course, lane 9 was offhand but with the reducers completely removed (3 inch killzones). I won't name names here, but one of the 23s would have been a tie with Sandy and I if he hadn't missed all 4 offhand shots. Live or die by forced position shots in field target, XFT or otherwise. Sandy and I each missed one of our far offhand shots, going 3/4 on that lane. Our tie was broken by longest streak.
Only two shooters (Sandy and Wayne) dropped the 100 yard target on both shots.
The three way tie of 23 is in no particular order.
Ben had the best knockdown ratio on the far targets, and that includes the rimfires.
We had Stan join us for the first time and we talked a bit before the match. Cool guy-I hope he becomes a regular.
My take: What an awesome experience!!! Shooting at field targets in the dark has to be experienced to truly get a feel for how fun and unique it is. The image of a lighted target through the scope is so clear and sharp compared to the daytime. You also get to occasionally see that cloud of lead vapor from the pellet impacting the paddle, which I've only ever seen at night. Words don't do it any justice. Ben asked for suggestions for any improvements and the only thing I could come up with was that it was over too quickly!!!
Generally speaking, this was the first match that I've had the feeling that a clean "perfect" score is possible in XFT. I think the 27/32 (84.4%) knockdown percentage is my personal best and Ben was even closer with a 91%. We're slowly getting there, figuring out how to make this long range challenge work, and enjoying every minute of it!
A note on Ben.....one of the lights went out on a target between the time I walked up to the lane and the time I sat down. I called him and, although I was not even running the match, I had a little anxiety about how we were going to handle a light going out. But Ben had it all under control. He trotted up with a replacement light, walked out, replaced it, and ran back down the trail to continue shooting himself down at his lane. The whole "cold lane" couldn't have taken more than 4 minutes. I was impressed that he had contingency plans in place to ensure that we all enjoyed it. Not only that, all the lights and auxiliary/necessary equipment was purchased out of Ben's pocket. Blows me away all the time what that guy does to share the enjoyment he gets from airguns with others. More often than not he is doing nearly, and sometimes, ALL of the work. And on that note, COME JOIN US!!! You will have a good time, guaranteed. Ben will make sure of it.
