The 2024 World Field Target Championship Experience

World Field Target Championship Recap #2
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Thursday morning was the first day of competition. We arrived at the range to check in and sight in, temps were in the 50s and winds were high. The forecast called for lots of sun and a high in the low 80s. Meaning we had a lot of temperature gain ahead of us. This creates some interesting issues in the desert that we don't really deal with much back home in Ohio. As things begin to warm up on the ground, the winds can get quite turbulent, and they eventually settle as the temps rise, but that turbulent period was hellish to put it mildly.
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I was squadded on the Blue course with Franz from Austria and Dennis from Puerto Rico. We arrived at our first lane, and it was a kneeling lane. Honestly, this rattled me more than it should have. The first shot went down just fine, but the second was the longest kneeler on all of the courses, and in a stiff wind. I held about 2” off the right of the kill zone and I watched my pellet sail across the kill zone and another 3”, striking the face of the target with maybe a half inch of metal left. The wind was treacherous, but calmed down as the day continued. Figuring it out early was paramount.

(Franz and his Steyr, taking on the challenging uphill section of the Blue/Yellow courses)
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We walked to the next lane, and as we arrived, I realized it was a standing lane. After that kneeling shot, I was not in a good head space to go after two standers. And while both were very doable, I sadly missed them. I walked off that lane pretty dejected. But steeled my nerves and sat down and cleared the next three lanes. Then we arrived at a second standing lane, and a little doubt crept into my mind. I made the first shot and missed the second. On the next two lanes, I dropped two more shots. Now it was time to have an internal conversation, let me tell you how it went.
“Get your poop together and bear down!”

(Dennis with his Daystate Tsar)
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I went the next 13 lanes clear, dropped another shot due to some wind I should have accounted for, and then finished the rest of the course clean for a 43/50. The damage was done, and while a 43 was okay, most of the misses were not “good” misses in my book. But, scores came in and I was still in the hunt. England’s Dylan Varney shot a massive 49 and a few more were scattered in between us. And then the realization arrived that we still had another two days to go. All was not lost. My goals were still in sight. Greg Sauve managed a very solid 46 and Paul Cray shot a 41 to keep us in the hunt as a team. We were off and running!

L to R (Yours Truly, the Ohio shooters, my day one score-card)

World Field Target Championship Recap #3

Day two saw our group take on the white course. It's important to note that they typically group shooters based upon a few factors, but in this case, the initial groupings were sorted in an effort to keep all PCP team shooters on the same course, keep all of the piston shooters on the same course, and then fill in the rest from there. Anyway, the white course is the only course that is a “known” quantity as it’s the normal course used by the Phoenix Airgun Club. It’s completely flat with lanes made in between cacti and other desert brush, where the blue and yellow courses featured more varied terrain in the hills. I was squadded with former world champ Jack Harris of Wales and Adrian Hollis from South Africa. Both also shot 43s on day one, so we all knew we had work to do. While I've known Jack for many years (we've shared many drinks after shoots, too many for me to recount), we have never shot together. And there's certainly a little added pressure when you're shooting with a former World Champ, especially one that is still, very much, in form.

(Adrian, Jack and I)

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I knew I needed to start better than the prior day, so I tried my best to focus hard right out of the gate. Unlike the first day, the wind was calmer, still very present, but definitely more consistent. I cleaned my first lane and then bobbled a close, reduced 15mm kill zone and nicked the edge. Not the start I wanted, but listening to the lanes around us, I knew I was not alone with some early struggles. But not Jack. He was rock solid from the beginning.

(Jack and his trusty Air Arms EV2)

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I ran through the next 8 lanes clean, reading the mirage as best I could and finding the kill zone. And then out of nowhere, the wind seemed to shift mid lane, and I had two long targets in front of me, I missed them both. Double dinking a lane is never something you want to do, but it happens and often it’s more about what you do after that matters most. I managed to clear the next couple of lanes before the wind got me again. Adrian was having a similar experience with the tricky winds, but not Jack. He was still clear.

(Yours Truly)

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The bright spot was that I was clear on my kneelers and standers for the day. That gave me a real mental boost over the prior day. I just knew that if I could hold it together and finish strong, I’d put myself in a good position to achieve my goals on the final day. I dropped one more as we approached the end of the course, but managed to figure out the wind well enough to stay on a 45/50. Jack, made it about 90% through the course before dropping a shot. I was honestly surprised when it happened, he was so locked in that it came as a bit of a shock. He dropped another two lanes later to finish with a 48. Incredible shooting!

(Surrounded by a few legends of the game. L - Conor McFlynn of Ireland and R - Mark "Berty" Bassett)

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As we came off the course, we compared scores with our friends and teammates. For the US Team, Greg Sauve had some struggles compared to day one and he and I were even on 88/100. Paul Cray had a scope problem that he couldn’t resolve on the course and had to DNF for the day. But it was Lauren that turned in an incredible 49! Her score put her just one behind Greg and I, but also gave the US Team a huge boost in the standings. It was all to play for on day three (as it usually is). My score put me inside the top 10 and our team scores so far had us in the hunt to podium.

(Day 2's score card and a shot of my buddy Keith on a lane right next to the reigning world champ Gerhard Genade)

World Field Target Championship Recap #4

Today was the final day of the 2024 WFTC. But before I go forward, we must first look back. In 2017, at the Crosman All American FT Championships, I found myself tied and squadded with someone that I greatly respect and look up to, Greg Sauve. You see, we had both cleaned the first day of the shoot, 60/60. But mine had an asterisk next to it (in my mind) as there was a target I shot out of order (hit it though) that was later thrown out because it was illegal per the rules at the time. Greg did it the right way.
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There is probably no more respected and decorated American Field Target shooter than Greg. He’s won countless National titles, multiple Veteran World Titles and a slew of other awards. He’s a great shooter, and an even greater person. Back in 2017, on the second day of that match, I let the moment get the better of me. Greg put his mastery on display and decimated the course. There was nothing I could do but watch and learn. I share this with you, because on the final day of this Worlds, I was fortunate enough to share the lanes with Greg. And a new friend and great shooter in his own right, Yoeri Busse from Belgium.

(Myself, Yoeri, and Greg)
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Greg and I were one shot ahead of Yoeri overall. But the yellow course was sure to be a treacherous way to end our championships. Varied terrain, gusting and swirling winds, technical shots coupled with a number of longer targets, there was a bit of everything. As we arrived at our first lane, I mentioned to Greg that I was really looking forward to shooting with him again as it had been many years since we last shot together. He echoed my sentiments and said something that I’ll not soon forget, “This will be like a passing of the torch.” I cannot truly capture what that means to me, but it means a lot.
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I cleared the first five lanes, starting strong and burning through the onslaught of positional lanes placed in the first half of the course. On my 6th lane, I was caught by some wind that was very hard to see on a long target. But neither Greg or Yoeri were clean for long either, so at least the three of us were in good competition. I missed a few other long shots where the wind got the better of me, but that’s FT I suppose. Especially on courses like these, you’re not going to come away unscathed. I buckled down and managed to clean another 7 lanes before arriving at lane 22 (targets 43 and 44).

(Yoeri and his customized FX Impact)
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I ranged target 43, a full size (40mm) kill zone at 48 yards. Checked the mirage, looked for external wind factors, and decided I needed to hold on the right edge of the kill zone. Before I tell you what happened, I want to describe the moment in more detail. You see, there’s a split second between when you break the sear on your trigger and when you see your pellet on or near the target down range. This split second, however brief, is sometimes filled with doubt. Sometimes, you’re confident in your hold and read, and there’s not a doubt in sight. But occasionally, you’re taking a wild ass guess (albeit an educated wild ass guess) and until you see your pellet, you’re poopting bricks. In this moment, on target 43, I saw no reason for doubt. So color me surprised when I watch the pellet smack the left side of the faceplate, missing the kill by about a half inch. No time to dwell on it, I ranged target 44 at 43 yards, and it also was a full size kill. So let’s recap, a shorter shot, at the same size target. As I appraised the wind situation, it looked identical. So I figured that outside right edge hold should surely do the trick this time. Broke the shot well and watched the pellet land a full inch on the left side of the face. The shorter shot took more wind than the long one…talk about a WTF moment. The wind got the better of me there, and a dreaded double dink ruined what was shaping up to be a phenomenal day.
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Taking stock of my squad mates performances up to that point, two things were evident: 1) Unless I completely lost my head, I should finish ahead of Greg. 2) If I didn’t clean the rest of the course (5 lanes), Yoeri was in a position to overtake me. If we both ran the rest of it clean, we would be tied. And after a few moments of holding my breath, that’s exactly what happened. Now, the question was how did everyone else do!

(Day 3 Score Card)

So we finished shooting and as you do, we stopped and chatted with everyone we saw while heading back to the car. I saw Mark “Berty”Bassett, he was shooting in the top squad. He shared that Dylan Varney had held on well enough to claim the title. He had a bad day himself but should have done enough to secure a top 5 spot (4th actually). Jack Harris and Gerhard Genade from South Africa had shot into a tie for 2nd and 3rd. So that was a shoot off.
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As I made my way closer to the car, I stopped and saw Irishman Conor McFlynn and my teammate Paul Cray (who managed to get his scope issues from day two sorted out to come back for day 3). Conor and I were able to do some fuzzy math and realize that we were also tied. So Yoeri, Conor and I would have a shoot of, just a question of for what places. Paul shared his score of 44/50 which was better than Greg (42) for the day and one shot behind me on 45 again. While Paul wasn’t in contention himself, his 44 would help the team score for the day. And Lauren finished on 43, also helping the team total. We just needed to know how the rest of the Welsh and South African team faired.
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After more info gathering, the table was set. Jack and Gerhard would shoot off for 2nd/3rd (138/150). Conor, Yeori and I would shoot for 5th-7th (133/150) and Greg and Lauren would shoot for 8th/9th (130/150).
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I’ll pause here and say this Worlds was impeccably well run. Very few cold lines, near zero protests and they had scores verified and entered online within an hour or two of each course finishing. The Phoenix Airgun Club, Garrett, Bill, and all of their volunteers did a fantastic job running this event. My thanks and praise to all of them!
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After more fuzzy math, we had determined that the PCP team finished 2nd! This is the highest podium finish for a US PCP team ever and to be a part of it is an honor I cannot describe. And as expected, the US Springer team dominated! Easy to do when your top three shooters actually finish 1, 2 and 3 overall! But now it was time for the shoot offs!

(The team podium for PCP - R to L - USA/2nd, England/1st, Wales/3rd)

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Ohio native Dan Putz was in a shoot off on the spring gun side for 6th and 7th. He ended up winning on a long kneeling shot. Lauren bested Greg in their shoot off, claiming 8th place. I was not so fortunate, I missed a long kneeler while Conor and Yeori went the distance, with Conor winning on a long standing shot. When I say “went the distance” it’s important to understand that shoot offs at worlds are set up like a lane. Each shooter has two targets, in this case a 25mm in the mid 20s and a 40mm around 45 yards. You shoot sitting, then if everyone is equal after shooting them, kneeling, then standing. It’s all eyes on you in that moment. Anyway, the final showdown saw Jack claim 2nd after going to kneelers.

(A few shots during the shoot-off)

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While I was not thrilled about the shoot off result, it was really hard to be upset knowing I’d just shot my way into the Top 10 in the World, helped our US team podium, earned my master patch, AND finished as the top US shooter. Lots of boxes checked there!

(My medals and the coveted WFTF Master patch)

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It was a great Worlds and to do all of this on home soil means a lot to me. It’s been a great season, and I feel like I’ve definitely accomplished much, but I’d by lying if I said there wasn’t more work to be done. Hindsight is always 20/20 and as our Ohio crew sat around the table that evening, we discussed the shots we should have made. For me, there were plenty and any number of them would’ve made a difference. But now is the time to learn and move forward armed with the experience and knowledge gained this year to do even better in 2025.

(The Top 10 PCP Shooters)