Our usually-scheduled April TEXtreme Bench-Rest Silhouette March being changed to 20 and 12 foot pound Field Target in response to popular demand requesting additional practice for the upcoming Republic Of Texas Championships AAFTA Field Target Grand Prix, last Saturday 14 shooters tested themselves in fantastic FT weather against some of the highest difficulty rifle and pistol Field Target courses ever shot. How "highest difficulty", you wonder? In a word, ILLEGAL! 
How so, "illegal"? The American Airgun Field Target Association declares the highest legal Rifle and Pistol course difficulty to be 36.0T; that before applying the only wind multiplier of 1.25X. Saturdays Rifle course difficulty was 37.1T without wind multiplier (that both matches definitely deserved).
But wait… there’s more!
Given Texas’ well-deserved and notorious reputation for equally-notorious Pistoleros (think John Wesley Harding), that reputation is validated by the fact Texas Pistol Field Target shooters keep this Match Director busy increasing TEXtreme Pistol FT courses to ever-higher difficulties in order to limit our best Pistoleros posting perfect scores. Nevertheless, some have; so I often have to increase the pace of evolution to higher difficulties in order to keep pace with the Pistoleros’ evolving skills.
Consequently Saturdays pistol course was purposely set to a historical high difficulty of 40.4 Troyer!
By the way, for what it’s worth, and for additional perspective, that eye-popping Troyer difficulty is without the (applicable in Saturdays case) 1.25X wind multiplier. Given Saturdays typically-tricky TEXtreme winds, six Pistol competitors tested themselves against wind-adjusted 50.5 (average) pistol Troyers. More details to follow.
Thirteen rifle shooters shot a total of 15 scorecards in the wind-multiplied 46.4T rifle-course match. Scotty Haslam prevailed for the coveted Rifle Match Winner hat-pin with an excellent 31/40 score, shooting 13.4 JSB pellets in his Sightron S3 scoped RAW TM-1000. Correction- if I’m not mistaken, one of his TM-1000s. Great shooting, Scotty!
Derrick Wall came Second in the Rifle match, hot on Scotty’s heels with a 30/40 score. Derrick used a .20 caliber Brocock Commander, Sightron SIII scope, and 13.73 JSBs at 805 FPS. Excellent shooting, D.
Rick Kiely’s 27/40 score was good for Rifle Third Place, posted with his Falcon-scoped .177 FX Crown shooting 13.4 grain pellets. Good shooting, Rick.
Ron Robinson posted a 33/40 score in the pistol match for Match Winner braggin’ rights. But being a life-long Texan, so not in the least bit disposed to braggadocio (at any and every opportunity), it falls on the Match Director to reveal Ronaldo used a 1960s vintage Crosman 187 model Co2 rifle he converted into a regulated-HPA-bottle Field Target pistol… using only sharp rocks and sand-stone as tools!
The sixty-year old pistol that originally sold brand-new for $17.95 in rifle form wears a decades-old, front-focusing, Japanese-made Bushnell Trophy 4-12X scope, and shoots 8.4 grain .177 FX pellets 760 FPS for 10.8 FPE. Good shooting, Og.
Before-
After-
Hot on Og’s heels
, Derrick Wall’s 32/40 was good for Second Place in the pistol competition. Derrick shot a Brocock Ranger P topped with an Athlon Talos scope, shooting 10.34 grain .177 JSBs at 720 FPS. Excellent shooting, Derrick.
Jim Clarke’s 28/40 score was good for Third Place, posted with his Hawke Optics scoped .22 Brocock Atomic XR, shooting 13.43 grain Air Arms pellets 630 FPS. Good shooting, Jim.
Virtue of these illegal Troyer factors trials-by-fire
, I suspect Saturdays shooters consider themselves now duly prepared for AAFTA-legal Troyer difficulties they’ll face at the Republic Of Texas Championships AAFTA Grand Prix in a couple weeks. Given RoT pre-registrations, both the Rifle and Pistol RoT fields can rightly be considered national caliber.
In other words, more trials by fire!
I can’t wait.
Happy Shooting,
Ron & Maggyy
How so, "illegal"? The American Airgun Field Target Association declares the highest legal Rifle and Pistol course difficulty to be 36.0T; that before applying the only wind multiplier of 1.25X. Saturdays Rifle course difficulty was 37.1T without wind multiplier (that both matches definitely deserved).
But wait… there’s more!
Given Texas’ well-deserved and notorious reputation for equally-notorious Pistoleros (think John Wesley Harding), that reputation is validated by the fact Texas Pistol Field Target shooters keep this Match Director busy increasing TEXtreme Pistol FT courses to ever-higher difficulties in order to limit our best Pistoleros posting perfect scores. Nevertheless, some have; so I often have to increase the pace of evolution to higher difficulties in order to keep pace with the Pistoleros’ evolving skills.
Consequently Saturdays pistol course was purposely set to a historical high difficulty of 40.4 Troyer!
By the way, for what it’s worth, and for additional perspective, that eye-popping Troyer difficulty is without the (applicable in Saturdays case) 1.25X wind multiplier. Given Saturdays typically-tricky TEXtreme winds, six Pistol competitors tested themselves against wind-adjusted 50.5 (average) pistol Troyers. More details to follow.Thirteen rifle shooters shot a total of 15 scorecards in the wind-multiplied 46.4T rifle-course match. Scotty Haslam prevailed for the coveted Rifle Match Winner hat-pin with an excellent 31/40 score, shooting 13.4 JSB pellets in his Sightron S3 scoped RAW TM-1000. Correction- if I’m not mistaken, one of his TM-1000s. Great shooting, Scotty!
Derrick Wall came Second in the Rifle match, hot on Scotty’s heels with a 30/40 score. Derrick used a .20 caliber Brocock Commander, Sightron SIII scope, and 13.73 JSBs at 805 FPS. Excellent shooting, D.
Rick Kiely’s 27/40 score was good for Rifle Third Place, posted with his Falcon-scoped .177 FX Crown shooting 13.4 grain pellets. Good shooting, Rick.
Ron Robinson posted a 33/40 score in the pistol match for Match Winner braggin’ rights. But being a life-long Texan, so not in the least bit disposed to braggadocio (at any and every opportunity), it falls on the Match Director to reveal Ronaldo used a 1960s vintage Crosman 187 model Co2 rifle he converted into a regulated-HPA-bottle Field Target pistol… using only sharp rocks and sand-stone as tools!
The sixty-year old pistol that originally sold brand-new for $17.95 in rifle form wears a decades-old, front-focusing, Japanese-made Bushnell Trophy 4-12X scope, and shoots 8.4 grain .177 FX pellets 760 FPS for 10.8 FPE. Good shooting, Og.Before-
After-
Hot on Og’s heels
, Derrick Wall’s 32/40 was good for Second Place in the pistol competition. Derrick shot a Brocock Ranger P topped with an Athlon Talos scope, shooting 10.34 grain .177 JSBs at 720 FPS. Excellent shooting, Derrick.Jim Clarke’s 28/40 score was good for Third Place, posted with his Hawke Optics scoped .22 Brocock Atomic XR, shooting 13.43 grain Air Arms pellets 630 FPS. Good shooting, Jim.
Virtue of these illegal Troyer factors trials-by-fire
, I suspect Saturdays shooters consider themselves now duly prepared for AAFTA-legal Troyer difficulties they’ll face at the Republic Of Texas Championships AAFTA Grand Prix in a couple weeks. Given RoT pre-registrations, both the Rifle and Pistol RoT fields can rightly be considered national caliber.In other words, more trials by fire!
I can’t wait.Happy Shooting,
Ron & Maggyy
Last edited:
What was that about dude? You have some kind of vindictive vendetta against your shooters? What have we done to deserve such? No pad, no roll, no nothing! Just jagged Caliche Rock
, you had us in brush 
that was impossible to get a clear shot through unless contorted like the Hungarian chick in Cirque du Soleil
I’m gonna love every minute of it
... in caliche.
Thankfully none of her (many) favorite positions require kneeling.