Match Report- 2021 AAFTA National Field Target Championships
Because of the Covid virus, it took two years to finally have the match, and in some ways that made it easier to plan properly. Air Gun Oregon is a very small club so I only considered hosting the Nationals after I got commitments from other match directors on the west coast, Scott Hull, Jim Cyran, Scott Schneider, Jim Whittlesey, Chris Merrit and John Knapp. This was truly a group effort, with all of us equally covering the needed categories to make it happen. Each MD really managed each part of the project by themselves with very little of my help…. A really, really good team effort. I am so very thankful and proud of our team! The Head Range Safety Officer was Scott Hull. His team of Range officers was Scott Schneider, Randy Ebersole, Wayne Burns & Darren Taylor.
After discussions with Scott Hull, the match director for the Morro Bay club, we decided the only real choice for hosting was the Morro Bay site. Scott Hull and the Sac Valley club had prepped most of the lanes for the Western States match a few months before, so that part was already done and we were able to plan the course on mostly established lanes.
After driving all night, Randy Ebersole and I arrived 7am Tuesday morning. We called Scott Hull, and the three of us were leveling concrete blocks and setting the blue course by 9am or so. We got the 31T course set with the strings all ready to pull back to the shooting line in a long first day. We then had a real good dinner on the bay with Scott and his wife Marsha and then back to the Range campsite for a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday we planned out another 31T course for the east facing white course, and got to carrying the blocks, getting them level and securing the targets. Scott H. went around and checked each target in place with the AAFTA target checker. During the match we had ZERO failed targets with 6- 8 protests per day… You don’t seem to get splits when the targets are properly set up. Jim Cyran and Scott Schneider arrived in the afternoon.
Thursday, Chris Merritt & I cooked up bacon, eggs, waffles and an omelet , Scott Schneider, Darren Taylor and Cameron Kerndt got to setting up the pistol course, while Randy and I set up the Sight In range. Alan O arrived and jumped in helping with the sight in too. Then more arrived to help and soon we were ready for a hot line. Early arrivers were happy they could get to seeing if their POI was as it should be. It should be noted that the sight in line faces 90 degrees different from the course path with the blue course shooting to the west and the white course towards the east. The sight in really doesn’t help one learn the wind hold off for the course.
Friday morning, Chris and I cooked up a big breakfast again for campers and early arrivals. Jim Cyran and John Knapp got folks registered and their equipment checked. The sight in line was busy all day. Scott S was the MD for the PFT match with Darren T & Randy E as course marshals. We started the Pistol match on time at 3pm. It was a 40 shot match with 2 targets per lane on 10 lanes. One lane was offhand. 5 competitors shot the Limited PCP class and 17 contested the Hunter PCP Pistol class.
In Limited Pistol, Cameron Kerndt shot the overall high score with a 38/40. Dana Wyse was 2nd with a 33, Bill Corder, 3rd with a 30 and Manuel Morales 4th with a 26. In Hunter Pistol class Scott Hull and I tied with 36/40. Eric Brewer was 3rd with a 34 and Waldemar Gordilis & Randy Ebersole tied for 4th with 31/40. The pistol shoot off target was a 9/16” at 28 yards in the wind. Randy and Waldemar went first and missed it 4 & 3 times before Waldemar got it on the 4th try to take 4th. I missed it my first shot, and so did Scott, but I lucked out and got it on my 2nd shot and Scott missed it, so I got 1st in Hunter PCP Pistol.
Saturday morning Chris and I cooked a similar hearty breakfast. Jim Whittlesey who designed & made the scoreboards and scorecards, had joined Jim Cyran to get the squading done the night before and ready for the shooters safety meeting, which started on time at 9:30 am. We had just the right number of competitors to shoot in two person squads, so the match took about 3 hours. Scott Hull our Head Safety Marshall, had range officers spread out so any protests or hung up lines got dealt with quickly and the match flowed smoothly. The lunch was ready when the competitors got done shooting. The AAFTA meeting started after lunch. The meeting was run by Phillip Helper, I believe the only BOG member to attend the match. The BOG will report on the Annual AAFTA meeting separately.
Saturday’s high score was shot by Scott Schneider in Hunter PCP with a 53/60. The next group in Hunter PCP was very close, with Bill Day at 49, and John Bagakis, Jim Cyran, and Philip Helper at 48. Three competitors from WFTF PCP class shot a 51/60, Paul Cray, Son Lu and Lauren Parsons. Keith Knoblauch was just behind with a 50.
In WFTF Piston, Manuel Morales shot an amazing 49/60 to lead that class by 8 over James Morales and by 10 over one of our top west coast piston shooters Cameron Kerndt. In the combined Open Piston and Hunter Piston, Mark Kaufman had 26, and Darren Taylor and Eric Brewer were tied at 20.
The Open PCP class was real tight with Jim Whittlesey at 45, and Kelly Hawe and Chris Merritt at 44 and Roger Lovitt was within reach with a 42.
Saturday afternoon, Scott S, Darren T and Randy E got all the targets checked and repainted. Saturday night, Jim W and I got all the squading done by class and scores and we were ready for Sundays match.
Morro Bay is a very challenging spot to shoot, because almost every day the onshore wind switches 180 degrees to offshore as the day heats up. This happens usually about 10-11am each day. So one sights in during cool moist air and then the match is held during dry offshore air blowing at different velocities as the day progresses… much fun
Sunday morning broke with a glimpse of hope. The sight in period was calm, warm and sunny. Shooters were able to check their zeros and dope in calm weather. But, as the shooters meeting began we felt the wind pick up. By the third lane the winds were 5-10mph from the west. It only got worse! Halfway through the match we got a 180 switch within a few minutes time. Wind speed jumped to 10-20mph+. The winds were now blowing your rifle around as well as the pellet. Talk about “learning as you go”. Competitors really had to make adjustments or endure the zeros on the scorecard. Only the best of the best could do that. Isn’t that what a Nationals contest should be? I heard from most east coast shooters “I’ve never shot in winds like this before”. We on the west coast probably shoot in these kinds of wind more than our friends from the east, but the conditions for this match were exceptional and no one could have anticipated them. The competitors who can travel to completely new environments and still get to the top are rare indeed.
Here are a few of those rare individuals who did travel far and still do well this match. Manuel & James Morales from Puerto Rico finished 1st and 2nd in WFTF Piston. David Alsup from Texas was steady with a 48 on both days to tie for first in WFTF PCP. He then went on to win the shoot off for 1st in WFTF PCP over Son Lu. Edwin Tubens, Lucas Richter and Paul Cray also did well with a 3rd, 4th and 5th in WFTF PCP all settled by a shoot off. Philip Helper and Bill Day from the east coast also got to the podium with a 4th and 5th in Hunter PCP and Eric Brewer from New York finished 2nd in the Combined Piston Class. The Western shooters who conquered the conditions were Scott Schneider, Jim Cyran and John Bagakis 1, 2 and 3 in Hunter PCP. Jim Whittlesey, Kelly Hawe and Chris Merritt 1,2 and 3 in Open PCP. Son Lu was 2nd in WFTF PCP. Mark Kauffman and Darren Taylor were 1st and 3rd in Combined Piston and Cameron Kerndt 3rd in WFTF Piston. The Sacramento Valley Field Target Club had an exceptional match with Scott Schneider shooting the high Match Score of 99 and a total of 8 shooters finishing on the podium in rifle and 2 in pistol.
The team contest was dominated by Sac Valley with a 1st Scott Schneider, and 3rd John Bagakis in Hunter PCP, and 1st Jim Whittlesey in Open PCP, and Cameron Kerndt 1st Limited Pistol, and a tie for 1st in WFTF PCP with Son Lu. Sac Valley total 402, Puerto Rico was 2nd with 382 and AirGun Oregon last with 296.
Along with running up and down the course with the target checker on Saturday, Head Marshall Scott Hull said he wasn’t going to compete because he really wanted to make the awards dinner something to remember and he did just that. He teamed up with his mom and whole family, along with Vince Pacheco and his girlfriend & chef, Fan who made a great chilie & pasta & green salads. Scott and family created a fantastically savory Tri-Tip and Linguica plus a garlic bread to balance out a super tasty meal. I am so grateful for all their hard work and sacrifice.
In addition to the Match Directors’ team I listed above, I want to thank hugely: The team of MD wives, Dawn Schneider, Julie Taylor & Marsha Hull for all their help with the food, setup and breakdown of the event. Also a special thanks to the team from Puerto Rico who stayed after the banquet and broke down the rifle courses for us while we were cleaning up the banquet room and kitchen after the awards dinner. Thanks so much my new friends!!
Thanks again to all our sponsors; Jefferson State Air Rifles, Air Arms, Hawke Scopes, Joe Brancato Air Tanks, Sports Match scope mounts, Target Forge Targets, Pyramid Air and AOA’s Larry Piercy and Barry Diehl for bringing the AOA van and filling air tanks for us.
Humbly Submitted,
Wayne Burns,
Match Director,
2021 AAFTA National Field Target Championships
Here are the scores and details:
Wayne Burns,
Match Director,
Ashland Air Rifle Range
Because of the Covid virus, it took two years to finally have the match, and in some ways that made it easier to plan properly. Air Gun Oregon is a very small club so I only considered hosting the Nationals after I got commitments from other match directors on the west coast, Scott Hull, Jim Cyran, Scott Schneider, Jim Whittlesey, Chris Merrit and John Knapp. This was truly a group effort, with all of us equally covering the needed categories to make it happen. Each MD really managed each part of the project by themselves with very little of my help…. A really, really good team effort. I am so very thankful and proud of our team! The Head Range Safety Officer was Scott Hull. His team of Range officers was Scott Schneider, Randy Ebersole, Wayne Burns & Darren Taylor.
After discussions with Scott Hull, the match director for the Morro Bay club, we decided the only real choice for hosting was the Morro Bay site. Scott Hull and the Sac Valley club had prepped most of the lanes for the Western States match a few months before, so that part was already done and we were able to plan the course on mostly established lanes.
After driving all night, Randy Ebersole and I arrived 7am Tuesday morning. We called Scott Hull, and the three of us were leveling concrete blocks and setting the blue course by 9am or so. We got the 31T course set with the strings all ready to pull back to the shooting line in a long first day. We then had a real good dinner on the bay with Scott and his wife Marsha and then back to the Range campsite for a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday we planned out another 31T course for the east facing white course, and got to carrying the blocks, getting them level and securing the targets. Scott H. went around and checked each target in place with the AAFTA target checker. During the match we had ZERO failed targets with 6- 8 protests per day… You don’t seem to get splits when the targets are properly set up. Jim Cyran and Scott Schneider arrived in the afternoon.
Thursday, Chris Merritt & I cooked up bacon, eggs, waffles and an omelet , Scott Schneider, Darren Taylor and Cameron Kerndt got to setting up the pistol course, while Randy and I set up the Sight In range. Alan O arrived and jumped in helping with the sight in too. Then more arrived to help and soon we were ready for a hot line. Early arrivers were happy they could get to seeing if their POI was as it should be. It should be noted that the sight in line faces 90 degrees different from the course path with the blue course shooting to the west and the white course towards the east. The sight in really doesn’t help one learn the wind hold off for the course.
Friday morning, Chris and I cooked up a big breakfast again for campers and early arrivals. Jim Cyran and John Knapp got folks registered and their equipment checked. The sight in line was busy all day. Scott S was the MD for the PFT match with Darren T & Randy E as course marshals. We started the Pistol match on time at 3pm. It was a 40 shot match with 2 targets per lane on 10 lanes. One lane was offhand. 5 competitors shot the Limited PCP class and 17 contested the Hunter PCP Pistol class.
In Limited Pistol, Cameron Kerndt shot the overall high score with a 38/40. Dana Wyse was 2nd with a 33, Bill Corder, 3rd with a 30 and Manuel Morales 4th with a 26. In Hunter Pistol class Scott Hull and I tied with 36/40. Eric Brewer was 3rd with a 34 and Waldemar Gordilis & Randy Ebersole tied for 4th with 31/40. The pistol shoot off target was a 9/16” at 28 yards in the wind. Randy and Waldemar went first and missed it 4 & 3 times before Waldemar got it on the 4th try to take 4th. I missed it my first shot, and so did Scott, but I lucked out and got it on my 2nd shot and Scott missed it, so I got 1st in Hunter PCP Pistol.
Saturday morning Chris and I cooked a similar hearty breakfast. Jim Whittlesey who designed & made the scoreboards and scorecards, had joined Jim Cyran to get the squading done the night before and ready for the shooters safety meeting, which started on time at 9:30 am. We had just the right number of competitors to shoot in two person squads, so the match took about 3 hours. Scott Hull our Head Safety Marshall, had range officers spread out so any protests or hung up lines got dealt with quickly and the match flowed smoothly. The lunch was ready when the competitors got done shooting. The AAFTA meeting started after lunch. The meeting was run by Phillip Helper, I believe the only BOG member to attend the match. The BOG will report on the Annual AAFTA meeting separately.
Saturday’s high score was shot by Scott Schneider in Hunter PCP with a 53/60. The next group in Hunter PCP was very close, with Bill Day at 49, and John Bagakis, Jim Cyran, and Philip Helper at 48. Three competitors from WFTF PCP class shot a 51/60, Paul Cray, Son Lu and Lauren Parsons. Keith Knoblauch was just behind with a 50.
In WFTF Piston, Manuel Morales shot an amazing 49/60 to lead that class by 8 over James Morales and by 10 over one of our top west coast piston shooters Cameron Kerndt. In the combined Open Piston and Hunter Piston, Mark Kaufman had 26, and Darren Taylor and Eric Brewer were tied at 20.
The Open PCP class was real tight with Jim Whittlesey at 45, and Kelly Hawe and Chris Merritt at 44 and Roger Lovitt was within reach with a 42.
Saturday afternoon, Scott S, Darren T and Randy E got all the targets checked and repainted. Saturday night, Jim W and I got all the squading done by class and scores and we were ready for Sundays match.
Morro Bay is a very challenging spot to shoot, because almost every day the onshore wind switches 180 degrees to offshore as the day heats up. This happens usually about 10-11am each day. So one sights in during cool moist air and then the match is held during dry offshore air blowing at different velocities as the day progresses… much fun
Sunday morning broke with a glimpse of hope. The sight in period was calm, warm and sunny. Shooters were able to check their zeros and dope in calm weather. But, as the shooters meeting began we felt the wind pick up. By the third lane the winds were 5-10mph from the west. It only got worse! Halfway through the match we got a 180 switch within a few minutes time. Wind speed jumped to 10-20mph+. The winds were now blowing your rifle around as well as the pellet. Talk about “learning as you go”. Competitors really had to make adjustments or endure the zeros on the scorecard. Only the best of the best could do that. Isn’t that what a Nationals contest should be? I heard from most east coast shooters “I’ve never shot in winds like this before”. We on the west coast probably shoot in these kinds of wind more than our friends from the east, but the conditions for this match were exceptional and no one could have anticipated them. The competitors who can travel to completely new environments and still get to the top are rare indeed.
Here are a few of those rare individuals who did travel far and still do well this match. Manuel & James Morales from Puerto Rico finished 1st and 2nd in WFTF Piston. David Alsup from Texas was steady with a 48 on both days to tie for first in WFTF PCP. He then went on to win the shoot off for 1st in WFTF PCP over Son Lu. Edwin Tubens, Lucas Richter and Paul Cray also did well with a 3rd, 4th and 5th in WFTF PCP all settled by a shoot off. Philip Helper and Bill Day from the east coast also got to the podium with a 4th and 5th in Hunter PCP and Eric Brewer from New York finished 2nd in the Combined Piston Class. The Western shooters who conquered the conditions were Scott Schneider, Jim Cyran and John Bagakis 1, 2 and 3 in Hunter PCP. Jim Whittlesey, Kelly Hawe and Chris Merritt 1,2 and 3 in Open PCP. Son Lu was 2nd in WFTF PCP. Mark Kauffman and Darren Taylor were 1st and 3rd in Combined Piston and Cameron Kerndt 3rd in WFTF Piston. The Sacramento Valley Field Target Club had an exceptional match with Scott Schneider shooting the high Match Score of 99 and a total of 8 shooters finishing on the podium in rifle and 2 in pistol.
The team contest was dominated by Sac Valley with a 1st Scott Schneider, and 3rd John Bagakis in Hunter PCP, and 1st Jim Whittlesey in Open PCP, and Cameron Kerndt 1st Limited Pistol, and a tie for 1st in WFTF PCP with Son Lu. Sac Valley total 402, Puerto Rico was 2nd with 382 and AirGun Oregon last with 296.
Along with running up and down the course with the target checker on Saturday, Head Marshall Scott Hull said he wasn’t going to compete because he really wanted to make the awards dinner something to remember and he did just that. He teamed up with his mom and whole family, along with Vince Pacheco and his girlfriend & chef, Fan who made a great chilie & pasta & green salads. Scott and family created a fantastically savory Tri-Tip and Linguica plus a garlic bread to balance out a super tasty meal. I am so grateful for all their hard work and sacrifice.
In addition to the Match Directors’ team I listed above, I want to thank hugely: The team of MD wives, Dawn Schneider, Julie Taylor & Marsha Hull for all their help with the food, setup and breakdown of the event. Also a special thanks to the team from Puerto Rico who stayed after the banquet and broke down the rifle courses for us while we were cleaning up the banquet room and kitchen after the awards dinner. Thanks so much my new friends!!
Thanks again to all our sponsors; Jefferson State Air Rifles, Air Arms, Hawke Scopes, Joe Brancato Air Tanks, Sports Match scope mounts, Target Forge Targets, Pyramid Air and AOA’s Larry Piercy and Barry Diehl for bringing the AOA van and filling air tanks for us.
Humbly Submitted,
Wayne Burns,
Match Director,
2021 AAFTA National Field Target Championships
Here are the scores and details:
Wayne Burns,
Match Director,
Ashland Air Rifle Range
