FT Match Report Arlington Sportsman’s Club 09/23/2023
I would call this month’s match at ASC “Overdone”. “Overdone” because the temperature was near 100F, and the humidity was 50% when we finished; “Overdone” because the Troyer factor was a GP-level 34.5; and finally “Overdone” because we had SW winds gusting to 13mph and blowing pellets this way and that. All these factors led to a match I believe the shooters would agree was “Overdone”. When Scott and I setup the course on Friday, the goal was to make a challenging course for those shooters going to the Nats in October. It was not my intent to crush the shooters under such difficult conditions. I accept all responsibility as the match director but wouldn’t necessarily change anything about the day. Be prepared when you come to shoot at ASC in Texas, “you might get your butt handed to you”. The course was 60 shots on 15 lanes with 2 targets per lane to comply with an AAFTA GP format. There were two off-hand lanes and one kneeling lane. Twenty-one shooters from as far as Arkansas, San Antonio and Tulsa showed up to contest the course. The average Troyer this month was 34.5 before the wind modifier, SD 5.81, Avg Dist 31.1 yds, and Avg KZ 1.02”. We started on time at 9:00am after short safety and rules meeting. Scott also laid out the rules for the “Kneeling Challenge” at the end of the match.
At the end of the match, which was a little after noon, most folks looked very hot, tired, and whipped by the winds of the day. Many thanks to Jim Clarke and his phantom helper who picked up 10 of the 15 lanes of targets and stuff after the match while I was tallying scores, and Scott was getting ready for the kneeling challenge. Jim’s dedication to the sport is appreciated and I will thank him with a free entry at the next match. Thanks again to everyone who helps me setup, run and takedown the course each month. Kudos to all of you!!
No shooter broke 80% knockdown today, I believe due to the high Troyer and the tough conditions. I will say this again, competing in the heat and wind will make you a better shooter, so if you didn’t do well today you have some techniques to work on. Hunter PCP had 13 shooters competing. 1st place was Brian Stafford shooting his FX Crown with a very respectable on this day, 46/60. Second place was a three-way tie and Scott and I totally overlooked that until after at least one of the shooters had left. Since we couldn’t have a shootoff I looked to the forced position results, and it was still a tie. Therefore, this month due to a mess-up by me, Thom Davies, Ron Robinson, and Mark Welker finished 2nd shooting 44/60 (you can see their equipment below). 3rd place went to David Turner with a 42/60 shooting his Daystate Redwolf.
We had one Hunter Piston, three WFTF PCP, and two Unlimited shooters today. You can see all the scores, finishing positions, and equipment list below. Congrats to everyone and I hope that you had fun!
Take a look at the growing content of our shooting score analyses website https://airgunshoot.com/ that shows your score on each lane, your hit percentage by lane or near/mid/far targets, how you compare to your class average, your class winner, and the HOA winner. Thanks to Scott Cotton for his work on this, you should be able to tease out some areas where you can improve and hopefully finish higher in the standings.
Kneeling Challenge
By Scott Cotton
Seven hearty souls braved the Texas heat and the mockery of their fellow shooters to engage in the 1st Annual Semi-Memorial Assistant to the Match Director Kneeling Challenge.
The challenge was issued after our September field target match was concluded at the Arlington Sportsman's Club. A target with a one inch kill zone was placed at 35 yards and the stage was set for some high drama. The format was to put a dollar in the pot and take four shots from the kneeling position. After everyone took their 4 shots, the 2 highest scores plus ties would move on to a shoot-off style elimination round.
Here's how it went:
Leading us off was Jim B. Jim shot 2 of 4, which was respectable. I don't think Jim cared too much, he just wanted to get it over with. That would be a prevailing theme.
Next up was Thom, who put up a very salty 3 of 4 to establish an early lead.
Then we had Eric shooting WFTF style with a 2 of 4.
Jeff shot next with a flashy 3 out of 4 shooting WFTF style.
Paul B shot next and made the interesting choice of shooting a prototype RAW FT pistol that happened to be on hand. He got a hit and decided to try again with his own pistol. That was a poor decision that cost him a dollar.
Jim C and I shot as well. That's all we are going to say about that.
So now with the pot at 8 American dollars, it was time for a shoot off between Jeff and Thom. The target stayed the same, each shooter would shoot 2 shots and we would keep going back and forth until we had a winner.
Nobody hit the target in the first round. As I was coming up with a plan that would get me home before dark (moving the target closer, faking an emergency, or going to my car and not coming back), Jeff managed to hit the target with his second shot of the second round. A congratulatory sigh of relief was heard from the crowd, and we got out of Dodge.
So, Jeff Cloud is the official winner of the 1st Kneeling Challenge. I don't know if we will do this again, but if we do, we will probably specify no shooting jackets.
And for the record, we did give the option to shoot seated and unsupported for those present that have difficulty kneeling. No one took us up on the offer, which proves that with age comes wisdom.
Coming Events
Our next match will be on Saturday October 38 which is our usual 4th Saturday. This match will start promptly at 9:00am.
Don’t forget that ASC will be hosting the 2023 Republic of Texas Field Target Grand Prix match November 17-19, 2023. There will be a pistol match on Friday afternoon, then rifle matches on Saturday and Sunday mornings. We will have catered lunches and great swag and raffle prizes. Here is a link to registration if you would like to attend (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...Y6QBu600WdpgPHVXqyHxg/viewform?usp=share_link) and some more info on Airgun Nation (https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/its-back-rot-2023-announcement.1294426/#post-1574909).
See you at the next match,
Jeff Cloud
Field Target Match Director
Arlington Sportsman’s Club
Send me pics that you take during the match, and I’ll add them here in the report. No one likes to look at a bunch of pictures of me and Scott.
I would call this month’s match at ASC “Overdone”. “Overdone” because the temperature was near 100F, and the humidity was 50% when we finished; “Overdone” because the Troyer factor was a GP-level 34.5; and finally “Overdone” because we had SW winds gusting to 13mph and blowing pellets this way and that. All these factors led to a match I believe the shooters would agree was “Overdone”. When Scott and I setup the course on Friday, the goal was to make a challenging course for those shooters going to the Nats in October. It was not my intent to crush the shooters under such difficult conditions. I accept all responsibility as the match director but wouldn’t necessarily change anything about the day. Be prepared when you come to shoot at ASC in Texas, “you might get your butt handed to you”. The course was 60 shots on 15 lanes with 2 targets per lane to comply with an AAFTA GP format. There were two off-hand lanes and one kneeling lane. Twenty-one shooters from as far as Arkansas, San Antonio and Tulsa showed up to contest the course. The average Troyer this month was 34.5 before the wind modifier, SD 5.81, Avg Dist 31.1 yds, and Avg KZ 1.02”. We started on time at 9:00am after short safety and rules meeting. Scott also laid out the rules for the “Kneeling Challenge” at the end of the match.
At the end of the match, which was a little after noon, most folks looked very hot, tired, and whipped by the winds of the day. Many thanks to Jim Clarke and his phantom helper who picked up 10 of the 15 lanes of targets and stuff after the match while I was tallying scores, and Scott was getting ready for the kneeling challenge. Jim’s dedication to the sport is appreciated and I will thank him with a free entry at the next match. Thanks again to everyone who helps me setup, run and takedown the course each month. Kudos to all of you!!
No shooter broke 80% knockdown today, I believe due to the high Troyer and the tough conditions. I will say this again, competing in the heat and wind will make you a better shooter, so if you didn’t do well today you have some techniques to work on. Hunter PCP had 13 shooters competing. 1st place was Brian Stafford shooting his FX Crown with a very respectable on this day, 46/60. Second place was a three-way tie and Scott and I totally overlooked that until after at least one of the shooters had left. Since we couldn’t have a shootoff I looked to the forced position results, and it was still a tie. Therefore, this month due to a mess-up by me, Thom Davies, Ron Robinson, and Mark Welker finished 2nd shooting 44/60 (you can see their equipment below). 3rd place went to David Turner with a 42/60 shooting his Daystate Redwolf.
We had one Hunter Piston, three WFTF PCP, and two Unlimited shooters today. You can see all the scores, finishing positions, and equipment list below. Congrats to everyone and I hope that you had fun!
Take a look at the growing content of our shooting score analyses website https://airgunshoot.com/ that shows your score on each lane, your hit percentage by lane or near/mid/far targets, how you compare to your class average, your class winner, and the HOA winner. Thanks to Scott Cotton for his work on this, you should be able to tease out some areas where you can improve and hopefully finish higher in the standings.
Kneeling Challenge
By Scott Cotton
Seven hearty souls braved the Texas heat and the mockery of their fellow shooters to engage in the 1st Annual Semi-Memorial Assistant to the Match Director Kneeling Challenge.
The challenge was issued after our September field target match was concluded at the Arlington Sportsman's Club. A target with a one inch kill zone was placed at 35 yards and the stage was set for some high drama. The format was to put a dollar in the pot and take four shots from the kneeling position. After everyone took their 4 shots, the 2 highest scores plus ties would move on to a shoot-off style elimination round.
Here's how it went:
Leading us off was Jim B. Jim shot 2 of 4, which was respectable. I don't think Jim cared too much, he just wanted to get it over with. That would be a prevailing theme.
Next up was Thom, who put up a very salty 3 of 4 to establish an early lead.
Then we had Eric shooting WFTF style with a 2 of 4.
Jeff shot next with a flashy 3 out of 4 shooting WFTF style.
Paul B shot next and made the interesting choice of shooting a prototype RAW FT pistol that happened to be on hand. He got a hit and decided to try again with his own pistol. That was a poor decision that cost him a dollar.
Jim C and I shot as well. That's all we are going to say about that.
So now with the pot at 8 American dollars, it was time for a shoot off between Jeff and Thom. The target stayed the same, each shooter would shoot 2 shots and we would keep going back and forth until we had a winner.
Nobody hit the target in the first round. As I was coming up with a plan that would get me home before dark (moving the target closer, faking an emergency, or going to my car and not coming back), Jeff managed to hit the target with his second shot of the second round. A congratulatory sigh of relief was heard from the crowd, and we got out of Dodge.
So, Jeff Cloud is the official winner of the 1st Kneeling Challenge. I don't know if we will do this again, but if we do, we will probably specify no shooting jackets.
And for the record, we did give the option to shoot seated and unsupported for those present that have difficulty kneeling. No one took us up on the offer, which proves that with age comes wisdom.
Coming Events
Our next match will be on Saturday October 38 which is our usual 4th Saturday. This match will start promptly at 9:00am.
Don’t forget that ASC will be hosting the 2023 Republic of Texas Field Target Grand Prix match November 17-19, 2023. There will be a pistol match on Friday afternoon, then rifle matches on Saturday and Sunday mornings. We will have catered lunches and great swag and raffle prizes. Here is a link to registration if you would like to attend (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...Y6QBu600WdpgPHVXqyHxg/viewform?usp=share_link) and some more info on Airgun Nation (https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/its-back-rot-2023-announcement.1294426/#post-1574909).
See you at the next match,
Jeff Cloud
Field Target Match Director
Arlington Sportsman’s Club
Send me pics that you take during the match, and I’ll add them here in the report. No one likes to look at a bunch of pictures of me and Scott.
