FT Permitted Equipment

[pewpewfever]

Laser range finders are not permitted, of course. Nor are bipods, etc. except in Hunter FT shooting sticks may used as long as they are not attached to the rifle. Is that all correct?

Are there other examples of equipment that are not permitted? For example, windmeters, weather meters, ballistics calculators, levels, cos charts, ASLIs, and that sort of thing. I’m thinking of adding a Horus ASLI to my scope or rail.

 

[davecole]

To your first question, yes.

The authority on do’s and don’t’s on the second question will be found here.

www.aafta.org

 

[Motorhead]

In AAFTA rule FIELD TARGET, Unattached 'Bi-pods' are allowed in hunter divisions ... correct

As too wind measuring devises, A flag or other simple devise may be attached to the gun ... NO HAND HELD ELECTRONIC devises allowed ( kestrels etc ... )

Bubble or electronic levels are allowed and very common.

D.O.P.E. charts, pages of data , charts etc are also allowed. * Not sure on electronic devises such as phones with ballistic programs are allowed ?



UNDERSTAND .... Time IS NOT your friend in FT and if following the rules you have a TOTAL of 5 minutes to address the 2 targets ascertaining there distances, figuring out winds if present, look up your data then apply to shots ... AND TAKE THE 4 SHOTS within the allotted time. Any shots taken after 5 minutes are ZERO'S !! hit or not. * If following the rules.



Club shoots are looser and time generally in not enforced .. tho IMO it should be ! .... As our clubs match director see MUCH abuse to the time in lane that slows the entire match down and does a dis-service in teaching the game where you just can't sit there and Fiddle F around waiting for the ideal conditions and a lack of confidence to break the shot.



Off my soap box ...

Scott S

 

[pewpewfever]

So an analog device like the Horus ASLI should be OK, but might not mount correctly with the focus wheel in the way. And I guess there’s nothing wrong with writing your elevational DOPE on your focus wheel and taping a tiny wind chart inside your rear scope cap.

What about a handheld but not electronic wind meter like this one?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009PA71BM?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I find it works well and takes a reading much faster than my weather flow anyway.

 

[Motorhead]

So an analog device like the Horus ASLI should be OK, but might not mount correctly with the focus wheel in the way. And I guess there’s nothing wrong with writing your elevational DOPE on your focus wheel and taping a tiny wind chart inside your rear scope cap.

What about a handheld but not electronic wind meter like this one?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009PA71BM?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I find it works well and takes a reading much faster than my weather flow anyway.

No wind meters period ... only reference ribbon, string, yarn, feathers etc ...

Horus type level is fine as well

 

[Xbowsniper]

Pewpew,

AAFTA rules are a little bit more lenient than WFTF international rules. In WFTF, you are basically allowed nothing electronic on the rifle, and that includes electronic leveling devices. A US competitor had one attached to his scope several World Championships back, and made him remove it. Also, in WFTF rules, tablets, phones, computers of any kind are forbidden.

If you need more clarification, Greg Sauve is the US representative for the rules of WFTF. You can also go to the AAFTA and WFTF websites, and download both organizations complete rules. I always have a copy of each in my phone, in case of any disagreements, disputes, or inquiries on the rules. As an assistant match Director, it's a very good idea to have this at my disposal. 

Tom Holland 

Field Target Tech 

 

[pewpewfever]

Thanks, Tom.

I don't think there’s anything electronic about the Horus ASLI, but idk for sure.

I hope to attend my first FT match in a couple of weeks, and I’m sure I will learn from doing and monkey see, monkey doing in particular. I don’t want to show up with anything illegal on my Thomas, though.

I will start out in Hunter and I might try WFTF later, since my Thomas can convert between 20 FPE and 12 FPE, and my scope works with both 16x and 50x. I’ll just need to get another focus wheel for WFTF, I think.

I’m slowly developing wind reading skills from PRS type matches where wind meters are permitted. I try to judge the wind without the meter and then check my guess. It seems the only way to check my guess with FT will be a ribbon or else the POI. 

 

[AirNGasman]

In my opinion, any kind of wind gizmo would be more of a liability than asset anyway. In most field target situations and settings, reading the wind is literally a moment by moment situation; and I'd think it takes more than a couple moments to read a wind gizmo and get back in the scope. By then a wind reading is obsolete. So unless a wind contraption is built into the scope's field-of-view, I'd think it useless for most field target shooting.

 

[pewpewfever]

In my opinion, any kind of wind gizmo would be more of a liability than asset anyway. In most field target situations and settings, reading the wind is literally a moment by moment situation; and I'd think it takes more than a couple moments to read a wind gizmo and get back in the scope. By then a wind reading is obsolete. So unless a wind contraption is built into the scope's field-of-view, I'd think it useless for most field target shooting.

If you shoot with both eyes open and have a ribbon hanging in view of your left eye, would that maybe help? I recall Mike wrote about observing the string in his article. Maybe that’s the same idea.

 

[AirNGasman]

"If you shoot with both eyes open and have a ribbon hanging in view of your left eye, would that maybe help? I recall Mike wrote about observing the string in his article. Maybe that’s the same idea."

Yes, absolutely. I don't use one, but that is the only wind-indicator aid that makes sense to me; and several shooters use them.

Probably somewhat cheaper than a digital read-out, 100 KB, gyroscopicly-enhanced wind-sensor, too.

 

[chasdicapua]

The thread at the end of the barrel/air tube and also, some guys will pick up the reset string to see how the wind is moving that. But again, as AirNGasman said, by the time you read the string, let it drop and reset your gaze through the scope and on the target (if you can find it at 50x!!) the wind will have changed. 

Chas

 

[dan_house]

Ive used a ballistics on my ipad in a couple of matches. 

As Ron mentioned, your on the clock....so you have to range your target, enter that data in yer app, reacquire the target and make your shot.....

And its one more thing you have to manage on the lane when its your turn, and carry around from lane to lane.

 

[Xbowsniper]

Dan, 

I don't know the AAFTA rule on tablets and phone ballistic programs, but WFTF has outlawed them in international competition. I do know that most WFTF international style shooters that compete in that class here in the US, don't use them, even if allowed by AAFTA rules. They want to be non reliant with the electronics, so if they ever do enter international competition, they don't have to do something that they are not used to, or vice versa. 

Tom Holland 

Field Target Tech 

 

[Tvanpool]

The best wind indicator on the Field Target course is the reset string. As soon as you set down, lift the string off the ground and note the wind deflection in the string. On a far target the string may have several differences in velocity and direction so take what you see on the string, what you feel where you are setting and mix in the effects you have experienced in the past and come up with a hold off. IOW it is mostly a "wild a$$ quess.

 

[Guest]

The best wind indicator on the Field Target course is the reset string. As soon as you set down, lift the string off the ground and note the wind deflection in the string. On a far target the string may have several differences in velocity and direction so take what you see on the string, what you feel where you are setting and mix in the effects you have experienced in the past and come up with a hold off. IOW it is mostly a "wild a$$ quess.

The string can give an idea of what the wind may be doing but the landscape and environment between you and the target will give you the most information. If you have to take a hand off the gun and possibly your eye off the scope, then return to a stable position to shoot the call will be off. It may work from time to time but isn't a reliable way to get consistent wind calls. Paying attention to the way different vegetation moves and how that translates to hold off will be your most consistent method for making wind calls. It takes time, practice and matches to learn the skill but well worth the time.

 

[Tvanpool]

You are correct John except we shoot in heavily wooded lanes mostly and the vegetation may be doing a jig with the wind swirling through. You can also look at the target and see where the previous miss are to help get an idea.

Obviously I am not to good at reading the wind. 

 

[Guest]

The jig always starts in one place and stops in another. Follow the flow.

 

[dan_house]

Dan, 

I don't know the AAFTA rule on tablets and phone ballistic programs, but WFTF has outlawed them in international competition.

Tom Holland 

Field Target Tech

I asked both match directors before using the tablet and Strelok in those two matches. Ive not used that combo since then. Likley wont again, it was tooooooo easy to enter data wrong, mess something up moving between screens etc. And as mentioned, its just too cumbersome to be useful in a match, given the constraints of the event.

Using that combo did help, but I think youd be better off just shooting more in varied conditions, having your gun set up to the Nth degree and having your data sheet dialled in as much as possible. 

 

[Scotchmo]

Dan, 

I don't know the AAFTA rule on tablets and phone ballistic programs, but WFTF has outlawed them in international competition.

Tom Holland 

Field Target Tech

I asked both match directors before using the tablet and Strelok in those two matches. Ive not used that combo since then. Likley wont again, it was tooooooo easy to enter data wrong, mess something up moving between screens etc. And as mentioned, its just too cumbersome to be useful in a match, given the constraints of the event.

Using that combo did help, but I think youd be better off just shooting more in varied conditions, having your gun set up to the Nth degree and having your data sheet dialled in as much as possible.

Electronic tablets are allowed in AAFTA Open and Hunter Divisions. I have my own spreadsheets for ballistics and target data. I usually print out my dope sheets and use the paper printouts during a match. But one match I used my Kindle Fire 7. I saved the spreadsheet output to PDF files and just used the Fire tablet as a display. Since using a PDF rather than a spreadsheet, I could not change it or mess it up during the match. I could zoom to a large text size and pan to the sections I wanted. I ran it at it's brightest setting and it worked fine for displaying my data sheets. Without reading glasses, the large text was easier to read than the printed sheets.

 

[Therealld]

There IS a certain amount of discretion allowed individual match directors in AAFTA rules. I personally never even allowed viewing a cellphone or any other electronic device to a shooter on the line when I hosted FT matches. I think there is a possibility of coaching from others regarding the targets over such devices during an event .... its not a team sport.