Sherwood Airgunners Match Report for June 4, 2023.There was a lot of buzz and excitement in the air about Sherwood Airgunners 2nd Field Target match of the year due to shooting a brand new course Sherwood Hollow. This new course has been in the works since last fall when the vision was realized during a walk on the property. Some of the unique features of Sherwood Hollow is shooting a few lanes that have a fairly drastic incline and decline, a feature we are not use to seeing on courses in Ohio. This challenge along with some uncomfortable seating positions, windy conditions and a few dark lanes made this course shoot a lot harder than it's 31.3 Troyer (FUN) factor. Some new targets from Flop-Over, a English company were used and painted very naturally which added to the buzz of the day. The targets worked flawlessly with only 2 cold lines being called. One I checked a target in a dark lane to see if it was working properly which it was and another where a target was pulled off a tree stand.
As I talked to people through out the day I got a lot of positive feedback saying how unique the course was. This course was set up with 10 lanes 3 targets per lane shot twice for a 60 shot match. We had 21 shooters with 9 two person squads and 1 three person squad. This format seems to congregate a lot of people in a closer area and just makes the course not as long to walk. It also made some of the harder lanes like shooting up and down a fairly decent incline and decline harder because your shooting more shots in those lanes. I did hear some grumbling about how some seating positions were not on steady ground making the shot that much harder. This course definately exposed some weaknesses that we were not accustomed to and I'm sure the next match shooters will be better prepared for the challenge. I asked quite a few shooters if they had any favorite lanes and overwhelmingly they responded lanes 9 and 10. These 2 lanes are at the end of the course on a higher knoll overlooking a valley and steep hollow. The wind seems to be always there and was definately there Sunday. A few others really liked lanes 1 and 3 where they were shooting up hill. I have to say on these 2 lanes I've never had to extend my knee riser so far on any other lane that was not shooting at a target up in a tree. Good stuff that made my core muscles feel the burn for sure. A few other lanes were particularly hard to range find where the shooter was in bright sunlight but the target was setup in a very dark canopy, a few other targets just blended in very naturally in their environment almost disappearing to the naked eye.
When the match was over the shooters helped pull the targets,wrap up the strings and set everything up on the trail making it very easy for us to gather it after the match. We appreciate it guys and hope to keep this going in future matches. A few cars used the small area to park just before beginning of the course, this way they didn't have to walk up the hill after the match to the clubhouse. I'm sure more people will do that at the next match.
Getting to the shooting we had 10 shooters in Hunter PCP. Justin Roberts shot a 51/60 to secure 3rd place. We had a 2 way tie for first where Ryan Spanagel and Doug Cunningham each shot a 52. This was decided on a coin flip which Ryan called heads but tails it was for the win for Doug.
In Hunter Piston we had 4 shooters where Nick Lawrence shot a 39/60 for the win. Definately some windy conditions for a spring gun…well done!
We had 3 shooters in PCP Unlimited where Rick Smelko didn't have much trouble at all dealing with the challenges the new course presented shooting a match high 55/60. Rick told me that was one of the tougher courses he has ever shot. Coming from a FT vet that has seen a lot of courses that's saying a lot. Nice shooting Rick!
Keith Walters shot a 47/60 in Open PCP and took a lot of pics and talked to a lot of shooters while doing it.
We had one shooter Chris Oldfield shoot Unlimited Piston and shot a 38/60 and Jeff Paddock shot WFTF PCP and shot a very good 48/60 In alot of wind.
Congratulations to all the shooters that made the podium and thanks for everyone for supporting Sherwood Airgunners. I would say the new course Sherwood Hollow is a great addition to Sherwood as well as the other clubs in Ohio. It definitely gives us more challenges than we typically have to deal with. Lastly I want to thank Eric Ohlin once again for making our new Sherwood Hollow and Highlands signs…they are a great addition to the club.
Until next time be safe my friends!
Sincerely
KeithWalters
