Sherwood Airgunners Match Report for October 29, 2023
Sherwood Airgunners had their final field target match of the 2023 season Sunday Oct.29. Going into this match we knew we had a very good chance of precipitation and this time the weather man nailed it! People started to arrive at the club at 8:00 and although the practice range was open at 8:30 know one used it because of the steady showers. It was a steady light shower just enough to get your equipment wet and you uncomfortable. While more shooters showed up the rain didn't cease although we thought we may have a break in the rain so we delayed our start time from 10:30 to 11:00. Well that didn't work as 11:00 approached there was no letup in the forecast.
So 14 die hard FT warriors headed out into the rain to shoot this final match of the season at Sherwood Airgunners. Although it wasn't a down pour it was just enough rain to get your rifle and scope(lens included) nice and wet. The biggest problem I had was having to wipe your scope lens off at every lane before you went to shoot. You would think that with scope caps this wouldn't be a problem but as the rain got on your caps as you shot then you close your cap with that rain on it that it the splashes onto your lens. Keeping the rags for us that had them dry was also a problem as well as keeping my glasses dry. Most of the shooters had rain gear and umbrellas were a great addition that some people used. At times it got down to a mist but never completely stopped raining and after the course of 3 hrs and 15 FT lanes most of us definitely had enough of the rain. The good news was although there was wind at times…especially in the field on the Highlands course for the most part the wind wasn't much to deal with. We were challanged with a Troyer rating of 33.7 and the wet sloppy conditions that just wore on you as the day progressed.
We may have had one or two cold lines due to a target getting pulled off the stand or a broke string but there was zero target failures. Most of the targets were painted bright colors that really stood out in the overcast woods. I was told the course was challanging as It should be, and the diehards that came out enjoyed the day despite the wet conditions. One thing I was looking forward to was eating a hot bowl of chili that my wife Debbie and I made the night before. The Chili was a welcome change from our normal hotdogs and hamburgers and really hit the spot after this match.
So we only had one shooter in Hunter Piston and our superstar springer shooter Dan Putz off his AAFTA Nationals Grand Prix win shot a 43/60 Dan had said eventually water got into his gun and really caused some problems his last few lanes.
In WFTF PCP we had 3 shooters with no other than myself(KeithWalters) shooting a solid 55/60. This was the first time since spring that I shot a WFTF match and I really surprised myself how solid I felt. That's a good sign for me as I look to shoot WFTF next year.
In Hunter PCP we had 10 shooters with Ryan Spanagel shooting a solid 52/60 for first place. We had a 3 way tie for 2nd between Jamie Marusiak, Jeff Swartz and Doug Cunningham each shooting a 51/60. Because the competitors dried and put their equipment away we first went to how many cleaned lanes the shooters had to decide the winner. Doug and Jeff both had 8 cleaned lanes with Jamie 6, so Jamie was out. Then we looked at who shot the best at the positional lanes and Doug was 6/8 and Jeff ⅝ so Doug got second and Jeff third.
After that I presented the awards for the Ohio Buckeye Field Target Series and want to give a HUGE THANKYOU to our sponsors Pyramyd Air and Baker Airguns. They generously donated the prize money in gift cards that the top competitors cashed in on. The whole purpose of the series is to promote travel to all the clubs to try to help attendance. Of course we also like to see how we are doing throughout the year. I have noticed where other states and FT clubs are following our lead and starting their own series in their respective regions.
To wrap this up I just want to thank all my guys at Sherwood Airgunners for all the help and want to thank everyone who took the time to shoot with us at our club throughout the year. We have bigger things planned next spring and am looking forward to the challenge of hosting our own Sherwood Forest Grand Prix in 2024
SINCERELY,
KeithWalters
Sherwood Airgunners had their final field target match of the 2023 season Sunday Oct.29. Going into this match we knew we had a very good chance of precipitation and this time the weather man nailed it! People started to arrive at the club at 8:00 and although the practice range was open at 8:30 know one used it because of the steady showers. It was a steady light shower just enough to get your equipment wet and you uncomfortable. While more shooters showed up the rain didn't cease although we thought we may have a break in the rain so we delayed our start time from 10:30 to 11:00. Well that didn't work as 11:00 approached there was no letup in the forecast.
So 14 die hard FT warriors headed out into the rain to shoot this final match of the season at Sherwood Airgunners. Although it wasn't a down pour it was just enough rain to get your rifle and scope(lens included) nice and wet. The biggest problem I had was having to wipe your scope lens off at every lane before you went to shoot. You would think that with scope caps this wouldn't be a problem but as the rain got on your caps as you shot then you close your cap with that rain on it that it the splashes onto your lens. Keeping the rags for us that had them dry was also a problem as well as keeping my glasses dry. Most of the shooters had rain gear and umbrellas were a great addition that some people used. At times it got down to a mist but never completely stopped raining and after the course of 3 hrs and 15 FT lanes most of us definitely had enough of the rain. The good news was although there was wind at times…especially in the field on the Highlands course for the most part the wind wasn't much to deal with. We were challanged with a Troyer rating of 33.7 and the wet sloppy conditions that just wore on you as the day progressed.
We may have had one or two cold lines due to a target getting pulled off the stand or a broke string but there was zero target failures. Most of the targets were painted bright colors that really stood out in the overcast woods. I was told the course was challanging as It should be, and the diehards that came out enjoyed the day despite the wet conditions. One thing I was looking forward to was eating a hot bowl of chili that my wife Debbie and I made the night before. The Chili was a welcome change from our normal hotdogs and hamburgers and really hit the spot after this match.
So we only had one shooter in Hunter Piston and our superstar springer shooter Dan Putz off his AAFTA Nationals Grand Prix win shot a 43/60 Dan had said eventually water got into his gun and really caused some problems his last few lanes.
In WFTF PCP we had 3 shooters with no other than myself(KeithWalters) shooting a solid 55/60. This was the first time since spring that I shot a WFTF match and I really surprised myself how solid I felt. That's a good sign for me as I look to shoot WFTF next year.
In Hunter PCP we had 10 shooters with Ryan Spanagel shooting a solid 52/60 for first place. We had a 3 way tie for 2nd between Jamie Marusiak, Jeff Swartz and Doug Cunningham each shooting a 51/60. Because the competitors dried and put their equipment away we first went to how many cleaned lanes the shooters had to decide the winner. Doug and Jeff both had 8 cleaned lanes with Jamie 6, so Jamie was out. Then we looked at who shot the best at the positional lanes and Doug was 6/8 and Jeff ⅝ so Doug got second and Jeff third.
After that I presented the awards for the Ohio Buckeye Field Target Series and want to give a HUGE THANKYOU to our sponsors Pyramyd Air and Baker Airguns. They generously donated the prize money in gift cards that the top competitors cashed in on. The whole purpose of the series is to promote travel to all the clubs to try to help attendance. Of course we also like to see how we are doing throughout the year. I have noticed where other states and FT clubs are following our lead and starting their own series in their respective regions.
To wrap this up I just want to thank all my guys at Sherwood Airgunners for all the help and want to thank everyone who took the time to shoot with us at our club throughout the year. We have bigger things planned next spring and am looking forward to the challenge of hosting our own Sherwood Forest Grand Prix in 2024
SINCERELY,
KeithWalters
