What are your favorite aspects of matches?

[JP806TX]

I'm not sure how to ask this. There are certain matches you attend that you really seem to have more fun at even if you dont score as well. Maybe it's targets all the way up in trees or maybe it's just being in the woods vs an open field. Lots of longer range shots? We'll painted targets? What things get you excited to see at a match?

Edit: I see a lot of people are enjoying hanging out with people. I understand that. My question is more specifically askinging what about the actual targets/lanes/shooting experience.

For me it's the 50+ yard targets with swirling winds while shooting a sub 12 FPE springer in WFTF.

It's that moment when you know everything was perfect. (your ranging, your click, your wind read, your hold, your trigger control). Just right before the sear breaks...you already know it's going down....clank. The PCP guys shooting sub 20 FPE looks at you and says nice shot. You smile back and say I think I got lucky on that one.

LOL but most of the time...it's plink...splitter or a face plate splatter if I did my part. Keeps me coming back.

 

[Jezter6]

From the wife:

A stand for ranging on standing lanes (thank you!)

Good and reasonably level shooting boxes.

Lanes friendly to disabled shooters.

Nice to have:
Available water
An air station so you don't have to lug a big bottle or hike to the car.
A mid match break that wouldn't cause lane backups.
Room between lanes for carts and people with lots of gear.

 

[dgeesaman]

Been a few years now ( Pre Covid ) but the SVFTC was doing Spring Workshops for our club shooters benefit. It was open to any & all who had interest in the FT game. Having several National / World & State champions in the ranks, one only needed to ask for guidance and it was done.
Yea perhaps we should revisit this once again

It makes a lot of sense. As a new shooter I know I was doing my best to lay low and not bother any one person more than necessary and while that may be polite it can stunt learning. So having workshops or whatever on a topic kind of opens the door for the shooters to dig endlessly and shamelessly about the topic of the day and there is no guilt from distracting the experienced shooters because this will be built into the days' schedule.

Another option is to do a beginners school. I've done them with the PA 1000y benchrest club (multiple times) and they have multiple instructors, multiple rifles, and each student is set up with an experienced shooter so the students *don't* need to bring their own gear. The students get to shoot a well-sorted setup for the school and focus on how to shoot and not so much about how to set up a gun and what to buy. Given the amount of detail that goes into making a FT rifle and scope capable of range-finding, a new shooter often doesn't learn how to range until a few matches in. Yes these are work for the clubs but they can pay off handsomely in new shooters and to get the interested beginners going faster and retaining their interest.

David

 

[JohnTaylor]

I really like unique targets and target placements….woodpeckers on the side of a tree, racoon slinking along a log, a fish in a barrel, a lobster in a trap….they always make everyone smile, and comment.…

 

[davit66]

Others have mentioned shooting over, under and around stumps and trees to keep it interesting. And I have to agree, using what nature has provided are the shots I really enjoy and remember from a match. And I enjoy the company of the people I shoot with.
This target from last year's Pyramyd Cup wasn't the toughest shot of the day but I'll never forget it.

 

[rich177]

I must comment on this because I have definite beliefs as to how FT should be done but I will keep my comments short. Understand that every venue has its limitations. The fun and different thing about FT is that it is not like most shooting disciplines that I shoot. Most have definite distance and targets so no matter where you go the match is the same. Ft is not that and each match is different and not the same. Even at the same venue we never ran the same cousre twice in ten years time. That aspect of FT makes it fun. The easier and more compact the cousre is the more fun it is for me. My obsrvation is that shooters enjoy that type of course the best. That's part of what I like.
Translate that into gripes, and I have many but my main ones are that most courses are made too difficult and many are made too long and hard to walk.
Rick B.

 

[AirNGasman]

What targets/lane setups do you prefer. Things like that.

I much prefer traditional field targets depicting small game and pest species typical of realistic airgun quarry. But now that we have airguns capable of medium to large game and varmint species, despite the fact we're shooting sub-20 foot pound guns in field target, I don't find such targets too objectionable.

However I do find "field target" depictions of some things to be not only contrary to field target tradition and its very reason for existence, but also objectionable. Some examples- school bus, armored tank, naked red-head, etc.

That said, I do realize the humor inferred; and am not beyond sick humor myself. Example, I commissioned this target many years ago-

So also realize I am as hypocrite as everyone else.

In that spirit, I've come to enjoy targets and set-ups meant to (specifically) aggravate me. For instance, after overcoming a mental block that had me missing military tank targets at admittedly insane rates, I channeled the aggravation into hardened resolve, and now routinely clean those targets.

And after a failed attempt to resolve the age discrimination of kneeling lanes for the sake of the majority of older shooters incapable of kneeling, the same hard-headed resolve has me scoring higher on kneeling shots than the majority of those that can kneel, despite my shooting kneeling lanes OFFHAND.

This seems a good time to quote an original adage- "There are few competition techniques as effective as a well-hardened resolve."

Matter of fact I came up with that adage after using that technique quite successfully in 2012 to capture three State Champion and three National Champion titles.

Unfortunately in the ensuing 12 years I must've aged a dozen years, and find creeping dementia compromises the effectiveness of that technique.

.

 

[AirGoon]

It may be odd, but to answer your question as directly as you posed it, I really get excited when the targets are brightly lit. I don't mind wind, challengingly sized kill zones, or target placement. I really dislike targets painted to blend in its surroundings. I find that type of obvious placement unimaginative and boring. AAFTA has a rule that the color of kill zones contrast with the color of the face plate. This rule is there for an obvious reason. So placing a darkly colored target in the shade or a brown target in front of leaves or a tree is tediously annoying. I don't enjoy courses designed that way. Brightly painted and well lit targets are inviting, interesting, and fun.

 

[SqrlHntr]

The best part of a match is being a match director, as crazy as that sounds.
Watching others shoot and having a great time for a couple of hours in this convoluted world is the real win for match directors, at it is least for me. Knowing shooters leave with some good memories and possibly new friends? Priceless and totally worth all the troubles.

 

[Garrettkq]

I love this thread. When setting up courses, I have really tried hard to listen carefully to what people say what makes things successful. The most to-the-point answer is not too hard, not too easy. Leave enough room to allow those that are good to have still room to attain, and those that are new, enough air to want to take a second breath and not extinguish the fire. The greatest thing I enjoy is variety. A close second, is when there are many elements affecting the shot. Wind velocity, wind angles, objects that affect the wind that you have to consider, heat, cold, mirages, angles, distance, super near, and these things going on at the same time. A personal gripe for me (which has nothing to do with kneeling or tank targets) is target visibility. When targets are not visible (to me, that's a sign of irresponsibility on the director's part. Harsh, but true) it prevents you from even taking the shot to even try and exercise those skills you worked so hard to refine.
But going back to what makes it fun... I love it when I approach a target, see and identify all the elements that present themselves as a challenge, and I'm able to say to myself, "Hey, I trained for that, and that, and that," and proceed to execute. THAT is what is really fun about it for me.

Some have talked about fancy targets. I used to like it a lot. Now I prefer bright colors for fast acquisition. I cringe now on the fancy... why? because i know the painstaking time it took to paint em all fancy... and i can hear the voices in my head (from the artists) suggesting that if someone ruins their art, they'd be subject to their wrath. And that turns into more pressure to make the shot LOL.

And finally the beer / lunch after...

 

[cavedweller]

It makes a lot of sense. As a new shooter I know I was doing my best to lay low and not bother any one person more than necessary and while that may be polite it can stunt learning. So having workshops or whatever on a topic kind of opens the door for the shooters to dig endlessly and shamelessly about the topic of the day and there is no guilt from distracting the experienced shooters because this will be built into the days' schedule.

Another option is to do a beginners school. I've done them with the PA 1000y benchrest club (multiple times) and they have multiple instructors, multiple rifles, and each student is set up with an experienced shooter so the students *don't* need to bring their own gear. The students get to shoot a well-sorted setup for the school and focus on how to shoot and not so much about how to set up a gun and what to buy. Given the amount of detail that goes into making a FT rifle and scope capable of range-finding, a new shooter often doesn't learn how to range until a few matches in. Yes these are work for the clubs but they can pay off handsomely in new shooters and to get the interested beginners going faster and retaining their interest.

David

Since I was the only FT shooter in my area… I bought lots of FT targets and FT guns and then invite people to come shoot FT on Sundays with me. if they have a good time I encourage them to come again. When they swallow the hook and want more I begin the process of teaching them how to find the right equipment and set things up and shoot. Eventually I encourage them to drive 3 hours or ride with me to Baton Rouge for a monthly match.

 

[cavedweller]

It may be odd, but to answer your question as directly as you posed it, I really get excited when the targets are brightly lit. I don't mind wind, challengingly sized kill zones, or target placement. I really dislike targets painted to blend in its surroundings. I find that type of obvious placement unimaginative and boring. AAFTA has a rule that the color of kill zones contrast with the color of the face plate. This rule is there for an obvious reason. So placing a darkly colored target in the shade or a brown target in front of leaves or a tree is tediously annoying. I don't enjoy courses designed that way. Brightly painted and well lit targets are inviting, interesting, and fun.

Totally agree - making a target difficult to see and impossible to see ones reticle for holdovers is pointless. When targets are created and placed like this I turn my attention to what I enjoy most… the people I’m with.

 

[AirGoon]

Totally agree - making a target difficult to see and impossible to see ones reticle for holdovers is pointless. When targets are created and placed like this I turn my attention to what I enjoy most… the people I’m with.

I love that response! And, I'm so impressed and insanely jealous of your home range!

 

[SqrlHntr]

Totally agree - making a target difficult to see and impossible to see ones reticle for holdovers is pointless.

Exactly why we went to all yellow last year.

 

[cavedweller]

Exactly why we went to all yellow last year.

View attachment 475082

I love that response! And, I'm so impressed and insanely jealous of your home range!

This pic is old and tree growth is much more established; but my home FT range only faces to the west - more than 1 full acre of wooded backstop.
I only allow VERY quiet moderated airguns to be shot as a courtesy to neighbors and the barrels contain most of the clank noise and lead splatter. In the end all of this stuff, needs a much more permanent home. But i digress.... this has taught me a lot about target color selection. Dark Blues, Greens and Blacks make it nearly impossible to correctly place your reticle holdover point (even when illuminated) over the a brightly colored small KZ. Add in a sun setting in the West and constricting your pupils.

 

[AirGoon]

This pic is old and tree growth is much more established; but my home FT range only faces to the west - more than 1 full acre of wooded backstop.
I only allow VERY quiet moderated airguns to be shot as a courtesy to neighbors and the barrels contain most of the clank noise and lead splatter. In the end all of this stuff, needs a much more permanent home. But i digress.... this has taught me a lot about target color selection. Dark Blues, Greens and Blacks make it nearly impossible to correctly place your reticle holdover point (even when illuminated) over the a brightly colored small KZ. Add in a sun setting in the West and constricting your pupils.

View attachment 475102
View attachment 475104

I really like how your brightly painted targets seem to float against the dark background behind them. So Cool!

 

[Motorhead]

This pic is old and tree growth is much more established; but my home FT range only faces to the west - more than 1 full acre of wooded backstop.
I only allow VERY quiet moderated airguns to be shot as a courtesy to neighbors and the barrels contain most of the clank noise and lead splatter. In the end all of this stuff, needs a much more permanent home. But i digress.... this has taught me a lot about target color selection. Dark Blues, Greens and Blacks make it nearly impossible to correctly place your reticle holdover point (even when illuminated) over the a brightly colored small KZ. Add in a sun setting in the West and constricting your pupils.

View attachment 475102
View attachment 475104

Bench rested on Bags WILL NOT give the same results as how one should be practicing ... on a seat and supported how ( what class ) miens allowed.
Gun will react differently, hold will be different, steadiness or a lack of needs to be a priority if expecting scores even close to off bag shooting.

Just an observation ... of that killer practice range

 

[cavedweller]

Bench rested on Bags WILL NOT give the same results as how one should be practicing ... on a seat and supported how ( what class ) miens allowed.
Gun will react differently, hold will be different, steadiness or a lack of needs to be a priority if expecting scores even close to off bag shooting.

Just an observation ... of that killer practice range

The indoor to outdoor bench setup is only for creating solid dope and establishing confidence in new shooters who love to blame equipment on errors (old timers would never do that) that said... once newbees or an oldbee with a new gun is comfortable with equipment, its outside and onto the buckets and sticks for them...
I do however sit in the air conditioning shooter cave on 95 degree days and plink at 25 / 50 meter bench rest targets... because i can

 

[JungleShooter]

Please, keep those comments coming...!!

This is helpful to me for designing new competitions and courses.

Matthias

 

[cavedweller]

I must comment on this because I have definite beliefs as to how FT should be done but I will keep my comments short. Understand that every venue has its limitations. The fun and different thing about FT is that it is not like most shooting disciplines that I shoot. Most have definite distance and targets so no matter where you go the match is the same. Ft is not that and each match is different and not the same. Even at the same venue we never ran the same course twice in ten years time. That aspect of FT makes it fun. The easier and more compact the course is the more fun it is for me. My observation is that shooters enjoy that type of course the best. That's part of what I like.
Translate that into gripes, and I have many but my main ones are that most courses are made too difficult and many are made too long and hard to walk.
Rick B.

In your basic (club) weekly / monthly shoot, esp at an established club, It's always wise to remember demographics of participants... age, disabilities and even old bladders, etc... to some degree accommodating everyone and making things fairly accessible along a course is wise; esp if you want to grow membership and overall participation.

Then there is the flip side...

Transition away from your local shoot to participate in or "compete" and you suddenly encounter a diversity of course set ups AND more many advanced shooters who participate in a wide variety of events, locations, conditions.

Realistically, considering resources and land etc... it can be daunting to find a suitable location and then create the logistics to support it. I know this first hand as I'm a full 1 year into trying to create an FT location in an area where none exists... even beating the bushes to find new shooters is quite the challenge.

All said and done - for me - I enjoy the diversity of locations, terrain, targets, people, etc... I may suck overall as a shooter but always leave with a smile on my face when i was "challenged" or pushed to my limits. Too many gimmes and we're bored... too many tiny KZ's and we can be discouraged.

Bottom line: it is our expectations and thus our attitude(s) that makes or breaks the fun factor at any event. The people are always great and always helpful. But we have to keep our expectations inline with the resources available while, of course, working to improve everything associated with our hobby.

I drive 3 plus hours at least once a month to attend a formal/informal club shoot. Recently Baton Rouge has been doing some very interesting albeit challenging matches (hard as hell) at their club; not necessarily AAFTA style but VERY fun. Lots of variety and they let you try all different kinds of stuff. The course is in their flat area and moving from lane to lane is easy and the morning lighting makes ranging on most of the targets fairly easy. Of course, the 93 degree temp and 100 percent humidity at 8 a.m. will get your attention.