With CoViD upending most of our lives, it was good to go to the venue of some of the best laid matches in the USA.
FTRPA matches are not "hard" per se, they try not to exceed the 28 T rating at the average level, so it's not a "Highly Technical Match". They are neither all long shots, nor all tiny kill zones. Each extreme favours a division/class.
What FTRPA's matches have is balance and charm.
I know those two words are outdated and "passé". But so am I. And I am glad to accept it, LOL! To ME, Honour is still a value. And gauging people for what they ARE more than by what they HAVE is a good standard.
In our modern world of "Extreme-whatever you care to do", and over-aggressive competition/consumption, we have lost some of the values of the 20th Century.
Values that derived from one tough recession, two VERY hard fought wars (some really good historians would say that it was one single war with a long armistice in the middle), and decades of re-building countries, economies and lives.
Coming back to the FT shoot: thanks need to go to the FTRPA Club and the Archery group that allows us, crazy airgunners, to take over the range for a weekend (between setup and shoot). Without mutual tolerance and cooperation many things in this life are almost impossible.
So, having said all that, I hereby salute FTRPA's team (Rick Bassett, Larry Bowne and Jim Wilcox), they are gentlemen after my own heart.
FTRPA matches are not "hard" per se, they try not to exceed the 28 T rating at the average level, so it's not a "Highly Technical Match". They are neither all long shots, nor all tiny kill zones. Each extreme favours a division/class.
What FTRPA's matches have is balance and charm.
I know those two words are outdated and "passé". But so am I. And I am glad to accept it, LOL! To ME, Honour is still a value. And gauging people for what they ARE more than by what they HAVE is a good standard.
In our modern world of "Extreme-whatever you care to do", and over-aggressive competition/consumption, we have lost some of the values of the 20th Century.
Values that derived from one tough recession, two VERY hard fought wars (some really good historians would say that it was one single war with a long armistice in the middle), and decades of re-building countries, economies and lives.
Coming back to the FT shoot: thanks need to go to the FTRPA Club and the Archery group that allows us, crazy airgunners, to take over the range for a weekend (between setup and shoot). Without mutual tolerance and cooperation many things in this life are almost impossible.
So, having said all that, I hereby salute FTRPA's team (Rick Bassett, Larry Bowne and Jim Wilcox), they are gentlemen after my own heart.
What a "Group Picture" looks like in the times of CoViD-19
In this "New Normal", the shooters' meeting does not only include the usual gun-shooting safety points, but also a review of the CDC guidelines.
FTRPA is one of the few clubs that truly attracts and keeps new shooters. In this occasion we had two new shooters that performed very creditably, so I hope they will continue to attend.
I was squadded with Brian Van Liew (Match High score). I enjoy shooting with him because we are both rather technically oriented guys. Let's get into detailed views of the targets:
Sorry! Brian beat me to it, LOL!
A rather "close shave" ¿huh?
Two targets on the same tree, so be aware of which target you should be shooting at.
At the end of the wooded alley, a long shot to a target in a tree that is near to the lake. Want to guess the wind direction there? Hint: it depends on the time of day.
Let's look now at another lane:
In the old days, this used to be the dreaded lane 1, usually the longest shot in the match.
Beyond the two "Pistol Only" targets the three rifle targets are out there. But as you can see, the KZ's are not small, so they are very "doable" targets.
A lane where you can appreciate the Light/Shadow setting and the challenges you face.
The "near" target
The "Mid" target
And the "Far" one.
Ha ha!, Can you find the targets?
Here is the short one
Mid and Far are here
Another lane, this is the last one (10 lanes X 6 shots = 60 shots course)
And here are the targets:
The experiment this time was to leave the rifle in the car overnight, hoping that a "cold start" would be better than taking a room-temperature rifle out into the cold, and then seeing the POI's change as the rifle cooled down and then stabilized.
I did have time on the sighting in range to try to get everything up to "running" status, but after seeing the POI's change as it started from cold, I think it is not a good idea.
By the time, the gun was again at "operating conditions" most of the Match had gone and it was only at the last two lanes (lane 10 and 1 for us) that I really began connecting.
Ah, well, one more experience.
I did have time on the sighting in range to try to get everything up to "running" status, but after seeing the POI's change as it started from cold, I think it is not a good idea.
By the time, the gun was again at "operating conditions" most of the Match had gone and it was only at the last two lanes (lane 10 and 1 for us) that I really began connecting.
Ah, well, one more experience.
We were halfway in taking down the course when we were called to the awards presentation
Greg Shirhall took 1st in Hunter Piston
And Pat Shirhall came back for a "bonus"
Ed Carter placed second in Hunter PCP
Tom Ryan got First in Hunter PCP
Leo Gonzales placed First in WFTF Piston
And Mike Harris placed First in WFTF PCP
The results bear out what I was saying at the beginning:
Top scores were pretty close in all classes and divisions. THAT is what makes a "Balanced" match, where all the challenges in FT are balanced and offered to all shooters of all Divisions and Classes.
And so, after finishing the taking out of the course, I drove home having spent a beautiful day outdoors, with friends, having fun; and THAT is what FT is all about.
Keep well and shoot straight!
HM
Top scores were pretty close in all classes and divisions. THAT is what makes a "Balanced" match, where all the challenges in FT are balanced and offered to all shooters of all Divisions and Classes.
And so, after finishing the taking out of the course, I drove home having spent a beautiful day outdoors, with friends, having fun; and THAT is what FT is all about.
Keep well and shoot straight!
HM
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