When a region holds a sizable chunk of good shooters in a specific specialty, it is no wonder that the scores posted may look like an anomaly for the rest of the regions.
Such is the case with the North-East and Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The section that comprises the states on the East Coast that go from Maryland to Maine. There are a bunch of good Spring-Piston shooters there!
And of all the states that conform the region (and by extension, the Minutemen Field Target League), New York is the state with most active FT Clubs and will be the state with most G.P. shoots for the next season 2014-2015 (our season runs from October to November) when the region hosts four two-day shoots, and of those four, three will be in NY State.
With this background, it is hardly surprising that the NY State FT Championships is always one of the most competitive events with a strong turnout (for a State Match under US Standards), 25 shooters convened on a beautiful autumn day to shoot the match.
Such is the case with the North-East and Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The section that comprises the states on the East Coast that go from Maryland to Maine. There are a bunch of good Spring-Piston shooters there!
And of all the states that conform the region (and by extension, the Minutemen Field Target League), New York is the state with most active FT Clubs and will be the state with most G.P. shoots for the next season 2014-2015 (our season runs from October to November) when the region hosts four two-day shoots, and of those four, three will be in NY State.
With this background, it is hardly surprising that the NY State FT Championships is always one of the most competitive events with a strong turnout (for a State Match under US Standards), 25 shooters convened on a beautiful autumn day to shoot the match.
Shooters milling around the registration table, waiting for the range to be declared "hot".
Tons of Hellos and Howdy's. We usually see each other almost every month, but between the World's, and Pyramyd Air's Cup, I had not seen some of the friends in what seemed like ages.
Matt Brackett was calling" Hello Compadre!" LOL! In the rear, two of the deans of FT in the US, Jim Wilcox and Hans Apelles. It is worthwhile noting one of the things that makes this shoot so challenging. The inclination of the sun during fall and the extremely high contrast between sunny spots and shadowed spots is definitely something.
When all the sighting in had been done, and the squadding, and everything was ready, the shooters meeting was called. That still did not deter most shooters from "visitin'" with the other shooters . . . almost like herding cats. ;-)
One other aspect that makes this course "peculiar" are the extreme shots. Last lane has a pair of targets that sometimes are rated "free position", but this time they were rated "kneeling". At these steep angles it takes a LOT of practice and a good gun to score well in the lane. Best score for this lane, I think, was Veronika's 3/4. Here Matt Brackett takes aim at the upper squirrel. Tom Holland in the background is shooting a fairly level shot at a tree target.
Immediately after that uphill kneeling lane, what do we get? a downhill standing lane, . . . Of Course! LOL! Here Tom Holland and Craig Evans take their turn at the lane.
A little bit further down the line, Jerry LaRocca takes aim with his left handed TX-200. Atop sits a well marked Bushnell. On the bottom, a Rowan Engineering "hamster". Jerry is one of the better shooters in the area. Creating a squad with Jerry, Matt Brackett (also a top score shooter more often than not) and myself was typical of Ray. I had a REAL hard time just keeping up with these two excellent shooters. As always, it was a pleasure and a privilege to see them shoot.
A view down the shooting line of a Match operating almost at capacity. Yes there were 25 shooters, but if you count the table of results there were 28 guns. Nick, Greg and Larry were shooting 2 guns each. To the max, the range can take 39 guns, but it really becomes a little bit more than "cramped". From near to far on the line: Rich Bassett gathering his things, Hans preparing the shot, Dave Lee shoots and Nick Gregorias scores, Art Deuel is preparing an offhand shot. Eric Brewer getting ready. Behind the line, Pat Shirhall getting her chair, Nathan Thomas walking, Ray chatting with Greg Shirhall
With a little bit more detail: Hans shooting and Pat scoring.
Dave Lee and Nick Gregorias.
A close "up and personal" picture of Ray and Greg "Smiley" Shirhall. Greg is a REALLY nice guy, but he enjoys presenting a gruff face. Especially when he is caught in the middle of a munch. ;-)
Art Deuel and Leo Gonzales taking a downhill offhand lane.
Towards the last lanes, the range narrows, while it creates a little bit of a cramp, it is always a good excuse to chat and to banter. From left: Eric Brewer shooting, Jim Wilcox, Kevin Kunkle, Glenn Thomas, almost hidden from the camera by Glenn, Harold Schaeffer. To the extreme right, Paul Bishop.
Larry Bowne shooting and Paul Bishop scoring.
The Girls Squad. Peggy is Eric's wife and we did all we could to convince her to shoot. Well, this was her FIRST shoot! And do not EVER think that girls do things in "unorthodox" ways. They are different, and they require different approaches than men. And they can kick . . . . as we all saw, LOL!
We had a ton of fun! I had some problems with two targets: one on lane C and another on lane ¿E? (I think), that I simply could not shoot from my normal FT position. I took the shots kneeling, hit some and lost some, which was somewhat irritating but, apart from that, the Match was run impeccably, there were no cold lines & no target malfunctions. Most shots were on the "longish" side, with quite a few in the 45 to 55 yards band. Wind was an interesting combination of left, right, quartering and directly from the back. This last wind poses a VERY interesting problem, because since we are shooting from the top of the ridge, part of the stream goes down, but also part of the stream opens up by keeping straight in the laminar flow.
Matt B. was using his recently passed away cat's fur to see what the wind was doing (not while shooting), and the fluffs of hair were doing some pretty interesting aerial pirouettes.
The ZR Mounts behaved perfectly holding the 8-32X50 AEON at 12 ft-lbs and proving absolutely repeatable.
After the shoot, we adjourned to the Club house, where Dianne treated us to a fantastic lunch of pasta and salad (very healthy) and a good coffee, while Ray gave away the awards and prizes. The results can be seen in the "Green FT Forum".
Hopefully Hans will post the pictures of the awards, because my camera/phone battery dropped dead and I could not get any.
If you are in the area whenever there is a shoot at EFTCC, don't think twice and just go. It is a great range with challenging shots in the mix that will test any airgunner's skill level.
BIG thanks have to go to Ray and Hans for setting up the course and running the Match, and to Dianne, for the great lunch.
See you all soon!
Matt B. was using his recently passed away cat's fur to see what the wind was doing (not while shooting), and the fluffs of hair were doing some pretty interesting aerial pirouettes.
The ZR Mounts behaved perfectly holding the 8-32X50 AEON at 12 ft-lbs and proving absolutely repeatable.
After the shoot, we adjourned to the Club house, where Dianne treated us to a fantastic lunch of pasta and salad (very healthy) and a good coffee, while Ray gave away the awards and prizes. The results can be seen in the "Green FT Forum".
Hopefully Hans will post the pictures of the awards, because my camera/phone battery dropped dead and I could not get any.
If you are in the area whenever there is a shoot at EFTCC, don't think twice and just go. It is a great range with challenging shots in the mix that will test any airgunner's skill level.
BIG thanks have to go to Ray and Hans for setting up the course and running the Match, and to Dianne, for the great lunch.
See you all soon!
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