First, this is just some random navel gazing. I am not advocating for any kind of change to the current rules or class structure in AAFTA. Please don't come in here with a bunch of feelings. This is fun time, not grumpy time.
Having said that, as I was driving back from a job today, I got to thinking: If I was going to re-invent field target today, what would that look like?
I think the rules about course setting and targets is pretty good, so I'll focus on the classes.
First we would have Open class.
Open class allows a maximum of 20fpe.
Any scope is allowed.
Any shooting aids allowed in the current AAFTA rules are allowed (sticks, high seat, bum bag, jacket, glove, knee pads, hamster, harness, butt hook, etc).
Shooting aids would be allowed for forced position lanes. (This basically means you can use sticks for kneeling and standing).
No range finders. (Rangefinding is the soul of FT. Wind reading is the devil of FT.)
So essentially, current open class rules with the addition of high seats and sticks, sticks allowed for any lane.
Next we have WFTF. This would mirror the international WFTF rules as it does currently.
That's it. I thought about having a third class that would be called "Limited" which would be essentially the current hunter class gun and scope restrictions, with the thinking that it would be a beginner/traditionalist class. But then I got to thinking, why? I really doubt very many people would choose to shoot 16x with no clicking if they were given the option not to. If you want to limit yourself to 16x and not click, there's nothing stopping you from doing that in Open class.
Here is my thought process. This would allow people currently shooting Open class to keep doing what they like. This would leave WFTF alone. So the main impact would be allowing the current Hunter class to go ahead and use the whole scope. If you look at the guns and scopes used this year for Hunter class and Open class, they are pretty much all the same. If we are all using the same equipment, why not go ahead and put everyone in the same class. I personally would love to see someone use a harness, jacket, glove, sticks and butt hook at the same time. That would be fun (ny).
Like I said, I'm not trying to "fix" anything, I'm just pondering how I would do things if I could wave a magic wand and make field target the way that I think would maximize the fun and still be competitive for most people. This is mostly based on how I like to shoot and how most people in my area like to shoot.
So now tell me what your "ideal world" field target would look like. Then maybe we'll all have a better understanding of what people like and don't like in different parts of the country. And remember, let's keep it kumbaya. This isn't an "airing of the grievances" post, its "here's how I would do it".
