Events Some thoughts for match directors or clubs trying to Grow Field Target

cavedweller · Wednesday at 8:18 AM

Field Target not only improves your marksmanship, it also can provide your social life. It can add a whole new list of friends and places you will want to visit.
Point?

Since i live in the Deep South of Mobile, Alabama, i was reminded of WHY i like field target sooooo much:

#1) The people are great, very helpful and It is a very social activity to share with like minded peeps.

#2) A chance to go places one might not otherwise visit.

#3) The challenge of shooting at unknown targets, at unknown distances on unknown courses is really a kicker for me.

Concerning #1)

I think it is very important, esp in summer, to remember just HOW important the socialization that takes place at field target events is.
If we start a match early in the morning, while it is still somewhat cooler, people will be ready to help set up and they will be much more ready to help break down and restore things after a match.
And then they will tend gather in the early afternoons / evenings for food and drink and stories galore.
But, if you take those same people and start a match late, especially in the heat of summer, by the end of the day, they are all toast, they are tired, grumpy, they want a shower, an air conditioned space and rest... especially if they have more days of competition ahead of them.
#2) plays into #1) because, based on where your venue is, you might have to adjust the dates and times to accommodate these environmental factors.
#3) means an existing venue has a huge challenge of keeping things new and fresh. Not as easy as it seems, and my hats off to all those match directors and clubs that work so hard to do this!
Don't be afraid to get creative, and throw something new or different into the target mix... it doesn't have to count for the overall course score.... but it may just count for a lot of laughs and some bragging rights at the social events that follow.

And don't forget we need young people who will grow into older FT shooters! less the sport should die...

thoughts ?

Bramezy · Wednesday at 8:44 AM

Seems all of the matches I have ever attended with the exception of the Pyramyd Cup all start early enough no matter the weather. The MDs do a great job as they too are addicted to the game.

beerthief · Wednesday at 8:49 AM

As for as a new guy (younger ?) He arrives with his rifle ready to try it , but he see's Thomas's and Styre's and big wheels on the scope ! I would suggest pairing the nubie with seasoned shooter and let him share the thomas or whatever . Yes i foresee the "old Grumpy I had to wait X times to shoot that lane "
But what a first time shooting experience !
This is exactly how My first time @ Rozes Hollow went! Although i wasn;t paired with anybody a few of the shooters (one was a National Champ) just invited me to try their setup after they shot .

Ezana4CE · Wednesday at 9:11 AM

beerthief said:
As for as a new guy (younger ?) He arrives with his rifle ready to try it , but he see's Thomas's and Styre's and big wheels on the scope ! I would suggest pairing the nubie with seasoned shooter and let him share the thomas or whatever . Yes i foresee the "old Grumpy I had to wait X times to shoot that lane "
But what a first time shooting experience !
This is exactly how My first time @ Rozes Hollow went! Although i wasn;t paired with anybody a few of the shooters (one was a National Champ) just invited me to try their setup after they shot .

@beerthief That’s generally how it seems to be with TEXtreme or at least that’s how it’s been explained to me. Different venues and organ have different ”personalities.” Folks have shared different things about diffident organizations in various regions. The beautiful thing about AGN and airgun forums is that a potential FT shooter can communicate with older FT shooters and see the elaborate setups that seasoned competitors use. So it shouldn’t be so much of a shock when one arrives.

As someone with zero FT experience, my aim would be to go and observe in order to learn. I was told that I’d likely be invited to shoot. Me being me, I may or I may not. Point being is that some folks are hospitable at these events. Some are likely to be pure competitors and I suspect there to be myriad personalities, as are most places where people gather, so one can experience friendliness, standoffishness, kindness, terseness, etc all at the same event. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard many stories. That’s my take until I see for myself.

Ezana4CE · Wednesday at 9:20 AM

@cavedweller As for seeing new places, I imagine it to be like traveling for work. You’re visiting places that you wouldn’t ordinarily go or may only pass through en route to a metro area. A difference is this is solely for competition, leisure, and camaraderie. As we age the social component is more crucial. The older we get, the more of our cohort that dies off. Remaining in touch and connected us important for humans unless one is comfortably suited for hermitage. Many competitors seem to be retirees and it’s great to have hobbies to keep retired folks moving and active. I think FT competitions are great motivating factors promoting maintenance of routines outside of work (practicing), tending to one’s mental health (providing needed socialization for some that may be isolated due to location or limitations brought on by health issues), and an opportunity to form new bonds with people sharing similar passions. I also think FT events can bring people together that under other circumstances would not speak or interact with one another. I think this is especially true if you can bridge generation and gender gaps with FT events.

Bramezy · Wednesday at 9:52 AM

beerthief said:
As for as a new guy (younger ?) He arrives with his rifle ready to try it , but he see's Thomas's and Styre's and big wheels on the scope ! I would suggest pairing the nubie with seasoned shooter and let him share the thomas or whatever . Yes i foresee the "old Grumpy I had to wait X times to shoot that lane "
But what a first time shooting experience !
This is exactly how My first time @ Rozes Hollow went! Although i wasn;t paired with anybody a few of the shooters (one was a National Champ) just invited me to try their setup after they shot .

I was fortunate in that similar situation to where I reached out to the MDs before and one of them offered to let me use his spare setup. I shot a 58 that day (should have cleared it) and then I was hooked. While I had purchased a Marauder for this intended use after using his AirArms S510 I promptly went out and bought one of those. We are good friends today still.
I think the hard part is just getting the new interest there to begin with. I feel like once they are there, the rest will happen as I feel like all the guys I have run into would be more than willing to lend gear and help. Now the sticker shock may prevent them from coming back and thats a different story. All you can do is talk to them and hope they stay engaged and return.

cavedweller · Wednesday at 10:07 AM

Bramezy said:
Seems all of the matches I have ever attended with the exception of the Pyramyd Cup all start early enough no matter the weather. The MDs do a great job as they too are addicted to the game.

yep, pretty much always the case
i did forget the number one thing in my mind:
We need to remember that while "competition" is part of a match for some people.....
Having fun is much more important than winning.

Bramezy · Wednesday at 10:12 AM

cavedweller said:
yep, pretty much always the case
i did forget the number one thing in my mind:
We need to remember that while "competition" is part of a match for some people.....
Having fun is much more important than winning.

Yes, thats a tough one too. It hard to separate that sometimes.

Motorhead · Wednesday at 1:26 PM

My club the SVFTC has sorta a similar quandary, in that a large percentile of our shooters do so for the social side of getting together & hanging out monthly .... This is a Good thing !!
Our sub group of seasoned shooters who do State GP's and travel to away matches certainly keep busy threw out the shooting season doing both.

We as a "Club" ( Members at large ) however seem to only "Sorta" wish for the club to expand and host GP's which takes up 3 consecutive days to hold it, and a fair amount of work to get all the T's crossed & I's dotted, food, awards etc etc ...
This is where we are not doing the AAFTA justice by Not doing sanctioned events in recent years, but in lieu Only holding Club FT events monthly.
We have bodies that by our Shooters mailing list about 50 persons give or take.
* But as most clubs for any sport or hobby lack folks to help make it happen on a larger scale or personal commitment to do more than they already contribute.
** We have a great group of shooters that absolutely step up helping our monthlies go on without a hitch !!!
It is the Bigger, Grander, More serious matches be them away venues of perhaps at our local venue / range where the commitments to help get it done and done well comes into question.

Yes, after 13 years of being the clubs MD a fair amount of burn out I'm guilty as hell of

AirNGasman · Wednesday at 2:19 PM

Ezana4CE said:
I suspect there to be myriad personalities, as are most places where people gather, so one can experience friendliness, standoffishness, kindness, terseness, etc all at the same event. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard many stories. That’s my take until I see for myself.

Having become long-distance friends (assuming I'm not flattering myself to think so), I put much value in your posts, E. Even more in your opinions and judgement.

And as a tenacious promoter of Field Target since discovering it a couple decades ago, I find your quote above not only quite interesting, but an excellent example of why/how Field Target isn't more popular than it is. That's not a criticism, just an observation.

I've always encouraged the FT-curious to at least attend a match; better yet ENTER one. In either case it seems most that do (either) find what I've described as an old-guys party. I'd say guys-party, was it not for so few younger folks participating.

Regardless, Cavedweller is an excellent example of the kind of fun, spirit, camaraderie and quality human more often than not typical at Field Target events. I'd certainly love to read your post after attending an FT match, E. Consider this an open invitation.

I'll close by taking this opportunity to commend and thank you and Cavedeweller for your contributions to the AGN forum specifically, and airgunning more generally. You guys are gentlemen of the highest order.

Respect,
Ron & Maggyy

P.S.- Maggyy loves the treats you brought her, CD. Consider the TEXtreme match director duly bribed.

Ezana4CE · Wednesday at 2:30 PM

@AirNGasman That’s an accurate statement. No, you’re not flattering yourself. You’ve been a kind friend to me and I truly appreciate it. I try to follow the outcome of events and still aim to make my way down there.

JW. · Wednesday at 7:36 PM

I've seen our Nevada match change when we added a large shade canopy at the lower camping area, then it changed even more this year when we put (built) two picnic tables under the larger shade canopy. It was a people magnet and it brought a smile to my face.

I learned at the Alabama Nationals that I needed to come to the National events to see people I only see once a year and not just for winning/doing well. I did poorly due to pellet selection (they were great indoors, poor outdoors), since then I have had a better time at Nationals and also did pretty well.

We upped our fee this year and due to that did not ask for any volunteers to setup, paint, pull or set sight-in targets, we had some regardless because most FT people are like that.

After running a GP for a bunch of years now I appreciate GP's i'm not running that much more.

I would attend more 'local' matches except the closest is about 70 miles (1.5 hours) each way (which may be closing down), the next one is 130 miles away (about 2.25 each way). For me to make it in time for a 9am start time I have to wake up at an hour only sick people wake up at on a Sunday. I also have a rule, if the drive time is longer than the event/stay time perhaps it is better to do something else.

Motorhead · Wednesday at 9:36 PM

But WE miss you Jim ... and Chris at the SVFTC monthlies

Many of us still in the game made acquaintances that go back many years ( Over a decade for us ) & we see one another time to time at GP events threw out any given year.
These friendships tho still simply make for a huge part of why we travel to shoot FT beyond our local sandbox.

Great job with the NAG event at Battle Mountain Nevada !!!

cavedweller · 2025-06-19T08:19:36-0500

AirNGasman said:
Having become long-distance friends (assuming I'm not flattering myself to think so), I put much value in your posts, E. Even more in your opinions and judgement.

And as a tenacious promoter of Field Target since discovering it a couple decades ago, I find your quote above not only quite interesting, but an excellent example of why/how Field Target isn't more popular than it is. That's not a criticism, just an observation.

I've always encouraged the FT-curious to at least attend a match; better yet ENTER one. In either case it seems most that do (either) find what I've described as an old-guys party. I'd say guys-party, was it not for so few younger folks participating.

Regardless, Cavedweller is an excellent example of the kind of fun, spirit, camaraderie and quality human more often than not typical at Field Target events. I'd certainly love to read your post after attending an FT match, E. Consider this an open invitation.

I'll close by taking this opportunity to commend and thank you and Cavedeweller for your contributions to the AGN forum specifically, and airgunning more generally. You guys are gentlemen of the highest order.

Respect,
Ron & Maggyy

P.S.- Maggyy loves the treats you brought her, CD. Consider the TEXtreme match director duly bribed.

View attachment 571478

Ron, Thanks for the kind words.... it's wisdom keepers like you, who also work the work and walk the walk that make this airgun stuff so much fun!

Bramezy · 2025-06-19T10:06:05-0500

JW. said:
I've seen our Nevada match change when we added a large shade canopy at the lower camping area, then it changed even more this year when we put (built) two picnic tables under the larger shade canopy. It was a people magnet and it brought a smile to my face.

I learned at the Alabama Nationals that I needed to come to the National events to see people I only see once a year and not just for winning/doing well. I did poorly due to pellet selection (they were great indoors, poor outdoors), since then I have had a better time at Nationals and also did pretty well.

We upped our fee this year and due to that did not ask for any volunteers to setup, paint, pull or set sight-in targets, we had some regardless because most FT people are like that.

After running a GP for a bunch of years now I appreciate GP's i'm not running that much more.

I would attend more 'local' matches except the closest is about 70 miles (1.5 hours) each way (which may be closing down), the next one is 130 miles away (about 2.25 each way). For me to make it in time for a 9am start time I have to wake up at an hour only sick people wake up at on a Sunday. I also have a rule, if the drive time is longer than the event/stay time perhaps it is better to do something else.

I am one of those "sick" people lol. Myself and a few others travel 4 hours one way twice a month, its about 225 miles one way so 450 miles round trip just to shoot a 2.5hr 60 shot match. Its getting old and I will probably slow down on doing it but I do it for more than just the shooting. Im not sure what else Id be doing if not shooting FT but maybe I should start exploring those options or not. I love it, but hate the driving.
Ohio is structured to where there is a FT shoot basically every Sunday. From me, 1 is 225 miles, another is 215 miles, another is 135 miles, and the closest is 25min.

humbled.ag · 2025-06-19T10:36:41-0500

Bramezy said:
I am one of those "sick" people lol. Myself and a few others travel 4 hours one way twice a month, its about 225 miles one way so 450 miles round trip just to shoot a 2.5hr 60 shot match. Its getting old and I will probably slow down on doing it but I do it for more than just the shooting. Im not sure what else Id be doing if not shooting FT but maybe I should start exploring those options or not. I love it, but hate the driving.
Ohio is structured to where there is a FT shoot basically every Sunday. From me, 1 is 225 miles, another is 215 miles, another is 135 miles, and the closest is 25min.

When I started the closest match was a 2 hour drive. The next closest was 3.5 hours away. While putting more miles than a sane person should on my car to attend matches states away another shooter and I started our own club ten(+?) years ago. We held matches on a small property between corn fields. Now we have 6 clubs that are two hours or less away from me, and most other shooters in the area. It took a lot of work and patience but you can have matches close to you too.

Iowa Airgunner · 2025-06-19T10:47:33-0500

I just started a club in Iowa and no one knew about field target at the first match. I am really excited to see how the second match goes. Everyone was very excited about it and seemed to have fun.
As soon as I built the shooting range I looked around and noticed there was no place for everyone to sit. Seems like a picnic table is mandatory. Everyone can just sit and talk because the noise is so low. I always enjoy having a couple burgers after the match while we take everything down and do the scoring. It is a big part of the airgun field target experience.

Bramezy · 2025-06-19T11:10:24-0500

humbled.ag said:
When I started the closest match was a 2 hour drive. The next closest was 3.5 hours away. While putting more miles than a sane person should on my car to attend matches states away another shooter and I started our own club ten(+?) years ago. We held matches on a small property between corn fields. Now we have 6 clubs that are two hours or less away from me, and most other shooters in the area. It took a lot of work and patience but you can have matches close to you too.

I have one club close but there is not enough interest at this club or the one 130 miles away to generate any more clubs in the area. Itr is what it is. We have been trying to grow the local one and its just not. So, IF I want to shoot FT, I more often than once a month, I must travel. Just sucks but such is life!

Bramezy · 2025-06-19T11:11:25-0500

Iowa Airgunner said:
I just started a club in Iowa and no one knew about field target at the first match. I am really excited to see how the second match goes. Everyone was very excited about it and seemed to have fun.
As soon as I built the shooting range I looked around and noticed there was no place for everyone to sit. Seems like a picnic table is mandatory. Everyone can just sit and talk because the noise is so low. I always enjoy having a couple burgers after the match while we take everything down and do the scoring. It is a big part of the airgun field target experience.

Ive been saying we need to grill out!! Some hot food would be awesome after shooting.

Iowa Airgunner · 2025-06-19T11:15:03-0500

At the DIFTA group they had a great cookout after the match. The cooking would start towards the end of the match. Then everyone would pitch in cleaning up the course. By the time the score was tabulated we had sausage and burgers chips and soda. No one had to run off to get lunch . And you could all talk about the day.