I'm sorry that this is a bit late but I've had a wild couple days. On Friday night we finally got moved into the house we've been remodeling. Finished moving the absolute essentials around midnight and I needed to tape and mud some drywall joints in the garage so it'd be ready for the painter this week. Finally got to bed about 2:45 Sat morning. I had the wrong month for the early morning 20fpe Extreme Match and thought I needed to be at the match site at 830 instead of 1100. I'm a 3hr drive away so that meant leaving around 5am. So, after about 2hrs of sleep, I jumped up and hit the road.
This is what I drove through for the first hour. Took this pic when I stopped for gas.
About an hr from the match site I found out NEXT month is the early morning 20fpe Extreme match, but I did get to Phoenix Rod and Gun club with PLENTY of time to spare this month. LOL.
We had 15 turn out to shoot, 4 of which are from the San Diego area. We also had a couple of first time shooters. Barbara accompanied her husband Tony (he's nearly a regular and I think Barbara might be too now). Linda and Leo also shot their first match with us. They live in Phoenix and are all kinds of excited about airguns.
Ben decided to set this month's match a bit easier and that mostly equated to larger kill zones on the far targets. The main difference was that all the targets further than 75 yards had a 3 inch kill zone (that's 7 targets). He was also a bit more generous on the kz sizes of the offhand targets.
The near offhand was 2 inches at 26 yards and had a knockdown rate of 12/30.
The far offhand was 3 inches at 46 yards and had a knockdown rate of 11/30.
Assuming that the ETF value gives a good idea of difficulty level…
the “most difficult” near was a ETF of 41 (1 inch at 41 yards on lane 10) and it had a knockdown rate of 9/30
the “most difficult” far was a ETF of 41.7 (3 inch @ 100 yards on lane 8) and it had a knockdown rate of 10/30
The overall ETF for this month's course was 32.59. The February course had an ETF of 40.22 and there was quite a bit of grumbling about how impossibly hard it was. (No wind factored in for those numbers).
For anyone curious, the average distance for the "near" targets is 46 yards, average distance for "far" targets is 79 yards, and overall average distance for all targets is 62.5 yards.
Here are the scores and equipment list (sorry about any missing data, just couldn't see the images very well, mostly scopes).
And the knockdown rates.
I shot with Linda and she's a hoot. She was so excited about knocking them down. We figured out within the first couple shots that her dope was just a bit off. She made adjustments and knocked down some of the harder long distance shots. Also of note regarding Linda's shooting, she drew steel on 39/40 shots! That is an impressive feat for a first-timer. Some of the targets are narrow prairie dogs and only have an inch or less on each side of the kill zone. I think with a couple more matches under her belt Linda could give us a run for our money.
Barbara was also very impressive. She shot with Mike S and (if I got the story straight) with only 2 shots from being done they realized her scope was on 5x for the first 38 shots! AND she knocked down 14 targets, on 5x!!! I couldn't see some of the beat up kzs very clearly on 20x near the end of the match so I have no idea how she did so well with such minimal scope magnification. I was further impressed when I sat down for this write up and realized she shot the 18.13gr JSBs!!! I tried those pellets at the very first match back in Sept and it didn't go well for me. The lighter pellets are TOUGH in the wind. So, further commendable shooting from the first-timer Barb. (I sure hope she doesn't get a gun that can throw the heaver stuff with authority, we'll all be in trouble. And Tony, sorry if I just cost you a couple grand).
Rimfire
You'll notice in the equipment list above that Dan L shot a rimfire. The potential to shoot these matches with rimfire has been discussed at length and this development has been a long time coming. Lonnie, our Phoenix Rod and Gun Club representative (I think he might be a board member there at PRGC) pulled up to the sight-in area and told us he got full approval for rimfires to be shot at these Extreme Field Target events. You'll also notice that Dan had the best knockdown percentage on the far targets. I don't think that is a coincidence. We've yet to see a drastic difference in scores between slugs and pellets, but our very small n of 1 with Dan shooting a rimfire in the actual competition seem to indicate that there might be an advantage to shooting rimfire. In fact, Mike S shot through the course again afterwards (unofficial) with his VuDoo .22 long rifle and shot a 37/40. I was told 3 or 4 lanes were from prone position and that he just shot from regular sitting position for the offhand shots, BUT, the ballistic advantage of rimfires can be seen in all those details. Oh, I need to note that only sub sonic rimfires will be allowed and rimfire shooters will be shooting from shooting sticks/bipods just like the rest of us.
A little plug here for the targets that Ben and Mike S developed and are having made....pretty versatile target to be able to take a 22 rimfire without any damage, but also be sensitive enough that they'll go down with 12fpe when hit in the kill zone. Perhaps a bit on the spendy side at first glance, but the value is in the versatility. For an existing or future club, the same targets allow regular sub 20fpe matches and high power airgun or even rimfire matches, a 3 for 1 value if you will. (I've got no financial dog in that fight, just realize that there's some common sense involved if I lived somewhere not in AZ, wanted to get some Field Target events going, and was faced with buying 2 or 3 sets of targets or one).
My Take
I felt that the course was indeed easier than it has been in the past, and my score agrees with that assessment. Looking at the long ones through the scope around halfway through the match I had the realization that I was much more optimistic about getting the pellet into those 3 inch kzs than I have been in the past with smaller kzs. I remember thinking, "hey, there's a pretty good chance of getting this one." In the past many of the longer distance shots have had that hail mary feel. The wind on the day of the match was also less "switchy." Last month it came from the right and then the left, but on Sat it was from the left (north) nearly the entire match. It was just a matter of figuring out to what extent I needed to hold off for the distance and wind. In that regard, conditions were good for me to see the mirage much better than I have been able to in the past. It was windy though, I will say that. For any readers that really have the mirage reading skill down (I don't), here's a visual to give an idea of wind.
There was very little of the left image going on during the match, with maybe a 60/40 or even 70/30 split between the middle and right (60 or 70 being winds like the one represented in the middle graphic). I was holding off inches on most of the far targets. Pretty sweet to pull the trigger while holding upwind at your best guestimate and watch the pellet curve off to the right of the crosshairs and drill that kz. Looks like NWS reported winds in the 6-8mph range for the times coinciding with the match.
I also had one bum pellet. It sure seems that I deal with 1 or 2 not behaving out of every 30 or 40. It happened to me on the "near" target on lane 8 (2.25inch at 57 yards, ETF of 28.5). Shouldn't have missed but that pellet went a good 1.5 inches below the kill zone. 2 of my other 4 "near" misses were on lane 10, which happened to be the second hardest target of the entire match. Between a simple hard target and it being shot up at that point, I couldn't see the KZ very clearly. The far one on lane 10 is also not at an upward angle like most of the shots, and also the direction of the shot is a little more to the southeast versus east like the rest of the course. I just couldn't get a good read on what the wind was doing there. Lane 10 was my last lane and I missed all 4 shots. It hurt cuz I was really wanting to break 30 and felt like I was in a good place to do it.
Conclusion
The general atmosphere at the post-match meeting was that everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. I know I did.
We missed the company of a couple "regulars" notably Steve and Sandy and Bobby. In fact, while walking out to the course we joked that without Sandy and Bobby, we might stand a chance at having high score. If any of those three had been there, I think we would have seen a score in the high 30s, going back to that reduced difficulty level.
Even with the minimal sleep and cruddy early driving conditions, I was really glad I was able to make the match. It was a blast. Weather was perfect and the course was fun.
Come shoot with us, I promise you will enjoy it. Next month you have the option of shooting at the same long distance targets at 20fpe if willing to show up early (less official, more just for fun), and then shoot the course again with high power gun at 11am for the official match. Or, heck, even bring down you rimfire and see how fun it is.
This is what I drove through for the first hour. Took this pic when I stopped for gas.
About an hr from the match site I found out NEXT month is the early morning 20fpe Extreme match, but I did get to Phoenix Rod and Gun club with PLENTY of time to spare this month. LOL.
We had 15 turn out to shoot, 4 of which are from the San Diego area. We also had a couple of first time shooters. Barbara accompanied her husband Tony (he's nearly a regular and I think Barbara might be too now). Linda and Leo also shot their first match with us. They live in Phoenix and are all kinds of excited about airguns.
Ben decided to set this month's match a bit easier and that mostly equated to larger kill zones on the far targets. The main difference was that all the targets further than 75 yards had a 3 inch kill zone (that's 7 targets). He was also a bit more generous on the kz sizes of the offhand targets.
The near offhand was 2 inches at 26 yards and had a knockdown rate of 12/30.
The far offhand was 3 inches at 46 yards and had a knockdown rate of 11/30.
Assuming that the ETF value gives a good idea of difficulty level…
the “most difficult” near was a ETF of 41 (1 inch at 41 yards on lane 10) and it had a knockdown rate of 9/30
the “most difficult” far was a ETF of 41.7 (3 inch @ 100 yards on lane 8) and it had a knockdown rate of 10/30
The overall ETF for this month's course was 32.59. The February course had an ETF of 40.22 and there was quite a bit of grumbling about how impossibly hard it was. (No wind factored in for those numbers).
For anyone curious, the average distance for the "near" targets is 46 yards, average distance for "far" targets is 79 yards, and overall average distance for all targets is 62.5 yards.
Here are the scores and equipment list (sorry about any missing data, just couldn't see the images very well, mostly scopes).
And the knockdown rates.
I shot with Linda and she's a hoot. She was so excited about knocking them down. We figured out within the first couple shots that her dope was just a bit off. She made adjustments and knocked down some of the harder long distance shots. Also of note regarding Linda's shooting, she drew steel on 39/40 shots! That is an impressive feat for a first-timer. Some of the targets are narrow prairie dogs and only have an inch or less on each side of the kill zone. I think with a couple more matches under her belt Linda could give us a run for our money.
Barbara was also very impressive. She shot with Mike S and (if I got the story straight) with only 2 shots from being done they realized her scope was on 5x for the first 38 shots! AND she knocked down 14 targets, on 5x!!! I couldn't see some of the beat up kzs very clearly on 20x near the end of the match so I have no idea how she did so well with such minimal scope magnification. I was further impressed when I sat down for this write up and realized she shot the 18.13gr JSBs!!! I tried those pellets at the very first match back in Sept and it didn't go well for me. The lighter pellets are TOUGH in the wind. So, further commendable shooting from the first-timer Barb. (I sure hope she doesn't get a gun that can throw the heaver stuff with authority, we'll all be in trouble. And Tony, sorry if I just cost you a couple grand).
Rimfire
You'll notice in the equipment list above that Dan L shot a rimfire. The potential to shoot these matches with rimfire has been discussed at length and this development has been a long time coming. Lonnie, our Phoenix Rod and Gun Club representative (I think he might be a board member there at PRGC) pulled up to the sight-in area and told us he got full approval for rimfires to be shot at these Extreme Field Target events. You'll also notice that Dan had the best knockdown percentage on the far targets. I don't think that is a coincidence. We've yet to see a drastic difference in scores between slugs and pellets, but our very small n of 1 with Dan shooting a rimfire in the actual competition seem to indicate that there might be an advantage to shooting rimfire. In fact, Mike S shot through the course again afterwards (unofficial) with his VuDoo .22 long rifle and shot a 37/40. I was told 3 or 4 lanes were from prone position and that he just shot from regular sitting position for the offhand shots, BUT, the ballistic advantage of rimfires can be seen in all those details. Oh, I need to note that only sub sonic rimfires will be allowed and rimfire shooters will be shooting from shooting sticks/bipods just like the rest of us.
A little plug here for the targets that Ben and Mike S developed and are having made....pretty versatile target to be able to take a 22 rimfire without any damage, but also be sensitive enough that they'll go down with 12fpe when hit in the kill zone. Perhaps a bit on the spendy side at first glance, but the value is in the versatility. For an existing or future club, the same targets allow regular sub 20fpe matches and high power airgun or even rimfire matches, a 3 for 1 value if you will. (I've got no financial dog in that fight, just realize that there's some common sense involved if I lived somewhere not in AZ, wanted to get some Field Target events going, and was faced with buying 2 or 3 sets of targets or one).
My Take
I felt that the course was indeed easier than it has been in the past, and my score agrees with that assessment. Looking at the long ones through the scope around halfway through the match I had the realization that I was much more optimistic about getting the pellet into those 3 inch kzs than I have been in the past with smaller kzs. I remember thinking, "hey, there's a pretty good chance of getting this one." In the past many of the longer distance shots have had that hail mary feel. The wind on the day of the match was also less "switchy." Last month it came from the right and then the left, but on Sat it was from the left (north) nearly the entire match. It was just a matter of figuring out to what extent I needed to hold off for the distance and wind. In that regard, conditions were good for me to see the mirage much better than I have been able to in the past. It was windy though, I will say that. For any readers that really have the mirage reading skill down (I don't), here's a visual to give an idea of wind.
There was very little of the left image going on during the match, with maybe a 60/40 or even 70/30 split between the middle and right (60 or 70 being winds like the one represented in the middle graphic). I was holding off inches on most of the far targets. Pretty sweet to pull the trigger while holding upwind at your best guestimate and watch the pellet curve off to the right of the crosshairs and drill that kz. Looks like NWS reported winds in the 6-8mph range for the times coinciding with the match.
I also had one bum pellet. It sure seems that I deal with 1 or 2 not behaving out of every 30 or 40. It happened to me on the "near" target on lane 8 (2.25inch at 57 yards, ETF of 28.5). Shouldn't have missed but that pellet went a good 1.5 inches below the kill zone. 2 of my other 4 "near" misses were on lane 10, which happened to be the second hardest target of the entire match. Between a simple hard target and it being shot up at that point, I couldn't see the KZ very clearly. The far one on lane 10 is also not at an upward angle like most of the shots, and also the direction of the shot is a little more to the southeast versus east like the rest of the course. I just couldn't get a good read on what the wind was doing there. Lane 10 was my last lane and I missed all 4 shots. It hurt cuz I was really wanting to break 30 and felt like I was in a good place to do it.
Conclusion
The general atmosphere at the post-match meeting was that everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. I know I did.
We missed the company of a couple "regulars" notably Steve and Sandy and Bobby. In fact, while walking out to the course we joked that without Sandy and Bobby, we might stand a chance at having high score. If any of those three had been there, I think we would have seen a score in the high 30s, going back to that reduced difficulty level.
Even with the minimal sleep and cruddy early driving conditions, I was really glad I was able to make the match. It was a blast. Weather was perfect and the course was fun.
Come shoot with us, I promise you will enjoy it. Next month you have the option of shooting at the same long distance targets at 20fpe if willing to show up early (less official, more just for fun), and then shoot the course again with high power gun at 11am for the official match. Or, heck, even bring down you rimfire and see how fun it is.
He's usually better than that, being a retired Po Po and all...
