The eleven shooters contesting the March 6 Ranchito Robinson Bench-Rest Silhouette match enjoyed nice sunny weather, a birthday celebration featuring two cakes (because fat old men can’t get too much obscenely sweet pastry), the top three scores were shot with 35 Foot Pound (class) guns, a new club record, and… winds! Matter of fact it was the Birthday Boy that set the new record; Derrick Wall posting an awesome 39/40 score with his DW ‘tuned’ .22 Daystate Pulsar shooting 18.1 grain JSBs at 900 FPS. Besides a Match Winner certificate (once the feckless Match Director replaces his 1967 vintage color printer), Derrick gets ten-in-a-row chicken, pig, and turkey hat-pins for his fine efforts. Congratulations, happy birthday, and GREAT SHOOTING, Derrick!
Second highest rifle score, second overall, and second in 35 Foot Pound Class was John Tafoya, wielding a gorgeous new walnut-stocked Daystate Red Wolf. JT posted an excellent 36/40 with that beautiful thing. You should sell me that old, obsolete Red Wolf John, before the Delta Wolf renders it virtually worthless. I mean, who in their right mind would prefer walnut over plastic anyway? Okay JT, you drive a hard bargain; I’ll throw in ten-in-a-row chicken and turkey pins!
Jim Martin also posted a 36/40 for third overall on the day, including ten in a row pigs.
Not until we get to the fourth highest score do we find the 80 Foot Pound Class Winner. After a dismal start to his match with just three rams, Match Director Ron Robinson got his sh… er, ‘stuff’ together well enough to hit 29 of his next 30 shots to post a 32/40 with his .30 FX Boss shooting 44.75 JSBs 856 FPS. Ron got ten in a row chickens and pigs.
Upon finishing the rifle match, the MD asked for a show of hands interested in shooting another match; our normal routine when/if time allows. Seven shooters elected to do so; most shooting a different class than they had in the first match. Those shooters enjoyed typical diminishing winds near and after sunset, that advantage somewhat reduced by failing shooting light (something for shooters that elect to cut out after the first match to think about). Indeed, Derrick posted the new club record in the second match by making the most of the lighter winds.
Altogether, eight shooters contested the 35 Foot Pound class, and eight shooters shot the 80 Foot Pound class. That the 80 Foot Pound club record is a point less than the 35 Foot Pound record not only belies prevailing opinion that great power is necessary to compete at the highest levels of long-range airgun competitions, but confirms the Match Director’s (super-human) wisdom of including a 35 Foot Pound class; since there are magnitudes more airgunners with sub-35 foot pound guns than own 35+ foot pound airguns. BTW, the 2021 Republic of Texas TEXtreme Field Target Championships weekend (March 19 - 21) includes 35 Foot Pound classes in both the Extreme Field Target and Bench-Rest Silhouette matches.
As it seems to have been proven in Arizona that their Slug Class doesn’t outshoot the Pellet Class, it will be immensely interesting to see how 35 Foot Pounds fare against the 100 Foot Pound classes at TEXtreme Field Target, particularly in the field target match.
Two pistoleros contested Sundays Pistol Extreme Bench-Rest Match. With the TEXtreme Pistol Field Target match just 2 weeks away, the Match Director decided setting the Bench-Rest rams at 55 yards might be good practice for the TEXtreme Pistol FT event at TFT. Derrick Wall, aka- Birthday Boy, again displayed his shooting prowess to win Sundays EPBR match with an excellent 34/40 in brutal wind conditions. Derrick got ten in a row chickens and pigs, the 40 yard turkeys and 55 yard rams proving mighty elusive air pistol targets in gale-force winds.
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Second highest rifle score, second overall, and second in 35 Foot Pound Class was John Tafoya, wielding a gorgeous new walnut-stocked Daystate Red Wolf. JT posted an excellent 36/40 with that beautiful thing. You should sell me that old, obsolete Red Wolf John, before the Delta Wolf renders it virtually worthless. I mean, who in their right mind would prefer walnut over plastic anyway? Okay JT, you drive a hard bargain; I’ll throw in ten-in-a-row chicken and turkey pins!
Jim Martin also posted a 36/40 for third overall on the day, including ten in a row pigs.
Not until we get to the fourth highest score do we find the 80 Foot Pound Class Winner. After a dismal start to his match with just three rams, Match Director Ron Robinson got his sh… er, ‘stuff’ together well enough to hit 29 of his next 30 shots to post a 32/40 with his .30 FX Boss shooting 44.75 JSBs 856 FPS. Ron got ten in a row chickens and pigs.
Upon finishing the rifle match, the MD asked for a show of hands interested in shooting another match; our normal routine when/if time allows. Seven shooters elected to do so; most shooting a different class than they had in the first match. Those shooters enjoyed typical diminishing winds near and after sunset, that advantage somewhat reduced by failing shooting light (something for shooters that elect to cut out after the first match to think about). Indeed, Derrick posted the new club record in the second match by making the most of the lighter winds.
Altogether, eight shooters contested the 35 Foot Pound class, and eight shooters shot the 80 Foot Pound class. That the 80 Foot Pound club record is a point less than the 35 Foot Pound record not only belies prevailing opinion that great power is necessary to compete at the highest levels of long-range airgun competitions, but confirms the Match Director’s (super-human) wisdom of including a 35 Foot Pound class; since there are magnitudes more airgunners with sub-35 foot pound guns than own 35+ foot pound airguns. BTW, the 2021 Republic of Texas TEXtreme Field Target Championships weekend (March 19 - 21) includes 35 Foot Pound classes in both the Extreme Field Target and Bench-Rest Silhouette matches.
As it seems to have been proven in Arizona that their Slug Class doesn’t outshoot the Pellet Class, it will be immensely interesting to see how 35 Foot Pounds fare against the 100 Foot Pound classes at TEXtreme Field Target, particularly in the field target match.
Two pistoleros contested Sundays Pistol Extreme Bench-Rest Match. With the TEXtreme Pistol Field Target match just 2 weeks away, the Match Director decided setting the Bench-Rest rams at 55 yards might be good practice for the TEXtreme Pistol FT event at TFT. Derrick Wall, aka- Birthday Boy, again displayed his shooting prowess to win Sundays EPBR match with an excellent 34/40 in brutal wind conditions. Derrick got ten in a row chickens and pigs, the 40 yard turkeys and 55 yard rams proving mighty elusive air pistol targets in gale-force winds.
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