From this thread:
https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/the-history-of-ft-rules.1274159/page-6
I was invited out to Ashland, OR by Wayne at AirgunOregon to get some FT training. Rather than muddy up a thread further ,which is about FT rules, I'll start a new one here.
Wayne and I got in touch with each other about coming down for some training. Since I hadn't shot a rifle in well, more decades than I care to admit, it seemed like a full day of training basics and FT was in order. A friend of mine who used to shoot competition pistol, but had dropped out of shooting for a couple decades, had recently been taking some 9mm pistol classes. When I mentioned my interest in air guns and going to Ashland he decided to come along. Which was awesome since I don't own a car.
We'd been watching the weather and it was supposed to be clear last Friday, so I let Wayne know we were coming down. Thursday we drove down and spent the night and Friday morning went out to the range. Randy met us and showed us the room full of all sorts of air guns for sale. Quite the display. He gave us some background info. Then introduced us to scope basics since neither of us had used a scope before. All my hunting back in the day was done with iron sights. Then we were given a tour of the range. When I saw the targets and distances, I cringed. At that point, I was thinking that I hope I can hit the target, but those little holes? Ugh. Not likely.
Then Training Day began, first, me and Denzel were cruising the gritty streets of Compton.....oh wait, wrong story. Randy mounted scopes on a couple Benjamin Marauders. The older model was quieter and since I have tinnitus and we were going to do some indoor target practice, I chose that one. He set the rifle up on some bags and there were some targets waaaaay down there. Using a scope took some getting used to. Randy setup and walked us through it. My friend, Martin, was able to dial in quicker than I did. Boy, eye relief is a big deal, that and the level. Keeping eyes open, etc. After some mags both of us were hitting around where we wanted so we went out to get a bucket and get to work.
When we got outside Martin decided that since we'd been using that one rifle to sight with that he didn't want to change anything. So we shared that rifle. It took a little futzing to get setup on the bucket. Randy gave us lots of tips on holding, ranging etc. I fired, nothing. After a couple shots, I stopped trying adjust for wind (and it was windy, flowing in all directions) and I fired again and hit the target. Woo hoo! I'm not a total failure, I hit metal. Seeing my shot on the paint let me know where to shoot next and to adjust. Then I hit the hole and knocked the target down. GTFOT! I could hardly believe. I went for the next further one. Got it in two shots. The furthest one I knocked down on my first shot. Martin had some issues adjusting, but eventually hit some targets. We played with taller/shorter buckets, but found the shorter one better.
Randy pulled the strings and I realized that what I'd thought were lane markers were there to reset targets. I guess they served both functions. We moved a lane and as I was about to shoot the furthest target Randy pointed out my target was the one to the left beneath the tree branch. D'oh! Follow the strings!
We move a lane and I asked what this lane is for. Randy says that's offhand. Can I try that? Sure! Ranging becomes more difficult, but I put the rifle down and get my range, then pull up. Randy talks more about breathing, squeezing etc. I put a couple onto metal, a couple in the dirt then I get the hang of it and I knock down targets. Martin tries it and has a harder time. I found off-hand a little easier and. Probably because it feels more natural to me from the hunting I did as a teenager. I find myself sighting, the lowering the barrel and raising up with my breathing into the kill zone and squeezing. Bam. Works good. I start to get a handle on moving that scope wheel while holding the rifle.
Then back to buckets. Of course with moving everything and the different position, my confidence is knocked down as I hit dirt, dirt, metal. Awww! What happened? Randy helps with hand position, steadying the rifle, etc. Metal, then knockdown. As soon as it feels easy, then it doesn't. Martin gets his targets down. We're both feeling good that we're hitting anything at all. Since we're sharing a rifle, one person gets some individualized instruction from Randy while the other is shooting. Randy brings out a pistol since Martin is into pistols. Then Randy brings out his Mac rifle and shows how to fire it and knocks down a target. Martin takes it, sets up on the wooden dock and knocks down a target. Now I'm on the spot as Martin hands me the Mac. I setup in the offhand lane and raise up but don't feel steady. So many things to keep track of, scope level, ranged, grip, breathing, that feeling that I MUST make this shot cuz I'm competitive that way. I lower the rifle and go back to what I was doing before, find the string, raise, breath, squeeze and bam, knock down the target. Whew! Three way tie for first!
We do a little more shooting and Martin points out that we've been there over five hours. Where'd the time go? I'm completely jazzed at this point. Wayne comes out and we do some talking.We talk about coming back down. A big thanks to Randy and Wayne for making this possible. It was awesome and well worth the drive. We make plans to come back out the following morning for a couple hours since we had to be back in Seattle the next night. I go back to the hotel and daydream. I see myself, up on the podium after many FT matches; when all my training finally bears fruit, they announce, "And in seventh place, out of eight contestants...." And I realize, ha, no longer dead last! The crowd roars, USA, USA! And one of the officials tells me to get the hell off the podium, that's for the top three. Dreams!
Sadly, that night the buzzing in my ears starts getting louder. The next morning, it's really loud and we beg off more shooting. I was wearing foam ear plugs and the rifle didn't sound loud, but my guess is that I should have doubled-up with the ear muffs I brought (Howard Leight compact). The other factor which became apparent on the drive back is that 8 hours in a car wasn't helping. Probably the drive down was fatiguing to my ears. The indoor shooting was definitely louder and I was doubled-up when Martin and Randy were shooting, but found it hard to adjust the muffs, so I took them off to get my scope sighting on and was wearing foam plugs only. I'll need to figure how how to wear muffs over foam plugs while shooting a rifle. And when I buy a rifle, it will be something with a moderator, that's for sure.
I do realize that we were on a course that was, I think, 15/25/35 yards? So, shorter distances. I attribute my success to beginners luck. When all of those little nuances that need to be mastered haven't sunk in enough to get in the way. As soon as I start thinking about them, I'm sure things will get worse. Then only practice will make them better. Lather, rinse, repeat. My dad was a top bowler and I used to hardly ever bowl, just enough to be better than my "stop by the lanes after a night drinking" buddies. As soon as my dad taught me how to hook, ball placement to pickup spares, etc., my scores sank. Only practice would bring them up. There is a lot to learn here and I know that this was just a taste. But yeah, Field Target rocks.
https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/the-history-of-ft-rules.1274159/page-6
I was invited out to Ashland, OR by Wayne at AirgunOregon to get some FT training. Rather than muddy up a thread further ,which is about FT rules, I'll start a new one here.
Wayne and I got in touch with each other about coming down for some training. Since I hadn't shot a rifle in well, more decades than I care to admit, it seemed like a full day of training basics and FT was in order. A friend of mine who used to shoot competition pistol, but had dropped out of shooting for a couple decades, had recently been taking some 9mm pistol classes. When I mentioned my interest in air guns and going to Ashland he decided to come along. Which was awesome since I don't own a car.
We'd been watching the weather and it was supposed to be clear last Friday, so I let Wayne know we were coming down. Thursday we drove down and spent the night and Friday morning went out to the range. Randy met us and showed us the room full of all sorts of air guns for sale. Quite the display. He gave us some background info. Then introduced us to scope basics since neither of us had used a scope before. All my hunting back in the day was done with iron sights. Then we were given a tour of the range. When I saw the targets and distances, I cringed. At that point, I was thinking that I hope I can hit the target, but those little holes? Ugh. Not likely.
Then Training Day began, first, me and Denzel were cruising the gritty streets of Compton.....oh wait, wrong story. Randy mounted scopes on a couple Benjamin Marauders. The older model was quieter and since I have tinnitus and we were going to do some indoor target practice, I chose that one. He set the rifle up on some bags and there were some targets waaaaay down there. Using a scope took some getting used to. Randy setup and walked us through it. My friend, Martin, was able to dial in quicker than I did. Boy, eye relief is a big deal, that and the level. Keeping eyes open, etc. After some mags both of us were hitting around where we wanted so we went out to get a bucket and get to work.
When we got outside Martin decided that since we'd been using that one rifle to sight with that he didn't want to change anything. So we shared that rifle. It took a little futzing to get setup on the bucket. Randy gave us lots of tips on holding, ranging etc. I fired, nothing. After a couple shots, I stopped trying adjust for wind (and it was windy, flowing in all directions) and I fired again and hit the target. Woo hoo! I'm not a total failure, I hit metal. Seeing my shot on the paint let me know where to shoot next and to adjust. Then I hit the hole and knocked the target down. GTFOT! I could hardly believe. I went for the next further one. Got it in two shots. The furthest one I knocked down on my first shot. Martin had some issues adjusting, but eventually hit some targets. We played with taller/shorter buckets, but found the shorter one better.
Randy pulled the strings and I realized that what I'd thought were lane markers were there to reset targets. I guess they served both functions. We moved a lane and as I was about to shoot the furthest target Randy pointed out my target was the one to the left beneath the tree branch. D'oh! Follow the strings!
We move a lane and I asked what this lane is for. Randy says that's offhand. Can I try that? Sure! Ranging becomes more difficult, but I put the rifle down and get my range, then pull up. Randy talks more about breathing, squeezing etc. I put a couple onto metal, a couple in the dirt then I get the hang of it and I knock down targets. Martin tries it and has a harder time. I found off-hand a little easier and. Probably because it feels more natural to me from the hunting I did as a teenager. I find myself sighting, the lowering the barrel and raising up with my breathing into the kill zone and squeezing. Bam. Works good. I start to get a handle on moving that scope wheel while holding the rifle.
Then back to buckets. Of course with moving everything and the different position, my confidence is knocked down as I hit dirt, dirt, metal. Awww! What happened? Randy helps with hand position, steadying the rifle, etc. Metal, then knockdown. As soon as it feels easy, then it doesn't. Martin gets his targets down. We're both feeling good that we're hitting anything at all. Since we're sharing a rifle, one person gets some individualized instruction from Randy while the other is shooting. Randy brings out a pistol since Martin is into pistols. Then Randy brings out his Mac rifle and shows how to fire it and knocks down a target. Martin takes it, sets up on the wooden dock and knocks down a target. Now I'm on the spot as Martin hands me the Mac. I setup in the offhand lane and raise up but don't feel steady. So many things to keep track of, scope level, ranged, grip, breathing, that feeling that I MUST make this shot cuz I'm competitive that way. I lower the rifle and go back to what I was doing before, find the string, raise, breath, squeeze and bam, knock down the target. Whew! Three way tie for first!
We do a little more shooting and Martin points out that we've been there over five hours. Where'd the time go? I'm completely jazzed at this point. Wayne comes out and we do some talking.We talk about coming back down. A big thanks to Randy and Wayne for making this possible. It was awesome and well worth the drive. We make plans to come back out the following morning for a couple hours since we had to be back in Seattle the next night. I go back to the hotel and daydream. I see myself, up on the podium after many FT matches; when all my training finally bears fruit, they announce, "And in seventh place, out of eight contestants...." And I realize, ha, no longer dead last! The crowd roars, USA, USA! And one of the officials tells me to get the hell off the podium, that's for the top three. Dreams!
Sadly, that night the buzzing in my ears starts getting louder. The next morning, it's really loud and we beg off more shooting. I was wearing foam ear plugs and the rifle didn't sound loud, but my guess is that I should have doubled-up with the ear muffs I brought (Howard Leight compact). The other factor which became apparent on the drive back is that 8 hours in a car wasn't helping. Probably the drive down was fatiguing to my ears. The indoor shooting was definitely louder and I was doubled-up when Martin and Randy were shooting, but found it hard to adjust the muffs, so I took them off to get my scope sighting on and was wearing foam plugs only. I'll need to figure how how to wear muffs over foam plugs while shooting a rifle. And when I buy a rifle, it will be something with a moderator, that's for sure.
I do realize that we were on a course that was, I think, 15/25/35 yards? So, shorter distances. I attribute my success to beginners luck. When all of those little nuances that need to be mastered haven't sunk in enough to get in the way. As soon as I start thinking about them, I'm sure things will get worse. Then only practice will make them better. Lather, rinse, repeat. My dad was a top bowler and I used to hardly ever bowl, just enough to be better than my "stop by the lanes after a night drinking" buddies. As soon as my dad taught me how to hook, ball placement to pickup spares, etc., my scores sank. Only practice would bring them up. There is a lot to learn here and I know that this was just a taste. But yeah, Field Target rocks.
