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Results 2021 NAG .... Nevada Air Gunners State FT Championship results & match report

For those who may follow FT but not go to the AGW site.

Posted by Jim W match director







The match report has been submitted to AAFTA!

Here it is...



2021 NEVADA STATE FIELD TARGET CHAMPIONSHIPS & AAFTA GRAND PRIX

--MATCH REPORT--

On June 11th, 12th & 13th, 2021, we held the seventh annual Nevada State Field Target Championships (the first one being held late July 2015). It was with somewhat heavy hearts we prepared the event this year as last years match chef passed unexpectedly in late 2020. He is remembered by 2020's competitors for a scrumptious Idaho white tail deer leg he cooked for the Saturday evening meal that made everyone feel like it was a true back country expedition. Dave D. you will be missed.

The Memorial Day weekend prior to the match we had his two sons up to the Square M in his honor to prepare for the match and play with some plinking toys. Spreading out the work for the match has become as important as hosting the match itself, the terrain and altitude is unforgiving and coupled with a near shade free environment, pacing ones self is crucial to surviving the ordeal.

Much of last years efforts paid off this year, we used most of the existing target stands (1 1/2" EMY conduit set on 3/4", 3' long concrete forming stakes) for this years course. We decided to take out two lanes of extreme elevation lanes (targets set up on the side of the canyons at over 30 degrees from horizontal) and move a few lanes to the lower section of the course. By the end of the weekend we had 90% of the new course mapped and staked with the target poles in place. The next step was to finalize the course in cad and verify it with the AAFTA spreadsheet.

For the week of the match we headed out from the Bay Area on Tuesday morning instead of doing the late Monday night/Tuesday morning run. Once we arrived Tuesday late afternoon we purchased a few remaining items for the match setup and headed out to the canyon to set up camp for the evening.

By the end of the day Wednesday we had the pistol course and over half of the rifle course set. The targets were painted and lubed prior to mounting on the stands and as the sun set we epoxied threaded rods into the rocks for the side swing standing target lane.

Wednesday night a front passed through the region bringing wind, rain and some snow about 1500' up the canyon. We were greeted with near freezing temperatures in the early morning hours with a high of around 70 for the day. The slightly overcast weather was nice as we knew the temperatures were supposed to rise as the weekend approached.

Mid day Thursday we had some early arrivals as we were setting up the last few targets, with some assistance we wrapped up for the day and prepared to set the sight-in area Friday morning.

Friday was pretty nice as far as the weather went, the sight-in area was a little better than last years but it still needs some work for 2022. As the pistol match start time arrived the wind began to do its thing. With gusts easily exceeding 15mph I was beginning to wonder if we were in for another maddening match. The pistol competitors headed out and took on the wind like seasoned professionals.

The pistol course was a little harder this year than last with one of the toughest targets being the closer standing target. It had a few maximum distance targets with full size kill zones and some 1/2 targets at good distances to make things fun (40T+), as the course wrapped around the canyon the shifting winds and different relative wind angles were a true test of grit, wind reading and adaptability. There is little to no grass or vegetation to tell the lighter winds, the sage moves at 5mph or more and often it was turning over and staying turned over for extended periods.

It was a horse race to the finish between Scott S, Scott H and Wayne B for Hunter pistol. In Limited pistol Cameron matched the second place Hunter score while Pat C and Adam B shared Pat C's newly built and sighted in (without any d.o.p.e.) pistol.

As usual the pistol competitors made short work of breaking down the pistol course and bringing all the targets and strings to a common location for pick up and disassembly. Thank you guys!

2021 Nevada State Championships & AAFTA Grand Prix Pistol Results

10 lanes, 20 targets, 40 shots, 4 standing shots, average Troyer of 32.76

Hunter:

Scott S. 34

Scott H. 33

Wayne B. 32

Randy E. 29

John K. 19

Lonnie S. 16

Ron J. 4



Limited:

Cameron K. 33

Pat C. 16

Adam B. 13

One major difference between 2020 and 2021 was that none of the pistol targets were to be used on the rifle course in order to cut down on the last minute work needed to finish setting up the rifle course. The canyon entrance is nearly a mile above sea level and after walking what seemed to be two or three miles a day it was nice to not have to move targets around between the two matches.

As the sun rose Saturday morning we knew it was going to be a warm one. Everyone was set up bright and early as the sun peaked over the hill and the sight-in course opened for the days practice. By the start time everyone was chomping at the bit to get going and as the wind started to let everyone know it was there we had the shooters meeting and headed out to our assigned lanes to get things going.

While the rifle courses were "easier" than 2020 on paper they certainly felt just as difficult if not more difficult than 2020. Tony the Tiger was in a different spot but still at 55 yards for day one. He is the match mascot and like the rock mounted standing offhand lane he remains. We had the usual targets across the pond/collector area and with the canyon winds they proved once again to be nemesis like with hits and misses painted across the faceplate in a near forty five degree angle.

As the day wrapped up it became apparent that the Scott S and Scott H were going to have an epic battle on Sunday as they were tied for the lead at the end of the day Saturday with 43's. Open, WFTF and Piston were looking pretty close with a 40, 39 and 40 respectively with one or two points separating the leaders from second and third places.

As the sun set we freshened up and rotated the targets, moved the shooters boxes and got things ready for Sunday. Half the course was modified to AAFTA rules by means of the target distances changing by at least a yard as well as the angle to the target locations and also the wind changing by five or more yards. Since the targets are mounted on poles the between course change over went smoothly outside a bunch of hiking. Thanks again to Cameron K and Adam B for doing most of the between day course helping out.

Sunday was no walk in the park either, it was warmer and in the afternoon the winds picked up.

The two Scott's once again battled it out in Hunter class with Scott S getting the short end of the wind stick but managing to stay tied with Scott H at the end of the day with a score of 42 they nearly matched their first days score... After a highly contested shoot off Scott S knocked down the final target to take the Hunter win, Jim C who shot a 43 (high score of the day) on day two took third just four points behind the first place tie.

Lonnie S had some velocity issues that persisted from day one and could not match his first day scores in WFTF, John E bettered his first days scores along with Wayne B and they took first and second respectively.

Cameron K also had some velocity issues with his springer and managed a not so bad score for day two, considering the conditions. Adam B also bettered his Saturday scores while Jacob S match his score from the day before. Hats off to the Piston shooters, not only are they shooting at 12fpe or less they have to deal with hold sensitivity and recoil, as if the location, wind and course isn't hard enough they feel the need to make it even more challenging.

While Jim W and Chris M were only three points apart at the end of the day Saturday (with Pat C one point behind Chris M), Chris M over rotated for a couple of lanes which allowed Jim W to blank the standing lane and goose egg the steep angle lanes in wind without consequences. Jim W held on to his marginal lead and posted with a lower score on day two to take the Open win.

Unfortunately Dennis B who was in contention in the Open class suffered a flat tire on his way back to his hotel Saturday and had to pull out for Sunday. Carlos I deserves a honorary mention for his Kentucky windage style of shooting, no ranges, no click chart or clicking and managed a 28 n the first day. Although he also suffered some velocity issues its hard to believe he will not be in the running when he transitions to a full fledged field target setup in the future.

Special thanks to John E for making it out all the way from the east coast and Dan H. from Montana, the LA/Vegas crews also had a decent drive. Once again we had a great turn out and would like to thank everyone who took the time and energy to come out and make this match happen for another year. We will see you in 2022!

I would be great to see more east coast shooters out this way to up their game as well as ours. It would also be nice to see some of the other state competitors more than once a year at the Nationals. In 2022 the course will be eased up slightly as an experiment, it is unlikely it will be "easy" as this years course proved without a doubt, but if you can excel at this match you can excel at any match in the nation. We will be offering cash prizes again next year, come and take our money!! -NAG Staff



2021 Nevada State Championships & AAFTA Grand Prix Rifle Results

D1: 14 lanes, 28 targets, 56 shots, 4 standing shots, 8 kneelers, average Troyer 29.62

D2: 14 lanes, 28 targets, 56 shots, 4 standing shots, 8 kneelers, average Troyer 29.22



Piston Combined:

Cameron K. 40/31 70 WFTF

Adam B. 18/22 40 WFTF

Jacob S. 20/20 40 Hunter



WFTF:

John E. 37/39 76

Wayne B. 24/37 61

Lonnie S. 39/11 50



Open:

Jim W. 40/36 76

Chris M. 37/29 66

Pat C. 36/25 61

Ron J. 28/24 52

Carlos I. 28/13 41

Dan H. 18/22 40

Dennis B. 33/- 33



Hunter:

Scott S. 43/42 85 1st by shoot off

Scott H. 43/42 85

Jim C. 38/43 81

John K. 37/34 71

Al P. 34/35 69

Vince P. 33/32 65

Randy E. 27/29 56