HFT question

According to the AAFTA HFT rules, the maximum is 16 power, does not say anything about lowering for specific positions like offhand or kneeling. I would say yes if you are having a lot of movement, maybe someone else could chime in…. Rick 

Here's what the Aafta handbook has to say about sights and HFT:

A. Optical sights of any reticle style may be used, but are limited to a maximum of 16 power magnification. Variable scopes of greater than 16X must be turned to the 16X or nearest lower factory marking on the scope.

The way I read that is that it would not be a problem to turn your power down below 16 power. 

You should try off hand at 50 power!!

Good shooting,

Chas

John,

Just about everyone shooting HFT lower there scope power for offhand.

Remember to turn it back up after shooting..

I've been wondering if the HFT rules permit you to lower your magnification for offhand shots and increase again for supported shots. I am not too steady holding offhand at 16x.

Thanks,

John

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Yes John you can change it to lower than 16X anytime you need, just not over.

Brian

Here's what the Aafta handbook has to say about sights and HFT:

A. Optical sights of any reticle style may be used, but are limited to a maximum of 16 power magnification. Variable scopes of greater than 16X must be turned to the 16X or nearest lower factory marking on the scope.

The way I read that is that it would not be a problem to turn your power down below 16 power. 

You should try off hand at 50 power!!

Good shooting,

Chas

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The rules do not state any limitation for scopes that are not capable of exceeding 16x.

The pertinent sentence in the rules for other scopes:

"...Variable scopes of greater than 16X must be turned to the 16X or nearest lower factory marking on the scope...."

Per logical interpretation, for scopes capable of greater 16x, they must be at the 16x mark or the next lower. That would imply that for those scopes, you can't re-adjust them to any setting other than those two (whether it's higher or lower) once the match starts. But that's not what most do.

What the rules probably should have said:

"...Variable scopes of greater than 16X must be turned to the 16X or nearest ANY lower factory marking on the scope...."

From what I have seen, many Hunter Division shooters are using scopes that are capable of greater than 16x, and they still adjust them during the match, but should take care not to turn them past 16x when readjusting them during the match. It's mostly an honor system, as most people don't care to check if it was reset all the precisely.

It’s likely that you can be just as steady at higher mag as you are at lower. It’s a mind and vision problem mostly. I use a fixed power 40x scope and have learned a technique that keeps my body from going into the pendulum of overcorrection on higher mag.

Rather than fixing your eyes on where you want to put the pellet and letting your body try to get the crosshairs there….only look directly through the center of the crosshairs or wherever your aim point is and observe where you need to go out of your peripheral vision and make tiny movements til you get there. If you allow your eyes to wander to where you want to put the pellet…you will likely induce a cycle of move, overshoot, move back, overshoot again, etc.

Once this process starts its hard to stop….and it’s worse with greater mag. Your eye focus point is the critical element. It’s incredibly difficult to not let your focus wander to your intended poi once you get close. Resist it and train your body and mind. It works.

Mike 

If you get into offhand position and look at a blank wall and observe your steadiness….you will probably note that you really don’t move that much. Now, pick a mark on the wall and try to hold on it. This is where the train comes off the tracks and the extra wobbles start.

Some of this is from what I described in the above reply, and some is from having to reach for the target outside of your natural poa. Shift your feet to move laterally and keep your upper body tension free.


Mike 

Great bit of tutorial there Mike .... as stated easier said than done.

Lol ... have I ever stated how much i dislike offhand !!!

Tho to shoot it ya gotta figure it out and that is the crux of FT, it is a REQUIRED element of the game.

My particular club does not allow you to Change magnification at all once you start shooting. Looks like technically you should be able to but you might want to talk to your local club. 

My particular club does not allow you to Change magnification at all once you start shooting. Looks like technically you should be able to but you might want to talk to your local club.

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"...My particular club does not allow you to Change magnification at all once you start shooting...."

According to the wording in the rules, that should really only apply to those who use "…Variable scopes of greater than 16X..."

"...Looks like technically you should be able to..."

Technically, it's OK if your scope is not capable of being set at over 16x.

In practice (most matches outside of your club), it does not matter, as it's done regardless of what scope is being used in Hunter Division.

Hey Mike, you just verbalized what I've been coming to recently with off hand. Widen/soften the field of vision. Don't concentrate on the very center of the KZ. Hold a bigger picture. Definitely helps with the over correcting. 

Yeah Tom, that's right. To progress from dreading the off hand lanes, to being up for them, to looking forward to them. I don't think I look forward to them yet, but I don't dread them anymore. And, yeah, only way to get there is to keep shooting off hand,,, a lot. 

Chas

Great insight 

I have always thought a scope with one of the circle hunting reticles but in a higher magnification may work well for offhand shooting. In years past I had a front aperture sight on a 1885 black powder cartridge rifle for shooting metallic silhouettes. I found I could shoot the front aperture much better than a front post. As the target enters the circle start the squeeze. I think that is about the same thought as what you are describing. 

Offhand , One day I can shoot lights out,,,,,, but then there are other days!! 

Oh can I add, I have found I shoot better using the center cross hairs like a duplex or such. But then when using the holdovers I start the overcorrecting and that leads to jerking the trigger 

I've been wondering if the HFT rules permit you to lower your magnification for offhand shots and increase again for supported shots. I am not too steady holding offhand at 16x.

Thanks,

John

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To avoid confusion, try to use the term Hunter Class, since HFT is a totally different game that does not allow ANY scope adjustments. American Field Target has several classes, such as Open, WFTF, and Hunter …. They all shoot in the same events simultaneously.

As to the question re lowering scope power … AAFTA rules are vaguely written, but everyone pretty much is ok with any mag 16X or less, and most of use DO turn mag down sometimes, esp for forced position shots.

BTW, in HFT, all shots are forced position, and no sitting shots are allowed … much different than “our” game.