Port Colborne Field Target Club – Inaugural Match
June 25, 2005
Dennis and I had been discussing the possibility of hosting Field Target in Port Colborne for a few years. The Port Colborne and District Conservation Club had a very nice facility where both skeet and 3d archery are shot. We decided to get involved in the club and investigate the possibility of shooting field target on the 3d archery course. We asked about hosting a match and put on a demonstration of the sport for the members. They were impressed by the accuracy of the rifles and shortly after we were given permission to proceed and a date was set.
We immediately informed all of the shooters we knew and provided them with the date and directions to the club. A week before, Dennis and I went in and cleared ten lanes of weeds and fallen branches. We raked some of the gravel on the path into nice level shooting areas and hoped that Mother Nature would not take any drastic action to spoil the course. We were lucky and the course was dry and clear on the morning of the match.
We set up five lanes each, with three targets per lane for a full sixty shot match. We were a little apprehensive as only a couple of shooters showed up while we were setting up. The guys continued to show up and we ended up with nine shooters. Dennis and I were very pleased with the turnout and grateful to the shooters for making the trip to Port.
From the match director’s point of view, the match was a great success. The course was challenging and yet all the scores were very good. Nine lanes were set up in the forested area that provided good cover from too much exposure to the sun, but let enough light through so that target visibility was not an issue. The last lane had one target on the edge of the drained pond, one target on a dried area on the bed of the pond and the last target was on the far side of the pond. Some tricky swirling winds made that an interesting lane. The Troyer rating on the course was 32, but eight targets were rated over 40, and of those, one was 49, two were 50 and one was 62. They were balanced off well with some difficult, medium and easy shots.
Dennis was solid all day and posted an impressive high score of 58, to win the first ever match in Port Colborne. Mike was only down two shots at the break, while I was down four, but the second half targets were not kind to Mike. I managed to drop only two more shots to post a 54 for second place and Mike rounded out the top three with a 49/60. Don, Bert and Doug were all close, posting scores of 48, 46 and 45 respectively. Chris, who has been practicing with his s300 for quite some time, was finally able to attend his first match and his practice definitely paid off. He was disappointed with some of his missed shots, but a 43 on a first outing is most impressive. We will have to watch out for this guy in the future. Danny posted a good score and I was pleased to see him after about nine months since his last match. James was the lone spring gun shooter and did well on a difficult course.
Many thanks go to the Port Colborne Conservation Club for allowing us to use their facility. The clubhouse, grounds and match course are topnotch. We are hoping to host one more match this Fall and then decide what to do about a schedule for next season.
Thanks again to the shooters who made this match a success and keep an eye out for the announcement of future events.
Tim MacSweyn
| Shooter | Gun | Scope | Pellet | Score /60
T-Diff 32 |
| 1) Dennis Eden | ld/SS 05 | Deben 10-50 | CPH | 58 |
| 2) Tim MacSweyn | ld/SS 04 | Deben 10-50 | CPH | 54 |
| 3) Mike Ferrara | AA NJR | Leupold 18-40 | Baracuda | 49 |
| 4) Don Irvine | Steyr FT | Deben 10-50 | Baracuda | 48 |
| 5) Bert Babitcher | AA s300 | Simmons 6.5-20 | Baracuda | 46 |
| 6) Doug Diver | Walther Dom. | Leupold 14-35 | BaracudaM | 45 |
| 7 Chris Nicholson | AA s300 | Tasco 6-24 | JSB | 43 |
| 8) Danny Reginato | AA s300 | Bushnell 8-32 | Air Arms | 40 |
| 9) James Jackson | HW97K | Hawke 8.5 – 34 | JSB Exact | 39 |