Hanna Alberta Field Target Club
Match Summary – June 15, 2013
Well now that the dust has settled, I have the task of
trying to re-cap our day of shooting and the challenge of keeping my summary reasonably short. We had a 60 point match with 15 lanes set up and a total of 26 shooters. I am not even going to attempt the Troyer scale since we had winds ranging from 45 to 70 km/hr! Suffice it to say the course was difficult enough for the most expert of shooters.
I cannot express how honored we were to have Tim MacSweyn, Jeff Hemming and George Harde fly out from Ontario to join us here in Hanna. We are a pretty small club and I was terrified that they would make such a great effort to join us only to have a “no show” match. As it turns out we had a nice respectable number of shooters that ranged from beginner to expert. We were happy to welcome Brian, his son Brennan and Walter from the Olds, Alberta group of shooters. Brian was incredibly generous with his offer to bring pop, plates, utensils and his huge tank of compressed air as well as door prizes. On the day of the shoot we ended up with more shooters than guns and in several cases had to pair 3 shooters with one gun. Brian added 2 of his HW30’s to our loaner guns and I was impressed over and over again at his willingness to help out.
We had a large group in the Hunter Piston division with 15 shooters. Most of these individuals were trying out Field Target for the first time and I am happy to announce that at least a few of them are now hooked. Despite the gale force winds this group was knocking down the most difficult of targets and you could hear a ton of “whoops and hollers” from around the course. Without a doubt this group was having the most fun! At the end of the day we gathered around to watch a shoot out between Alyssa Larson and Brian Campbell to determine second and third place. This was great fun to watch and added a little excitement to the day.
Brian, Walter and Brennan all shot PCP Hunter and finished with very close scores. Brennan was the winner of the day going home with two trophies; top points for youth and third place in the PCP Hunter division.
Robbie Stewart and Tim MacSweyn competed in the WFTF PCP division and both finished with incredible scores. The wind caused them both some grief but their years of experience and expertise at FT was evident. The rest of us only wish we could shoot so well!
There were 6 shooters in the WFTF Piston division. For Ryan it was a first time shoot and he was scrambling to get his gun set up for the match. There is little doubt that he is going to be a force in upcoming shoots and he is an absolute natural at this sport. Not surprisingly, George held the top score followed closely by his son Zach and my daughter Nicole. Nicole had to switch scopes at the last minute and shot using hold over from a chart she had used the previous year. Despite the odds on this particular day it appears she is another force to be reckoned with!
Highlights of the day included the presence of our youngest shooter, 10 year old Hunter who was without a doubt the most enthusiastic participant. Another highlight was the great turn-out of new and interested shooters including a couple who travelled 3 hours from Edmonton just to see what we were up to. As usual, the wealth of knowledge shared by individuals such as Tim, George, Robbie and Jeff is greatly appreciated by all of us new to the sport. We finished the day with awards going out to the top 3 shooters in each division and followed with door prizes and beef-on-a-bun. At last, we reached my favorite part of every shoot where there is a re-hashing of the day as everyone recounts their shots made or missed and kicks back to relax and talk Field Target. On a final note it was great to see Jeff Hemming win the pistol which was donated by Airgun Source (one of many items they donated!) There are several of us who will be looking for a demonstration at the upcoming Nationals … heads up Jeff!
Many, many thanks go to all of the individuals who together made this day a success. Hats off to Tim, George, Jeff and Zach for setting up a great course and to Tim and George for sharing the role of Match Director. Thanks again to Airgun Source for the donation of so many prizes. They have my undying loyalty! Additional thanks go to Robbie Stewart for his expertise and willingness to share his knowledge and to the Olds group of shooters who made the effort to drive to the “boonies” for the shoot. It is evident that there are a number of committed shooter’s who are dedicated to promoting the growth of Field Target in Canada and to me that is the icing on the cake. It is great to be a part of such a great sport!
By Barb Larson