I had the opportunity to attend the Northeast Regional Field Target match that was held at the Crosman factory in East Bloomfield, NY last weekend. Crosman went all out in hosting the event with the help of Ray, Hans and Laurie Apelles. The factory employees were very friendly and spared no expense in making this a great event. On Friday the factory opened it’s doors and took us on a tour through their facilities. Each tour was guided by experienced employees with many, many years of service with the factory. They were open and helpful with questions and listened to our feedback about products. We were able to see the various processes of production, assembly, shipping and yes, how the pellets are made! (If you’re wondering about he pellet process guys too bad, you should have been there…)

After the tours, the Quigley Challenge was held on the sight in range. This was an offhand event, shot with a 10 meter rifle (About 6 fpe) at a 1.75″ square target, 55 yards away. This was a very tough event and was ultimately won by Paul Bishop. There were only four competitors that actually knocked the target down and it came down to a shoot off. Paul won after again hitting the target two more times during the shoot off! Fantastic shooting and Congrats to Paul for a job well done!

On Saturday morning the weather cleared out, the wind started blowing and sight in was on. We got started with sight in around 7 AM Eastern time. There were around 64 shooters attending the match, give or take so the sight in range was full. We all got our respective rigs ready and had a shooters meeting promptly at 8:30 AM. Hans Apelles went over the rules of the match, safety and procedures. We were to shoot two legs of the match. One course was shot by half of the participants in the morning while the other half shot the other course location. After lunch, the participants swapped courses and shot a second 40 shot course.

The total course was 20 lanes, four shots per lane, 80 shots for the whole course. The courses were expertly designed by the devious Ray Apelles. They were deceptively difficult due to the fact that about 17 of the 20 lanes were in open fields and each had one target that was somewhere between 45-55 yards give or take a little. Each course also had one offhand and one kneeling lane. So, the course had a total of 16 forced shots. Also, the difficulty of the forced shots was at an elevated level as well. As I recall, the offhand lanes had one target that was reasonably close, but the second was set around 37-40 yards. The Kneeling lanes were simliar in difficulty as well. The thing that made this course sound simple was the fact that Ray used all full size kz’s on every target, even the close ones. So, this gave the novice shooters a chance to leave with a respectable score. However, the long shot on each lane was a real challenge in the ever changing winds that were at times blowing our rifles from side to side as we tried to steady for a shot.

All divisions were squaded on the same courses to simulate weather conditions from morning to afternoon. For example, I shot WFTF with my 12 fpe Air Arms EV2 so I was squadded on the same course as Ray and the other WFTF shooters. With this arraingment we all encountered simliar weather and wind conditions as our competitors. As it turned out, when we were done on the morning course, Ray had me by one point. So, we were squadded together for the evening match along with Paul Bishop. We shot the evening course in front of the factory and the wind just was howling from the first to the last shot. It was a real blast of a match because we stayed neck in neck for the remainder of the match. As it turned out, I had Ray by one point at the end of the second match, so we were on our way to a shoot off! It was funny because I had mentioned to Ray before the beginning of the match in the morning that he needed to shoot well and beat me outright because I didn’t want this to end in a shoot off. Well, what a prediction…

After the competitors all finished up, Hans and Paul Bishop set up the shoot off on the practice field. Hans had set up four targets with progressively smaller kz’s in the event that we both got lucky and took out the targets in order. A coin toss decided who would go first and I won so, I requested that Ray shoot first. We both sat down and ranged the first target. When ready, we were given one minute each to take a shot at the target. I ranged the first target at 53 yards and noted a heavy right to left wind. Ray called ready, his time began and he took his shot. I was watching and saw his first shot go high and left. I call ready and Hans started the timer. I forgot about everything else at that point and tried to concentrate on my hold off, breathing and the location that I wanted that pellet to impact. I held off about two or three inches to the right and waited for the wind to slow a bit. When I felt the decrease in the wind, I took the shot, and watched the pellet impact the kz a bit left of center. The target fell and the shoot off was over. Ray is a great competitor and shooter, so I appreciate his challenge for me to shoot WFTF at this match.

In conclusion, I can honestly say that the match was a great success. I had a great time visiting with other shooters and competing in the match. Crosman did a fantastic job of hosting their first match and I look forward to more in the future. If you didn’t get a chance to make it to this match, plan now for next year. I think you will probably see an offering for a two day event in the future there at Crosman, so be sure to put it on your calendar when they announce the next one.

Thanks again to Crosman, Hans, Ray and Laura Apelles for a great match!

Harold Rushton

Pictures from the match

My hard earned WFTF plaque

Some of the lanes in the field in front of the Crosman Factory

View of lanes in front of the Crosman Factory

Lanes in front of the Factory

Sight in on Saturday Morngin

Quigley Challenge on Friday Afternoon

Crosman factory Tour – Their Colletion of Airguns

Just a view of the area, it was beautiful there in NY

Factory workers setting up on Friday. It was HOT!

This sight in area also served as part of one of the courses

The back door at the Crosman Factory

I decided to make some new wood for my Steyr and replace the yellow/black bumble bee look. So, I ordered a chunk of gray laminate. It came in a week or so ago and I got started roughing out the new parts. I kept the same basic shape of the old Steyr parts, but changed the grip up to fit my right hand a bit better. So, I added a palm swell and the anatomical pistol grip to the design. When I was done, I finished it all out in multiple coats of clear with a generous rub down of steel wool in between coats. Now, I guess there’s nothing to do, but go shoot it a little…

Be sure to click the “continue”  button after this picture to see more of this project.

First I made a drawing of the basic outline of the parts that I was cutting.  I cut the blocks off with my miter saw, then followed the outline with my band saw. 

Drawing out the new parts

After cutting the parts out and getting the basic shape, I had to inlet the area for the mounting hardware on the stock piece.  I used my Bridgeport milling machine for this operation.

Inlet of the stock for the mounting hardware

After the inlet work, I generously sanded everything starting with my belt sander and 120 grit paper.  Then I went on to hand sanding with 220 and finally hand rubbed everything with steel wool.

Roughed out stock and pistol grip before finish

The final parts were finished with numerous coats of clear lacquer.  After each coat had time to dry, I hand rubbed the finish with more steel wool, then applied another coat.  I kept at it until I had the finish where I wanted it.
Finished parts installed

The Good Ole Boy’s Field Target Club in Pulaski, Tennessee will be hosting their Championship Match on June 13th and 14th, 2009.  The Championship match will be hosted by Roz Sumpter.  It will consist of two days with two separate courses.  Each course will be a 60 shot, standard field target course.  If you are interested in participating, go to the link below and download the registration form.  There you will find all of the pertinent information about the match, contact information and accommodations.

We hope to see you all there!

Harold Rushton

Good Ole Boy’s Championship Match Registration Form:  http://www.playmasters.info/2009-GOB-Match-Registration.pdf

Directions to the Match Location:  http://www.airguns.net/goodoldboys/directions.html

On January 17th, 2009, the Good Ole Boy’s Field Target Club in Pulaski, Tn held the first match of the new year. Roz and I were watching the weather forecasts all week hoping for the best for Saturday. All was looking good the first part of the week, but a cold weather front moved into the Southern Tennessee area on Thursday causing the temperature to drop off drastically. Even after the front moved in, the weather service was still forecasting warmer weather for Saturday. Some even forecast temperatures up to 45 degrees.

Given the favorable weather forecasts, we made our final plans for a match so Saturday morning I was off to Roz’s place. I arrived in Pulaski around 10:00 AM and the temperature was still around 30 degrees! According to the local weather man, the high forecast had changed to the mid 30’s with winds in excess of 25 miles per hour! Ouch… That didn’t sound like ideal Field Target weather. Oh well, we might as well shoot.

Soon after 10:00 AM, the rest of the shooters started showing up. Before long we had 12 potential shooters and everyone was eager to have a match. One thing that Roz and I both noticed was the fact that after a very short sight in session, everyone was done and ready to go to the course. So, we had a brief safety meeting and were off to start the match.

This match consisted of 10 lanes, two targets per lane, three shots per target for a total of 60 shots. One lane was offhand and the remainder were seated lanes. Before the match started, one shooter decided not to shoot due to the weather, so we were down one before we started. Unfortunately, the cold took a toll on a few other shooters and they too gave up before finishing the course. I’ve got to admit, it was COLD, but I figured it was a good opportunity to work on wind doping so I stuck it out…

David Brown and I shot together at this match. David was shooting his Walther Dominator and I shot my USFT. It was a lot of fun shooting with David. Thinking back on it, I’ll bet we were talking a little more than normal today, just to try and hold down the shivers if for no other reason. I even remember one time seeing David run by when I was setting up for the offhand lane. He came back and explained that he was just trying to get some blood flowing again… Either way, I don’t think the heavy winds were helping any. I think that attributed to the worst of the cold and a lot to the extreme difficulty of the course.

We started on lane number 2, which is on the uphill portion of the course. The wind was really blowing hard from behind us with a hard right quartering affect. On my first shot I noted that my point of impact on the kz was a little low. The target was only about 25 yards, so it gave me a little hint of what to expect from the wind. Sure enough, the second target was beyond 50 yards and it too was being blown low and to the right. I almost made it though that lane clean until the last shot. The wind picked up right as I was breaking the shot and my pellet was blown low and right. Oh well, that was my first miss of the day! Not too promising since I was on my first lane.

David did well on the first lane and under the conditions, he did well on the course overall. As the match progressed, the wind continued to annoy us with varying velocities and directions. By the time we were half through the match, all we could think about was the cold and getting back to the pot of Chili that Steve Vines had brought. Thanks Steve! It did give us hope…

Steve was shooting his trusty TX200, fresh spring and all. He was shooting with a first time shooter, Kevin Blankenship from Savannah, Tn. Kevin was also shooting a new TX200. It was good to see Kevin come out and give Field Target a try. He introduced himself to us on one of the internet forums a couple of weeks ago and promised to make it to the match. Well, he did and we enjoyed his company. There’s one thing about starting Field Target in January on a 30 degree day, the rest of the FT season should all be down hill from there! Kevin did a good job with his new TX200 in the windy cold conditions and knocked over a good number of targets in the process.

When it was all over, eight shooters had actually completed the course. We all met up at Roz’s house and had a big bowl (or two) of Steve’s now Famous Chili. Man, it was welcomed after that match. We had a nice time of fellowship after the match talking about our day in the cold and airguns in general. Heck, it took me an hour and a half to warm up enough to get in the car and start driving home!

We all agreed to give it another try next Saturday, if the weather coorperates. We are already watching the long range forecasts and will make a final call for a mathc on Thursday evening. That will hopefully give everyone a second chance to warm up and get in some “normal” Field Target… If you haven’t yet tried Field Target, watch for our next announced match and come on over.

See you there!

Harold Rushton

Match Results
PCP
Name Score Rifle
Harold Rushton 53/60 USFT #19
David Brown 45/60 Walther Dominator
Roz Sumpter 41/60 Theoben MFR
Pat O’Brein 18/60 USFT

PISTON
Steve Vines 28/60 Air Arms TX200
Anden Houben 22/60 Air Arms TX200SR
Kevin Blankenship 20/60 Air Arms TX200
Shane Iceberg 19/60 R-9
Rod Bradley DNF
John Blount DNF

Today Roz Sumpter invited everyone over to his place in Pulaski, Tennessee for a local Field Target match. The weather was forecast to be sunny and 50 degrees, so it was a great day for Field Target. The sight in range was open by 1:00 PM and it gave everyone time to get done with church for the morning and still get in an afternoon of shooting.

Most of the guys were at the range by 1:00 PM and eagerly shooting at spinners, field targets and Brad’s auto-resetting targets. We had a good turn out with 10 shooters from Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia. Oh, and my son, Matthew, was home from the Army on leave so I guess you could say he even made it over from North Carolina! Everyone got in a few minutes of sight in, minor adjusting and by 2:00 PM we were off to the course to start the match.

The course was definitely no “give me”. Roz took some time setting up the course and it featured an elevated difficulty level. I found it to be both challenging and fun, so it worked out pretty good. I think the large variety of targets and creative placements kept everyone on their toes.

My son shot with me today and I’ve got to say it was good to spend time with him. He’s been gone with the Army now for a year and I miss the time that we used to spend together shooting. We both had a great time shooting and talking. It was just a great day for us! Matthew shot my Air Arms EV-2 and I shot my USFT #19. This was the first time that Matthew had a chance to shoot the EV-2 and he really liked it. For the first time shooting the rifle and considering that he was shooting 12 fpe, he did pretty good on the course.

Scott Thome also came over from Atlanta to shoot with us . It’s always good to see Scott and I enjoy watching him shoot Hunter Division. Scott was shooting his EV-2 today and did well on the course. That brings me to a point that came to mind while I was preparing this report. Today we had (5) five Field Target National Champions shooting the course with us. Scott Thome, Hunter National Champion 2008, Matthew Rushton, Hunter National Champion 2007, Brad Troyer, Piston National Champion 2007, David Slade, PCP National Champion and Roz Sumpter, four time Piston National Champion! Pretty cool, huh! I’ll bet it’s not everyday that you have that many champs to contend with at a match…

Anyway, when it was all over and done my USFT had served me well for the day. I ended the day in 1st PCP with a 59/60. Rick Thompson was a close second with 56/60 and still hammering us with his Theoben Vanquish. Steve Vines was the Piston 1st place winner with 33/60. Scott Thome was the high Hunter Division shooter with 44/60.

After the match, we all gathered up at the pavilion to have a piece of Caramel Apple pie and a cup of coffee. It was a good ending to the day. We all agreed to give it a shot again in January if there happens to be a Saturday that the temperature rises above 45 degrees. So, I’ll let you all know when we are planning another match. As always, we thank Roz for inviting us over to shoot at his place. I am looking forward to next time… I hope to see you guys there!

Harold Rushton

Match Scores

PCP
Name Score Rifle
Harold Rushton 59/60 USFT #19
Rick Thompson 56/60 Theoben Vanquish
David Brown 53/60 Walther Dominator
Roz Sumpter 51/60 Theoben MFR
Matthew Rushton 37/60 EV-2 (International)

PISTON
Steve Vines 33/60 Air Arms TX200
Brad Troyer 31/60 HW-97
Shane Iceberg 21/60 R-9 Goldfinger

HUNTER
Scott Thome 44/60 Air Arms EV-2
David Slade 33/60 Whiscombe JW-55

I recently purchased USFT #19 from Kevin Allen. I wanted a high power Field Target rifle so I could give the PCP division a try next season. When Kevin decided to sell his, I knew it would be a good, proven rifle to compete with.

After having the rifle for a few weeks now, I have had a little time to get acquainted with it. I have shot two Field Target matches and the rifle performed well in both. The first was the week that I picked up the rifle. It was the Louisiana State Field Target Championship match and I tied for first with a 49/52. Ultimately, I ended up in second place after a shoot off. The second match that I shot was a couple of weeks ago in Pulaski, Tennessee. It was just a local Good Ole Boy’s match, but again I tied for first place with a 58/60. During those matches, I made a couple of observations about the rifle.

First, the best thing that I’ve found about the USFT is that the accessories allow the shooter to almost wear the rifle like a glove. I added the new Generation II knee riser and long rail system to my rifle and I have found it to be well worth the money. While shooting the last two matches, I was able to easily transition from steep up hill and tree shots to down hill shots with ease. The thigh rest also provides additional support to the butt of the rifle that allows it to just sit rock solid when in the seated Field Target shooting position. All of these parts work together to allow the rifle to fit the shooter like no other rifle that I have shot before.

Now, even counting all of the accessories that I previously mentioned, the rifle wouldn’t be much without a good barrel. Well, there’s definately no problem there with my rifle. In practice at home, I have noted that the USFT will routinely drive one pellet after another through the same hole at 50 yards. With it shooting Crosman Premier Heavy pellets at 880 fps, the wind isn’t much of a problem either. Over the past few years, I have grown accustomed to shooting lower powered springers and my 12 fpe EV-2. So, this higher power shooting is proving to be a bit of a relief during windy parts of the day. The amount of hold off necessary to hit a field target at 55 yards is negligable when using heavy pellets at the higher velocities.

Overall, I am very pleased with USFT #19. I hope to improve my abilities over the next few months. Shooting this fine rifle sure doesn’t leave much room for excuses! As I have more time with the rifle, I’ll update everyone on my observations.

Take care,

Harold

Yesterday we had an impromptu match at Roz Sumpter’s place in Pulaski, Tennessee. Roz called me last Wednesday and said he wanted to invite everyone over since the weather report was looking good for Saturday. Well, as time ticked closer to Saturday, the weather report digressed. A weather front moved in on Friday night with rain and cooler temperatures. However, by 10:00 AM Saturday, the rain had passed and we were cleared for a nice day of Field Target!

When I arrived at the range, the temperature was in the mid 50’s and it there was a variable wind. Several of the club members arrived early and began to help with the course set up. By 9:30 AM there was enough targets set out on the course for 10 lanes of Field Target. We placed two targets per lane and decided to shoot each target three times. That allowed for a nice 60 shot match.

We all got in a little time on the range before the match. Then by 10:15 AM we were off to the course for the match. Given the weather forecast, we had a good attendance. There were a total of 11 shooters today, but only 9 participated in the scored match. The course was set up nicely with a good variety of long, medium and close targets. We had one kneeling lane that was also contributed to a good variety for the course.

At this match, Roz had Rick Thompson and I shoot together. Rick is a great shooter and I enjoy the challenge of shooting with him. Today was no exception! Rick flipped a coin to decide who went first and I was the looser, so I was up first… I was shooting my USFT #19 and this was only the second match that I’ve shot with it. Since I’m still getting used to it and the scope, I guess I mis-ranged the first target. Unfortunately, I split my first shot and it didn’t go down. I felt pretty bad about missing the first shot of the day, but Rick helped my feelings a bit when he missed the same target a little later. What a great guy, to miss one just so I wouldn’t feel so bad, right? As the match progressed, we were dead even until lane 10. Then it happened again, I missed another one… I guess Rick was feeling bad for me again and managed to also miss the same target again. There we were again, dead even… As it turned out, Rick missed a couple more before the match was over, but he was tough competition and kept me on my toes all day.

David Brown was also trying out a new rig at this match. David recently purchased a Walther Dominator and Sightron scope combo. I’d say he’s got a good combination, given his score of the day! David had the same thing happen to him on his first lane that I did. Unfortunately, he also missed his first shot of the day. Then on lane number 4 David missed another shot for a total of two misses. David has really improved his game this year and we have a serious contender on our hands now! Awesome shooting David… I can’t wait to see how well that thing shoots when you’ve got more than one match behind you.

David was shooting with Shane this time and Shane had brought along an R-7 to shoot. Shane is a heck of a spring shooter. As it turned out, Shane shot an incredible 26 with his 6-7 fpe springer. Pretty awesome considering that he was also using a 4-12x scope on the rifle! Way to go Shane!

When it was all over, David Brown and I tied for first place PCP each with a 58/60. Steve Vines was the high Piston Shooter with a 38/60 and Charles Garvey was our high Hunter shooter with a 49/60. Way to go guys! We didn’t have a shoot off for first place, we’ll just try to get in a rematch in a few weeks when the weather allows! Great shooting David!

When it was all done, we all huddled together at the pavilion to have a bowl of hot beef stew that my wife sent over. We got in a little more shooting and fellowship before ending the day about 3:30 PM.

I’d like to thank Pat O’Brien, David Brown, Steve Vines and Shane Iceberg for arriving early and setting up a very nice Field Target course. The course was a pleasure to shoot and I really enjoyed the day with friends. Of course, also a great thank you goes out to Roz Sumpter from all of us for the invitation to join him for a great day of shooting!

We are going to try to have another match soon when the weather allows. I’ll do my best to give you all a notification here at least 48 hours in advance. See you guys next time!

Happy Shooting!

Harold Rushton
http://www.usfieldtarget.com

(Sorry no pictures this time. I forgot to take my camera)

Match Results
Name ——————– Score ————– Rifle
David Brown ————- 58/60 ———- Walther Dominator (PCP)
Harold Rushton ———- 58/60 ———- USFT #19 (PCP)
Rick Thompson ———- 56/60 ———- Theoben Vanquish (PCP)
Roz Sumpter ———— 54/60 ———- Theoben MFR (PCP)
Charles Garvey ———- 49/60 ———- Theoben MFR (HUNTER)
Steve Vines ———— 38/60 ———- Air Arms TX200 (PISTON)
Shane Iceberg ———- 26/60 ———- Beeman R7 (PISTON)
Rich Nowak ————- 20/60 ———- NJR 100 (PCP)

I am always on the lookout for good resources on marksmanship. I recently ran across an ebook that was written with precision shooting in mind. There’s a great deal of good information in this ebook that may benefit beginners and experts. I thought some of you might was to check it out too.

Here’s a link to the ebook: Click Here!

Here is a link to a great free trajectory program.  This program was written by Brad Troyer and works great for setting up your scope numbers.  Also check out the other awesome information on Brad’s web site!  http://www.airguns.net/software_downloads.php

This web site has a pretty good selection of free targets. Just save and print when you need them: http://www.mytargets.com/