Today the Bayou Airgun Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana held their 2008 State Field Target match. It was a 52 shot match that was held on the Belle Terre course. The weather was great with mild temperatures in the 50’s climbing into the 60’s before the match was over. The wind was a factor as it was swirling and blowing in pretty much every direction at some point during the match.
The attendance for this match was good with 30 or so shooters. Since I didn’t get a picture of the final score sheet, I don’t yet have an exact number of shooters from the match. I’ll try to update that info when I get it from the guys in Baton Rouge.
I had intended on shooting my Air Arms EV2 12 fpe rifle at this match. However, I purchased USFT #19 from Kevin Allen last week and I just could not pass up giving it a try at this match. I also recently purchased a Leupold Competition 35 scope from Brad Troyer, so I decided to mount it on the USFT. After purchasing the rifle, I called Tim McMurry at MAC1 airguns and ordered his new Second Generation knee riser, long rail and thigh rest. Tim sent the parts out lighting fast, so I had them in time for the match. Fortunately I was able to get out in between the rain storms last week and set up my new scope numbers. Since I had so little time to test the rifle, I was a little apprehensive about taking it to the match. However, after taking a few shots at home last week, I knew it was a winner. So, I packed everything up and headed out to Baton Rouge Friday.
I made it down to Baton Rouge Friday and met up with a few old friends at the range. It was a lot warmer in Baton Rouge than home. The temperature was actually in the mid 80’s. I was curious to see if that affected the USFT’s zero. Fortunately, we were able to get in a few shots and check our rigs out before dark. It was pretty calm and I fine tuned my zero a little further. The rifle was shooting dead nuts on at 50 yards. I was able to consistently nail the smallest spinner, which was either 3/8″ or 1/2″ over and over with it. So, after checking the numbers in between with a few shots, I figured it was ready to go.
Saturday morning the temperature had dropped drastically. It was only about 50 degrees when I arrived at the range. So, I got on out to the range to re-check my zero. As it turned out the wind was blowing about four different ways all at once. So, it was very, very difficult to check windage. However, the elevation was clearly off a little. Actually, it was very little and I only had to add two clicks of elevation and everything was ready to go.
I was paired up to shoot with Joe Duboulay and Scott York today. We had a great time! Those two guys are a blast to shoot with and it was a lot of fun. We started on lane number 7. Joe was shooting the entire match off hand today. I’ve got to say that he is one heck of an off hand shooter too! He was shooting an Air Arms Prosport and it is amazing to watch Joe shoot. Even with the longer shots at 50 or so yards, Joe didn’t miss very many. Scott was shooting his Steyr. That is one awesome looking rifle. Scott has added his special rattle snake accents to the stock, grip and riser. It is one cool looking shooting iron.
After we got started, I managed to drop one shot on lane 7. However, I went another nine or so lanes without missing another. I saw Robert Ray around lane 13 and he was only down two shots at that point. I knew the pressure was on and he wasn’t going to miss many more. Everything was going well until I missed one more shot on a highly elevated tree shot. Then the major mistake got me. On the next lane, I forgot to close my breech and pulled the trigger on my first target. Bummer! That counted as a miss since I had let the sear break without closing the breech and taking a shot. Oh well, beginners mistake I guess. Maybe once I’ve had a little more time shooting this rifle I won’t make that mistake again…
The Piston shooters had their hands full with Warren Landry shooting his Whiscombe JW-70. Warren ended the day with a 41/52 and won the Piston Division. Bubba McCormick was the top Hunter shooter. Joe Duboulay took top honors in the Off Hand Class with 27/52. Way to go guys! Great shooting!
When it was over, I was in a four way tie for 1st place PCP with Robert Ray, Guy Omictin and Benny Lopoo. After having some great BBQ, we all lined up for the shoot off. The target was a bunny with a 1/2″ kz that I ranged at 36 yards. The wind was blowing so unpredictably that it was very difficult to hit the kz. Guy Omictin knocked it down first on his fourth shot and ended the shoot off for 1st place. I managed to get it the next shot after him and ending with 2nd. Robert Ray took 3rd and Benny 4th.
Overall, it was a great match! As usual it was great to see old friends and have a relaxing day shooting Field Target. I highly recommend that anyone in the area to look up the Bayou Airgun Club in Baton Rouge. They put on a great match with fine food and fellowship. Thanks to everyone involved in coordinating and setting up the match. See you guys next time!
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