After a rocky start to the year with two match cancellations due to weather, we were finally able to get an FT match underway in Northeast Ohio! The weather was perfect for the 22 shooters that made the match. With temps hovering around 70* F, the only thing that spoiled the perfect day was a fierce wind that was whipping through the course. In three years of shooting at Crooked Creek, I think this was the first time where there was a noticeable wind through the bulk of the match.
The course was set at a 31T, with 11 targets over 40 yards. The average target distance was 32 yards. In terms of multipliers, wind was added to the targets over 45 yards and a low light multiplier was added to about 40% of the targets as our course is very dark with only small spots of sunlight getting through. We try and combat the low light by painting many of the targets brighter colors so they don’t get lost in the dense woods. This brought the course to a 35T. So it was a challenging course for everyone.
We had a great mix of shooters turn out with 5 of the 6 AAFTA classes represented and 4 junior shooters taking on our Special Junior class which features targets at 10 and 20 yards only. We did have an intrepid traveler join us all the way from New York, Jerry LaRocca! Jerry shot his TX200 SR in WFTF Piston and was certainly a welcome face, hopefully Jerry had a great time and will join us again in the future. WFTF piston was also shot by Jeff Paddock, who turned in an impressive 55/60! Jeff had his HW97K dialed in and kept knocking down targets all day. Way to go Jeff!
His 55 was equaled by Tyler Patner, shooting his Steyr LG100 in WFTF PCP. We had a great turn out in WFTF PCP with 6 shooters participating. Bill Rabbitt put in a solid 53 with his trusty EV2, he’s been practicing and it’s definitely showing folks! I think Tyler is getting a bit lonely though, shooting his Steyr amongst a full roster of Air Arms PCP’s. With Bill, Dave, Bruce, Larry and Kristen all shooting Air Arms guns, it looks like a UK invasion on the firing line!
Rick Smelko held strong with his .20 cal Marauder for top honors in Hunter PCP. Joe Tricomi also posted a good score of 37 which is a big improvement over his scores from the end of last season! Between the difficulty of the course, the dark woods and the wind, many of the Hunter shooters came away with lower scores than usual. Being the first match of the year, I would think the rust was shaking off, but only time will tell.
Mark Evans returned with his trusty R9 to take the Hunter Piston win for the match. Congrats Mark. Looks like that west coast shooting you were doing earlier this year has kept you sharp.
Roger Barker came away with the high score in Open PCP. I know he wasn’t very pleased with his score, so maybe this will spur him to start shooting his Air Arms Pro Target that he scored last season. Skip Tenney had some gun issues, he just received it back from AZ, so he is still getting it set back up. We are all sure he’s going to be knocking more targets down at the next match.
In the Special Junior class, Spencer Bach delivered a stellar performance with a 38! Way to go Spencer. I know he made his Dad (Cory) very proud and they had a great time shooting the course together. Hopefully his big sister Allison Bach will be at the July match for a full family affair! Not far behind was Demitry Navarro, good shooting to him and the rest of the Juniors that joined us for the match.
After the match, we enjoyed a great meal that consisted of pulled pork, mac n cheese, pasta salad and a regular salad all made by Kristen. It was all excellent! And Roger’s wife made an awesome red velvet cake for desert that was to die for! An awesome meal and if the lack of left overs was any indication, everyone enjoyed it.
Thanks to everyone that stuck around after the awards to help clean up and tear down the course. We will be back on July 16th for our monthly match and hope to see everyone then. We’ve got some new targets that will be debuting next month and are working on some more tree stands to keep things interesting!
Hunter PCP
Rick Smelko – Benjamin Marauder – UTG 3-12 – H&N Baracuda – 41/60
Joe Tricomi – Marauder – Hawke – JSB 18.13 (.22) – 37/60
Sue Tenney – Daystate Huntsman – Hawke – HN Baracuda – 36/60
Cory Bach – Air Arms S510 US – Hawke – JSB 10.3 – 34/60
Don Ellsworth – Marauder – UTG 3-12 – AA 8.4 – 21/60
Hunter Piston
Mark Evans – Beeman R9 – Hawke Airmax – HN FTT .22 – 28/60
Bill Sizemore – RWS 34 – Bushnell 4-12 – CPL 7.9 – 9/60
Open PCP
Roger Barker – Marauder – Aeon 8-32 – JSB 10.3 – 26/60
Skip Tenney – Steyr LG110 – Sightron 10-50 – JSB Monster – 24/60
Mark Oehlberg – Steyr LG110 – Sightron 10-50 – H&N Baracuda – 7/60
WFTF Piston
Jeff Paddock – HW97k – Leupold 35x – Crosman Premier 7.9 – 55/60
Jerry LaRocca – AA TX200 SR – Bushnell 8-32 – CPL 7.9 – 41/60
WFTF PCP
Tyler Patner – Steyr LG100 HR – March 10-60 – AA 7.9 – 55/60
Bill Rabbitt – Air Arms EV2 – Nikko 10-50 – JSB 7.9 – 53/60
Bruce Scott – Air Arms EV2 – Nikko 10-50 – JSB 8.4 – 41/60
Larry Justinus – Air Arms EV2 – Leupold 40x – JSB 7.9 – 33/60
Dave Hitchcock – Air Arms FTP900 – Hawke 10-50 – JSB 8.4 – 31/60
Kristen Coss – AA MPR FT – Bushnell 8-32 – AA 8.4 – 28/60
Novice/Special Junior
Spencer Bach – AA S200 – Leapers 3-12x – AA 8.4 – 38/60
Demitry Navarro – RWS 34 – Bushnell 4-12x – CPH 10.5 – 33/60
Brandon Navarro – Beeman R7 – Beeman SS2 4x – Crosman 7.9 – 27/60
Camille Sizemore – Beeman R7 – Beeman SS2 4x21 – Crosman 7.9 – 19/60