(Match Report by Tyler Patner) May 12, 2024
I’ll start this report on Saturday May 11th. As we typically do, we set our courses on Saturday and shoot Sunday. Occasionally, our Saturday course building coincides with some not so nice weather, this was one of those Saturday’s. A handful of us arrived at Twin Oaks Air Rifle Range and were greeted with clouds, rain and fairly chilly temps around 45 degrees. We muddled our way through setting up a 15-lane course in the woods. Around lane 4, Jeff encountered a newborn fawn that was very inquisitive. It walked right up to Jeff and I like a dog would and hung out there while we set up the lane. It was a very neat experience.
Anyway, we finished setting up, attempting to keep as many lanes close together as we could. Of the 30 targets we set, 18 of them were over 40 yards. The course was more technical than we typically set, but as shooters begin to prepare for the Sherwood Grand Prix next month, this practice is sure to come in handy. The Troyer factor before wind worked out to a 33.79T. I will say, I don’t think the course shot as hard as the Troyer might make you think, but there were a lot of long targets and a number of mid-range reduced targets that kept everyone on their toes.
When Sunday rolled around, the skies looked clear but the sun hadn’t quite decided it wanted to come out yet. So as we started the match it was still fairly cold, around 50 degrees. Thankfully, as the day went on, the sun poked through and warmed things up comfortably into the 60s. We had 28 shooters join us, which was a great turnout considering the previous day's weather and the fact that it was Mother’s Day. Of the 28, we have two new shooters join us which is always great to see.
On the course, there were a few noteworthy shots that many shooters pointed out. A long kneeling shot, at 44 yards. I heard a solid cheer or two when shooters hit it, but looking over the target at the end of the day, it was definitely peppered with pellet marks. A few dark targets as well seemed to give many shooters fits, but that is part of the game and what keeps it interesting. We only had one cold line for a protest, and one target that had a spring break, so that got replaced quickly, but it was on one of the course's isolated lanes, so no cold line was needed to swap that out.
As scores came in, there were some tight finishes. In WFTF PCP, Tyler Patner edged out Jeff Paddock by just one shot, with a 53/60. WFTF Piston featured just one shooter, John Cerne, who came down from New York to shoot with us. He posted a very solid 45 for the day. To round out the bum bag shooters, Larry Gromacki posted a 41 in Open PCP to take the top spot for the day there.
Al Duster was the lone Hunter Piston shooter, and had came out shooting quite well, but something shifted as the match wore on and he was unable to sort it out as the match continued. Despite losing his zero, he finished with a 23. In Hunter PCP, it was very tight at the top of the leaderboard with a tie for second and third. Jeff Swartz and Doug Cunningham both posted 53s, and after a coin flip, Jeff came out on top, claiming second. But better than both of them, was Dale Prulhiere who posted an impressive 54 on the day. Great shooting Dale!
And in our unlimited class, Tim Baylor topped the field with his new Thomas and Nightforce combo, shooting a 55. He was followed by Rick Smelko on a 53. I also want to highlight two new shooters, Dan Clark and Cam Armstrong. Dan’s brother Craig came out and shot with us in April, and brought Dan along for the May match, and it seemed like he had a great time. And Cam came out to his first ever match and posted a very impressive 44/60. Word on the street is that both of these guys have new guns coming their way, and plan to return!
We had our usual pizza lunch, and then we had plenty of help tearing down the course. Thank you everyone who stuck around and assisted, and further, thanks to everyone who showed up in terrible weather to help set up. We are very fortunate to have a lot of help that keeps NOA running. To everyone who attended, thank you for coming and we will look forward to seeing you back in June.
Until then, stay safe and we will see you on the lanes.
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