Tricky Winds Abound in the Field for May Match
- N.O.A News Director
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
(Match Report by Tyler Patner) May 22, 2025
As is typical of Ohio in April and May, our match this month was subject to some meddling by good old Mother Nature. Temps in the high 50’s to low 60’s greeted shooters on Sunday morning as they arrived at the Twin Oaks Air Rifle Range. With the Sherwood Grand Prix coming up in a few weeks, it was no surprise that 33 shooters showed up to get some practice in. What they may not have been anticipating was the WIND!
I should mention that we were also shooting the field course, and while it was quite as difficult as we have made it in the past, it was no cake walk. The troyer was a 31.7T before wind was factored in, and featured 14 of 30 targets over 40 yards. Of those 14, 11 were over 45 yards and I would say around 75% of the targets could have required some level of wind compensation depending upon when you shot it. The forecast called for gusts in the 15-20mph range, and while I don’t think we got that, there were times when the wind was blowing hard enough to push the rifles around.
I can tell you that from the 12 FPE perspective, there was a great deal of hold off on the left or right sides of the kill zone being done throughout the day. One of the more head scratching moments was in our second field section, the wind was definitely moving but I couldn’t quite tell which direction it was going down range. So, I picked up the string, gave it a little flick, and watched the string bend like an S! Needless to say, I held in the middle on that one and thankfully it worked out!
We had a few protests through the day, but no major stoppages, and despite the conditions, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Shooters were greeted with a pizza lunch as the scores were tallied up. In Hunter PCP, Jeff Swartz took top honors with a 51/60 with Greg Vaughan and Ryan Spanagel right on his heels with 50s. In Hunter Piston, Al Duster shot a great 41 for the day with his Diana 56. And a special shout out to a new shooter, Jim Nemeckay, who came and shot in Hunter Piston for his first match with us. It sounds like he had a great time and is sure to be back!
Keith Walters posted a solid 52 in Open PCP with his Blue Beast RAW. Jeff Paddock broke out his HW77 and ended up in a dead heat with Matt Uhler for the day, both shooting 44’s! There was no shoot off for this one. And in WFTF PCP, Tyler Patner shot the match high score of a 55. We also saw two wiley vets square off in our Unlimited division, with Rick Smelko edging out Tim Baylor by a few shots, ending up on a 52.
Thanks to everyone that came out and shot with us this month. For those attending the Sherwood GP in a few weeks, good luck and we hope to see you there. If not, we will see you in June for our next monthly match!
Until then, shoot safe and we will see you on the lanes.