(Match Report by Tyler Patner)
29 shooters made the trip to Twin Oaks Air Rifle range for the second match at the Northeast Ohio Airgunners club this season. Initial weather forecasts looked somewhat ominous as thunderstorms were called for during most of the afternoon, but we awoke to clear skies and clear forecasts on Sunday morning. Temps remained in the 80s for the majority of the day, with some moderate cloud cover through the day.
At the beginning of the season, we cut about 7 new lanes in a section of the woods that was opened up late last year. We decided to use all of these new lanes for this match, removing some of our normal lanes in favor of these new ones. And in typical NOA fashion, many long targets were deployed throughout these new lanes. In fact, over half of the course was over 40 yards (16 targets to be exact). Of those 16 targets, 13 were over 45 yards. Of those 13, 9 were over 50 yards. The average target distance was 39 yards, and the overall troyer rating was 32.4T. Bear in mind, this is without factoring lighting and some subtle winds that may have thrown a few shooters off throughout the day. The lighting absolutely accounted for a number of misses, likely across the board for most shooters. Dark painted targets, set into dark woods created many difficulties when ranging and at times, even locating some of the targets was a challenge.
As shooters came off of the course, there were a number of long faces, as the distance took its toll on many. But a few met the challenge head on, posting strong scores. In Hunter PCP, Mike Gann and Bill Rabbitt tied for first place, both shooting 55/60. Close behind them was Conrad Griffith and Doug Cunningham, tied at 51. Both were decided by a coin flip, which made the final finishing order: 1st - Mike, 2nd - Bill, 3rd - Conrad, 4th - Doug.
Hunter Piston featured just two shooters, with Eric Jones posting the winning score of 35/60. In Open PCP, Keith Walters cruised to an impressive 57, besting last months score by a few shots. Tyler Patner turned in a 56 to take the top spot in WFTF PCP, and in WFTF Piston, Matt Uhler sprung his way into first with a 42. Last but certainly not least, was Unlimited PCP, which was dominated by Rick Smelko, who shot a 58/60, missing just two shots.
Thanks to everyone that came out to shoot with us, and a special thanks for all of the shooters that assisted with setup and tear down. Utilizing all of the new lanes took quite an effort and without all of the help and support we have from our club members, we wouldn’t be able to build all of the challenging courses that we do. And as always, thank you to Anne and Ashley Reily for their continued support and allowing us the use of their amazing property.
Until next time, shoot straight!