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Return to Index 2009 California State Field Target Championship Report - PICS November 18 2009 at 2:33 PM Tony (Login Trojan1994 ) YF First and Foremost a big round of applause to CASA for providing a wonderful field target event for friends, competitors and the general public to experience the sport that many of us enjoy so dearly. Friday the 13th, a caravan of vehicles from Diablo Field Target loaded up and started the trek down south to visit some friends and shoot some targets at the 2009 California State Field Target Championship. This 2 day shoot was being hosted by CASA at the Angeles Shooting Range on the 14th and 15th and also had a Pistol Field Target Match being offered to interested competitors. Kevin Yee, Lonnie Smith, Jonathan Reyes, Pat Jacobs, John Lindsay and myself are all loaded up in 3 vehicles to make the 6 hour drive. Coming from the far north is our brother in air arms, Wayne Burns, making a 13 hour trek from southern Oregon with his sub 12fpe USFT Carbine on board. The drive down south was passing quickly as everyone in my car was pumped up about heading down there to see everyone and shoot the big match. Plus it allowed us to actually sit for hours and actually talk airguns without the normal interruptions of someone having to leave to go home, go to work, etc. It truly was Airgun Time for a whole weekends worth!!! This weekend was going to be a test on many levels for the Diablo Crew. For myself, I was using a new rifle that was just set up Thursday afternoon for range finding & clicks with a 4200 8 32 x 40AO Scope instead of my normal Big BSA or Nikko Stirling 10 50 x 60 scopes. I was also making the change to not use a knee riser, thigh pod or straps. Lots of equipment and technique changes at hand but I was dying to see how I would shoot that way. Kevin Yee was making the big changeover from Piston Class to PCP. Kevin won Piston Class at the past 2 CA Field Target Championship Matches and earned a 2nd place at the 2009 AAFTA Nationals in Piston Class in Somerville, TX. Part of his luggage on this trip included the CA State Piston Class Trophy which he was returning to have passed on to the 2009 winner to keep for the next year. Jonathan Reyes was making the transition to shooting with clicks vs. holdover and making last minute tweaks to his shooting accessories/attire for the match. Some of his changes had us wondering, I hope it works, I know I wouldnt be changing stuff the day before the match and expecting no changes in POI or Accuracy, especially with a springer! Pat Jacobs has been super busy with work all year, thus unable to practice or compete locally very much with his springer but hes been committed to shoot at bigger matches outside our club this year. Lonnie Smith had experienced some gun issues/POI shifts all year and especially so at the 2009 Nationals in Somerville, TX. He thought he fixed the problem but only time would tell. John Lindsey also experienced some recent shifts/issues with his rifle. He wasnt sure what was going on other than that he wanted to go to the State Match with his buds and shoot some FT, the cards would fall where they fell and he was gonna have a good time no matter what! Lots on the minds of the Diablo FT Shooters as we drove down but one thing was clear, an hour and a half into the drive and we were getting hungry for breakfast!!! We decided to pull into the Andersons Pea Soup Restaurant in Santa Nella for some grub. This restaurant has good food and a few of us decided to try their Danish Sausage, all I gotta say is it was a bad mistake!!! I highly recommend the restaurant but not the sausage!!! Eventually we got to the range and were greeted by Larry Durham aka LD, Dave Frederick, Rich Woods and others from CASA. After a bit of chatting, we grabbed our gear and sighted in a bit as the sun was dropping. Afterwards, a bunch of us went down to a local restaurant that the CASA shooters frequent to have some great food and conversation. Luckily Johnny Piston remembered our last trip there and reminded me to order the Fish & Chips and Onion Rings that looked and smelled soo good last time there! It was as good as I was hoping it to be!!! When we got back to our hotel, we quickly realized that this company must cater to airgunners, look at what they provided us, a bench rest table, a shooting lane with backstop and a copy of the latest Pyramid Air Flyer:
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Page 1: FT forum: 2009 California State Field Target Championship ...socasa.org/archived_match_reports/2009CaliforniaStateFieldTarget... · 2009 California State Field Target Championship

Return to Index

2009 California State Field Target Championship Report - PICSNovember 18 2009 at 2:33 PM

Tony (Login Trojan1994)YF

First and Foremost a big round of applause to CASA for providing a wonderful field target event for friends, competitors

and the general public to experience the sport that many of us enjoy so dearly.

Friday the 13th, a caravan of vehicles from Diablo Field Target loaded up and started the trek down south to visit some

friends and shoot some targets at the 2009 California State Field Target Championship. This 2 day shoot was being

hosted by CASA at the Angeles Shooting Range on the 14th and 15th and also had a Pistol Field Target Match being

offered to interested competitors.

Kevin Yee, Lonnie Smith, Jonathan Reyes, Pat Jacobs, John Lindsay and myself are all loaded up in 3 vehicles to make

the 6 hour drive. Coming from the far north is our brother in air arms, Wayne Burns, making a 13 hour trek from

southern Oregon with his sub 12fpe USFT Carbine on board.

The drive down south was passing quickly as everyone in my car was pumped up about heading down there to see

everyone and shoot the big match. Plus it allowed us to actually sit for hours and actually talk airguns without the

normal interruptions of someone having to leave to go home, go to work, etc. It truly was Airgun Time for a whole

weekends worth!!!

This weekend was going to be a test on many levels for the Diablo Crew. For myself, I was using a new rifle that was

just set up Thursday afternoon for range finding & clicks with a 4200 8 32 x 40AO Scope instead of my normal Big BSA

or Nikko Stirling 10 50 x 60 scopes. I was also making the change to not use a knee riser, thigh pod or straps. Lots of

equipment and technique changes at hand but I was dying to see how I would shoot that way. Kevin Yee was making

the big changeover from Piston Class to PCP.

Kevin won Piston Class at the past 2 CA Field Target Championship Matches and earned a 2nd place at the 2009 AAFTA

Nationals in Piston Class in Somerville, TX. Part of his luggage on this trip included the CA State Piston Class Trophy

which he was returning to have passed on to the 2009 winner to keep for the next year.

Jonathan Reyes was making the transition to shooting with clicks vs. holdover and making last minute tweaks to his

shooting accessories/attire for the match. Some of his changes had us wondering, I hope it works, I know I wouldnt be

changing stuff the day before the match and expecting no changes in POI or Accuracy, especially with a springer!

Pat Jacobs has been super busy with work all year, thus unable to practice or compete locally very much with his

springer but hes been committed to shoot at bigger matches outside our club this year.

Lonnie Smith had experienced some gun issues/POI shifts all year and especially so at the 2009 Nationals in Somerville,

TX. He thought he fixed the problem but only time would tell.

John Lindsey also experienced some recent shifts/issues with his rifle. He wasnt sure what was going on other than

that he wanted to go to the State Match with his buds and shoot some FT, the cards would fall where they fell and he

was gonna have a good time no matter what!

Lots on the minds of the Diablo FT Shooters as we drove down but one thing was clear, an hour and a half into the

drive and we were getting hungry for breakfast!!! We decided to pull into the Andersons Pea Soup Restaurant in Santa

Nella for some grub. This restaurant has good food and a few of us decided to try their Danish Sausage, all I gotta say

is it was a bad mistake!!! I highly recommend the restaurant but not the sausage!!!

Eventually we got to the range and were greeted by Larry Durham aka LD, Dave Frederick, Rich Woods and others from

CASA. After a bit of chatting, we grabbed our gear and sighted in a bit as the sun was dropping. Afterwards, a bunch

of us went down to a local restaurant that the CASA shooters frequent to have some great food and conversation.

Luckily Johnny Piston remembered our last trip there and reminded me to order the Fish & Chips and Onion Rings that

looked and smelled soo good last time there! It was as good as I was hoping it to be!!!

When we got back to our hotel, we quickly realized that this company must cater to airgunners, look at what they

provided us, a bench rest table, a shooting lane with backstop and a copy of the latest Pyramid Air Flyer:

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Saturday morning we got up early, had breakfast downstairs which was pretty clean as far as calories went and very

convenient with oatmeal, hardboiled eggs, yogurt, fruit and waffles, etc. Surprisingly no one felt the need for more food

from a restaurant so we were off to the sight in range at Angeles.

Upon arrival, the weather was cool in the high 50s to low 60s with a slight breeze and the sight in line was full. Not only

was the their people shooting FT Rifles but a HD Video Camera as well! James Brinkley came to the match to capture

and produce an FT film which I and others are clearly looking forward to viewing!

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Jonathan Reyes aka JohnnyPiston:

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Wayne Burns aka Wacky Wayne Burns:

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Pat Jacobs:

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Lonnie Smith aka AirsmithCA:

John Lindsay aka Bikerscum:

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Larry Pirrone:

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Doug Miller:

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Ron Jobbes:

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Steve Wan:

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Hector Alfaro:

Dave Fredericks:

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Erwin Bragg:

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Al Waterford in foreground & Steve Moore next to him:

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After a bit of sighting in, the Shooters Meeting was called so that safety and fun could be emphasized. Doug Miller was

actively walking about to see if anyone needed safety glasses, ear plugs or glass wipes, handing them out to all that

needed/wanted them. I eagerly stuffed my pockets, can never have enough of these handy items!

Today I was paired up with my normal shooting partner down south, Ron Jobbes who was competing in Piston Class

with his gorgeous TX200, never seen a stock like his before but since we met a few years back, Ron collects and has

some extremely unique airguns in his collection!

Ron Jobbes:

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As were making our way through the course, one thing is evident. Rons rig is shifting and living up to a saying that Tim

McMurray coined/shared with me a year back Springers are either broken or breaking! Not sure if it was Rons scope or

his gun but I know the man can shoot and he was chasing POI on every target, one shot far left, next shot far right or

up, down, etc. Despite the wandering POI, he was cool as a cucumber and trying his best to compensate his shots.

I was doing my best to settle in with the new rig and new style, shooting naked with no straps, knee riser, thigh pod

and with a lower powered Bushnell 8 32 x 40AO scope (than my usual 10 50 power scopes) was an adjusted that had

me focused on every lane thinking just breathe and relax, take your time and dont rush

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To quote our former shooting bud Justin Dittman, I was hitting a few and missing a few. Justin recently left California

and CASA to return home in Australia (iirc) where hopefully he is slinging some lead with his BSA Hornet and organizing

some shoots!

Elsewhere on the Field of Honor, some fine competition and fun was at hand with the top shooters rising to the top of

their game and everyone else enjoying fine company and a course that was very well planned and laid out by Joe

Haddad. Joe is the longest running Match Director in the United States from what I understand. He is also one heck of

a shooter and a nice guy as well, its always a pleasure to see him at the matches.

Joe Haddad:

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Kevin Yee and Larry Durham aka LD are in the zone and running a tight race on Day 1 .

Kevin Yee:

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Larry Durham:

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PCP class is loaded up with a large field of shooters with a wide range of equipment ranging from mild to wild and there

was one rig that really caught ones eye.

Hector Alfaro and his custom Rapid MFR with Gyroscope!!! Hector is one heck of a nice guy and an accomplished

shooter in the Silhouette game that likes to shoot FT. Having the Gyroscope made me think hes like the Lance

Armstrong of FT that likes that technical edge in his equipment! I tell ya, Hector went out of his way to extend some

hospitality to the Diablo Crew. At the end of the day he had brought some fancy sodas to share with us and a huge

sub sandwhich that was sliced up into small sections. I was late getting up to where everyone was at but Hector made

sure I was saved a section and a fancy soda, much appreciated Hector!!!

Hector Alfaro:

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Rich Woods, an avid hunter and long time shooting competitor, was shooting his highly customized RWS850 which was

converted to HPA. This rifle has been doing extremely well in bench rest competition and I was surprised to see that

Rich was shooting in Open Class instead of Hunter Class in this event. Seeing him without shooting sticks caught my

attention to put it mildly as I remember meeting him a year ago at the Temecula FT Challenge and him competing in

Hunter Class. If anyone has a spare FT Harness, please let him know as I know hes looking for one.

Rich Woods:

Another eye catching FT Rig that was generating a lot of interest was the Marauder Bullpup that Steve Wan built up.

This custom creation utilized a paintball guns solenoid and circuit board set inside a Boyds laminated 1022 stock. Steve

got real creative with utilizing bicycle brake lever parts to clamp around the air tube and serve as a base for the

picatinny rail. His ingenuity and execution was amazing to put it mildly!

Steve Wan and his MROD Bullpup:

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Mr. & Mrs. Miller, aka Doug and Vipha were on the course keeping the competitors that count misses on the edge of

their bum bags as the day unfolded.

Doug and Vipha:

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John Lindsay was enjoying the course despite an apparent POI shift that surfaced in the 25 yard range. No worries to

John though, he was there to have a good time with friends on a big course, he knows what FT is really about and lives

it!

John Lindsay:

Page 33: FT forum: 2009 California State Field Target Championship ...socasa.org/archived_match_reports/2009CaliforniaStateFieldTarget... · 2009 California State Field Target Championship

Despite being the Officer in Charge, Dave Fredericks actually was able to shoot some FT! It was impressive that he was

able to strike the balance of all the administrative and operational coordination and still keep his passion and ability to

shoot on point!

Dave Fredericks:

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Vince Pacheco is a long time shooter at CASA that also belongs to AOA. He travels to many shooting venues around

the US and abroad is one heck of a nice guy to shoot with and to hang out with. He was shooting USFT #13 and quite

well if I might add.

Vince Pacheco:

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In a strange turn of events and proving estimates can differ greatly from actuals, Hunter Class was expected to have a

showing of competitors and International Class was not expected to have enough shooters to justify it. Sure enough,

Edwin Bragg showed up to shoot Hunter Class as he did the prior year but no one else did. Then enough shooters

arrived to justify IC Class!

Edwin Bragg with his TX200MKIII on Lane 9:

Over in IC Class, Wayne Burns drove 13 hours from Southern Oregon to shoot the match. If that isnt dedication, I dont

know what is!

Wayne Burns with USFT #44:

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Tim McMurray and MAC1 Airguns has represented a cornerstone for airgun shooting in California, CASA, FT, Silhouette

that has influenced the rest of the nation and other countries with his instruction, airguns, accessories and active

participation in various disciplines and programs.

Tim McMurray setting up in a lane:

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Runnie Easton, an IC competitor that practiced with 40,000 pellets before showing up at his first FT Match:

http://photos.diablofieldtarget.org/FullScreenPhoto.aspx?gallery=279907&photo=9319509

Al Waterford is a new FT Shooter that was debating up to the last minute as to whether he was going to make the trek

from Orange County to check out this FT shoot with his MPR FT. After his wife asked if he was gonna go, he decided

he was going to have at it and was enjoying the course and camaraderie at hand. I think its a fair statement that he

was bit by the bug!

Al Waterford:

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Springer Class was well represented with experienced spring gun shooters. Steve Moore is a veteran airgunner thats

got the street credentials as a former State Champion in Piston Class and an avid hunter. Unfortunately I dont have a

pic of Steve, the guy is one social butterfly at the match and was actively working the crowd! I tell ya, hes one cool

dude that had a bunch of us from Nor Cal wanting to hang out and have some beers with the guy! If youre reading this

Steve, I heard about the joke/comeback you pulled on the course and all I gotta say is if Id heard it live, I would of

marked an X on the ground, claimed the spot as mine and started rolling on the ground laughing!!!

Pat Jacobs from Diablo FT hasnt shot much FT all year due to having a ton of work at hand, but as well all know, in this

market, thats a very good thing!!! He fits the saying of a Shooting Fool that will shoot at any given opportunity. At our

local club hes won both pcp and springer class so you can expect that hes capable but as he admitted before the trip,

he was worried about the lack of practice and the shift that his TX200MKIII seems to undergo when he shoots it.

Pat Jacobs:

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Larry Pirrone from CASA is a devoted springer shooter with his TX200MKIII and Hawke Sidewinder Scope that was set

up at 12fpe for Saturday. He started off his Piston Class career with an RWS Sidelever and peep sights, scoring 4

points at his first match at Prado Olympic Range and the rest was history as he worked at improving his game and

equipment.

Larry Pirrone:

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Jonathan Reyes is the young piston shooter at Diablo FT that is training and practicing religiously to improve his FT

game and his knowledge of airguns and their history.

Jonathan Reyes:

At the end of Saturday, Sundays race was looking to be a thriller in Open Class with Kevin Yee and Larry Durham tied in

first place having only missed one shot! A fine display of marksmanship to put it mildly!!! For all practical purposes,

Open Class was still up for grabs as there were other big fish swimming in this pond that could shake up the standings

on Sunday.

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Going strictly by the numbers, Joe Haddad was just 2 points out, Vince Pacheco was 3 points down and the ever

venerable Doug Miller was 5 points away. Just like college football, any one of these guys could pull off an upset on

game day come Sunday!

Once Saturdays FT match ended, the 20 shot Pistol FT course was set up. Unfortunately, in my desperate rush to get

a rifle set up for the FT match late Thursday and the need to get all my gear set up for Friday mornings trek, I forgot

my pistol at home and could not join in the fun. Admittedly I was dead tired and hungry at the start of the Pistol FT

match and ran up to get a snack and refreshments before heading back down to watch the shoot.

Larry Durham, the airgun designer, tuner, competitor and collector extraordinaire was all pumped up for this event and

much to my surprise he did not bring an LD for this duel at sundown. Larry brought a Philippine made C02 Pistol that

doubles as a carbine with a detachable stock. I cant remember the name of it but its a beautiful and interesting pistol

that has a swivel type breech and external hammer! He set it up with a bulk C02 Paintball Tank set at about 45 degrees

to the bore but shortly after the match started, it began leaking at the fittings! LD figured hed just tighten it up and

the leak stopped but now the angles of the fittings changed dramatically into a very uniquely balanced and looking

arrangement!

LD and his Field Target Pistol:

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Steve Wan created another custom rig for Pistol FT, no surprise there!!! Steve took his first airgun, a Crosman SSP250

Silhouette Pistol that iirc, he mail ordered and hid from his parents at the age of 16! Over the years he kept his first

airgun, like any good and/or lucky airgunner would!!! Now if you had looked closely at his MROD Bullpup, you may have

noticed that he installed a 22XX grip frame on the MROD to facilitate the incorporation of the solenoid so whats a

creative guy supposed to do with an MROD Trigger Group thats lying around idle?!?! Install it on your Pistol FT Rig along

with a custom HW barrel that MAC1 had machined up with dove tails!!!

Check Steve and his rig out, this guy is full of creativity!

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Heres a closer pic of Steves Pistol, I tell you this gun shoots sweet!!!

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Tim McMurray was shooting his faithful LD Pistol with signature Hangy Tank and a BSA scope:

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Ron Jobbes also chose the LD Pistol as the tool of choice for the task at had:

At the end of the day, when all the C02 gas cleared, LD was top gun in Pistol Field Target, followed by Tim McMurray,

Steve Wan and Ron Jobbes. Regardless of scores, these guys were out there having fun first and foremost. Hopefully

CASA will continue to nurture Pistol Field Target at the Angeles and Prado venues. The Southern California weather is

perfect for year round Pistol Field Target and the low cost of entry to the sport makes it quite affordable for anyone

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perfect for year round Pistol Field Target and the low cost of entry to the sport makes it quite affordable for anyone

interested in participating let alone being very competitive at this facet of field target.

With the shooting done for Saturday, it time to shoot the breeze with all the fine people there over some food and

refreshments! Dave Fredericks fired up the grills and began grillin and chillin! On the menu today was hamburgers and

brats with a variety of salads, vegetables, etc. I tell ya, after I got through my first burger and brat, I was thinkin

something is missing that was at all the other shoots in the past that just really hit the spot and made me and others

happy come chow timewhat was it?!?!?

Baked Beans was the answer then suddenly like clouds parting with rays of sunlight bringing warmth and hope, Dave

says oh, I forgot the beans and steps into his motor home, coming out with a shiny pot thats steaming lightly!!! All I

could think is YESSSSSSS, smile and tell Dave awesome! My brother in arms Jonathan comes walkin up from around the

way saying man I wish there some beans and I tell him dude, ya didnt hear Dave, the beans just came out!! He was

jazzed and made a bee line for the food line!!!

It was great being able to set back and relax with everyone talking about the days events, everyones high and low

points and the race at hand for Sunday. More importantly we talked airguns and got to know each other better. Steve

Wans MROD Bullpup was a huge point of discussion that drew almost everyones interest in checking it out and asking

questions.

I tell ya, firing that trigger put a big smile on my trigger fanatic face! I used to own a Daystate MKIII FT-R and Ive shot

the latest greatest Daystate Grand Prix. Steve Wans trigger is light years ahead of the Daystate unit in terms of feel

and performance.

Taking up the trigger initially will essentially power up the trigger and set it. Now if you take the trigger blade up and hit

the same wall, about 2oz. later you break and the solenoid does its thing, with virtually no over travel!!!

It was truly amazing, I kept thinking Daystate, a forward thinking/cutting edge high end airgun manufacturer cant make

a great trigger for their high priced electronic guns yet a young guy in the U.S. can make an excellent electronic trigger

fitted to an affordable US made air rifle, what is fundamentally wrong with this picture?!?!

After chatting up a big storm, some of us were getting hungry for dessert and the need to get cleaned up and rested

for the next day of shooting! So some of the Diablo Crew packed up and headed to Claim Jumpers for some Pies,

Brownies, Ice Cream and believe it or not more snacks!!! All that shooting and fun must of put us into an incredible

caloric deficit that we needed to replenish!

I tell ya, the Carbo Grenades we ate at Claim Jumpers tasted phenomenal but then there was the downside, lol, I

couldnt get to sleep and Kevin woke up at 3am!!! Sunday morning came too early, I could of slept in till 11am easily if

the curtains stayed closed but thats not why I was in So Cal is it?!?! With the curtains open, I noticed that the wind

was blowing outside unlike the other morning and wondered what the wind is going to be like at the range today!

The rest of the guys were fine, just feeling a little tired but man did I feel stiff and sleep deprived at the sight in line.

Took a few shots just to make sure the gun was reasonably on at 10 and 55 yards and called it good. The equipment

works fine, now time to make sure you do, lol, so time to stretch and get my bud Pat to drive his elbow into my traps

so I could loosen up my neck and turn comfortably for the soon to start match!

After about 10 minutes of stretching, life was good and I was figuring this comatose state could work to my advantage

as long as I dont make mental errors like over rotating my elevation turret, etc. Being shake free would be nice for a

change, hopefully I could tap into this blessing in disguise!

Today I was paired up with Vipha Miller and we started off on Lane 2. Tim McMurray comes up to me and says You

better get your game together; you know shes an excellent shot and you dont want to get beat by a woman! Despite

feeling half asleep, I couldnt help but laugh, Tims always good at making people laugh when hes joking around!

As we are making our way down the lanes, were shooting clean and to be honest Im thinking wow, this is amazing,

youre actually keeping up with her! Then came a lane with a moose about 30 yards down a slight slope.

Sitting upright I could easily see the kill zone but getting into my new low profile shooting position with my new lightly

filled bum bag, I could only see the top half of the moose!!! Uh oh, state of comatose is now rising concern and

situational awareness!!! Relax and reposition in the shooting box, fluff the cushion up on one end and move to the high

point of the box, ok, I can now see the kz or at least half of it which is good enough. Pull the hammer back, break the

shot, Crack! followed by silencewait a second, that sounded louder than normal and could I actually have missed the

whole faceplate by hitting the ground before the slope with the target down below?!?!

Vipha says, that sounded different, did you load a pellet? Jogging my mind, all I could think was noload up the second

shot, line up the kz and break the shot and the rewarding sound of tink of the paddle and a falling face plate! Valuable

lesson learned but boy did it cost me. Its time for me to try and settle back down and move on without repeating that

fiasco. While talking to Vince Pacheco on the course and explaining what happened he tells me Youve got a USFT,

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fiasco. While talking to Vince Pacheco on the course and explaining what happened he tells me Youve got a USFT,

when youre in that shooting box, load your gun first, then do all the adjustments you need to do as far as position,

scope, accessories, etc. then cock your gun when youre ready to shoot. Its too easy to forget to load a pellet when

you get caught up on those other things.

Elsewhere on the course the Open Class Prime Time Battle Royale is at hand with Kevin Yee and Larry Durham paired up

with each other to duel it out. Much like pro wrestling entertainment many were watching and wondering if someone or

several people might step into the ring to shake things up to disrupt the main event and the final outcome.

As the day progressed, the wind and gusts were picking up considerably. About half way through the course, we could

see the sun shade canopies tumbling down the sight in range! A good time for a Cold Line to be called so that the

canopies could be retrieved and/or stored properly as well as to rest up a bit. Once the line was hot again, we

continued to work our way down the lanes basically traded shots all the way down!

Over in Piston Class the race was evolving and taking shape. Ron Jobbes left the skittish TX200 at home and brought

yet another show piece that was Show and Go. A beautiful TX200SR in a laminated Adjustable FT Stock made by

Custom Shop in the U.K.! I tell ya, every time I see that gun it says you need one!!!

I didnt take pictures of it as I know Id destroy keyboards and I phones every time I looked at it with the amount of

drool that would be soaking them!!! Take my word, its a beautiful piece that just look the part!!!

Now that Ron had a gun and scope that was working correctly, guess what, he was hitting paddles and dropping

faceplates! Ron was paired up with Steve Moore whom was experiencing continued POI shifts with his venom tuned

HW97. Steve was rolling with it and having fun anyways, working the crowd, chatting it up and cracking jokes!

Jonathan Reyes was paired up with his club mate Pat Jacobs with a battle of HW97 vs. TX200MKIII at hand. Lots of

changes at and as well as hopes that change wouldnt occur. Jonathan started clicking 100% this weekend and

Saturday decided to change his forward point of contact which is normally his knee with felt furniture pads on the knee

pad, but he decided the need to tape a washcloth around the whole knee pad assembly to get improvements. Pat on

the other hand was hoping for no change as his TX experiences a shift after a bunch of shots. He only shot a few

shots at the sight in range so he could save the remaining good shots for the match.

Larry Pirrone showed up Sunday with lots of change at hand. Saturday he was shooting at sub 12fpe but decided after

the match to set his gun up at FAC for Sunday! He figured that historically he shot better at FAC so that was the

strategy for Sunday. Fortunately Hawke Optics offers Reticle Software that allowed him to quickly generate a holdover

chart based on the muzzle velocity and other info. for his rig.

In International Class, they were having fun. Its amazing that new FT shooter Wayne Burns drove 13 hours to the

match, had to deal with fixing a wheel bearing issue on his truck Saturday and had the energy and presence of mind to

keep having fun at the match. He made up a custom trail mix that had Goji Berry in it that was awesome, I had to keep

walking to Wayne through the course of the day to see if he could spare some more, it was addictive as a bag of

Doritos to me!!!

Al Waterford, another brand spanking new FT shooter was having fun as he was getting to know his rig better. He

normally shoots at 25 yards and less so facing the 26 55 yard targets was a holdover trajectory curve that he was

learning on the fly and having a great time doing it. Ron was paired up with Hector Alfaro and having fun with the wind.

Hunter Class unfortunately suffered a fatal equipment failure. Erwin Braggs scope apparently gave up the ghost and

was unable to finish the event. Hopefully he gets his rig sorted out so he can shoot in the upcoming Christmas Match in

Prado!

Towards the end of the day the wind was kicking up really good and I was pretty positive that most shooters scores

were going to reflect it. At days end, the results were as follows:

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In Open Class, Kevin Yee was able to keep his game together despite the windy conditions and win Open Class and

Overall State Champ. Doug Miller rallied with true grit in the wind, shooting a near perfect score of 47, only dropping

one shot in that wind! Thats a 5 point improvement over what he scored Saturday that got him 2 points away from a

first place shoot off! Doug fought hard for that 2nd place finish! Larry Durham was having an off day, no doubt about it,

as he lives for shooting in the wind! His razors edge performance on Saturday would be difficult for anyone to maintain

on Day 2 with worse conditions. Sundays efforts left him just one point behind Doug Miller for a solid 3rd place finish.

Dave Fredericks & Kevin Yee:

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Dave Fredericks & Doug Miller:

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Dave Fredericks & Larry Durham:

In Piston Class, once all the dieseling settled, Jonathan Reyes aka JohnnyPiston was able to improve upon his Saturday

score by 5 points in the wind which earned him 1st Place! Pat Jacobs experienced the POI shift that he was hoping

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score by 5 points in the wind which earned him 1st Place! Pat Jacobs experienced the POI shift that he was hoping

wouldnt rear its ugly head and his Sunday performance suffered, especially with the wind at hand. In the aggregate, it

was still a rock solid performance that earned 2nd place for Pat!

Larry Pirrone, whom Id like to call The Gambler with the gutsy all in move he made with the FAC Spring change he made

on Saturday evening made the right move! His gamble, shall we term it the Pirrone Maneuver earned him 3 extra points

on Sunday to earn him 3rd place!

Dave Fredericks & Jonathan Reyes:

Dave Fredericks & Pat Jacobs:

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Dave Fredericks & Larry Pirrone:

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In IC Class Ron Eastons hours of practicing every day showed with a score of 78 after falling off Saturdays pace in

Sundays wind. Tim McMurray of MAC1 Airguns earned 2nd Place with a score of 65. A solid score for someone that

doesnt practice! It always makes me think Tim needs to actually set up his rig so its dead nuts on and actually practice

with it, but that would make it a serious commitment and he has a very busy business that needs and gets 150%

commitment from him.

I like is approach of keeping it fun by just dropping parts into his gun to make it shoot sub 12fpe and show up to have

fun! New shooter and enthusiast extraordinaire Wayne Burns, the Iron Man, earned 3nd place with a score of 51! Truly

amazed that he shot that well given the 13 hour drive, working on wheel bearings, making deliveries, etc. that filled his

weekend!

Special shout out to Al Waterford, the new FT Shooter that shows up at a State FT Championship Match to check out

FT for the first time. It was great to meet you and to see your enthusiasm and gleam in your eyes as you shared your

thoughts and feedback of shooting FT for the first time. You did extremely well for someone that normally shoots 10 25

yards and look forward to meeting you again at a FT Match or airgun event in the future! If you have questions or need

advice, contact CASA or anyone of us that you met, well be glad to help out!

Another Special Shout out to James Brinkley for all his efforts to capture field target and produce a film on FT. It was

good to see that it wasnt all work for James, he did get to play a bit:

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In closing, thanks again to CASA and its members for hosting and providing such a wonderful shoot and all the

memories. Dave Fredericks was presidential in how he orchestrated and managed the match and the grill! Joe Haddad,

your experience as a Match Director in creating challenging yet balanced courses was at its best and the scores

showed it. In Open Class, no one cleaned it. The top Piston Class Shooters were able to knock down up to 86% of the

targets. And in IC, they could knock down up to 88% of the targets with only one contestant protesting target

function. Outstanding job Joe!!!

MAC1 provided drinks, labor, etc. as they always do to support airgun events and activities. Doug and Vipha Miller

provided refreshments and safety equipment which was greatly appreciated by the shooters!

Great work CASA, looking forward to seeing and shooting with you soon!

Regards,

Tony

Respond to this message

Responses

Fantastic Report Tony - Thank you ! - James Brinkley on Nov 18, 2009, 5:12 PM

Thanks James, You were part of the event - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 8:59 PM

Good Post! - Tim McMurray on Nov 18, 2009, 5:18 PM

Thanks Tim, this weekend rocked and CASA - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 8:59 PM

Tony, your so right, I get now what LD has been talking about "keeping it simple" - Wayne Burns on

Nov 18, 2009, 9:10 PM

Yup, LD and CASA have been at the forefront of US FT - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 9:17 PM

Thanks for the A-Da-Boy - Tim McMurray on Nov 18, 2009, 10:54 PM

Terrific report Tony! - Mark Kauffman on Nov 18, 2009, 5:50 PM

Thanks Mark! I tell ya, we were all hoping the AZ crew was coming over - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 9:03 PM

Well, I'll tell ya, Tony..... - Mark Kauffman on Nov 18, 2009, 10:09 PM

I know you and the AZ Crew always want to get to the shoots, - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 10:24

PM

Great report Tony! the pics and narrative supurb! - Wayne Burns on Nov 18, 2009, 5:58 PM

Thanks Wayne! - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 9:04 PM

Tony this report deserves an OSCAR!.. yes, make plans to come north next! - Wayne Burns on Nov 18,

2009, 9:14 PM

LOL and thanks Wayne! We'll be planning on - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 9:20 PM

Great read Tony... - HookEm on Nov 18, 2009, 6:24 PM

we actually archive them already (well try to)... - kevin on Nov 18, 2009, 6:47 PM

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we actually archive them already (well try to)... - kevin on Nov 18, 2009, 6:47 PM

Good deal Kevin... - HookEm on Nov 18, 2009, 7:48 PM

lol, eventually darth vader turned away from the dark side - kevin on Nov 18, 2009, 11:50 PM

You're a Lifer for sure!!! :-) nt - Tony on Nov 19, 2009, 12:09 AM

Thanks Leo! I do try - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 9:06 PM

Good stuff Tony. - Mike Malinconico on Nov 18, 2009, 6:34 PM

Thanks Mike, I'm the guy - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 9:07 PM

Tony I have never seen FT shot but I read your report start to finish, every word - Yrrah on Nov 18,

2009, 7:03 PM

Thank you Harry! - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 9:11 PM

Harry, once you try it, you will love it.... - Mark Kauffman on Nov 18, 2009, 10:15 PM

Great post - -=ed on Nov 18, 2009, 8:32 PM

Thank you Ed! - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 9:12 PM

Nice writeup Tony - L D on Nov 18, 2009, 8:56 PM

Thanks LD and LOL!!! - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 9:13 PM

Fantastic write-up, Brother Tony! I know - Jonathan on Nov 18, 2009, 10:00 PM

Thanks Bro, yup, Pat took some fine photos to make up for - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 10:08 PM

tony, this is a fantastic narative and photo essay - Larry Pirrone on Nov 18, 2009, 10:42 PM

Thank you Larry! The pleasure was all ours, - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 10:51 PM

Re: 2009 California State Field Target Championship Report - PICS - JohnnyI on Nov 18, 2009, 11:04 PM

Thanks Johnny! - Tony on Nov 18, 2009, 11:20 PM

Tony is definitely an airgun fanatic, - Jonathan on Nov 18, 2009, 11:55 PM

Thanks Jonathan and LOL I think IC is great... - Tony on Nov 19, 2009, 12:18 AM

Re: Thanks Johnny! - JohnnyI on Nov 19, 2009, 10:05 AM

Dang, you have been busy! - Tony on Nov 19, 2009, 11:32 AM

Re: Dang, you have been busy! - JohnnyI on Nov 19, 2009, 11:43 AM

Very Cool, the Pro Chrono Digital is what is at the top of the list - Tony on Nov 19,

2009, 12:26 PM

Great job CASA, Tony, and all the shooters! - RicG on Nov 18, 2009, 11:55 PM

Yup, Big Ole Round of Applause for CASA - Tony on Nov 19, 2009, 12:19 AM

Your write ups get better and better - zoned on Nov 19, 2009, 1:18 AM

Thanks Zoned! - Tony on Nov 19, 2009, 1:20 AM

Great Post - Mike Lykins on Nov 19, 2009, 12:35 PM

Thanks Mike, it was Grand Ole Time, - Tony on Nov 19, 2009, 12:41 PM

Wow! I sure enjoyed reading your post.... - Don C on Nov 19, 2009, 6:30 PM

Thank you Don! - Tony on Nov 19, 2009, 8:30 PM

Toni Thanks for the great writeup . - Dave Frederick on Nov 19, 2009, 9:06 PM

Dave, Thank you for the great match & grub!!! - Tony on Nov 19, 2009, 9:34 PM

On line trajectory calc by Brad Troyer MILDOTS BAR/PSI conversionD I S C L A I M E R

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