July Match Report, Monthly Match
Saturday, July 15, 2023
Mormon Lake, AZ
This was our second month shooting near Mormon Lake at Perry Lake Pit. A fantastic venue under tall lodge pole pines with views of the San Francisco Peaks in the distance. Unfortunately, I missed the June match here, but heard great things about the match. This month was very similar with a few exceptions.
We shot under clear blue skies with temps beginning at 84*F and finishing at 88*F with a relative humidity of only 11%. The breezes were variable in direction, as they always are when shooting at Mormon Lake, from 2-5 mph with very, very few gusts at ground level and from 5-10 mph at 5 feet where the standing lane was located.
As usual there were both a kneeling and standing lane; however, the standing lane this month was considerably more difficult than June's match. The near target was a 1 1/2” kz at 29 yards and the far target was a 2” kz at 45 yards. Reasonably difficult until you raise the targets 4-5 feet off the ground where the wind becomes a significant factor! I heard a lot of groaning about this lane during and after the match was complete. The goal was to make this match “harder” than last month's match and I believe the goal was met, at least on several lanes.
For example, we also had two lanes with targets set at 50 Troyer. Again, more groaning! There's not much wiggle room on a 1/2” target at 22 yards, much less at 25 yards! Overall, the Troyer factor was not too difficult. It was in the “Moderate” range at 27.53 Troyer with some tough targets in the mix.
After we finished shooting there was the usual discussion about the targets that kicked our butts during the match. More groaning! We then held a shooter's Awards Presentation with club pins awarded for places 1-3.Thank you goes to those who retrieved the targets from storage, set up the match, calibrated targets, trimmed grass, took registration, tore down the course, and put everything back in storage for next month. Barry D, Van T, Kent G, Nathan B, and Larry P all need to take a bow for their efforts for providing such a great experience in such a beautiful venue.
Well, that's all for July from Arizona. Practice hard and most of all, be safe!
Submitted after many years of not having to submit Match Reports, (Ed note; and constantly complaining about it when he does have to submit one)
Larry Piercy,
President, Airgunners of Arizona
.....a few more comments.....
Jake commented…. “Had a great time at the shoot this weekend. I'm just waiting for my new breech seals for my tx200. I ended up shooting the hw97k. The JSB 10.34's didn't make it in time for the shoot. So I shot the H&N 8.64 gr. Not bad. I shot a 28, not great, but better than I expected. All in all, a great time “
Van commented…..”A much tougher course than last month. High 80’s. Some wind, but not bad”