May Match Report, Monthly Match
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Pistol Silhouette Range / BASF / Phoenix, AZ
Another wonderful day for shooting field target! Bright blue skies with plenty of sunshine, big puffy clouds scattered here and there, temps ranging from 82° up to 88° with humidity in the upper 20% range, and a light wind that fluctuated from 0 mph up to 7 mph. What more could you ask for?
How about consistent wind conditions?
Yeah, the winds were light, but the velocity jumped around like a pogo stick; up and down and up and down, etc. Would not have been so bad, either, if it came from one direction, but noooooo. It was coming at us from the southeast, and swinging around to the southwest, and up to the northwest, and back again. You remember Captain Jack Sparrow’s compass from “Pirates of the Caribbean?” Well, the wind direction looked like that and just as erratic! It made for a frustratingly fun day to shoot air gun!
We had 16 shooters today! Scott brought his grandson, Henry, with him again. Jokingly, Scott told him that if he beat him today, Henry would have to walk home. Needless to say, Henry beat his granddad by 4 points and had EVERYONE offering to give him a lift home…..after corrupting him by taking him for pizza and beer afterwards. Scott must have reprieved because Henry rode home with granddad anyway. Little guy shot pretty good, too; check the scores.
We set up our usual 12 lanes / 48 shot course, with one off hand lane, and contested 6 separate classes, with Hunter PCP being the most populated. The range personnel had come through and cleaned up all the high grass and other vegetation, so we had no terrain features to deal with. It was just the shooter, the target, and the wind conditions. Didn’t hear much griping, but it was somewhat quieter today. Guess everyone was focusing.
Not much else to report. The hot air balloons were up early, and were landing upon arrival today. Seeing them is always a good sign. Also, lots of lizards running around. I have been told they are nothing more than snakes with 4-wheel drive. They zip around pretty quick, too.
We do want to thank all the guys that showed up early to help set up. We arrived at 7:00 and after collecting the targets and related equipment, made it to the range and had the course all set by 7:40. Great set up time, and the targets ranged the gamut to cover all the distances. Thanks to all for pulling the targets afterwards to help clear the range. Many hands make for quick work.
This is the last monthly match for Ben Avery range until the November state championship match. From June until October the matches will be up north at Mormon Lake, in the nice cool pines. Refer to the club website for calendar dates and directions to the venue.
We will continue to run the weekly Tuesday TRAC matches throughout the summer at Ben Avery range for the retired guys ‘n gals. Gives us something to do and look forward to each week.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Kauffman
Secretary, Airgunners of Arizona, Inc.