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Airgunners of Arizona May Match Report

May 18, 2024 - BASF, pistol silhouette range - Phoenix, AZ

Mark Kauffman, match director

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Gotta thank the Arizona Dept of Transportation for their foresight in deciding not to contact us before closing down the major route to get to Ben Avery range for our monthly match.  I mean the nerve of them!  Fortunately, we found out beforehand that I-17 northbound out of Phoenix was going to be closed for construction work prior to our monthly match, and as such, we were able to direct participants to alternate routes of access to the range.  On the way home after the match, I had to feel for those poor souls stuck in the 4+ mile backup, heading northbound and wondering WTF was going on????  The southbound lanes were clear sailing….

This may have been a contributing factor for the sparse attendance today.  We had 8 shooters; a few of whom thanked me for the heads up, and suggestion of alternate routes of which to access the range.  As for me, I left the house at 6 am and got to the range at 7 am to start setting up.  I could see the back up starting even at that early hour.  I have to thank Wayne, Stan, Jesse, and Scott for showing up early to help with the set up.  We had 12 lanes / 2 targets per / 2-shots at each / 1 designated standing lane / 48-shot match.

That being said, we had a marvelous day for shooting today!  The skies were mostly cloudy, but the sun burned through the cloud cover as the match progressed.  It was bright to start with, albeit with quite a bit of glare, but got even brighter as the day went on.  Can you say “eye strain”?  I have often mentioned and thank GOD for that shade canopy!  It was warm today, starting at 86° and warming even more to 91°.  It was 97° on the way home.  The humidity was only in the high teens, but felt warmer and “stickier”.  Methinks, we had a short spring and went straight to summer.  The breeze kept the air moving with winds out of the south at 5 mph at the start of the match and doubled as the match progressed and kept switching from SE to SW and back again.  Fortunately, we did not get the forecast 20 mph gusts.  They came later, after we were finished.

As stated, we had 8 shooters; 7 in Hunter PCP class, and yours truly as the only Open Piston shooter.

 

 

Guess what?  Next month, and for each month following, until November, the club will be at their summer venue at Mormon Lake; cool pines, higher elevations (7200 feet as compared to 1200 feet in Phoenix), and lots of trees!  Talk about a diversification of scenery; you have desert climate and views part of the year, and Ponderosa pines and mountain views the other part of the year.  How can it get any better than that?

Gotta thank all those who did stay to help tear down the course and put the targets away.  That is a big help and a major factor in keeping the morale and interest level to the point of wanting to continue to participate in this sport, month-after-month and year-after-year.  All of this help is greatly appreciated.

Respectfully submitted.

Mark Kauffman

Secretary, Airgunners of Arizona, Inc.

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