Hey guys,

I wasn’t supposed to be here today, as I had appointments at the Cardiologist yesterday and today.  They called late yesterday afternoon stating that they had to reschedule today’s testing (I actually thought something was WRONG when they called), to another date, so I was able to make today’s match.

Gene and Mike shared the responsibility to run today’s match, so we kept with that arrangement.  Following is Gene’s report…..

Airgunners of Arizona Match Report
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 - Ben Avery Shooting range - Phoenix, AZ

 Secretary Mark K. took the day off from being the Match Director today due to a conflicting appointment, but his appointment was re-scheduled, so he was able to participate in the match today. I (Gene Crist) was scheduled to be the Acting Match Director in his place, so we decided to stick with the plan and give Mark the day off. The weather this morning was extremely nice. When we began the match, the temperature was in the mid 50’s but gradually warmed up to the mid 60’s. It was clear and sunny. Winds were extremely calm at the beginning but then picked up to about 5-7 mph out of the north (12 o’clock) and shifting to 2 o’clock.

We had six shooters in attendance today for a 40-shot course consisting of two classes, Hunter PCP and Open Spring Piston. The course consisted of the usual setup of five lanes behind the berms of the rifle silhouette range. We shot through once and then moved the firing positions back anywhere from about 15’-25’ and then shot through again. Lane one was our only forced position (standing) and the remaining lanes were open. All targets were within the ranges specified by AAFTA based on the sizes of their kill zones. The lane 2 far target had a high value Troyer difficultly level although I did not calculate it exactly. It was a small kill zone at approximately the limit of its range.

Secretary Mark was the only Spring Piston Open shooter, and he shot a 32/40. He only dropped two during the first 20 shots which had me and Mike worried since it would be an extreme embarrassment for a 12 fpe spring piston shooter to outshoot two 20 fpe PCP shooters. Fortunately, Mark ended up shooting a 32/40 so Mike, Barry, and I all breathed a huge sigh of relief. All kidding aside, Mark shot an excellent score.

Of the Hunter PCP competitors we had Barry D, Wayne M, Mike S, Scott H, and me. We all shot good scores in my opinion and were within a six-point spread between the highest and lowest scores. Barry, Mike, and I all shot 36/40 but Barry had the longest streak before his first miss, so he took first. Mike came in second, and I was third. Wayne shot a 33/40 for fourth place. Wayne has been doing exceptionally well since he began shooting only a short time ago. Scott shot a 30/40 and came in fifth. Scott recently switched to a different .22 pellet for his Marauder and has been scoring consistently in the 30’s as a result. With further range estimation refinement with his new parallax wheel, and regular practice, I’m sure Scott will see his average rise to the mid-thirties before long.

It was an extremely fun morning and another opportunity to practice and improve our skills. Everyone agrees the Tuesday matches are a great opportunity to get together, learn new stuff, and have a great time so come on out and join us when you can. Until next week.

Thanks, Gene


 We got lucky again today.  NWS called for much colder temps with winds of 5 – 10 mph out of the North.  The guys did a good job of officiating the match.  This will probably happen on a much more regular basis in the future, as well.

Take Care, Be Safe, Stay Healthy,

Mark Kauffman,
Secretary, Airgunners of Arizona, Inc.


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