Canadian Airgun Forum

Since the other thread was kind of hijacked and changed to this topic, there might as well be a thread dedicated to it.

The idea of offhand field target with restricted equipment is a really good one. Groups in Pennsylvanian and NY have been doing it for well over ten years now. Ray Appelles has been having offhand class in his matches for a long time as well. In fact many FT clubs have offhand classes with awards if there are enough interested shooters, say three.

At the last match in Waterloo, Canshooter I think, brought forward the idea of an all offhand match late in the Fall, after the scheduled matches have finished. Breaking out the squirrel hunting rigs was suggested.

So RVD your idea is good, but far from new. I hope will invite everyone when you get a match set up. If you need some targets, let us klnow. I know many like the challenge of shooting offhand, even if they are not particularly good at it. Please keep us posted.

Tim

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Tim
CAFTA Governor and lifetime learner

Hey Tim, I never thought I invented the idea, I just thought it would be fun to shoot matches this way with some changes to the rules..

I'll definitely let you know when it's time.

It really is not a change in rules. The Canadian FT rules state that classes can be created based on the interest of shooters. Off hand, lower power guns, match guns, sporter rifles, pistols, scope limitations, open sights, and so on, with a variety of combinations, have all been shot at FT matches all over America. One match was recently shot with Daisy Red Riders.

I look forward to hearing about your next match.

Tim

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Tim
CAFTA Governor and lifetime learner

LOL Red Riders? Tim I think you just gave me an Idea!!!!

Lots of options..Daisy Red Riders....LOL....
I shot a personal best this season and it was done at the last match in Waterloo standing offhand from start to finish..... It was a hoot to shoot...

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Shoot Safely, Shoot Often & Share Your Sport!...

ok what does off hand mean ? i keep hearing the term bandied about but dont know what it is , does it mean that you are just holding the rifle without any support?

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now shooting a qb79 with a Leapers 4-16x56 AO with a rgb mil-dot ret.

I don't have a Red Ryder, so could I use a 102 year old BSA Lincoln Jeffries Pattern air rifle instead? Oops, wait - that has a rifled barrel......OK, how about a 140 year old Eisenwerke Columbia? It has a smoothbore barrel...........

That is correct. It is standing with you supporting the rifle with your hands and body, similar to the Olympic 10M rifle shooting. Most of us do not put on shooting jackets and pants.
Can you see guys on a day where the temperature is close to 30C with all that stuff on.

I'm sure RVD would laugh at the thought of allowing all that stuff. Pants, a t-shirt and whatever shoes you normally wear would be the order of the day for me. Some guys use a glove on their non trigger hand and a sling and that would not bother me any. Cloves and slings are often used while hunting.

Tim

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Tim
CAFTA Governor and lifetime learner

ahhh i see but you would think that a true marksman would be able to hit the target without all that stuff on anyway, i would love to see someone do what these olympians do without a jacket and harness i mean i can hit a bullseye consistantly at ten meters with my qb79 just holding it. now the shots arent dead centre but still in the black circle (about 80% of the time anyway lol) and heck i just started shooting , though i do hold my rifle differently than they do , bend my left arm at the elbow and cradle the rifle there tuck the rifle stock into my shoulder and rest my left hand on my right arm to stabilize everything maybe kind of unconventional but hey it works for me

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now shooting a qb79 with a Leapers 4-16x56 AO with a rgb mil-dot ret.

gammawolf, don't misunderstand this as a knock towards the guys who use that stuff in FT.. You'd have to goto one of their matches to see some of the shots the good shooters make, even with that gear it's still not easy.. You have to know how to rangefind and adjust your optics... That alone is a science.. Like I said before, we just wanted to do something different..

no no i didnt think that and your probably right i would have to see a match live to see exactly what they have to do , and i realize that there must be unbelievable mental stress and i know that has to effect their being able to hold still etc , so umm maybe just disregard my previous comment as being kind of nooby arrogance as popping targets in my basement is much different than shooting a competition match though i would like to try competeing lol oh and i didnt mean to disrespect the ft guys i know rangefinding is a science that i have yet to begin to master i was thinking more about the 10m stuff where you are not rangefinding

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now shooting a qb79 with a Leapers 4-16x56 AO with a rgb mil-dot ret.

The "10" for air rifle in the Olympics is about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. The "9" is about 5/32", the "8" about 13/32" and we are not up to a half inch yet.

I certainly did not mean to disrespect the Olympic athletes; they are so steady that it amazes me. That stuff just seems out of place in FT, especially an offhand hunter style match.

Tim

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Tim
CAFTA Governor and lifetime learner

The hardest discipline in Field Target for me are the standing shots. No question at all, a standing match would be the most difficult match yet.

That said, no legitimate regular FT match would ever be standing only. At the 2007 US Nationals and 2007 World Championship which was held in the US, 8 out of the 60 possible points were from standing and kneeling shots (4 each). That is usually the most at any serious FT match match in North America.

FT is target shooting, not hunting. Some people are confusing this. Again, FT is not hunting. FT clubs around the world have offered a Hunter Division for those who are not caught up in the equipment race and want a slightly more "hunter like" equipment setup. But even yet...Hunter FT is still target shooting, not hunting.

As the equipment gets better and better, the kill zone sizes keep getting smaller. Expect to see 1/4in KZ's out to 12 yards, and 3/8 out to 25 yards periodically. For a top FT shooters when they practice they try to stack 1 hole groups at 25 yards, and sub 1/2in. groups at 50 yards. Such groups would not be possible for almost any standing shooter.

In the nature of competition there will be people who try to master any sport. The same is true for FT. Very high levels of ability will be found at any established FT venue. Yet although this proficient FT has accomplished a level of achievement, he still may be a poor hunter. The two are different, and always will be.

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Canadian Airgun Field Target Association (CAFTA)

wow the period at the end here. ok then i see how that would be difficult at 10 meters i "stand" corrected , but id still like to try

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now shooting a qb79 with a Leapers 4-16x56 AO with a rgb mil-dot ret.

Here is an offical olympic 10m air gun target.

http://www.glockfaq.com/targets/olympic ... _rifle.pdf

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Currently Shooting
RWS Hammerli 850 Air magnum .177 HPA
Slavia 630 with 6X bugbuster
Beeman P17 with Tasco red dot