Canadian Airgun Forum

Christmas 2008
December 13, 2008 at Waterloo Field Target Club

It was very encouraging to have 23 shooters show up for the Christmas Fun Match at Waterloo. The weather was tolerable as it made it up to a balmy -2⁰C (28⁰F), with a breeze that made it seem colder. We had a 33 shot outdoor match on five lanes and then 33 more shots on the indoor range.
The outdoor course consisted of five normal FT lanes with three targets per lane and two shots per target. Additionally on lane five, however, there was a Quigley bucket placed at 50 yards and we were given three shots at it, with a hit registering two points; that was very challenging. The course difficulty was 28.6T, with a range from the mid teens to mid fourties. The Quigley target, considering the wind and offhand shooting position, came in at 71T. Add the challenge of the cold and the snow about a foot deep and it was a great little course.
There was a real variety to the course indoors, with moving and stationary targets. Lane one involved shooting sticks of chalk at 18 yards as they rotated above a barrier for a few seconds. There were nine pieces of chalk and each competitor had ten shots to try to dust the nine pieces. I watch Luc M. dust nine chalks in nine shots with his Cr2289. Whoa!
Lane two was set up by Bert and it required us to shoot small confetti animals at 18 yards as they moved past and opening. The problem was that there were lots of animals that would result in lost points if you shot them. The largest animals were about one centimetre tall and a centimetre and a half wide. Some were only about half a centimetre wide. You could take ten shots to bag your five licences.
Lane three was a straight forward lane with five offhand shots at 19 yards on a field target with a generous kill zone. With each hit, you drew a playing card and the top four hands won prizes at the end of the day. At least the target was not moving, until you knocked it down, if you knocked it down.
The fourth and final lane was shot with a pistol at a motorized Gamo target that was moving back and forth. It was set at 10 yards and each competitor took eight shots at it within a 40 second time limit. That was fun.
Part way through, we were treated to subs, chips and soft drinks. Hot drinks were available all day as were lots of socializing and laughs. The one downside was in knowing that this was the wrap up of the 2008 season and it would be a while before we will get together again.
The gift exchange took place at the end of the day with lots of neat items on the table. We then cleaned up and headed our separate ways after wishing each other a Merry Christmas.
A winter match is a possibility, but there will not be a lot of advanced notice. If there is a favourable forecast for the Saturday at mid week, we may just announce a match and do some winter shooting. We will let everyone know, but it will definitely be well after the Holiday season.
Special thanks go out to George, Hans, Bert and James who organized and set up the match. Thanks also to everyone on the chart below for showing up and making the Christmas Match a merry one.
Tim MacSweyn

Archie S. Bert H.* Bill S. Braden M. Chris N.* Chris T.
Dennis E.* Dennis L. Don I.* George H.* Haley R. Hans B.*
James J.* Jeremy Z. Luc M. Luke R. Magdy H. Ted G.
Tim M.* Tom J. Tom P. Doug D. Kel J.
*Set up events, lanes and/or helped with organization

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Tim
CAFTA Governor and lifetime learner

Sounds like alot of fun, some neat ideas with the lanes

That is some incredible shooting !!! I've shot at that target before, and it is quite a challenge. Congrats to the young fellow, and good to hear that his arm has mended from his mishap earlier in the season.

Sounds like a good time all around. Wish I could have been there.

Sounds like a great day out and with a really good turn out. Glad everyone had fun.

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