January 15, 2011 – Ben Avery Shooting Facility Phoenix, AZ

 

For most of the country, it is winter and I keep reading and hearing about snow storms, blizzards, umpteen feet of snow, and folks bundled in their homes waiting for the spring thaw. Well, I don’t want to intentionally piss you off, but the weather here was clear, with a temperature of 53 degrees at the start of our monthly FT match, and warming into the low 70’s. There was perhaps some high wispy clouds in the distance, but not much to speak of, and the sun felt good on your back. It was WINDY! Geeez, it was windy; with gusts into the 20 mph range and constant during the first part of the match, but dropping off dramatically towards the end of the match. I don’t think it could have gotten any nicer, and all that was needed was an extra sweatshirt.

With you guys and gals in other parts of the country buried under mounds of snow, you may want to think of mid-winter vacations to escape that white stuff, and come shoot with us the 3 rd Saturday of each month from November thru March in Phoenix. Just a thought.

O.B. on the offhand lane shooting his (now finished) FX T12 with self made stock.
The other end of the off hand lane, looking over Debbie's shoulder. The targets are on the opposite side of Dead Man's wash and cannot be seen from a sitting position.

We only had 8 shooters this month. We would have had 10, but 2 prairie chickens didn’t think that they could hack the wind and decided to opt out. I know a few who were stuck working, a few with other family obligations, and one having gone under the knife to correct a hernia. Jim Russell’s outie is back to being an innie. Splitting his time between a very active 2 year old daughter and repairing / rebuilding motorcycles and quads, I have not idea how that could have possibly happened. He is on the mend and was going stir crazy when I stopped in after the match, and this only the day after surgery!

hat mystery shooter is none other than our illustrious club pres, Larry Piercy, who was bundled up thinking it was winter or something. He is shooting his piston gun for the first time this month.

We had a 9 lane / 36 shot match this month because someone, who will remain unnamed, could not count. Somehow, lane number 8 got missed. No matter, everyone who shot today pitched in to help set up and then tear down afterwards. Regardless of the wind, we had a great time. It was educational determining how much to hold off for the wind, especially considering the lane and target setup, which was positioned in almost a 270 degree arc.

Larry Nelson (granpa Moses) - Take note of the organization: he has a clip for his notes, a clip for his pencil, a foam eye cup rubber banded to the back of his scope, a plastic bin for his pellets, and even his breath mints are attached to his rifle caddie in the event he meets up with an eligible female! This guy is prepared.
Match winner, Steve Timarac, minus his trademark red Keds hightop sneakers, but shooting his FX Typhoon this month.

There were 6 open class shooters, one spring gun shooter, and one (me) HFT shooter. For some reason or other, I really like HFT and am surprised that more haven’t tried it. It is a lot of fun. Our first time match winner for this month, Steve Timarac, pulled his FX Typhoon out of the closet, and smoked everyone with a score of 30 out of 36. Open class (PCP) first and second place was decided after a shoot off, with Larry Nelson (looking like grandpa Moses) besting Dale Keiser by a point. After the shoot off, we collected all the targets, policed up the area, and presented awards to the winners.

The shoot off; Larry Nelson on the left and Dale Keiser on the right. The temperature warmed up nicely by this time and it was quite comfortable.

Here are the scores:

Position Shooter Total/36 Airgun Scope Pellet
PCP Division
Match Winner
Steve Timarac 30 FX Typhoon Bushnell 6-24 CPH 10.5
1

Larry Nelson

27 USFT Mueller 8-32 CPH 10.5
2
 Dale Keiser 27 Daystate CR97 Burris 8-32 CPH 10.5
3
 Ray Horneman 25 Daystate Mk4 Platinum Bushnell 8-32 JSB 10.3
4
 Debbie Keiser 23 Daystate CR97 SE Burris 8-32 CPH 10.5
5
 O.B. Morales 21 FX T-12 Hawke 6-24 CPH 10.5

Hunter FT Division
1
 Mark Kauffman 17 Ben Marauder Bushnell 12X Barracuda
Spring Piston Division
1
 Larry Piercy 10 AA TX200 B&L 8-32 AOA 7.9

Next month, the match is the 3 rd Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 with a start time of 10:00 am, to allow for the sun to come up while we set up the targets. We plan on having a swap meet after the match, so bring your tables, Airgun related goodies, money, and a lunch. We will shoot first, then get into some serious haggling for those interested. Besides, with the weather this nice, who wants to be inside anyway? Sitting around and munching, talking Airguns, wheeling and dealing, and relaxing in the sun sounds really good to me. Want to join us? C’mon out. This year ‘round shooting thing is addictive.

Here is one of our resident wild burros. Look in the center of the picture, about 110 yards out, standing in front of the creosote tree. She is just happily grazing away. There is a herd of about a dozen or so that frequent this area.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark Kauffman

Secretary, Airgunners of Arizona