Posted for David Slade:
2018 TN STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
November 10thwas a bright but very cold day, the kind that didn't get above 35degrees during the match, luckily most wrapped up warm, and RayBarnett and Ken Hughes both brought enough hand warmers for everyoneto keep the chill at bay, thanks Guys! The weather forecast said thewinds would be 5 to 10 miles per hour, but they got that wrong, withsome of the gusts getting up into the high teens, of five mil dots asRob Seiden said !!!
Everything ransmoothly, we did have a couple of strings break, due to animalschewing them - but no target failures. I had gone over the courseearlier in the week, painting, lubricating, etc, with some challengesto clearing the lanes, the mower would not start, and I ended up withthree extension cords and an electric weedwacker to clear the topfive lanes, LOL.
Brad Troyer came outto the range at 6.15 am and checked targets, replacing a number withsome of his famous wood targets that functioned perfectly, we saw thereturn of the alligator, the fox and a new one to me, a wildcat, Iwas thrilled to hit them all at least once!
We had folks travelquite some miles to visit for the day, some from Indiana, Illinoisand a large contingent from Atlanta, always there to make the daybetter.
Five times TN StateChampion Doug Vinson made it out to the match and was squadded withlast years winner, Harold Rushton, unfortunately Doug is fighting acold/flu bug and it took its toll on him, that along with thatvicious wind that dashed a lot of hopes at the match that day, itcaught most of the top shooters off guard, and resulted in much lowerthan normal scores for almost everyone except for Ken Hughes.
Ken brought out hisold (1993?)Air Arms ProTarget that he had just re-sealed that week (Idon't think he has shot that gun in years either) that, along with abrand new scope that had all the factory ranges marked in meters, anda range card made up probably the night before....
So of course Ken wonthe match with a truly superb score of 54 ex 60 – no-one else brokethe 50 barrier! Some interesting points of the match, Brad, using histrusty TX200 shot an awesome 45 ex 60, which was the third highestscore of the match in ANY category, and the WFTF PCP class, strong asusual, had the top three shooters comprised of three former NationalChampions, so if you come out to shoot, expect some competition!
Thanks to all whomade it out, it was a chilly, but great way to end the season here inTennessee, although if for some strange reason there is a warm daybetween here and next season either Roz or myself will host a match,and speaking of Roz, he has agreed to host the 2019 TN StateChampionships, so mark your calenders for next year, he said it willdefinitely be earlier and wartmer lol!
David Slade
State Champions
54/60 Ken Hughes AA ProTarget Delta 5-50 AA 8.4
World Class PCP
54/60 Ken Hughes AA ProTarget Delta 5-50 AA 8.4
48/60 Harold Rushton Thomas Carbine Leupold 35x JSB Express
42/60 David Slade AA FTP 900 Nikko 10-50 JSB 8.4
41/60 Rob Seiden Thomas Leupold 35x JSB 7.9
40/60 Doug Vinson Thomas March 8-80 JSB 8.4
40/60 Robert ray Steyr 100 Sightron 10-50 JSB 8.4
30/60 Danny Ayers Thomas Leupold 35x JSB 8.4
World Class Piston
45/60 Brad Troyer TX200 Sightron 10-50 JSB 8.4
Open Class
43/60 Ray Barnett TM1000 Aeon 10-40 JSB 10.4
38/60 Mike Wright* Thomas Sightron 10-50 JSB 13.4
38/60 Pat O'Brien* TM 1000 Nikko 10-50 JSB 10.3
32/60 Roz Sumpter TM 1000 Sightron 10-50 AA 8.4
26/60 James Hale AA 500 Aeon 10-50 AA 10.3
22/60 Alex Replogue Marauder Aeon 10-40 AA 10.3
21/60 Jeff Hale HM 1000 Sightron 10-50 AA 10.3
Slade's initial report inadvertently omitted the Hunters. Here's his update:
State Champion
54/60 Ken Hughes AA ProTarget Delta 5-50 AA 8.4
World Class PCP
54/60 Ken Hughes AA ProTarget Delta 5-50 AA 8.4
48/60 Harold Rushton Thomas Carbine Leupold 35x JSB Express
42/60 David Slade AA FTP 900 Nikko 10-50 JSB 8.4
41/60 Rob Seiden Thomas Leupold 35x JSB 7.9
40/60 Doug Vinson Thomas March 8-80 JSB 8.4
40/60 Robert ray Steyr 100 Sightron 10-50 JSB 8.4
30/60 Danny Ayers Thomas Leupold 35x JSB 8.4
World Class Piston
45/60 Brad Troyer TX200 Sightron 10-50 JSB 8.4
Open Class
43/60 Ray Barnett TM1000 Aeon 10-40 JSB 10.4
38/60 Mike Wright* Thomas Sightron 10-50 JSB 13.4
38/60 Pat O'Brien* TM 1000 Nikko 10-50 JSB 10.3
32/60 Roz Sumpter TM 1000 Sightron 10-50 AA 8.4
26/60 James Hale AA 500 Aeon 10-50 AA 10.3
22/60 Alex Replogue Marauder Aeon 10-40 AA 10.3
21/60 Jeff Hale HM 1000 Sightron 10-50 AA 10.3
Hunter piston
20/60 Steve Retz TX200
19/60 David Kokai TX200 AA 10.3
Hunter PCP
28/60 Walt Roller Marauder Simmons 4-16 CP 10.5
15/60 Brent Browning Maximus
Bill,
I've finally figured it out. I don't seem to be able to get up there amongst the top dogs, so I'll just wait until they come down to my level. It was a fun day though. I finished with 5/6 on lanes 4-8, cleared the 9th lane and then went 0/6 on the final off-hand lane. Didn't get a good start on lanes 1, 2,& 3 when it was so cold. Only twos and threes.
Brad and David really had a good setup for the match. Along with the wind and cold, everybody had a tough time of it.
Hope the weather is treating you good,
Pat
Pat, you ended the season with a good performance. Tip...… Write down what you did right because old dogs don't recall quite as well as the pups in our game although we do have few exceptions. The weather has sucked up here from the middle of October to the 6" of wet snow we got Friday. Hasn't been a day that the wind hasn't blown hard. I have been looking for a brief indian summer which we usually have up this way, but it has failed to show up. Although last year I think it appeared in January for about 48 hours.