Here are the final scores and the equipment list from the 2021 AAFTA National Championship Match help in Morro Bay, CA October 15-17. Wayne will prepare the final match report in a few days, I'm pretty sure he was exhausted from the weekend and had to be back in Oregon Monday to tend to his business.
A special thank you to all the volunteers who helped put on this event Match Director and breakfast chef extraordinaire Wayne Burns, Randy Ebersole, Scott Schnieder, Jim Cyran, Darren Taylor, John Knapp, Jim Whittlesey, Chris Merritt and probably several I forgot. An extra special thanks to Scott Hull who without his help the match wouldn't have come off. Scott prepped the course for the match, mowed the sight-in range, laid out the match lanes (with Scott Schnieder), was a course marshal, was responsible for the dinner menu, set up the dinning room and helped cook the dinner (with the help of his lovely mother). Scott also decided to not shoot the match to concentrate on the running of the match and making sure the dinner was first class. Thank you Scott.
Also a special shout out to Team Puerto Rico who responded to our request to help with the course clean up. By the time we returned from tearing down the banquet hall this incredible group of men had the whole 30 lane course torn down and ready for pick up. Muchisimas gracias team Puerto Rico!
I hope those who were there will share their experience and pictures with the rest of us. This was an extremely difficult match. The winds were strong and relentless even the Saturday morning sight in had 10+ mph winds making it difficult to confirm your zero let alone you hold offs! I can't remember a match where I held outside (way outside) of the kill-zone so many times.
The scores bear out the tough conditions, with some of the best shooters in the country participating only 3 people shot 80% or better with the match high being 82.5%, nuff said! Except for the winds we had 3 beautiful days for the match with warm sunny days and cool dry evenings, California weather at its best.
Thank you to all the participants who attended! We are so grateful for your support. Covid has screwed with our sport for almost 2 years now and we thank all of you who took up the challenge and gave a boost to our sport.
Jim in Sacramento
Go Sac Valley !!! ( SVFTC ) winning the team event with a Very very strong showing in individual class competition. Way to go guys !!!
Southern California coast, Late fall, Nice weather, Shifty winds, Deceptively difficult 31 troyer courses, Great temps day & night, Outstanding sportsmanship all around from folks all over the USA and PR …. yea it was a Nationals Field Target Championship no doubt !
Kudos to all who made the trek to Morro bay for this FIRST Post Covid ( Well semi post ) AAFTA 2021 Nationals FT event. May the coming years see some degree of normalcy return in these events once again seeing 80-100+ competitors.
Scott S
Great photo's, Jim, and a great match! a tad windy, but still fun. You guys did a great job.
Most fun I've ever had a a NATS, and there have been some good ones. I can't put a finger on exactly why, but I think the smaller squads kept the game moving and I had a ton of laughs off the course.
Man, that wind was brutal!!
Knobs
Knobs,
That is SO GOOD to hear .... we who helped pull this off, MD, Marshals, Score logistics, Food etc had our hands full with minimal outside help. Most involved were shooters too needing to juggle chores and staying in the game.
Thank you for attending and Having a GREAT time ....
Scott S
Course Marshal
Knobs thanks for the kind words. It's hard to attract legends to events so we couldn't have been happier to have you join us. Fantastic shooting as well, your Saturday score was off the charts. There is something about events held in trying conditions that make them special, they are the ones that you never forget.
Thanks again,
Jim in Sacramento
@jim-cyran Very nice match report Jim and excellent shooting over the 2 days of constantly changing winds. Also I enjoyed meeting all of the West coast Airgun shooters. Always nice to put a face with a name. The match was well setup and everyone that helped make this match an unforgettable one has my praise. Starting with Wayne who in my mind has redeemed himself for the 2012 Nationals. Getting up early and cooking all that wanted breakfast a special meal did not go unnoticed. The real LD who I shot with the first day remained true to his character but I think we both got a long great and it was a pleasure to shoot with Larry. Motorhead who I had the privilege to shoot with the second day won his second Nationals and I was there to witness his skills in the multi-directional wind that ate my lunch and some of his. Scott is definately worthy of the titles he holds and attained not only the highest overall score at the 2017 Nationals in Arizona, but replicated that effort at Morrow Bay in 2021. Scott Hull, I can't say enough good about this gentlemen. He gave up the home Nationals to help out Wayne and ensured the match and meals were as good as you could expect at a AFFTA Nationals. If I were a active member right now of AFFTA I would nominate Scott as one of those honorary AFFTA supporters that has gone beyond the call of duty for the AFFTA organization. He should go down in AFFTA History with the likes of Rodney Boyce and Cliff Smith, and others like them.
Overall I give the 2021 Morrow Bay National an A and the only thing holding it up from a A+ is that Gosh darn wind. Great Job Morrow Bay!
Overall I give the 2021 Morrow Bay National an A and the only thing holding it up from a A+ is that Gosh darn wind. Great Job Morrow Bay!
Thank you Bill, I know the whole team appreciates your comments. I was happy to see you make it to the match. As one of the early driving forces behind the Hunter Class , I would not be enjoying Field Target if it were not for you and a few other of the early adapters. We have shot together many times over the years and I have always enjoyed the opportunity to do so.
Thanks for the kudo's to Scott Hull and Wayne as they deserve them. They work harder to promote the modern FT sport on the west coast than any two people I know. No one will appreciate the work they put into the 2021 Nationals, it wouldn't have happened without them. Also I was happy to see you got to shoot with 2 other west coast legends, the old one, LD, who's (as you found out) bark is worse than his bite and the new one Scott S who is one of the best FT shooters I know.
Bill you are having a great year, glad you could share it with us.
Jim in Sacramento
@jim-cyran Jim, Looking forward to seeing you somewhere East of the Mississippi next year. Right now Ohio is getting rich with FT clubs. Would be nice to see the Crosman All American back in business next year and also the PYA Cup. Thanks for the kind comments, Regards, Bill
Match Report- 2021 AAFTA National Field Target Championships
Because of the Covid virus, it took two years to finally have the match, and in some ways that made it easier to plan properly. Air Gun Oregon is a very small club so I only considered hosting the Nationals after I got commitments from other match directors on the west coast, Scott Hull, Jim Cyran, Scott Schneider, Jim Whittlesey, Chris Merrit and John Knapp. This was truly a group effort, with all of us equally covering the needed categories to make it happen. Each MD really managed each part of the project by themselves with very little of my help…. A really, really good team effort. I am so very thankful and proud of our team! The Head Range Safety Officer was Scott Hull. His team of Range officers was Scott Schneider, Randy Ebersole, Wayne Burns & Darren Taylor.
After discussions with Scott Hull, the match director for the Morro Bay club, we decided the only real choice for hosting was the Morro Bay site. Scott Hull and the Sac Valley club had prepped most of the lanes for the Western States match a few months before, so that part was already done and we were able to plan the course on mostly established lanes.
After driving all night, Randy Ebersole and I arrived 7am Tuesday morning. We called Scott Hull, and the three of us were leveling concrete blocks and setting the blue course by 9am or so. We got the 31T course set with the strings all ready to pull back to the shooting line in a long first day. We then had a real good dinner on the bay with Scott and his wife Marsha and then back to the Range campsite for a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday we planned out another 31T course for the east facing white course, and got to carrying the blocks, getting them level and securing the targets. Scott H. went around and checked each target in place with the AAFTA target checker. During the match we had ZERO failed targets with 6- 8 protests per day… You don’t seem to get splits when the targets are properly set up. Jim Cyran and Scott Schneider arrived in the afternoon.
Thursday, Chris Merritt & I cooked up bacon, eggs, waffles and an omelet , Scott Schneider, Darren Taylor and Cameron Kerndt got to setting up the pistol course, while Randy and I set up the Sight In range. Alan O arrived and jumped in helping with the sight in too. Then more arrived to help and soon we were ready for a hot line. Early arrivers were happy they could get to seeing if their POI was as it should be. It should be noted that the sight in line faces 90 degrees different from the course path with the blue course shooting to the west and the white course towards the east. The sight in really doesn’t help one learn the wind hold off for the course.
Friday morning, Chris and I cooked up a big breakfast again for campers and early arrivals. Jim Cyran and John Knapp got folks registered and their equipment checked. The sight in line was busy all day. Scott S was the MD for the PFT match with Darren T & Randy E as course marshals. We started the Pistol match on time at 3pm. It was a 40 shot match with 2 targets per lane on 10 lanes. One lane was offhand. 5 competitors shot the Limited PCP class and 17 contested the Hunter PCP Pistol class.
In Limited Pistol, Cameron Kerndt shot the overall high score with a 38/40. Dana Wyse was 2nd with a 33, Bill Corder, 3rd with a 30 and Manuel Morales 4th with a 26. In Hunter Pistol class Scott Hull and I tied with 36/40. Eric Brewer was 3rd with a 34 and Waldemar Gordilis & Randy Ebersole tied for 4th with 31/40. The pistol shoot off target was a 9/16” at 28 yards in the wind. Randy and Waldemar went first and missed it 4 & 3 times before Waldemar got it on the 4th try to take 4th. I missed it my first shot, and so did Scott, but I lucked out and got it on my 2nd shot and Scott missed it, so I got 1st in Hunter PCP Pistol.
Saturday morning Chris and I cooked a similar hearty breakfast. Jim Whittlesey who designed & made the scoreboards and scorecards, had joined Jim Cyran to get the squading done the night before and ready for the shooters safety meeting, which started on time at 9:30 am. We had just the right number of competitors to shoot in two person squads, so the match took about 3 hours. Scott Hull our Head Safety Marshall, had range officers spread out so any protests or hung up lines got dealt with quickly and the match flowed smoothly. The lunch was ready when the competitors got done shooting. The AAFTA meeting started after lunch. The meeting was run by Phillip Helper, I believe the only BOG member to attend the match. The BOG will report on the Annual AAFTA meeting separately.
Saturday’s high score was shot by Scott Schneider in Hunter PCP with a 53/60. The next group in Hunter PCP was very close, with Bill Day at 49, and John Bagakis, Jim Cyran, and Philip Helper at 48. Three competitors from WFTF PCP class shot a 51/60, Paul Cray, Son Lu and Lauren Parsons. Keith Knoblauch was just behind with a 50.
In WFTF Piston, Manuel Morales shot an amazing 49/60 to lead that class by 8 over James Morales and by 10 over one of our top west coast piston shooters Cameron Kerndt. In the combined Open Piston and Hunter Piston, Mark Kaufman had 26, and Darren Taylor and Eric Brewer were tied at 20.
The Open PCP class was real tight with Jim Whittlesey at 45, and Kelly Hawe and Chris Merritt at 44 and Roger Lovitt was within reach with a 42.
Saturday afternoon, Scott S, Darren T and Randy E got all the targets checked and repainted. Saturday night, Jim W and I got all the squading done by class and scores and we were ready for Sundays match.
Morro Bay is a very challenging spot to shoot, because almost every day the onshore wind switches 180 degrees to offshore as the day heats up. This happens usually about 10-11am each day. So one sights in during cool moist air and then the match is held during dry offshore air blowing at different velocities as the day progresses… much fun
Sunday morning broke with a glimpse of hope. The sight in period was calm, warm and sunny. Shooters were able to check their zeros and dope in calm weather. But, as the shooters meeting began we felt the wind pick up. By the third lane the winds were 5-10mph from the west. It only got worse! Halfway through the match we got a 180 switch within a few minutes time. Wind speed jumped to 10-20mph+. The winds were now blowing your rifle around as well as the pellet. Talk about “learning as you go”. Competitors really had to make adjustments or endure the zeros on the scorecard. Only the best of the best could do that. Isn’t that what a Nationals contest should be? I heard from most east coast shooters “I’ve never shot in winds like this before”. We on the west coast probably shoot in these kinds of wind more than our friends from the east, but the conditions for this match were exceptional and no one could have anticipated them. The competitors who can travel to completely new environments and still get to the top are rare indeed.
Here are a few of those rare individuals who did travel far and still do well this match. Manuel & James Morales from Puerto Rico finished 1st and 2nd in WFTF Piston. David Alsup from Texas was steady with a 48 on both days to tie for first in WFTF PCP. He then went on to win the shoot off for 1st in WFTF PCP over Son Lu. Edwin Tubens, Lucas Richter and Paul Cray also did well with a 3rd, 4th and 5th in WFTF PCP all settled by a shoot off. Philip Helper and Bill Day from the east coast also got to the podium with a 4th and 5th in Hunter PCP and Eric Brewer from New York finished 2nd in the Combined Piston Class. The Western shooters who conquered the conditions were Scott Schneider, Jim Cyran and John Bagakis 1, 2 and 3 in Hunter PCP. Jim Whittlesey, Kelly Hawe and Chris Merritt 1,2 and 3 in Open PCP. Son Lu was 2nd in WFTF PCP. Mark Kauffman and Darren Taylor were 1st and 3rd in Combined Piston and Cameron Kerndt 3rd in WFTF Piston. The Sacramento Valley Field Target Club had an exceptional match with Scott Schneider shooting the high Match Score of 99 and a total of 8 shooters finishing on the podium in rifle and 2 in pistol.
The team contest was dominated by Sac Valley with a 1st Scott Schneider, and 3rd John Bagakis in Hunter PCP, and 1st Jim Whittlesey in Open PCP, and Cameron Kerndt 1st Limited Pistol, and a tie for 1st in WFTF PCP with Son Lu. Sac Valley total 402, Puerto Rico was 2nd with 382 and AirGun Oregon last with 296.
Along with running up and down the course with the target checker on Saturday, Head Marshall Scott Hull said he wasn’t going to compete because he really wanted to make the awards dinner something to remember and he did just that. He teamed up with his mom and whole family, along with Vince Pacheco and his girlfriend & chef, Fan who made a great chilie & pasta & green salads. Scott and family created a fantastically savory Tri-Tip and Linguica plus a garlic bread to balance out a super tasty meal. I am so grateful for all their hard work and sacrifice.
In addition to the Match Directors’ team I listed above, I want to thank hugely: The team of MD wives, Dawn Schneider, Julie Taylor & Marsha Hull for all their help with the food, setup and breakdown of the event. Also a special thanks to the team from Puerto Rico who stayed after the banquet and broke down the rifle courses for us while we were cleaning up the banquet room and kitchen after the awards dinner. Thanks so much my new friends!!
Thanks again to all our sponsors; Jefferson State Air Rifles, Air Arms, Hawke Scopes, Joe Brancato Air Tanks, Sports Match scope mounts, Target Forge Targets, Pyramid Air and AOA’s Larry Piercy and Barry Diehl for bringing the AOA van and filling air tanks for us.
Humbly Submitted,
Wayne Burns,
Match Director,
2021 AAFTA National Field Target Championships
Here are the scores and details:
@wayne-burns
Good report Wayne. Your team did a hell of a lot of work putting this match together, and should get a well-deserved "thank you" from everyone attending.
Yes, the wind was interesting, but made for a "fun" filled match weekend. Good job guys. It made my recent 70th birthday memorable...LOL
Mark
Some missing photos ...
The top 5 HUNTER PCP Champions
The 5 members of the SVFTC taking top TEAM honors. L to R Jim W 1st in Open PCP / Scott S 1st in Hunter PCP / Son L 1st place tie in WFTF / John B 3rd in Hunter PCP / Cameron K 1st in Pistol.
Our Match Director with the PR squad supervised by the Bear ... Lol
