Has anyone enjoyed a Field Target match in Ontario Canada ? Is there a club that uses US Hunter class rules ? I'm somewhat familiar with the paperwork to bring a firearm into Canada for match purposes but haven't done so in over 10 years.
Thanks for the input !
We have had a good number of US shooters that have attended matches up here. Our hunter rules are similar, but not the same as the US rules. The 20 fpe, 16X scope max and use of a bucket/seat are the same. We allow focusing for a clear sight picture, but all range finding marks must be covered. Those that use bracketing are not affected. No clicking is allowed and a non-attached mono-pod can be used.
I am pretty sure our money grabbing government has a charge to bring guns in, up to three on one document. So if a couple of shooter cross over the border, one should put the guns on their certificate to only have one charge. It use to be $25 Canadian, but I am not sure now.
Silencers are a definite no-no here, whether they are built in or added on, so a good number of guns used in US Hunter could not be used in Canada. Dumb rule? Certainly, but we has a ton of those.
The following document has to be filled out in triplicate, so it is best to download it and have it ready when you arrive at the border. Do not sign the documents, as the customs officer will want to witness you doing that. It sounds much more involved than it is in reality. Those who have done it may chime in with some info.
https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/wam/media/2347/original/d369a605ac3363b569af5ea5dc40c88d.pdf
I hope you do get to make the trip to shoot with us. There are clubs close to the Buffalo, NY border and another near the 1000 Islands bridge.
@canadian_ft Thank you. Would you mind if I contacted you off forum to delve a but deeper into the subject ?
I use an HW97K in 177. I trust that should be legal correct ?
Legal and not uncommon at our matches.
The Port Colborne club has 20 lanes and is much like the forest lanes at Rochester.
Do NOT miss the chance!
https://www.ctcustomairguns.com/hectors-airgun-blog/the-baton-gets-passed-in-port-colborne-canada
It is a hoot and you will enjoy the company of some of the best people in the sport.
Keep us posted how it went.
HM
Thanks for that walk down memory lane, Hector. Although 2016 was my last competition as match director in Port, I really enjoyed the whole three day experience. The US shooters are all great people and certainly can shoot as well. Getting to know you and your family, not just as someone who attends a match, but as friends, was also a highlight.
I was thinking that after my move, I would just be a competitor, but that was not to be. I moved right into the match director role at the Grenville Club for the 2017 season. This is not a complaint by any means. The Grenville course is very much like the course in Port and we have now expanded it to thirty lanes.
I also have a great group of people at Grenville that always show up to do any kind of work needed at the course. There are now three match directors at Grenville and we rotate the responsibility.
The CAFTA Nationals will be at Grenville on the second weekend of September (hint) and we look forward to another excellent FT experience.
Take care and if I do not see you before the Worlds, I will see you in Phoenix in November.
My pleasure, Tim!
I would love to, 9 hours drive or $500 flight is somewhat of a barrier but, now that I know where you are, we might look into a Montreal trip sometime, I have to justify to the kids the need to learn French, LOL!
Keep well and hope to see you at Phoenix.
HM
I have driven from Rochester, NY up to Port Colburn, Canada several times and I always had a great time there. There is a normal fear of going to another country with a gun but there is no real problems at the border crossing. When you get to the shoot you will meet all new friends that you didn't know you had.
Tim, Great to hear you are still shooting things up there! I will just have to travel up the East side of Lake Ontario instead of the West side of the lake and see you up there.
Eric
Old topic but still very relevant.
Me and a few are looking at attending a match at Port and had a question around the who moderator thing. Ill leave the ones at home that screw on as the gun is doped and tuned for them but I have an older RAW with a carbon shroud that screws on, no baffles. Its just a tube that acts as a mod though. How could I clarify if this would be an issue?
How do you bracket 1/4" at 15yds lol!!
I can't sit still enough to bracket at 40yds. Not sure how else to do it. Guess we would want to shoot in your open class?
How are the class participation? Here in the US open class is very regional. Hunter is the most popular most places.
I can not see an issue with a carbon shroud with no baffles. That would be just like the old AA400 guns that were sold here in Canada. I would not bring it up at all at the border.
Since I do not use bracketing, I will not give an opinion, certainly not on a .25" zone. 😵 Open may be your best bet. We have Open, where you shoot the discipline lanes and Modified (open) where you just shoot all the lanes from your prefered position. You can use a rangefinder in both. Whichever one you prefer should work for you.
I hope you make it up to a match. I started the Port Club in 2005, but after a move in 2016, I now am the match director at Grenville, a good four hour drive from Port.
It would be great to see you at one of our Grenville matches, Eric.
You will really like the course, as we have thirty lanes cut into the woods, similar to the forest lanes you have at Rochester. I just choose 15 lanes from the thirty and each match is different.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but WHY would you bracket a target at 15 yards?
Even at 12X that short of a distance should be easy to range with the scope's focus. At 16X you SHOULD be able to tell the range to ¼ yards.
Do a test. If your scope cannot tell you this, then you really need to change your scope.
JMHO
In any case, DO go to Port Colborne, it's a wonderful town and there are several attractions nearby.
You can read about our experiences at the link posted above in this thread.
While that was written 9 years ago, and we were all much younger then (my son -the baby in the pictures- is already a rising 4th grader and my daughter, that wasn't there yet, is about to rise to 3rd), I am sure the people are just as friendly and the place just as well kept.
Ah! and if you like warbirds, Mount Hope, ON has an EXCELLENT aviation museum.
Hope you make it, it's a great experience and the border crossing is a bit of a wait, but patience, politeness and kindness always pay.
If you do make it, keep us posted!
HM
Hector, I was referencing the Hunter rules of no marks allowed on your parallax wheel so your only option in guessing a targets distance is bracketing correct?
For an open class where marks are allowed then all is good.
Ah, yes, LOL!
One more thing: hunters over there are only allowed monopods. I would think that is a bigger problem than the scope marks
In any case, hope this can help:
It very much depends on what reticle you have, if you have a true mRad reticle that reads to 0.2 mRad or 0.1 mRad, you can do it with some confidence, if not, it takes a lot of skill to gauge the size of the dots and the fractions that correspond to the decimals.
Have fun!
HM
