LOCATION: SQUARE ‘M’ RANCH, HORSE CANYON, LANDER COUNTY, BATTLE MOUNTAIN, NV.
GPS COORDINATES: 40.417659, -116.933780 (SITE LOCATION).
MATCH: AAFTA SANCTIONED GRAND PRIX & STATE CHAMPIONSHIP- PISTOL & RIFLE FT
PISTOL MATCH: 44 SHOT TOTAL11 LANES, 2 TARGETS PER LANE, 2 SHOTS PER TARGET, 44 SHOTS PER DAY
RIFLE MATCH: 112 SHOT TOTAL
14 LANES PER DAY, 2 TARGETS PER LANE, 2 SHOTS PER TARGET, 56 SHOTS PER DAY
SIGHT IN: 9:00AM (SAT & SUN)
SHOOTER’S MEETING: 9:45AM (SAT & SUN)
RIFLE MATCH BEGINS: 10:00AM (SAT & SUN)
PISTOL MATCH: 4:00PM (SAT)
ALL AAFTA 2018 FIELD TARGET & GRAND PRIX RULES APPLY, POWER LIMITED TO 12/20FPE, EYE
PROTECTION REQUIRED. PRIZES PER AAFTA GP RULES. FREESTYLE WELCOME, THERE WILL BE
AWARDS.
REGISTRATION: $50 DONATION TO THE CLUB (DONATION CAN BE PAID BY MAIL (Make out to Chris Merritt) - OR -AT
CHECK-IN, SEE BELOW). WALK-ONS WELCOME. NO REFUNDS. BE PREPARED.
NAME:___________________________________________DATE:__________________
ADDRESS:_______________________________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER:___________________EMAIL:____________________AGE:________
CLASS (RIFLE):__________________________RIFLE:____________________________
PELLET & CALIBER:________________PELLET WT:_________VELOCITY:__________
CLASS (PISTOL):_________________________RIFLE:____________________________
PELLET & CALIBER:________________PELLET WT:_________VELOCITY:__________
I (PRINT NAME):____________________________________ HEREBY RELEASE THE OWNERS OF THE MATCH
PROPERTY, AAFTA, WFTL (AND AFFILIATES) AS WELL AS THE ORGANIZERS OF THE “AAFTA GRAND PRIX
NEVADA STATE FIELD TARGET CHAMPIONSHIPS” EVENT FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FROM ANY
INJURIES, LOSSES AND ANY OTHER INCONVENIENCES THAT MIGHT OCCUR BEFORE, DURING, OR AFTER
“THE MATCH”.
SIGNED BY COMPETITOR:___________________________________________ DATE:_______________
PLEASE SEND YOUR COMPLETED & SIGNED REGISTRATION FORM POSTMARKED BY MAY 15TH TO:
C. MERRITT OR VIA EMAIL AT:
6671 BRISA ST merritt (at) geoconinc (dot) com
LIVERMORE, CA.
94550
CAMPING IS ALLOWED BUT SPACE MAY BE LIMITED. HOTELS AND OTHER PLACES TO STAY, EAT OR
"SHOP" ARE LOCATED IN ‘DOWN TOWN’ BATTLE MOUNTAIN ABOUT 15 MILES FROM THE MATCH
LOCATION, DEPENDING ON THE ROUTE, A LARGE PORTION OF THE TRIP IS VIA A STATE MAINTATNED
DIRT ROAD. THERE WILL BE A PORTALET AND WASH STATION. WATER, FRUIT, SNACK BARS & BBQ
LUNCHES WILL BE PROVIDED SAT & SUN. PLEASE LOOKS FOR A POST OF THE AAFTA.ORG WEBSITE
FORUMS
Posted for JW and Chris M.
By Wayne Burns... Jim and Chris don't have an account here I guess..
This is a super nice rustic place and it will especially nice with wild flowers and full creeks this year with all the snow and rain we have had.
Hi Bob,
The pistol match will be on Saturday at 4pm-ish (after the lunch coma has worn off a little) it's on the reg form under the times for the rifle match...
Looking forward to seeing everyone again this year!
JimW
Bump for a challenging match, amazing location and wonderful company to spend the weekend with shooting field target!
Chris, fish or no fish, please count me in. My registration form is in the mail. Thanks.
A. Padilla
Thanks Al!!
Well Humility Hill is over and Nevada is next! Should be pretty green this year with all the snow/water, course is being designed slowly. After the wind and unusual angles of Humility Hill I think we will try to make the course on the enjoyable side as opposed to the difficult side.
Pyramid Air has generously donated a rifle, pistol and a bunch of tins of pellets as raffle/prize items. Thinking that each entry gets a ticket and we will draw for winners of the rifle and pistol. The pellets will go to top scorers in their division as we got all the good competition pellets in pairs of tins.
If you are anticipating going please post up so we can get a list going. Let's get this to 15 shooters so it counts!
West coast fieldtargeters unite!! ?
Hello, Jim.
I will shoot WFTF Piston. Chris should have my registration. Bob
Pencil me in too
Ron jobbes
Most likely Open PCP maybe Open Piston
CASA
Hey Bob!
I do not know the current conditions, but if you take the route that Lonnie had set last year from the main town you should be good on the tire department.
As for the trail up there, my lowered Jetta wagon has done it the last two years!
Bob, my Transit Connect van is maybe 6" off the ground and does it, we have had some low cars get in there. There is a drainage ditch where the canyon road splits off the radar station maintenance road, if you take it at an angle you'll be good. I find that is the toughest crossing of the whole trip. That said the appropriate vehicle is definitely the pick-up...
There is a bit of water at the lower crossing but nothing to worry about, even in a Prius.
Speeding on the gravel is good for a flat tire. I rarely drive over 30mph on the dirt roads. In light of that I take the 305 for the majority of the way from BM and cut east on one of the dirt roads a little ways south of the canyon's entrance.
Darren, that's a bummer, we'll raise a glass buddy!
Hunter piston : HW97kt shooting AA 7.87 @ 810 with Hawke 8-32
Hunter pistol : Crosman 1720T shooting AA 10.34 @ 680 with CP 3-12
Added Jacob and fixed Scott's entry...
Scott, Chris told me he received the reg but I didn't ask what you signed up for as he didn't have it with him. 😉
Thanks for the information guys!
Updated 6/6 @ 1000
Registered/paid.
1. Chris M. (open/pcp)
2. Jim W. (open/pcp)
3. John K. (hunter/pcp)
4. Al P.
5. Scott S.
6. Len N. (open/piston)
7. Bob K. (wftf/piston)
8. Wayne B. (wftf/pcp)
9. Randy E. (wftf/pcp)
10. Chris L. (hunter/pcp)
11. Jim C. (hunter/pcp)
12. Scott H. (hunter/pcp)
13. Riz M. (wftf/pcp)
14. Vince M. (hunter/pcp)
15. Vince P. (open/pcp)
16. Jacob S. (hunter/piston)
Planning:
Dan H.
Unknown:
Gabe L.
Son L.
Kevin Y.
Pat C.
Update from Memorial Weekend
Roads out from I-80 appear to be in above average condition. The segment from the freeway to Tomera Ranch (if taking that route) looked to have been regraded out. Little bit of holeiness past that, but most was from it being really wet then and they were all shallow and smooth. They should be dry by now. The turn off headed up to the canyon and FAA road is excellent. The swale coming off into the canyon is shallowest on uphill side, and pretty smooth too (not vertically edged).
Weather looks to be EXCELLENT! Partly cloudy and highs of 86-89 in the day and 56-59 at night. There's a lot of water in the creek, and the higher elevation will have plenty of snow if you want to drive up the hill for an observation of the surrounding 50-100 miles and grab some for a cooler (for some reason it lasts a LOT longer than bagged ice!)
There was a huge buck pronghorn drinking from the creek in the canyon on this last trip and a bald eagle was also spotted in the canyon. The pair of Ravens still patrol daily.
I also checked out the Mill Creek Recreation area about 5 miles south, and that is open, and some of the big cottonwoods survived the fire that scoured that area previously. There are cinderblock bathrooms there, camp sites with cement picnic tables and fire rings there for any desiring a minor step up in the camping department.
Fire danger should be relatively low for the area and time of year but just to remind everyone to have shovel/bucket handy for emergencies if you make fire local to your spot (we've got two good spots for congregating on site with rings, and I made a metal pit from the base of a 55 drum also). Should be plenty of wood around and I'll have the means for cutting it.
We'll post a time where we'll come down into cell range for inbounds that might need to make contact.
Chris
Added Jacob and fixed Scott's entry...
Scott, Chris told me he received the reg but I didn't ask what you signed up for as he didn't have it with him. 😉
Thanks for the information guys!
Updated 6/6 @ 1000
Registered/paid.
1. Chris M. (open/pcp)
2. Jim W. (open/pcp)
3. John K. (hunter/pcp)
4. Al P.
5. Scott S. ( OPEN PCP )
6. Len N. (open/piston)
7. Bob K. (wftf/piston)
8. Wayne B. (wftf/pcp)
9. Randy E. (wftf/pcp)
10. Chris L. (hunter/pcp)
11. Jim C. (hunter/pcp)
12. Scott H. (hunter/pcp)
13. Riz M. (wftf/pcp)
14. Vince M. (hunter/pcp)
15. Vince P. (open/pcp)
16. Jacob S. (hunter/piston)
Planning:
Dan H.
Unknown:
Gabe L.
Son L.
Kevin Y.
Pat C.
Here are some directions for the paved and unpaved ways. Old 8a is a left off the 305 after exiting the 80. There are signs for "Old 8A" and "Tamarras Ranch"
If you miss the first left off the 305 (18 miles from the 80) you can take the next one about a mile or so south (the turn off for Mill Creek Camping Area). Key thing to finding the proper road for Horse Canyon off the 8a (dirt road) is to remember it is a triangular (if you miss the first turn you can take another about 30 yards down the road) intersection so semi trucks can access the radar station at Mt Lewis, not a Tee intersection.
What a GREAT match ... in talking it was unanimous that Saturdays 60 shots ( A complete match in it's own right ) was the MOST difficult, Most challenging FT match anyone had EVER shot requiring you to dig down deep within and just keep going !! Angles that were on the verge of 30* along with long shots and the nearly ever present winds .... MAN UP and you better had been battle mountain Tough Enough.
Likely going to be a spell for a match report ... the Boyz are likely still there tearing it all back down. What a chore that is to set up & take down.
Thank you Chris M & Jim W & to ALL who were present proving they were Tough Enough !
Scott S
Ashland Air Rifle wants to thank Jim and Chris for hosting the match!!! That is a super peaceful, beautiful, and insane place to shoot field target, and even more insane place to set up a field target course!!! It's an extraordinary effort, I'm sure they will need many days to recover...
"Tough Enough" Yep, it's a test for sure... and seemingly, one that not many are willing to test themselves with:-)
Blessings all,
Wayne
Stealing a little from one of my favorite movies, we decided to hang the moniker "No Match for Old Men" on this years NV Championship. Everyone agreed it was a perfect fit as the visual that the name of that movie conjures up perfectly fit the course. What a FUN match, the weather was perfect, with 5-15 mph winds, the whole area was green from all the rains this year, the stream that splits the course was running full time, just a wonderful weekend, The is no other FT course in the country that matches this location. Until you shoot a match in a steep (and I mean steep) walled canyon you cannot visualize the tricks played on your distance perception and the effect the canyon walls have on the winds. The match lived up to the Battle Mountain slogan "Are you tough enough".
We cannot thank JimW, ChrisM and the Ashland Oregon crew of Wayne, Jacob, Randy and Scott for the work they did in pulling this match off, it was an incredible amount of work. Thanks!
Jim in Sacramento
Still recovering from this epic and insanely hard working adventure to one of my favorite places.
I should have the scores all set for posting tomorrow morning, just wrapping up the first day back at work (departed Monday morning in order to not fall asleep on the drive home) and have been slammed as well as dead tired...
A HUGE tanks to everyone who made the trip out for one of the most difficult field target matches even set in one of the most rugged areas imaginable. And even more thanks to those who busted their a$$es and helped with the setup and takedown, you know who you are, thanks again for the help.
Next year it should be back to normal, and if I wind up setting another course it will not be nearly as difficult. ?
I thought we were going to call it "No match for east-coasters"? ? ? ? ?
Vince won, didn't he?
Nope, Vince shot about like me:-) ... and that was not good enough:-) Over all high score was our very own Chris Lovitt! I think he shot only about 70% of the possible... most of us shot around 50%!
It was brutal.. no place for the East coast type shooters... they could never even complete the course most likely:-) I'm sure we well never see anybody from the East coast try such a tough place to shoot:-)
how's that for a little baiting:-) come on guys... prove me wrong next year and have the ultimate shooting experience of your life... or come on out to my Oregon St. match on the 19th -21st... it'll be a lot easier and more comfortable to shoot, but still plenty of moderate up and down hill shots and tricky winds. All our shooting boxes are in the shade on the Oak Alley course, it's a great place to spend a hot summer day.
Blessings,
Wayne
Food! Yes, we were fed very nicely: Venison Burgers, Jumbo Dogs, Polish Sausage, Tater Salad and all the fixins!
Mmm, mmm! Good food seems to taste even better after the finish of a hard morning match, with everyone gathered in the shade to trade good-natured jabs. I think I captured Wayne "Garden Gnome" B slyly putting an empty plate into Riz "Always Grinning" M's hands.
Such tricksters. Good times!
