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FT Blog: Why Do I Bother?

FT Blog: Why Do I Bother?

After all these years shooting airgun pellets at Field Targets I still get a buzz every time a long one falls over for me. There is a mix of emotions contained within that tiny moment, including but not exclusively, a sense of achievement, amazement, and if I’m shooting a competition, relief. It is probably one of the chief reasons I never tire of FT, and I presume it is why others do it too. Think about everything that leads up to that moment when the trigger breaks on the 55 yard target and down it goes for the winning score in a competition, to achieve a personal best or simply to beat your mate. A fraction of a second, hit or miss, but there are probably months, if not years, of preparation that have gone into that moment.

MILESTONES

It all begins when you pick up an air rifle with the intent of shooting Field Targets, it may not be the rifle you have just won the World Championships with, but that is where it all began, the decision to have a go. The learning process can be a long one; there are boxes to tick and milestones to pass along the way.

I remember starting out in FT and how fantastic it was just to have the chance to shoot, I had little understanding of the equipment or the sport but it didn’t really matter. I was hooked from day one, I’d passed that first milestone and I was a shooter. There are endless boxes to tick, there isn’t a single shooter out there who has ticked them all, even within the confines of one discipline. I learn something every time I shoot my rifle and to my consternation find that boxes I thought ticked long since, require a revisit before getting on to the new ones I keep on discovering.

PREPARATION

One of the first things a new shooter needs to do is mount a scope to their rifle, it turns out though, this seemingly straightforward tick box is anything but. It has taken me hour after frustrating hour, even as someone with experience, in the past just to mount a scope on a gun. A tweak of the position here and a twist of the eyepiece there, the fitting of sunshades, lens covers, and should I use a rubber eye cup? (Yes is the answer by the way!). How does this focusing wheel go on? Where’s my expired credit card to make a pointer for that wheel? Need I go on? You know exactly what I mean if you’ve ever fitted a target scope to an airgun; and if you don’t you are very, very fortunate.

Zeroing up a rifle with the aforementioned scope is another box that must be ticked, but before doing that, it is wise to have a look at the ‘things to check’ list. Included are items such as pellet selection and I’ll offer a little advice here (for free). Use the same brand that everyone else does, some shooters spends hours testing pellets, why repeat the process? And at least the playing field will be level that way.

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The zeroing process can be a long and arduous task and once completed will not only give you one massive tick in a box but the sense of achievement gained from passing a milestone in your FT career. The decisions you make at the zeroing stage will affect your shooting from that point forward, and whether positive or negative will only become apparent with time. I find the whole ‘zeroing a rifle’ process frustrating and tedious, it rarely seems to go well for me and has got to the point that I worry I have missed something fundamental if it has gone well.

TOE IN THE WATER

So far everything has been fairly straightforward, some of the initial setting up of a FT rifle is fiddly but not beyond most shooters, all you need is to have some patience. The step into competition however is a different matter altogether.

First steps onto the rocky road of FT competition may be tentative ones at a quiet local open shoot, or you may jump in at the deep end and take on a big summer championship. It’s a huge milestone either way, and it doesn’t really matter because if you care about your shooting, you will be just as nervous at either. Don’t worry about the nerves though, as there’s no point. Get used to them because they should always be there. Learning to control those nerves can be a huge task and the only real way to do that, is to keep on shooting competitions. The nerves box is one of those you suddenly find unchecked just as the auditors are due. I wish I had some sage advice here for you dear reader, but sorry, you’re on your own with this one.

ROUTINE

Of course while you are shooting competitions and practicing when you get the chance, you are constantly learning. Routines and rituals develop, and you become more familiar with your kit and establish what works for you. Hopefully this results in more and more targets falling over for you in competition.

I have witnessed many FT shooters of all abilities in competition over the years and each one is unique in the way that they approach and execute each shot. A process oddly enough; that seems to have little bearing on the results either. FT success seems to come with relative ease to some, while others grimly struggle on, but regardless of ability seem to take enjoyment and satisfaction in their FT shooting in equal measure.

THAT MOMENT

All of which takes me back to my opening paragraphs. It may have taken years to find yourself in the position you dream of, or only a few months, but you’ll have worked for it. Finding yourself on the final shot, a hit needed for the win, using all you have learnt, the target 55yards distant, assess the wind, settle the breathing, squeeze the trigger, feel it break, in slow motion watch the flight of the pellet…

It doesn’t matter what the goal; whether winning the World Championships or simply beating your mate- and it’s a feeling I don’t think can be beaten.

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