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HFT Diary: Power & The Glory

HFT Diary: Power & The Glory

HFT Masters, Emley Moor, Yorks- Sponsors: BASC, The Airgun Centre, Hawke, Jack Pyke, Ronnie Sunshines, Airgun Gurus, Field Sports Channel, & SACF Come the tail end of July, and not only were we still fretting about England in the World Cup, but we were also heading to deepest Yorkshire, for the Emley round of the HFT Masters Series. Arrive at the car park, ready yourself with a bacon roll and a catch up with friends, then it’s time to gather for the safety briefing, before all descending down the rickety steps into the forested basin below. Yes, we know the drill by now, and Emley must be one of the finest venues in the country, for the sheer quality of the woods.

The usual splendid target course lay in wait, from Trevor Ryan and his band of merry men, and with super-hot conditions prevailing, yet plenty of lush foliage within which to shelter, it was difficult not to just enjoy being there. HFT is rather like golf sometimes, where the beautiful surroundings make the day, with any success on the shooting front just being a bonus. As it panned out, despite a rubbish start (an alarming trend at the moment) I managed a solid 54, which left me just outside the top ten. Some throw away targets for sure, but respectable. Young Gavyn Jones is very much the man in form at the moment, and he steered his customised Air Arms S400 to yet another win, with an excellent 59, closely followed by the familiar face of Roger Lait.

As I reported a while back, we now controversially, have two rival World Championships in HFT, and the first week in August saw several British shooters making the trip over to the Czech Republic for the HFT Masters affiliated World title. Apparently, 14 countries are signed up here, so the future looks bright, if a little confusing! I couldn’t make the event, but one thing that really stands out is that us Brits were outclassed for a change, with that man Gavyn Jones, our highest placed at 9th! A measure of how other countries are taking to the sport for sure.

Power & protection

Choose to take part in HFT, and there’s a few basic things to consider, as you go around the course. Much as it can be annoying to carry too much gear around as you compete, there is a growing number of shooters who see the benefit of bringing a padded gun case along for the duration. The benefits are many, as excess dirt and dust can be kept away from the gun when possible, the kit can be protected from knocks and scrapes when not in use, keeping the gun out of direct sunlight for prolonged periods prevents it heating up, and of course there’s the small matter of a downpour occurring. AIM drag bag style cases are almost becoming an essential accessory for many, and there’s no doubting their robust protective qualities. I prefer a lighter option, but for the trendy shooter, it’s beginning to look like it must be AIM!

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Power checks have been standard at most national events, and these need to be taken seriously, as it really is pointless having a rifle with power set too near the legal limit. Firstly, you could land yourself in trouble if you happen to be stopped by the police, and the kit tested subsequently records energy levels in excess of our UK limit of 12ft/lbs. But secondly, if the chronograph check on the target course deems the rifle to be ‘over the limit’, then home time comes a bit sooner than anticipated. Stay legal and set a safety margin of say 20-25fps below the limit, and you shouldn’t get caught out too easily.

For pre-booking application forms and downloads regarding established UKAHFT events (where bookings are possible), and all the latest information on anything connected with Hunter Field Target shooting, take a look at the following websites: https://sites.google.com/site/ukahft/ and www.shooting-the-breeze.com https:// sites.google.com/site/whfta1/ In addition, details of HFT Masters events can be seen at www.hftmasters. com and www.whfto.com

Results

Open Class 1: 1st Gav Jones 59ex60, 2nd Roger Lait 57, 3rd James McLachlan 56
.22: 1st Pete Muir 51
Recoiling: 1st Kyle Hampton 51
Ladies: 1st Marie Miller 41
Veteran: 1st Martin Allsop 53
Juniors: 1st Thomas Scott 4
Czech Republic HFT Masters World HFT Championships

Results 2

No. Forename Surname Country Class Saturday Sunday Total
1 Jacek Kostowski Poland Open 74 77 151
2 Josef Jansa Czech Republic Open 78 72 150
3 Jakub Vicher Czech Republic Open 73 76 149
4 Janusz Pelucha Poland Open 71 78 149
5 Martin Krupka Czech Republic Open 71 78 149
6 Dušan Mandát Czech Republic Open 72 75 147
7 Damian Orzoł Poland Open 73 73 146
8 Vladimír Kvapil Czech Republic Open 71 74 145
9 Gavyn Jones England Open 71 74 145
10 Piotr Remiszewski Poland Open 72 73 145

Results 3

Juniors: 1 Matej Grega Slovakia Juniors 73 76 149
Ladies: 1 Agnieszka Pawlak Poland Ladies 72 68 140
Spring: 1 Tomasz Marszalek Poland Spring 67 64 131
Veteran: 1 Eugeniusz Sadowski Poland Veteran 71 73 144
National Teams: 1st Poland 593, 2nd Czech 582, 3rd UK 569

Remaining national events for 2018 are as follows:

UKAHFT 2018 National Series Planned Shoot Dates
R8 23rd September Cambridge
R9 21st October Quarry Hunters, Wales
HFT Masters Planned Shoot Dates For 2018
Round 7 28th October M.A.D., Essex

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