05-2017 May

Our Sac Valley FTC was blessed with a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend match. The weather, the participants and the competition combined to make it first class weekend. We had 20 shooters join us on this holiday weekend and we were all happy to see the return of Bill C, Noel S and Craig J who had been MIA for many matches, none of them seemed to have lost their skills as all shot well in their return.

While preparing for the match I mentioned to my partner Scott S who supervises the course set up that we should make the match a little more challenging this month. I should have kept my mouth shut because he set the toughest course of the year and as luck would have it the tricky Ione winds returned and haunted us all day. While not overpowering the 5-7mph winds kept switching the entire match. It was not unusual to have a R-L wind on your first target and a L-R wind on your second. That coupled with at least 4-5 targets at 48+ yards made for some serious wind reading. I honestly don't remember what I would consider a gimme shot anywhere on the course. The few close shots we had (11-20yds) were all very small KZ's, and most of the shots over 20 yds where over a 30 troyer which in the wind are some of the toughest shots. With the conditions I thought is was a great layout, challenging but not ridiculous. As has become a hallmark of our matches not one cold line or target malfunction was reported, and the match ran smoothly and finished quickly. Thanks Scott.

After the match we had a great Memorial Day lunch, Hot Dogs, Chili, Chips and Cookies. It must have been pretty good because 20 shooters went through about 40 hot dogs and 8lbs of chili. Several of the shooters stayed after the match and got some practice shooting in the wind.

There was some great shooting considering the conditions. In the open class Ronnie E and Dave C continued to lead the field, while in Hunter Piston Charley L and Bob K swapped positions from the last match. Mark W continues to get more comfortable shooting WFTF piston as his scores improve every match.

As always Scott and I want to thank everyone for your support and a special thanks to those who show up early and help with the course set up.

Jim in Sacramento