Port Colborne Field Target Club
First Canadian Pistol Field Target Match
August 29, 2009

The long awaited debut of Pistol Field Target (PFT) in Canada finally happened and I must say I had a great time.  The weather cleared up as if on cue, just before the match was about to begin.  Tarps covered all the shooting boxes, so the gravel shooting areas were fairly dry.  PFT is very fast paced compared to rifle FT.  With the short distances involved, very little range finding is necessary; you just take your favoured position and shoot.  The dense foliage in the bush did make for some dark lanes, adding more difficulty to them.  From those that attended, I heard nothing but positive comments on the day.

There are currently two divisions in PFT based on the type of sight used.  We have a division for scopes up to four power and a division for open or unmagnified sights, such as red dot sights.  Scoring is done similar to our Hunter division, with two points for a knock down and one point for a target hit.  All pistols were tested over the chrony to be sure that the velocity did not exceed 500 fps.

 Of the thirteen participants, ten competed in the open/unmagnified division.  Don, being the main driving force behind PFT here in Canada, ended the day with a remarkable 117/120 to top all shooters.  That just seemed appropriate to me.  Congratulations Don.  Jeremy and Chris were close for most of the match, with Jeremy placing second and Chris third.  I was able to capture the fourth spot and Ted fifth.  Ryan and Colin were both new shooters and faired very well on their first outing.

In the scoped division, Rob placed first, winning his division in the first ever PFT match here in Canada.  Braden and Russ, who is a first time shooter at Port, were tied at the end of the match, forcing a shoot off for second.  We had the shoot off on the practice range with two freshly taped swingers set at 15 yards.  Russ took his shot fairly quickly and missed the mark.  Fifteen seconds later it was over as Braden took his time, being the two year veteran he is, and stuck his pellet to the dead center of the spinner.  I do not think I ever want to get into a shoot off with Braden, the ice man.

As has been our practice all year, lots of shooting on the sight in range followed the match and presentation of awards.  After clean up, six of us headed to a buffet supper.  I think Braden stopped just short of blowing up and Chris put a serious dent in their ice-cream supply.  We rolled out of there and headed to our respective homes.

From what I heard from everyone, we have not seen the last of PFT here in Canada.  Don is working on some match possibilities and will keep us informed.

The next FT match will be held in Port Colborne on Saturday, September 12th.  The season is past the half way mark, so make sure you get out and enjoy the matches that remain.  See you soon.

                                                                         Tim MacSweyn

Results Chart

Pistols are .177 unless designated otherwise.

Shooter	Score /120	Gun	Scope	Pellet
Open/unmagnified Sights
1) Don Irvine**	117	Steyr LP10	Bushell Trophy RD	JSBL
2) Jeremy Zobel	108	FWB P55	Bushnell Red Dot	JSBL
3) Chris Nicholson**	105	TwinmasterTop	Red Dot	JSBL
4) Tim MacSweyn**	100	TAU 7	Bushnell HoloS	JSBH
5) Ted Gibson	94	IZH 46M	Open	R10
6) Dennis Leite	86	Cr 2240 .22	Tasco Red-Dot	RWSHobby
7) Dan Pusaka	79	Cr MKI  .22	Open	RWSHobby
8) Ryan Wilson+	74	Cr 2240  .22	Open	Cr FT
9) Colin Hewer+	62	HW40 PCA	Open	H&N
10) Len Joe	60	HW45	Open	H&N FTT
Scoped
1) Rob Billiard	78	Cr 1377	Cr 4X	JSBL
2) Braden Meeboer - Jr.	70*	Cr 2240	Edge 2-7	JSBH
3) Russ Hamilton+	70*	Crosman 1740	NCstar 2X	Cr Ult Mag

*  Shoot off to decide place 
Jr.  Junior shooter
+  New shooter
**  Provided targets for the match