It was a hot and sunny day in Northeast Ohio for the NOA September match. 32 shooters braved the heat to experience the newly designed field course. Shooting in and out of an old vineyard in a largely wide open field was quite a challenge, and it was accompanied by a harder than usual course ahead of the Pyramyd Air Cup.
The course was about a 31.5T without wind factored in. After wind, I’d say the course was likely a 33T as wind needed to be accounted for on most of the long shots. With the sun beating down on the shooters all day though, I would say there were other elements that the Troyer simply cannot factor in that contributed to many of the scores. Simply put, it was a tough day on a new course with challenges we seldom see at our club. But it was great. Everyone seemed to enjoy the change of pace and the layout. There were targets placed in narrow openings between rows of old vines and targets out in open fields where the wind was very hard to spot. There were even some targets on the vine posts that were completely exposed to the wind, so while your first shot may have been protected from some of the wind, these shots were not. It made for a very thought-provoking match.
I was fortunate enough to guess right on my first lane as to what the wind was doing and was able to use that through the majority of the course. The wind was shifty at times, and you really had to be careful of just how much you were holding off of center. I think the wind caught us all with our pants down at least once or twice.
In Open PCP, Gary Palinkas came up from Florida on his way to the Cup and ended up leaving with a win, shooting a 48/60. Great shooting Gary, we know you’re going to do phenomenally at the Cup.
In Hunter PCP, Jeff Little showed up strong with a 50/60 using his trusty Air Arms S510. And in Hunter Piston, Dan Putz took home top honors with a 35/60. I do want to highlight one new shooter performance that really impressed us. Ed Loaskie Showed up with his RWS Diana 34 and did phenomenally well for his first time out, posting a 26! We hope to see him again next month.
In WFTF Piston, Bruce Scott posted a 24 to take home the win. And in WFTF PCP, Tyler Patner won the class with a 54/60.
Thanks to everyone who attended the September match. To those competing at the PA Cup, we wish you the best of luck and hope you have a great time. We look forward to seeing everyone at our last match of the season on October 21st. Weather permitting, we hope to have something special planned for the last match of the year.
