Air Arms Field Target captain takes a closer look at rounds 5 and 6 of the BFTA GP series.

Round 5

Field target shooters are very good at putting themselves under pressure at competitions, we don’t need help! However, in round five of the BFTA GP series hosted by Bisley the Air Arms team had to deal with a little extra pressure; as we had a visitor. Claire West came to say hello and and make sure we were behaving properly. It was lovely to catch up in person and have a chat. It’s great for the sport when the manufacturers take a personal interest in how their products are put to use.

Despite the difficulty functioning properly in the extreme heat, the team members once again put in some great performances. I’ve really enjoyed the past couple of shoots I’ve attended at Bisley and this was no exception. The woodland course is reasonably sheltered, but some areas caught the wind and one target couldn’t be a judge for the next.

Jack Harris, Andy Calpin and Simon Evans all shot excellent scores of 47 ex 50, the second highest score on the day. Ian Stoddart had a great shoot too just one shot behind with 46. Scores were generally high as expected from a woodland course. But, every target had to be earned and maintaining concentration was no easy task in the hot and humid conditions.

Round 6

Two weeks later the sun was still shining as the BFTA GP series round 6. We had  now moved to the South West and another woodland course at the East Devon ground. This time the course had more exposed areas to baffle us on top of dealing with the heat. This is another of my favourite grounds offering challenges from an open area at one end of the course and its exposure to the wind to denser darker woodland at the other where the wind can still be tricky and far from consistent light conditions throughout. I’m not sure it’s a favourite of mine any more though as I really struggled with either wind estimation or technique making for a very frustrating day.

Plenty of the Air Arms team members were having a better day though. Dorian Falconer, Justin Wood, Ian Stoddart and Dave Schofield scored 46 ex 50 ensuring that all the Air Arms team maintain the top positions in the team event, with six team members also in the top ten of the individual competition.

Round seven of the BFTA GP series will take place this Sunday at the Anston shooting club.

Full results can be found at www.thebfta.net