Morro Bay Airgunners/SLSBA

Western States Field Target Championships
Match Results 08/17/2013 & 08/18/2013

The Western States Field Target Championships were held by the Morro Bay Airgunners at the SLSBA range this last weekend on the 17th and 18th of August, 2013. We had near perfect California Central Coast weather with temperatures in the high 70's for most of the match. We set a moderate difficulty course expecting the typical winds that usually arrive in the later mornings. We were not dissappointed in that respect. The average winds were what we hoped for though some of us slow pokes finishing on the far lanes had brief periods of 20mph winds to deal with. The two courses were each approximately T35 before factoring in difficulty from distance, wind, and position. The wind could either be a big problem or no problem at all depending on the target location and when it was shot. The East course consisted of quite a few targets with small kill zones. The East course had no far targets. The West course consisted of mostly full size 1-1/2" kill zones and even a few 2" kill zones. The West course had a lot of targets placed at far distances. The West course also had a few close targets with small kill zones.

We wanted a match of at least 20 people and planned the courses to handle 60. We ended up with 44 shooters. The availability of the shower at the neighboring Cowboy Action range encouraged more people to camp out at the range. One thing that shooters enjoy as much as competing, and that is eating. We planned food for 50 but quickly realized that with all the campers spending the nights, that would not be enough. We adapted. Having all meals available at the course allows us to have a one stop event where no one has to drive anywhere from Friday through Sunday. That gives us maximum time to practice, compete, eat, and just shoot the bull. I planned on having the best match with just a modest entry fee in order to attract the most shooters possible. A number of the members of the SmallBore club donated their time to make sure that our needs were met. That effort, along with the generous donations by those attending allowed us make it all possible and stay well in the black. Excess contributions will be used by the club to further improve the facilities.

We are already making plans to improve things for the 2014 Western States Match. We hope to have a full house. Look for the registration to be posted on this web site in January of 2014.