PFFT… ‘Ping’ — Top Airgunners at Crossman Field Target Event

Shooters from across the nation and many foreign competitors competed last month at the CAAFTC held at the Rochester Brooks Int’l Skeet and Trap Club.

For nearly 10 years, dedicated air gun competitors from around the globe have taken part in the Crosman All-American Field Target Championship. This year was no different. In late June, 85 competitors participated in the popular 3-day event. “The Crosman All-American Field Target Championship is one of the must-attend events for Field Target airgunners”, said Mark DeBoard of Velocity Outdoor.

The winner of the All-Around prize for the highest score over all three days in 2019 was Bill Rabbit. Bill topped both the Hunter PCP and Hunter Piston Divisions. That’s Bill (left below) receiving his prize from Mark DeBoard, the Shooting Services Manager of Velocity Outdoor. Greg Shirhall won the Open PCP Division while Paul Porch won the WFTF PCP class.

Big Airgun Event in Upstate New York
The Crosman All-American Field Target Championship (CAAFTC) is the largest field target event in the USA. This very popular airgun event took place June 21-23, 2019 in upstate New York at the Rochester Brooks International Skeet and Trap Club in Rush, New York. This event attracted top Airgunners from across the nation (and some foreign countries). Along with regular Field Target matches, there were specialty side matches, plus a factory tour.

This Video Explains the Basics of Field Target Competition:

The 3-day competition featured multiple shooting matches including the main 2-day rifle event. There were four divisions for competitors: Open, Hunter, WFTF, and Pistol. In addition to the main rifle event, there was a pistol match, the Pyramyd Air Gunslinger match, and the popular Quigley Bucket Match. This Bucket match re-creates a famous scene in the movie Quigley Down Under in which the lead character shoots a bucket at 700 yards. Here the distances are scaled down a wee bit (wink-wink). Competitors, using iron sights only, got 5 shots at a 1.75″ bucket placed at 55 yards.

Tech Talk: Why the Big Side-Wheels on the Scopes?
Field Target rifles shoot pellets propelled by compressed air. These light-weight, low-BC projectiles drop very quickly, with a looping trajectory. In order to hit targets at distances out to 50 yards or so, you have to adjust your scope to compensate for pellet drop. But you can’t set the scope correctly without knowing the precise range to the target.

This is the function of the big wheels on the side of the scope. Field Target Competitors use the parallax adjustment on high-magnification scopes to determine target range. The big wheel allows quick, yet precise parallax adjustment. Markings on the wheel show the shooter the scope settings required for the distance “dialed-in” via the over-size parallax wheel.

The CAAFTC, sanctioned by the American Airgun Field Target Association, is a featured AAFTA Grand Prix event. The 120-shot match had four rifle divisions based on allowable gun and support equipment, along with a Hunter Pistol class. Here are the main air rifle classifications:

Hunter PCP Division – Rifle fires at a maximum 20 foot pounds of energy (FPE), shooter may use a non-attached bipod, non-restrictive clothing, and sitting stool.
Hunter Piston Division – Like Hunter PCP but with piston charging.
Open Division – Maximum 20 FPE rifle, shooter may wear a body harness, no bipod, 6″ max height seat.
World Field Target Federation (WFTF) – Similar to Open but shooters compete according to international standard of maximum 12 FPE for rifles.