BFTO Annual General Meeting.
The BFTO held its AGM at the London & Middlesex Rifle Club on January 16th, thanks to all that made the effort to attend, there were around 50 members present which is a reasonable turnout.
It was a very friendly affair, and apart from me making a complete pigs ear of the trophy presentations, it was uneventful.
There were no rule/constitution changes this year, membership fees remain the same, and all members present were happy with the direction the club is going in. In fact the biggest (only) problem we had to deal with was Alec McCabe’s name being spelt incorrectly in last years minutes!!
The prize raffle for an AA S400 had 54 entrants (entries were awarded for shooting enough rounds of the club comps) and was won by Steve Forster.
So, no arguments, no complaints, and no changes, business as usual for 2008 !!
The Committee for 2008 is :-
Dave Walker – Chairman
Keith Parris – Secretary
Alan Holloway – Treasurer
Mick Woodhead – Competition Secretary
Derek Fenton – Fullbore Captain
Lyndeen Calvert – Merchandising
James Woodhead
Chris Nunn
Paul Macey
Chris Norris
Our thanks for all their work in previous years go to those stepping down this year, Graham Taylor, Mark and Lisa Ashbury, and Terry Ord. Mark has kindly said that he will continue to edit the newsletter as long as he gets the articles to put in it, see the newsletter page of this web site.
AH.
CSFTA Showdown Champion - James Woodhead
On Sunday March 2nd, BFTO hosted the 2008 Winter League Showdown. This is a competition for the top 32 shooters over the winter league series, this year 14 of those shooters were BFTO members.
The comp is spread over three, 20 shot courses - thanks to Mick, Graham, Jenny, Maggie, James and anyone I’ve forgotten for setting them all out - the finalists eventually shooting 6 rounds each, normal BFTA rules apply with one exception, instead of two minutes per lane (2 targets) you only get one minute!! That’s 120 shots in half the normal time, great fun........I hope to get that far one day!!
After the first round the 32 shooters are split into two groups of sixteen, the first round winners carry on in the cup, the losers go into “the plate”, from there onwards it’s a straight forward knockout competition. Experienced “showdowners” like me can get away with taking just the right amount of pellets, half a dozen sighters, two rounds and I’m on me bike!
This years eventual winners were - James Woodhead won the Showdown Cup with Richard Chasemore as runner-up. Simon Young won the Showdown Plate with Colin Davis as runner-up. Well done to all of them, and everyone else that took part. Also thanks to all that helped out on the day. Special thanks to Lyndeen for running stats, and organizing the BBQ.
James and Richard
Simon and Colin
Full results can be found here.
Hi All,
As the club leagues are about to start this Sunday, we have been thinking about how to encourage more people to take part and have agreed a number of changes to how we run things to try to do this. I’ll come onto those later, but first I’d like to share a few thoughts of my own which might help….I emphasise, this is my way of looking at things, not necessarily the committee’s!
First of all, if you don’t want to shoot comps, don’t worry, no one will force you. The reason that I and several others keep banging on about it is because we want you to get the best out of your hobby. Plinking is fine, but getting together with your mates on a Sunday morning for a stroll through the woodland shooting at unfamiliar targets just adds so much fun I feel it’s a shame that more don’t try it. It really is as simple as that.
So…what are the usual reasons given for not showing up?
1) I’m not good enough - Usually translates into ‘I’m afraid I’ll look like a plonker’.
The trick is to remember that club leagues are just a taster for those who might want to go on to competitive shooting more seriously. The shoots themselves are fun, relaxed events…believe me, a competitive spirit is not required….even though I have seen a few mars bars changing hands as side bets! What many people do is to try to better there own score each time, regardless of how anyone else is shooting..so don’t think everyone is going to be watching you with critical eyes…it just doesn’t happen.
2) I don’t like competitions - Usually translates into ‘I’m afraid I’ll look like a plonker’.
We all get split into grades so you only compete against people of similar ability to yourself in the league …..and the way things went last year, because we give trophies down to third place in each grade if you shoot in B or C grade, you’ll probably get a trophy just for turning up to the qualifying number of shoots!
Having said all that, if you would like to improve your shooting, simply shoot along with one of the more experienced guys and pick up some tips…I promise you they won’t mind.
3) I’ve not set my gun up yet - Usually translates into ‘I’m afraid I’ll look like a plonker’.
If you really haven’t set your gun up yet, then even plinking is the luck of the draw….how tedious must that be!! Don’t be scared to ask for help! So…what have we done to try to make shoots more ‘user friendly’ this year?
1) First of all we’ve reduced the number of targets to 30
2) We have put back the start time to 10.00am (but you do need to be ready to shoot at ten as we all start together)
3) We have scrapped the drawing of cards to select partners so that you can now shoot with your friends
4) We will note the range of targets on the FT courses to make it easier to shoot them with HFT gear
There…dead easy…..so come along on Sunday and give it a go!!
Cheers,
Dave
Hi All,
Just a quick message to thank all those who turned up to support the club and worked so hard this weekend. I think it was about the most productive workparty since I've been a member. A great deal was achieved including:
Building a complete new steel backstop
Installing a staicase to the attic
Clearing/chipping/burning around 150 trees to clear lanes and comply with our woodland lease
Rebuilding the walkway on the other side of the bridge
Rechipping the paths in the wood
Repainting the woodwork in the clubhouse
Sugar soaping the walls ready for painting next week
clearing guttering/grass cutting/general tidying up.
etc. etc.
Brilliant effort, well done
Thanks again on behalf of myself and the committee.
Dave.
Work Party 19th - 20th April.
Vintage HFT Shoot - Wednesday July 9th.
On the evening of Wednesday, July 9th, BFTO held a Vintage Rifle HFT Competition. The course was made up of fifteen targets between 6 and 20 yards including a mixture of knock-downs and bell targets. All shots were possible from the standing position for those of a similar vintage to their guns, and the comp was open to any airgun manufactured in or before 1939. Unfortunately, the British summer meant that the course was moved to Sponsors range instead of in the woods but this did not detract from the fun that we all had. I personally shot round three times, my score getting worse each time.
Thanks to Paul Macey for having the idea and then organizing and setting up the whole thing, and also to Diane Macey for manning the BBQ for hours in what wasn’t really BBQ weather.
Look out for notices of the next one because we will be doing it again, and don’t worry if you don’t own a Vintage rifle, there will be a few available to use. Results from this evening can be seen HERE.
NSRA Championships - August 9th
I can’t tell you much about this shoot as I was in Majorca, but all the winners are pictured below. They’re all smiling so it must have gone well !!
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