Parker Wins Challenge

[Mike of the Mountain]

TRUTH!!! BWAHAHAHA!! Head up or head down? Any flying turnips?

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Chuck Bishop

Let me give you my thought per my perspective.

First the competition aspect and I'll just talk about the Parker vs. LC Smith Challenge at the Southern for now. Each year I ask myself if I really want to shoot the qualifier and pay 60 cents per target for essentially practice? Being a realist, I know I have a snowballs chance in hell of making the team. Every year I do it. Why? First, I like to hear the gun go off, secondly, I want to support my Association, and thirdly, some part of the entry fee goes to a good cause. 10 high gun shooters make the team for each Association. I don't know how many shooters shoot the qualifier but the shooting is continuous for all day Friday and a half day Saturday. That's a lot of shooters and the majority of them will never make their team. It's the same shooters who make the team year after year plus or minus a couple of new additions. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching these guys break targets in the shootoff that I can't hit in my dreams. No amount of practice at my age will bring me up to their level.

I shot the 20 and 16 challenges at Sanford this year . Each three times I think and qualified for the 20 . Sorry to say I didn’t shoot the open challenge , I will next year several times . Didn’t name guns in June at Hausemann’s so I suppose I wasn’t able to qualify . I did at Mikes and qualified . And provided I’m
Alive and the creek don’t rise I’ll compete in all three challenges at Georgetown . To be quite honest I thrive on competition and Sanford got my competitive juices flowing again . Can’t say I consider myself top dog caliber but I’m damn sure nipping at their heels .

[Stan Hoover]

Originally Posted by Mike Koneski

Imagine the scores Shane could shoot using a Parker!!! WOW!!

Mike,

I was going to say, You should see him with an Ithaca in his hands, but I suppose you seen that already

[TOOL MAN]

Great discussion on the new format both pro and con. I'll add this:

If you look at it conceptually, when you meld three "average" shooters with two "competition" shooters, chances are the average Joes will step-up their game several notches, and in theory, you should have one hell of a competitive match. And that's exactly what transpired. Not to mention, the majority of spectacular dead pairs and lengthy second barrel kills were performed by you guessed it, the Joes. All and all, I thought it was one of the most exciting FPC contests we've had in years.

Mission Accomplished.jpg

[10 bore]

I always thought was a " fun shoot" If people want to shoot competition that could be done elsewhere.
Scott

[J.B. Books]

The team against team shoots are side events at these shoots, trying or making the team is optional as you don't have to turn your card in for consideration. In order to field a five man team it has to be a bigger shoot and there are not that many big ones. No matter how the teams are picked there will be unhappy people. Since many really good shooters will jump on the team they qualify for brand loyalty is questionable. Picking names out of a hat might be more a test of the gun rather than people. Normally you can shoot just for fun, but this year the Vintagers did not offer a discounted round for no score as they did in '19 and is done at the June shoot at Hausmann's. Although it's billed as the World Side by Side Championship not everybody there is trying for or able to land in the trophys. I think the lack of having a discounted round for no score is self defeating for the club as I think it leads to less shooting overall. Breakdown of equipment such as the pigeon ring not being available for most of the shoot affects participation as well. I think with the ammo shortage people are more careful/choosy about where they burn their powder so if something is more expensive or not available they may not use those shells elsewhere. Just my .02, we live in strange times, Covid has made a mess of things in many ways.

[J.B. Books]

PS. Another question I ask myself, are people aging out of participating as time goes on? It's pretty much all familiar faces at these events, people we have seen there before for many years. There are not too many people participating who are under 50. I think we all ask the question of where is so and so who is not there and the number of people who use to go but are not there seems to be increasing each year.

[Dean Romig]

It's a fact Pete...





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[Austin J Hawthorne Jr.]

I sure hope it will be a long time before I " Age Out ", but one thing I know for sure is that, in the future, I'll be renting a cart instead of pushing my gun caddy up Ernie's hills.

[Double Lab]

As I read all the comments on the challenge events, the good, bad and ugly of it all I believe in the past two challenge events (Fox/LeFever in June and Fox/Parker last week) the Fox BOD, with yours truly and Toolman spearheading the effort, have made this event more accessible to the average shooter.

Chuck Bishop's post earlier in this thread concerning the P/LCS challenge at the Southern outlined the feelings of many who shot but had a snowballs chance in hell to make the team. Same old faces in all the same places. I've always wanted to level the playing field and I think we are on the right path.

Evidence: In June at the F/L challenge we had, for the first time on the national stage, a 14yr old and his dad on the same team. At last weeks event we had our first woman and his excellency the "Bishop" on the line shooting for their respective makers.

These challenge events are not to prove which gun is better. We know they are all great guns and many of us own and shoot one or more of each. If these events are to continue and be successful we need to return to the original premise of like minded individuals gathering to shoot their favorite guns and have an equitable chance of "making the team and getting the hat'' IF THEY CHOOSE TO DO SO. If not, can't we just get together and have fun?