In this 2019 EBR Day One Report, we’ll focus on the American Field Target Competition. This – together with the Big Bore competition – was the main activity today for those who were not on the Sight In range, preparing for the Extreme Benchrest long range shoot.
American Field Target was the first discipline to fill up. This happened very quickly after registration was opened for EBR 2019. That’s a strong indication of the level of interest that there is in this competition. In fact, there’s a waiting list of hopefuls beyond the 75 slots allocated!
Of course, for many people, shooting in the desert among hundreds of prickly cacti is an experience that’s new and exciting. This, combined with the interesting targets and shooting against the clock, makes it a thrill for many competitors.
American Field Target at EBR is different in many ways from more traditional types of Field Target competition. For example, the ranges to each target are clearly disclosed. 100 Yards is the maximum range!
There’s also the opportunity to shoot reactive targets with large caliber air rifles – up to 150 FT/Lbs maximum muzzle energy. There’s no restriction to .177 cal. here. In fact .177 would probably not be powerful enough to knock down many of the targets!
Below, we see Mauro Marocchi from Daystate shooting on the American Field Target course. He certainly seemed to be enjoying the challenge!
The extreme desert climate leads to some innovative ways to cope with the conditions. This gentleman had taken the shooting cart concept to a logical extreme.
He has an electrically-assisted bicycle with a sidecar he made. The whole rig transports him, his air rifle, HPA tank and other essential shooting equipment. Plus it includes his own umbrella for shade protection and cooler for hydration. What a great idea!
Meanwhile, over on the High Power Range, the Extreme Big Bore competition had brought out some interesting equipment. Here, one shooter prepares to dial-in his American Air Arms Slayer bullpup…
…while this Air Force Condor was being fielded in an aftermarket stock.
Of course, there’s plenty of Sight In targets on the 100 Yard range, offering a great opportunity for last-minute dope corrections.
For this 2019 EBR Day One report, we met-up with the RTI Arms team. RTI Arms is the company behind the Priest air rifle. Now there’s the Priest 2 – first seen at the 2019 IWA show – and also a sidelever version, the Prophet.
The RTI Arms team had traveled from Slovenia to shoot their air rifles at Extreme Benchrest. This is actually the forthcoming Prophet model in these photographs. A lot of eyes will be on them in the 100 Yard competition!
That’s our overview of the first day at EBR 2019. Competitors are still arriving and the last ones will be here tomorrow for the 50 Yard benchrest competition and the start of the signature Extreme Benchrest competition itself. There will be more news in HAM tomorrow!
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