PREPARING FOR THE FIRST

Competitions are not everybody’s idea of a fun day out, I know. For some shooters, however, they provide an additional challenge and the ‘buzz’ they need to maintain both their interest – and, if they are any good, the ongoing practice in a genuine competition that’s required to maintain top performance.

Considering just how many of us enjoy shooting airguns, it must be said that those competing would appear to be very much in the minority. As there are now lots of competitions, both Hunter Field Target (HFT) and Field Target (FT) up and down the country near enough every weekend, anybody even the slightest bit interested, especially if they are prepared to travel, can find something going on that might involve a competition of one type or another.

This is of course only taking account of outdoor competition. Many airgun shooters prefer to remain indoors to enjoy their sport, although many of these will be engaged in ‘official’