Hunter Field Target (HFT)
The basic HFT rested prone position
As you gain more experience in HFT you’ll quickly realise that it’s not just about being able to clamp your rifle onto a shooting ‘peg’ with your hand, rest the butt of your rifle on the floor and take a nice perfectly stable shot. To outsiders to the sport, this can often seem like it’s the case and that’s probably why HFT had difficulty establishing credibility with the rest of the shooting community in it’s early years. Read the rest of this entry »
Breathing, Trigger control and follow through
Breathing, trigger control and follow-through are fundamental to consistent shooting.
It should be pretty obvious that if you want to hit what you’re aiming at you need to keep the gun as still as possible when you take your shot. Some shooting positions are more stable than others, but even if your shooting position is rock solid there’s still a living, breathing, moving shooter pulling the trigger.
Getting it right takes time and practice and it’s something that should be re-visited and practiced regularly.
HFT Scope setup guide
So – you’ve bought your rifle and scope and you want to get into the world of competitive Hunter Field Target shooting (HFT).
The first thing you need to do is fit your scope to your rifle. A common mistake that a lot of new shooters make is to just fit the scope so it looks about right and assume that everything’s OK. Later on when problems arise it’s very difficult to diagnose the cause of those problems if things aren’t set up correctly in the first place. So although setting up a scope properly can take a little bit of time to do, it will save hours of frustration in the long term.
NEFTA Hunter 2011 Round 1 10th April
The 2011 NEFTA Hunter series starts this Sunday (10th April) at Pontefract Air Rifle Club.
The NEFTA Hunter Series is an excellent, relaxed introduction to the world of competitive Hunter Field Target shooting (HFT).
The rules are very similar to the UKAHFT rules – basically, you have a peg and a target. Some part of your gun or body must be in contact with the peg when you take your shot. If you knock the target over you get 2 points, if you hit the metal plate but fail to knock the target over you get 1 point – if you miss you get zero.
There are 30 targets on the course with killzone’s ranging in size from 15mm to 45mm, placed at distances between 8 yards and 45 yards.
The atmosphere is relaxed, it’s not a heated competition but as with all NEFTA competitions, safety is always paramount.
Shooting should start at around 9am – with the 2nd session starting at around 11:30am, but may start earlier or later depending on how long it takes to re-spray targets etc. after the first session have shot.
If you’ve never tried HFT before and you fancy giving it a go, then these events are perfect for you.
Anston FTC won the team title for the 2010 series, I’m sure we’ll do well again this season, but we need your support.
Pontefract ARC location :
What is Hunter Field Target (HFT)
Hunter field target (HFT) is a target shooting sport derived from the air gun disciplines of field target shooting and hunting. Primarily an outdoor sport, shot with UK legal air rifles (rated at a maximum of 12 ft·lbf), a typical HFT course is made up of 30 lanes, with each lane comprising of a peg and a metal “knock down” target placed in a position to simulate a hunting scenario. The peg marks the shooting spot and the shooter must touch the peg with part of his or her body or gun for the shot to count. Read the rest of this entry »
