Southampton Buccaneers Field Target Club

To create a level playing field we shoot at fixed metal targets placed at any distance between 8 and 55 yards.  They consist of a metal front plate, normally painted black, in which is a hole that varies in size between 25 and 40mm diameter.  Behind this hole is a paddle, normally painted yellow, which represents the 'kill zone'.  When a pellet passes through the hole and strikes the paddle it operates a lever which makes the whole target fall flat indicating a kill and scoring 1 point.  Hitting the face plate will not make the target fall and will score 0.  To reset the target for the next competitor you tug on a cord that runs from the firing line to the target resetting it to the upright position ready for the next shooter.  You only get 1 shot per target and a time limit of 2 minutes per lane (2 targets).  If you run out of time or shoot a target out of sequence you get no points, even if it goes down.  Scoring is recorded on a score card and it is normal to go around the course with either 1 or 2 'buddies' which allows self marshalling to take place.  When you shoot, one of your buddies records the score and performs the timing and vice versa.

Front plates vary in shape and style, sometimes squares or circles but the important part is the size of the kill zone and that there is good colour contrast between the two parts of the target.  Over the course of a competition the paint marks up with the various hits (or misses) and the kill zone can become more difficult to see, but that's part of the fun.  When it's windy, pellet marks on the black face plate can be a good indication of where to aim.  A cluster of marks an inch to the right of the kill zone would show the wind is consistently blowing pellets to the right.  Aiming an inch and a bit to the left of the edge of the kill zone will often result in a satisfying double clunk as the target falls flat.  Unless of course the wind has dropped, in which case it will hit exactly where you're aiming!  Learning to read the wind is probably the hardest part of FT and it's this that makes it so challenging and enduring.  No two shots will ever be the same.  If FT was an indoor sport, scores would always be high, often 40/40, but the effects of wind, rain and sun make the sport far more complex to the extent that you very rarely see anyone hitting every target in competition.

The pictures on this page show the type of target we use for competition which are made in Basingstoke by Nockover targets.  They involve a lever system on the paddle which pulls the face plate down if you successfully hit the yellow and are by far the most reliable targets around.

Send mail to Robert at webmaster@sbftc.co.uk with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 08-Oct-2007 09:30