Thinking of trying HFT

[cooper_dan]

This weeks blog post is aimed at people who might be thinking of trying HFT, but are worried about not being good enough, (spoiler alert, you are!)
And as the weather has cheered up, this weekend might be the perfect time to start

/hft-am-i-good-enough

(admin, I put it here and not in 'Target Shooting', as it's aimed at people who don't currently shoot HFT. But feel free to move it if you need. Thanks)

[Hartcliffer]

Thank you. Reading that has given me the encouragement I needed to go and give it a try. I'm not the greatest shot, but I really want to test myself, and now I know I can.

[eyebull]

Good article, I did enjoy reading it.

I heard very similar concerns from people when I was doing IPAS, and in the end the answers were much the same - You really don't have to be a superlative shot (but you will get better by taking part!), the competitive aspect is not all that important and even at the highest level there was still banter - I had the pleasure of shooting at events with Steve Taylor, who was/is a superb pistol shot, and not once did he evince any kind of snobbery. He was very helpful to novices.
And it doesn't have to be all that expensive. Some people must have dropped the best part of a grand or more on their IPAS rigs, but you could get started for £100 or so if you shopped around.

[lensman57]

This weeks blog post is aimed at people who might be thinking of trying HFT, but are worried about not being good enough, (spoiler alert, you are!)
And as the weather has cheered up, this weekend might be the perfect time to start

/hft-am-i-good-enough

(admin, I put it here and not in 'Target Shooting', as it's aimed at people who don't currently shoot HFT. But feel free to move it if you need. Thanks)

Don't think, just do it.


A.G

[petethemap]

Fantastic article , I've heard those exact same questions many times from people sitting at a bench and have given them the same advice , HFT is so much more than a competitive sport. HFT is a social gathering of some of the nicest, friendliest people I have ever met. It also gives me a community of like minded folk who like shooting when our pastime is so vilified in the press these days.

[noz1]

A really excellent informative article.I would love to try it, but, as I suffer from hip and knee trouble ( awaiting surgery, I hope) at the moment, I am unable to get down and up easily from kneeling, prone positions, etc.
Good luck to all who can give it a go.

[lensman57]

A really excellent informative article.I would love to try it, but, as I suffer from hip and knee trouble ( awaiting surgery, I hope) at the moment, I am unable to get down and up easily from kneeling, prone positions, etc.
Good luck to all who can give it a go.

I suffer from lower back pain and nerve damage to the lower parts of my body. Doing HFT, at my own pace, helped . Once I had difficulty getting up from the prone position. I can do it unassisted now.

A.G

[Brian.Samson]

Well written Dan

I especially like the analogy with ten pin bowling - I'm going to use that analogy the next time I get asked about HFT or FT for that matter.

[noz1]

I suffer from lower back pain and nerve damage to the lower parts of my body. Doing HFT, at my own pace, helped . Once I had difficulty getting up from the prone position. I can do it unassisted now.

A.G

Great result for you, Sir. I hope to go to watch a nearby event to see what is involved tomorrow.

[bezzer]

A really excellent informative article.I would love to try it, but, as I suffer from hip and knee trouble ( awaiting surgery, I hope) at the moment, I am unable to get down and up easily from kneeling, prone positions, etc.
Good luck to all who can give it a go.

You just have take your time, I've had a knee replacement which still isn't right and further surgery needed. No chance of kneelers so they are taken standing, prone is OK apart from the getting down and back up again but it's such a friendly, relaxed sport there's no pressure.

[Rotherham Owl]

What a great article and thread.

Me and Karen were at the Emley extreme today and what a great advert for the sport. New comers and those still learning the ropes alongside shooters who have won regional, British & World titles all enjoying a mornings HFT in the sun.

To those who keep thinking they should give it a go, stop thinking and do!

[dunc1055]

Wow just read this sitting in the garden. I have always wanted to try HFT. I have only really ever shot my air rifles in the back garden. This has given me the encouragement to find some where near me. Hopefully there is. Duncan

[bootneckbob]

Don't think, just do it.


A.G

I agree with this. I read about it back in 2007 and thought I'd like to give it a go, emailed Pete Sparkes and turned up at Quarry to have a go. The rest as they say is history.
Some people are just wired to get up and go and others aren't. Doesn't matter if it's HFT or hill walking.

I thought the comparision with bowling was a good one too. As for expensive kit, I'm pretty sure Chris Cundy and Kieran Turner shot with S200s a few years back in a magazine article to show the cost of the rifle had very little to do with scores, dare i say none (providing the rifle is shooting properly in the first place).

[bozzer]

I absolutely 100% agree that the majority of air gun shooters who drag themselves out of bed on a Sunday morning and go to a club to drink tea, eat bacon butties and enjoy the banter ... do so on the plinking range. Most aren't interested in shooting courses and certainly not travelling around the region or country shooting serious comps.

So we've moved the goalposts there a little from ... Thinking of trying HFT? ... to ... Thinking of attending an air rifle club?

There was a thread on STB quite recently and the general opinion there was that most folk just simply don't want to drive around shooting comps. So I think that's fact.

I was talking more specifically about someone thinking about giving HFT a go and starting shooting some courses and comps.

Yup ... Chris C and Kieran and many more would all but clear courses with basic kit. I was at the first Worlds when Kieran did just that ... not on one day ... but on both ... 60/60 day one ... 60/60 day two. I think he used a S400. There's no doubt shooting ability knocks down targets not expensive kit. We don't even need discuss that.

Good points Dan about personal attitude. You are right that some people may struggle early on but will grasp that challenge and fight their way through the tough start and become better shots. Others will just give up and walk away as they want instant 50 plus scores.

That's a real nightmare for the organisers to try and accommodate. They need courses that keep the very best interested and challenged ... but they need them 'inviting' enough so that newbies will enjoy them and knock enough down to keep them coming back. How on earth can they calculate in the 'attitude' of people who probably need to stick at it a bit longer and work a bit harder before giving up?

I'll go read your poll. Thanks for doing that.

[ChrisC]

Interesting numbers Chris, almost identical to our club with the same sort of numbers in each discipline.

Bob

Aye Bob, but if a new shooter was looking for a club then it would be extremely rare if we turned them away.

I agree with this. I read about it back in 2007 and thought I'd like to give it a go, emailed Pete Sparkes and turned up at Quarry to have a go. The rest as they say is history.
Some people are just wired to get up and go and others aren't. Doesn't matter if it's HFT or hill walking.

I thought the comparision with bowling was a good one too. As for expensive kit, I'm pretty sure Chris Cundy and Kieran Turner shot with S200s a few years back in a magazine article to show the cost of the rifle had very little to do with scores, dare i say none (providing the rifle is shooting properly in the first place).

Indeed we did...i think i got a 58 and K got a 57.......first and second on the day and we didn't really set up the trigger on the s200. Kieran used it as a base for an article when the top notch target rifles started to make inroads into HFT.