S_S_2015_05_

64 SHOOTING SPORTS MAGAZINE

AIRGUN | FT BLOG

I

recently found myself stood in front of a
Team Wild video camera as they tried to
get some footage for Air Arms. It wasn’t
the fi rst time I’d been in this position but
even so I didn’t feel particularly at ease.
Some people come across so naturally on
screen, I’m not sure how they manage it as
I’m certainly not one of them! The venue for
the ‘shoot’ was a Midlands winter league
round and the cameraman asked me to say
a little bit about why people should come
and shoot FT. Now please understand that I
was under a bit of pressure to begin with but
this question completely stumped me.

WHY FT?
The beauty of the written
word is that it allows the
brain a little time to think
things over and, thanks

to word processing, editing is a doddle, I

don’t even have to worry too much about my

poor spelling. Now I have been given chance

to think, do I have an answer as to why

people should come and shoot FT?

There is no obvious and straightforward

answer as we all have our own reasons for

whatever choices we make in life. Sitting

down on a bean bag in the middle of a fi eld

fi ring little pieces of lead at what many

shooters so elegantly describe as ‘tin

chickens’ does seem to be one of the

stranger lifestyle choices to make.

If I were given the task of promoting FT

how could it be done? Could I use the

premise that your health will benefi t, at fi rst

that seems unlikely but I’m generally worn

out upon my return from a competition. We

spend all day out in the fresh air, generally

away from traffi c fumes and the like, and for

the duration of a competition (usually

hours) we are on our feet, only sitting down

for a couple of minutes at a time to shoot a

couple of targets.

BUMS RUSH

Try it now, sit your bum on the fl oor and

then stand up while holding a 5kg weight,

repeat this 25 times and make your own

mind up as to whether or not this counts as

exercise. It certainly has to be better for you

than sitting with a can of beer and a bag of

crisps in front of the TV for two hours

watching a football game. The downside to

this argument could be that many FT

shooters seem to have bad knees and of

course there is the potential for lead

poisoning!

The competitive side of FT is certainly

an attraction for some, proving yourself to

be better than your fellow human beings.

Doesn’t sound very welcoming now does it?

I love the competitive side, but I take more

from my own personal

performance when I do well

rather than thinking about all

the shooters I may have beaten (with the

odd exception if I’m honest). Generally FT

shooters are very welcoming of those new

A competition

it may be but

let’s not be

too serious

Be careful though you

Friendly conversation could lose your rifle

Spring guns, too much

of a challenge for me

OF FT...

FIFTY SHADES

James Osborne puts across some + points for shooting FT