I reckon if you asked Pete who the biggest whinger is it's me. In fairness I do it quietly offline. Over the summer I've been attending every shoot I can, UKHFT and otherwise.
Here's a few comparisons I've made. Perhaps it will help us keep a sense of perspective. I am not going to point fingers at shoots and criticise, I may want to go back next year..
1. People.
The UKHFT organisers that I know well are in it for the shooters and the long term. This shows in the people the sport attracts and the numbers at the events. In writing for the mags I speak to a lot of newbies and I haven't met anybody who's 1st comment was how friendly everybody is. Almost every other shoot I've been to has been club based, and the cliques have stayed with the cliques.
2. Organisation
UKHFT have it professional to the point of obsession. Lessons learned are put into place. Pete is fascist in his quest for perfection and I've seen and heard about a few of the blow ups. But it works. Booking in is slick. The complaints are based on having to wait for shooting slots. Sorry precious, this is because the quality of the product means having to squeeze 150+ shooters into a small area and there is only so many can go through at a time.
3. Rules and Marshalling
pretty much all the shoots I've been to I've witnessed cheating encouraged by a lack of marshalling or a will to enforce the rules. Sitting, use of beanbags as bipods, dodgy scoring are all rife. We all know we get a small amount in UKHFT but this is TINY compared to the others. This is down strict marshalling endorsed by the committee
4. Safety
Similar to Marshalls.
I have had guys shooting accross lanes towards me, seen guns pointed at my head etc etc. NEVER in UKHFT.
The reason I'm posting this is that the recent HFT complaints have been totally egocentric and niggly. We need to just sit back and judge it by the alternatives and it is not only better in almost every respect it's out of sight.
Don't get me wrong, I think the courses are far too easy. BUT that's MY perspective, and ultimately I would far sooner shoot what's offered by UKHFT than anything else I've seen.
ps I specifically exclude big FT events from this as I've never been to a big FT event.
I would respectfully counsel you all to get out and support the sport and support the committee by involvement not petty criticisms. If they walk away the centralised and top quality control and organisation go too
Here's a few comparisons I've made. Perhaps it will help us keep a sense of perspective. I am not going to point fingers at shoots and criticise, I may want to go back next year..
1. People.
The UKHFT organisers that I know well are in it for the shooters and the long term. This shows in the people the sport attracts and the numbers at the events. In writing for the mags I speak to a lot of newbies and I haven't met anybody who's 1st comment was how friendly everybody is. Almost every other shoot I've been to has been club based, and the cliques have stayed with the cliques.
2. Organisation
UKHFT have it professional to the point of obsession. Lessons learned are put into place. Pete is fascist in his quest for perfection and I've seen and heard about a few of the blow ups. But it works. Booking in is slick. The complaints are based on having to wait for shooting slots. Sorry precious, this is because the quality of the product means having to squeeze 150+ shooters into a small area and there is only so many can go through at a time.
3. Rules and Marshalling
pretty much all the shoots I've been to I've witnessed cheating encouraged by a lack of marshalling or a will to enforce the rules. Sitting, use of beanbags as bipods, dodgy scoring are all rife. We all know we get a small amount in UKHFT but this is TINY compared to the others. This is down strict marshalling endorsed by the committee
4. Safety
Similar to Marshalls.
I have had guys shooting accross lanes towards me, seen guns pointed at my head etc etc. NEVER in UKHFT.
The reason I'm posting this is that the recent HFT complaints have been totally egocentric and niggly. We need to just sit back and judge it by the alternatives and it is not only better in almost every respect it's out of sight.
Don't get me wrong, I think the courses are far too easy. BUT that's MY perspective, and ultimately I would far sooner shoot what's offered by UKHFT than anything else I've seen.
ps I specifically exclude big FT events from this as I've never been to a big FT event.
I would respectfully counsel you all to get out and support the sport and support the committee by involvement not petty criticisms. If they walk away the centralised and top quality control and organisation go too
