shortlegs
Well-known member
Good to hear that you and lord Pewsey arrived back safe and that they let you back in !!! 
135 low flying then :skydive:
135 low flying then :skydive: 
Jem, Teepee, Wendy and Bob too. Konopiste 2013
- Thread starter Jeremy Baker
- Start date
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teepee1234
Well-known member
Well now...I feel duty-bound to make a few comments on our recent foray into the Czech Republic. Being quite a Luddite where technology is concerned, I have neither i-phone nor i-pad, so left it to Jem to keep those interested among you informed!
Big thanks to the Baker Boy for doing all the driving, although I did offer to 'spell' him (thankfully, he declined...)
Good journey out there apart from Belgium, which was a nightmare! Crashes, roadworks, hold-ups. At times, however, I wasn't sure we'd make it! If there is a heaven, I was fully expecting to fly through the Pearly Gates backwards in a fireball! Would have been as good a way to go as any, I suppose! Baker is a nutter...
(We Brits need to take a few lessons on driving from our European cousins (except the Belgians!) Our lane discipline is appalling, theirs is excellent - they actually move over for faster vehicles! What a concept...)
Hotel was very basic, but did the job. I would have liked the option to make coffee in my room, and a mattress thicker than a half-ream of A4... but the food was excellent, everywhere.
Went to the ground on the Wednesday for some practice and to find our way around. Absolutely beautiful place, as you can see from Jem's pics. The organisation of the entire event was awesome. The competition actually ran a little ahead of schedule for the most part, and I didn't hear of any major hold-ups. The results were often posted before we got back to the main arena, and the bus system was great - particularly for a fat, unfit, old bloke with dodgy knees! Considering the number of traps out there and the weather, I heard of only one trap breakdown. I experienced only one run of no-birds (ironically, on the Promatic layout!). Weather on a couple of days was crap, but it was the same for all of us, so mustn't grumble.
Had a quick chat with Fauldsy before he went out on the Thursday. (I don't think my motivational talk worked as well as I'd hoped!). But well shot anyway! Great to see a lot of Brits finish up there near the top, Matt Hance particularly.
My squad consisted of a Czech guy with a "special" paint job on his stock and fore-end; an old Belgian guy who spoke 5 languages, lovely man; a 17 year old German lad who thought I needed his coaching...; a Fin who had only shot 500 carts this year after breaking his (non-shooting) shoulder, and still put in a 164!; and a lovely Dutch girl, Mary-Jane (girlfriend of Frank Hasekamp, top Dutch shooter). They all beat me...
And so, to my scores...
Happy enough with 20 on Gamba and 18 on Browning on day one, although as always, you remember the silly misses most. I straighted 3 pegs across these 2 layouts, so not too bad.
Day two, and a 19 on Krieghoff , then made a mare of Beretta with a 12!
Day three, and a pathetic 13 on Promatic, but pulled it back slightly with a 17 on Blaser.
Final day...oh dear! Began with a 10 on Hull (see below), and happier with an 18 on Lesycr, and I straighted the very last peg, so not too shabby.
Finished on 127 ex 200, which is 63.5%, so I guess I mustn't feel too bad as a D class Fitasc Sporting shooter, having only shot 450 in this discipline before this week.
Isn't it strange how we watch the birds, work on the plan, then go utterly blank once we're in the hoop?? Call 'Pull', then throw the gun up and pull the trigger without a bloody clue what we're doing?? I know I lost a good few with a poor gun mount, but also mis-read others. The Hull layout wasn't particularly difficult, but my mind went completely blank for most of it! I didn't even have a plan, and wasn't aware of thinking about it at all! Sounds like a melt-down, although I didn't feel stressed at any point during the week. This Fitasc stuff does bloody strange things to the head...
Overall, I didn't think there was anything too silly, although some did need quite a bit of leeed! Quite a few closer, quartering, looping, hanging, fast, slow, some you needed to get on quickly before the limit, a few below your feet...something for everyone! They used the topography very well, IMHO. There were no black clays, all blaze, which were sometimes difficult to see properly under the tree line when it was overcast, which it was most of the time, and some had their back to us so were almost invisible for part of their flight. Overall, great targets, set by a Brit, I believe?
It was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to Spain in July. Thanks to Bob, Woo and the nutter for really good company.
I'm off to the shrink to find a way to blank the drive from my mind...
Big thanks to the Baker Boy for doing all the driving, although I did offer to 'spell' him (thankfully, he declined...)
Good journey out there apart from Belgium, which was a nightmare! Crashes, roadworks, hold-ups. At times, however, I wasn't sure we'd make it! If there is a heaven, I was fully expecting to fly through the Pearly Gates backwards in a fireball! Would have been as good a way to go as any, I suppose! Baker is a nutter...
(We Brits need to take a few lessons on driving from our European cousins (except the Belgians!) Our lane discipline is appalling, theirs is excellent - they actually move over for faster vehicles! What a concept...)
Hotel was very basic, but did the job. I would have liked the option to make coffee in my room, and a mattress thicker than a half-ream of A4... but the food was excellent, everywhere.
Went to the ground on the Wednesday for some practice and to find our way around. Absolutely beautiful place, as you can see from Jem's pics. The organisation of the entire event was awesome. The competition actually ran a little ahead of schedule for the most part, and I didn't hear of any major hold-ups. The results were often posted before we got back to the main arena, and the bus system was great - particularly for a fat, unfit, old bloke with dodgy knees! Considering the number of traps out there and the weather, I heard of only one trap breakdown. I experienced only one run of no-birds (ironically, on the Promatic layout!). Weather on a couple of days was crap, but it was the same for all of us, so mustn't grumble.
Had a quick chat with Fauldsy before he went out on the Thursday. (I don't think my motivational talk worked as well as I'd hoped!). But well shot anyway! Great to see a lot of Brits finish up there near the top, Matt Hance particularly.
My squad consisted of a Czech guy with a "special" paint job on his stock and fore-end; an old Belgian guy who spoke 5 languages, lovely man; a 17 year old German lad who thought I needed his coaching...; a Fin who had only shot 500 carts this year after breaking his (non-shooting) shoulder, and still put in a 164!; and a lovely Dutch girl, Mary-Jane (girlfriend of Frank Hasekamp, top Dutch shooter). They all beat me...
And so, to my scores...
Happy enough with 20 on Gamba and 18 on Browning on day one, although as always, you remember the silly misses most. I straighted 3 pegs across these 2 layouts, so not too bad.
Day two, and a 19 on Krieghoff , then made a mare of Beretta with a 12!
Day three, and a pathetic 13 on Promatic, but pulled it back slightly with a 17 on Blaser.
Final day...oh dear! Began with a 10 on Hull (see below), and happier with an 18 on Lesycr, and I straighted the very last peg, so not too shabby.
Finished on 127 ex 200, which is 63.5%, so I guess I mustn't feel too bad as a D class Fitasc Sporting shooter, having only shot 450 in this discipline before this week.
Isn't it strange how we watch the birds, work on the plan, then go utterly blank once we're in the hoop?? Call 'Pull', then throw the gun up and pull the trigger without a bloody clue what we're doing?? I know I lost a good few with a poor gun mount, but also mis-read others. The Hull layout wasn't particularly difficult, but my mind went completely blank for most of it! I didn't even have a plan, and wasn't aware of thinking about it at all! Sounds like a melt-down, although I didn't feel stressed at any point during the week. This Fitasc stuff does bloody strange things to the head...
Overall, I didn't think there was anything too silly, although some did need quite a bit of leeed! Quite a few closer, quartering, looping, hanging, fast, slow, some you needed to get on quickly before the limit, a few below your feet...something for everyone! They used the topography very well, IMHO. There were no black clays, all blaze, which were sometimes difficult to see properly under the tree line when it was overcast, which it was most of the time, and some had their back to us so were almost invisible for part of their flight. Overall, great targets, set by a Brit, I believe?
It was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to Spain in July. Thanks to Bob, Woo and the nutter for really good company.
I'm off to the shrink to find a way to blank the drive from my mind...
Jeremy Baker
Well-known member
Pleased with the 134 on the way back.
And both hands on the wheel.
And both hands on the wheel.
