PART 3: Get Into HFT - Peripherals

Gary Chillingworth continues his excellent series on how how to get into hunter field target shooting with a look at essential extras.

- Gary Chillingworth

Over the last few months, we have looked at the guns and scopes that we use for HFT, so I thought it was time to cover the peripherals. Shooters often carry with them items that have become ‘must haves’ in the world of hunter field target.

MATS

The first must-have item, if you are going to shoot HFT on a regular basis, is the humble shooting mat. A mat is very important to the shooter for a multitude of reasons, firstly, because it insulates you from the ground. During the winter, the ground can be muddy and cold and a good shooting mat will help you to stay relatively clean and dry; in the summertime, the ground can be dusty and there are certain areas where you can pick up ticks and other bugs that can cause a shooter problems.

It’s important to remember that on an HFT course, 24 of the 30 targets will be shot from the prone (lying down) position, so having a quality shooting mat will give the shooter a platform to rest the butt of the rifle on. Mats come in various sizes and thicknesses; Rangesports mats have medium padding and are slim and light, then there are the Aim Mats that have little padding but are wide and long, and the new kid on the block – the mats from Sureshot – which are well padded and large and ideal for the more rotund shooter, very comfortable.