The L Match is intended to draw in non-Bullseye shooters. It allows two-handed shooting and has significantly bigger scoring rings, and is fired completely from the 25 yard line. Slow fire is briefer with only four minutes and many competitors shoot “double-taps” (spaced a few seconds apart) to compress the needed time.
Here are the target-by-target scores for three recent shooters.
First, the .22 aggregate.
| Target | #1 | #2 | #3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF #1 | 99-7 | 99-6 | 100-6 | #3 leads by one point but is down an X |
| SF #2 | 100-6 | 100-7 | 100-6 | |
| NMC SF | 99-5 | 100-5 | 97-4 | #3 shoots an 8 and a 9. Not good! |
| NMC TF | 98-6 | 100-2 | 99-6 | #2 cleans another one |
| NMC RF | 99-3 | 97-3 | 98-5 | Three 9s hurt #2 |
| TF #1 | 98-5 | 100-4 | 95-2 | #2 cleans it, #3 shoots five 9s |
| TF #2 | 98-4 | 100-5 | 96-3 | #3 is probably out of the running |
| RF #1 | 97-4 | 98-5 | 98-6 | |
| RF #2 | 91-0 | 99-2 | 96-4 | A 7 and six 9s for #1 — Oops! |
| Total | 879-40 | 893-39 | 879-42 | #2 wins, #3 second by two Xs |
And here are the centerfire scores.
| Target | #1 | #2 | #3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF #1 | 100-7 | 98-4 | 97-3 | #1 starts strong! |
| SF #2 | 100-7 | 99-5 | 99-5 | #1 builds his lead |
| NMC SF | 100-4 | 97-6 | 100-3 | #1 pulls out even more |
| NMC TF | 100-4 | 96-1 | 95-4 | It’s a one-man match! |
M| 95-2 |
99-4 |
95-3 |
Oh Crap — an 8 and three 9s for #1 |
|
| TF #1 | 100-2 | 99-4 | 97-3 | #1 back on track |
| TF #2 | 97-7 | 96-5 | 96-2 | Another point ahead |
| RF #1 | 96-3 | 98-5 | 98-4 | #1 gives up 2 but is still well ahead |
| RF #2 | 99-6 | 95-0 | 96-5 | #1 crosses the finish line nicely! |
| Total | 887-42 | 877-34 | 873-32 | #1 wins by a big 10 points and 8 Xs as well |
And the Grand Aggregate totals?
| Target | #1 | #2 | #3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate | 1766-82 | 1770-73 | 1752-74 | #2 wins the aggregate, #1 is second, #3 is third |
Depending on the nature of the individuals, some of these “go down” with never a word about the individual targets as they accumulate. Other times it’s nothing more than a few brief words.
“Dropped an eight.”
“Oops!”
“[Stoney silence]”
“Three clean in a row!”
Top shooters rarely ask each other how they’re doing. For the most part, they want to stay totally focused on their own performance and not jinx it by hearing of someone else’s successes.
If someone asks, “How are you doing?” the answer is usually, “Pretty good, so far,” or perhaps, “A little off so far but the day’s not over yet.”
The non-Bullseye shooters are also having a good time. It’s common to hear some good-natured comments but, again, mostly focused on their own performance.
“Wow, everything dropped two inches, what the heck is going on?”
“Almost cleaned that one!”
“I need to shoot this gun more.”
There will be many encouraging statements and some problem solving as well.
“Nice hole!”
“Did’ja click a couple left for that one? Might want to take it back.”
“Try easing up your grip a little to reduce the shake.”
But the one constant across all the competitors are all the smiles.
Everyone is having a good time. (Well, except for those 7s.)