Sadness at PASA park

[gmantwo]

I'm just arriving in Barry in preparation for the production nationals, and as usual about new Canton my heart rate increased increased. For many years I would have been arriving at this time in August to shoot the Masters international championship. But sadly that match ended a couple of years ago. Amazing that it had such a profound effect on me that my heart rate still increases 20 miles out. I wish everyone could have experienced the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the original Masters back in the early 90s. Only the Bianchi cup comes close and oddly I never feel the pressure of Bianchi like I did at the Masters

[Bill H]

I feel your pain. It was great in it's best days.like a big shooting party.

[Dan Sierpina]

I shot the Masters for a number of years, starting in the 80"s. I could shoot it again with a couple weeks notice to load long range ammo.

I hate that such a good match had to go away.

[AWLAZS]

What was the masters match?

[gmantwo]

The Masters was an all handgun, 3 discipline match combining Bullseye style rimfire, action speed shooting & long range into one match. The winner, the shooter with the highest overall aggregate score was declared "The Master"

There was never a perfect score fired in all the Masters tournaments, 27 years. That's how tough it was. But it was the greatest match in the world. I'd love to explain it, but we shoot Production Nats in the morning and it's bedtime tonight. Next week I'll be back on my laptop and can elaborate.

[Reshoot]

Dang, that sounds like an awesome event! I have to wonder why it went away . . . lack of participation?

[RippinSVT]

The Masters went away like many of the other great pistol disciplines. First IHMSA fell off, then Bullseye, then (to a much lesser extent) Bianchi. It was equipment intensive, and challenging. Sadly the only thing people want to shoot anymore is the up close and fast stuff.

[gmantwo]

Well, bad decisions killed the Masters. In 1995 several things came together to be perfectly awful. The political climate was iffy for gun manufacturers, the match had hired a PR firm that promised a movie that would make lots of money, there was a new prize coordinator who demanded $10,000 from each sponsor(when $5k had been the norm) so most of them dropped out. But the straw that broke the match was that shooters weren't told that there was little to no prize money beforehand. The match was held as usual, and then at the awards banquet the announcement was made. That year the "Master" won $100,000, Doug Koenig won a new Jeep for winning the Precision event, and many many people ended up receiving pennies on the dollar of their prize money. 

Had the match owner told everyone at the beginning, "guys, you know the climate against guns, we have very little money to award, but hang with us and it will get better", I think everyone would have shot & been ok with it. Sadly, what actually happened made people so angry they simply refused to come back. '95 there were 300 shooters, the max the match could accommodate, 1996- there were less than 100. And it slowly went down hill from there. Doug came every year. Maybe because of his S & W ties, but he always said it was his absolute favorite match. We were starting to get a few new shooters. And every one of them loved it. Maybe someone will put together another match with the same parameters, somewhere that isn't PASA. I hope so

[toothguy]

Sounds a little like what's happening with the Bianchi Cup like RippenSVT said.  Would be nice to move this so it could be discussed.

[gmantwo]

Been a while getting back to this, but here is a synopsis of the Masters that I typed up a few years ago, just found it again. It would be amazing if someone somewhere would put together another match with these parameters. I for one, would be there. Greg

 

 

I’ll try to be   I'll try to be as thorough as I can without boring you, lol.

The Masters consists of 3 different and distinct matches. Precision, Action and LongRange. Each match has a winner and the overall winner, percentage wise, is declared the Master. Checks are given to the top 2 or 3 winners in each event. Also, checks are given for the winners of each division, ie; Stock, Open and Revolver. Shooters may only visit the prize table once, however, for their highest finish overall.

 

Stock means basic, off the shelf firearms and was intended for Sportsman class shooters only. That has somewhat been ignored as many Pro shooters compete in Stock division as well as Open and maybe Revolver too. Only 2 of your guns may have optics, your choice. You are moved to Pro status after winning Sportsman class twice.

Open is basically anything that can safely be fired, lol. If you can get it to the line, it’s shootable. There was initially a weight limit on LongRange guns, but that has not been enforced, within reason of course. All 3 guns may have optics.

Revolver is pretty self explanatory, all guns may have optics.

 

Precision Event

The precision event is where the match has nearly always been won or lost. Even back in the day. Most of the big name shooters shoot speed, or action, so no problem there. And most of them are at least familiar with rifles, so the long range wasn’t a big problem. But Precision is where most people simply aren’t familiar and where Doug Koenig says they aren’t willing to put in the time required practicing to do well. Especially the big name “speed shooters”. During the early heyday, there were 2 Olympic shooters who made a lot of noise about coming and cleaning up the Precision event and taking home the then $2500 first place prize money. They both went home with their tails between their legs, winning nothing. The female said she had shot matches all over the world, but had never felt the match nerves and pressure she had during the Masters.

Fired one handed, Bullseye style. There are 9 separate strings, fired in banks of 5 at one distance, at 25 and 50 meters. Targets are 1.77” and 4.5”

Pistol- any .22 rimfire pistol capable of being fired one handed. You’ll see everything from Browning Buckmarks to S&W 41’s to the exotics like Pardini and Hammerli. Benelli MP90 and 95’s are popular as well. The gun/ammo combo needs to have an excellent trigger and be very accurate. There are 45 plates total in this event, and in 26 years there has never been a perfect score. Doug has shot 40 a time or two.

Start position for each stage is gun loaded(announcer will give 20 seconds to load and make ready), safety off if equipped, muzzle resting on carpeted pad in front of shooter.

Stage I Phase 1

5-4.5” targets at 25 meters in 60 seconds

Stage II

5-4.5” targets at 25 meters in 30 seconds

Stage III

5-4.5” targets at 25 meters in 10 seconds

 

Stage I Phase 2

5-4.5” targets at 50 meters in 90 seconds

Stage II

5-4.5” targets at 25 meters, shot duel style. Duel style is unique, the sequence is 3 seconds to fire 1 shot, 7 seconds gun at rest, 3 seconds to fire 1 shot, 7 seconds at rest…..until 5 shots have been fired. The muzzle must be returned to the pad for each 7 second pause.

Stage III

5-1.77” targets at 25 meters in 60 seconds

 

Stage I Phase 3

5-4.5”  targets at 50 meters in 60 seconds

Stage II

5-4.5” targets at 50 meters in 30 seconds

Stage III

5-4.5” targets at 50 meters in 120 seconds

 

Long Range

The LongRange event is fired in 3 phases consisting of 1 stages each. Phase 1 is all standing, Phase 2 is all freestyle and Phase 3 is a mix of freestyle and standing. Targets are of 3 sizes, 6, 9, and 12”. Distances range from 75-200 meters.

 

Pistols- .243 or larger, barrels not longer that 15” and overall length may not exceed 26”. Other than the main grip, no part of the stock may be more than 2.5” from the centerline of the bore. Single shot, bolt action or semi-automatic, no more than 5 rounds in a magazine, if so equipped. In freestyle, no part of the firearm may touch or be supported by the ground.

By and large the most popular gun in this event is the Remington XP-100, either stock or modified with a front grip stock for open class. Others include the Thompson Contender and some custom bolt action guns. Savage stryker would also be a good choice.

 

Stage I Phase 1

Standing, 10 shots alternating 75 and 100 meters. 75 meter targets are 6”, 100 meter targets are 9”. You must knock down a 75 meter target before progressing to a 100 meter target and so on. 90 seconds

Stage II Phase 1

Standing, 5 lollipop targets of 6”, staggered elevation at 100 meters in 60 seconds.

 

Stage I Phase 2

Freestyle, 10 shots alternating 100 and 200 meters. 100 meter targets are 6”, 200 meter targets are 12”(these weigh 23lbs and too light of a bullet will just disintegrate on the plate). You must knock down a 100 meter plate before progressing to 200 meter and so on. 90 seconds

Stage II Phase 2

Freestyle, 5 lollipop style targets at staggered elevation at 200 meters. Targets are 6”. 60 seconds

 

Stage I Phase 3

Freestyle, 10 shots alternating 150 and 200 meters. 150 meter targets are 6”, 200 are 9”. You must knock down a 150 meter plate before progressing to 200 and so on. 90 seconds.

Stage II Phase 3

Standing, 5 lollipop style plates, staggered elevation at 150 meters in 60 seconds. Targets are 9”

Differences for revolver shooters are: No standing, all freestyle. Targets are not engaged alternating distance. All targets at one distance may be knocked down before progressing to the next distance.

 

Action Event

The action event is speed steel, shot in 3 strings of 3 different target configurations. You are given one throw away run which may be used on any stage. 5 targets to a stage, penalties are assessed for shooting over 6 shots on a string or for leaving a plate standing. A penalty is 3 seconds added to your run. 45 plates total in the match. Winning times have fallen into the 20 second time range. Individual runs of less than 2 seconds have never been seen as of yet. I think I saw a 2.18 once(not by me, lol)

 

Stage I

5-12” targets in a line rising away from you, approx 8-12yds. 3 strings

 

Stage II

5-10” targets in an H type configuration 12yds. 3 strings

 

Stage III

5 various targets, squares and circles set in a wide W configuration approx. 12 yds. 8” targets. 3 strings

 

 

There you have it. The most varied, demanding match there is, truly deciding a pistol Master. There are also side matches, long range rifle, .22 rifle, skeet shotgun. Shooting always starts the first Thursday in August and is shot in the order I laid it out above, precision, long range on the first day, long range and action on the second day with the “local hero” and High 16 shoot off being Saturday. There is a Bar B Que provided Friday night and the awards banquet Saturday after the shoot offs. We’re usually headed home by about 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Many people gather at the Precision event range after shooting Friday and Saturday while the meals are being prepared and the checks being written. Shooting each others guns, letting the kids shoot pistols and rifles.

There have been 4 sub junior shooters that shoot each event after the regular matches are done for the day. Entry for them is $100 and payback is 100%. It is amazing watching the young guys shoot. Last year one of them shot a 44 on the LongRange event! They shoot .22 pistols in that at 75 & 100 meters. I have a 10 year old son that shoots and Doug’s 13 year old son Trevor does as well.

Prize table is after the awards ceremony and steak dinner banquet.

People bring lawn chairs, blankets, coolers and leave them under the trees each night, no one will bother them. Wives, sons and daughters all attend, several shoot as well. My sons and a local Boy Scout troop come in to help paint and set plates. I bring 2 atv’s to set plates on the long range. It’s much more a gathering of old friends than just a match to be won or lost. Very enjoyable. If you need anything else, let me know.

 

 

[GrumpyOne]

This Hate rant has turned into a discussion, which is beyond the bounds of the rules for the Hate Forum. Thus, it must be closed.Please review the Hate Forum Rules:http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8097[note: this is a generic response]