Freepistol

Hi Mark, How did the Action Pistol match go and are you planning more? I didn't see any on the web site. Ben

Larry's Guns in ME has taken stepped in for Don's business. He's a good guy. http://www.larrysguns.com/ Don's web site has good shooting information in the "Notes" section. It is required reading: http://www.nygord-precision.com/ I use the Hill pump for my Morini air pistol. It is easy to fill the cylinder when needed and not have to drive to get an air tank filled, however, if you shoot a lot or coach a team, it may be better to get one or two of the really big scuba tanks. Ben

There are some postal matches going on. Here is Air: http://www.airguninfo.com/matchinfo.htm This used to be a great one, but they may be on hiatus. http://omega.pol.lublin.pl/highnoon/ Ben

It's interesting that Olympic shooting should come up here. I am a free pistol shooter who has migrated here. Here is the long story: I was a smallbore position shooter in the early 70s. Matches were far away so I switched to smallbore prone. When we had two daughters in the mid 80s my wife complained that I was having fun shooting for 2 days while she was stuck watching the kids. That was the end of rifle shooting. I needed something that was shot in one day and also wanted an unusual carry gun. I bought an LAR Manufacturing Grizzly in .45 Win Mag and shot an Action Pistol Match and one bullseye match with it. I decided it would take way too much ammo to get good enough to win matches in action pistol. Yes, I actually carried it. I had a huge fanny pack and used an inside the belt holster in the small of the back. I'm more of a slow fire person with my prone background so I bought a free pistol in '93 for 1800 bucks and shot for 2 years until my wife again complained about my shooting. I won a match my first year. {Hind sight, I should have gotten rid of my wife.} Now with both daughters out of college, I started shooting my free pistol again. I also bought an air pistol, a Standard pistol for International, a bullseye .22, and I just ordered an STI Trojan. The closest international matches are over 50 miles away. There are about 10-12 matches a year within 250 miles of me. Between IPSC and IDPA there are between 30 and 40 matches per year within 50 miles of me. I want to shoot. I also want to win. However, turning 55 this month makes me realize I "shot" my best years trying to keep my nagging wife happy. {That would make a great hate thread}. I'm still going to shoot international pistol as my serious competition, however, I plan to have the most fun with the new .45. International competition is tough. Compare our approx. 2 inch ten ring on a 50 yd. free pistol target shot with one hand with the IPSC target at 3 yards holding with both hands. Which target will a new shooter believe he/she can conquer? Even if the stage is shot in 45 seconds compared to a winning time of 12, there is hope that speed willl come. No wonder there are so many more practical shooters than international. {There was a comment on the forum linked below that free pistol shooters were described as "librarians" compared to practical. Love that sense of humor}! If I have as much fun as I think I'm going to have, a full race gun will be at the top of my purchase list. I think the optics will help these old eyes. Anyone interested in International competition, go here: http://www.targettalk.org/index.php Ben

Only a "few" years ago eh? Okay, maybe many years for the bike. The picture is from, I think 2002. I was diagnosed in 2001 with coronary artery disease and had a stent inserted, then wrote the article. The years go by so fast after 40. . . Vulture, I agree, weird . . . and cool! Ben

A few years ago from a newspaper article I wrote about biking: Epic carbon fibre frame, Campy components.

Great map, Scott! Could I interest you in adding PA matches to it? We are in the Northeast, too! Some of the clubs listed in the link may only be IDPA, I think most are both. Ben http://www.runandgunchallenge.com/calendar.htm