SteveZ

How ironic...my two favorite teams are the Mariners AND the Yankees! Makes life fun when the Yankees come to town to play the M's!

Yeah...except in riding a motorcycle...looking at things will get you in trouble (target fixation). Go into a corner...oh look a pot hole...no...don't look...don't do it...because if you do, you'll head straight for it!

Yeah..I see what your saying. I guess that's where the interpretation of "accidently" comes into question. To me "accidently" doesn't include accidently shooting the penalty target...it means everything but shooting the penalty target. The second part basically says if you shoot it (directly) you'll be dinged with a penalty regardless what the target does afterwards (stand, fall, turn, etc).

Doesn't this basically read that if a metal penalty target somehow turns on edge (where "somehow" does not equate to being "shot/struck/hit") then the shooter is required to reshoot? The second part of the rule "any metal penalty target which fails to fall or overturn when struck by a full or partial diameter hit " seem to indicate this being the case. If a round struck a scoring metal target and then somehow traversed across the range and stuck (eg splatter) a penalty metal target causing the penalty target to turn sideways...it would seem that this rule would apply.

When picking an airline....look at their baggage policies. Alaska Air for example allows you to put 50lbs of ammo in your baggage. Actually they allow you to put 50lbs of whatever you want in your baggage! Alaska from my experience is EXTREMELY gun friendly.

regardless of my previous comments...I thought it was a very good match...very technically challenging from my perspective...lots of opportunites to screw up...plenty of no shoots scattered around the range (with easy opportunities to hit them). I learned alot at this match (which is what I was looking for). It showed weakness in my game that I can work on.... if it weren't for the fact that my gun was causing problems on the first day and my spectacular run on stage 8...my first stage of the match (causing a nice hole to dig out of)...the match would have been great. Coulda...woulda...shoulda.... you know the story!

yeah...we knew if we'd push the issue...that we'd become everyone favorite new target! It may have helped some in the end (expecially in my case since I tanked the stage)....but everyone else who shot it would be really upset if it was tossed....... the stage should have either been reshot or tossed...finding everyone who shot it with the "required" rocks would have been difficult at least. ...one of the more interesting incidents was when an RO tried to assess 6 procedural penalties to a shooter in our squad who shot the first string of the freestyle string...strong hand and didn't understand that "freestyle" meant anyway the shooter wanted. After some strong convincing (i.e. the entire squad telling him!!!)...he finally retracted the 6 procedural penalties.

Don't even get me started on Stage 8. "Might be a classifier" is sufficient enough to classify it as a legal Virginia Count stage? It fails the "short course" and "standard exercise" definitions. But wait..there's more.... When we shot Stage 8, we were told that we had to have two large rocks in the start box...which combined weighed probably 7 to 10 lbs. The CRO placed the box loaded with the rocks on your arms for you...and warned you to not drop the rocks on your feet...because they didn't have any first aid if you did. Later we find out that other shooter are starting WITHOUT rocks in the box. So we went and asked the RM if this was the case....he in turn went and talked to the stage RO and asked him...the stage RO told the RM that there was no requirement for rock in the box and it was the shooters option if they wanted them or not. Thats not what we were told...clearly the course had changed from when we shot it and others had shot it. USPSA rules are clear when a course changes (either reshoot it or toss it). The RM was indecisive on how things should proceed....we kinda pushed for the chance to reshoot it.....and the RM said he didn't know what to do. He didn't offer us the chance to reshoot it...and he didn't suggest anything about tossing the stage. Rather than causing turmoil....our squad decided to drop the issue.

Shawn..good call and good run! 76.457% .... give or take a couple thousands!

....with friends like you guys..... John...good idea! Sniper...its going to take more than "holy water"! Shred...good advice. Ok...I guess I just get to struggle for a while until I find my way again.

Ok...I've got a problem that I'm hoping some of you have experienced and can help me through it. I just made Master in L10 and as luck would have it, I did it JUST before heading off to the Area 1 Championship this weekend. I was hoping to make Master at some point...but I was hoping to do it AFTER Area 1...but thats all history now. So today I shoot my first club match today as a Master...I get the typical "congrats for making Master" thing from all the people who know that I've been pushing for it. Unfortunately (or fortunately...depending on your perspective) I get myself squaded on the Super Squad with Tom Dean, Yong Lee, Lisa Munson, Joe DeSimone and about every other GM/M shooter in the area. First stage...gun jams 3 times (failure to extract...on every one). I had just changed to a lighter recoil spring the night before and wanted to test it during the match...but I didn't expect THIS to happen. After tanking that stage, I went over to the safety area and put the original recoil spring back in...and tweaked the extractor while I was at it...then went and put 30 rounds through the gun without a problem. OK....is it going to work? Hope so! (turns out the gun ran great the rest of the day).....I just wish I did! And there's the crux of my question. While I wasn't consciously trying to "prove" anything to anyone, I feel that I subconsciously was possibly trying to show I belonged. Generally speaking, I didn't feel relaxed and in control as I normally do during a match...and my match suffered for it. When I made A class...it was no big deal...but for some reason, making Master Class has brought on a whole new level of stress that I wasn't expecting. So did any of you experience this "performance anxiety" or feeling of trying to prove something when making M/GM and how did you deal with it. I really don't want to tank Area 1 this upcoming weekend and need to figure out how to keep to my normal game plan and not let the stress get to me. Careful what you wish for...you might just get it. I feel like I just opened Pandora's Box....and I don't like how it initially looks inside!

I know Milton...he's a local shooter around here. He started out shooting Limited but switched over to the dark side this year and has been doing well. None of the other names I recognize.

Its in green...off to the right on the link provided above. Squadding Shooting Schedule

better do it before Friday! I talked to Shelby in the main office today to see if there was going to be an update this month. She told me it was delayed because of the Nats....and that it would happen by Friday...if not sooner.

Well...its not official until THEY say its official. Hopefully it will be next week....I've been waiting...and waiting...and waiting some more for it to show up on the website or in the mail. Usually the mail beats the website by a day or so for me...since I live about 50 miles from Sedro.

I wish they'd hurry up and get things updated....there's something I'm expecting that will make slight change in my classification this cycle.

My constructive comments??? My comment is..... "I'm glad I'm not shooting Open Division at Area 1 as a C class shooter!" Sheesh! It could be that during a bill drill you're a bit "tighter" than you are during a 2-2-2 drill. When watching shooters do bill drills...it seems that trigger freeze is the thing that gets them....they're tighter than a wound spring!

ahhh..now I see where you're coming from. I interpreted "shooting at" as a "binding phrase" for the exclusion (target less than 3 meters) and not a means for the RO to interpret the shooters actions. So, yeah...based on that, I could see how you could assess 10.4.2 on a shooter if they pop one off short and you determine that they weren't "shooting at" the target. I agree "shooting at" in this context is pretty vague.

Ok...well maybe I'm reading a different rule book than you guys...or you've got much more experience at this than I do (which I don't doubt)...but reviewing 10.4.2: 10.4.2 A shot which strikes the ground within 3 meters (9.84 feet) of the competitor, except when shooting at a paper target closer than 3 meters (9.84 feet) to the competitor. A bullet which strikes the ground within 3 meters (9.84 feet) of the competitor due to a “squib” load is exempt from this rule. I don't see anything in 10.4.2 that addresses intent/engagement...it simply talks about bullets that stike the ground less than 3 meters and then an exception for targets less than 3 meters and squib loads. I could easily see some shooter come up with an excuse as to why they popped a round 3 feet away (gee...I thought my sights were aligned...I guess they weren't and thats what 'surprised' me). Regarding your question Nik..I'd stop them immediately. I'd probably try and tag them with either 10.4.2 or 10.4.6/8.5.1 but my gut feeling is that it could easily get overturned in arb by a shooter claiming some "excuse". I'd venture to guess that some really creative excuses have been presented at arb. hearings.

I like using the "sliced shok-buffer" method (I'm sure you can find the details here by doing a search) but it basically involves taking a shok-buffer, slicing it in half and using the resulting "top half" by placing it between the top of the mainspring housing and the lower tabs on the grip safety. The beauty of this method is that it can be easily reversed by simply removing the sliced shok-buffer.

The RO makes his call based on whether or not he believes the competitor was actually "shooting at" the target or whether it was an accidental discharge. This is similar to Rule 10.4.6 which deals with movement. Ok...playing devils advocate (and keeping the discussion going). Let the stage scenerio be a target at 9 feet...start position is gun loaded and holstered. Shooter draws and starts coming up into the first target and pops one off 3 feet in front of them....and does the "whoops stall" and then starts shooting. 10.4.2. Excludes shots striking the ground less than 3 meters because of the distance of the target in this scenerio. 10.4.6 deals with shots fired during movement where the shooter wasn't engaging a target (and I agree that they clearly aren't engaging the target here). But 8.5.1 defines "movement" as: (1) Taking more than 1 step in any direction (2) Changing shooting stance (standing to kneeling, sitting to standing, etc). In this example, they weren't "moving" (8.5) So it would seem that the best you could do would be to DQ the shooter under (10.4.2) and then be prepared for it to be overturned in this situation by the RM (shooter wasn't moving based in the accepted definition of "movement"...and all the DQ scenerios for shot fired while not engaging targets require either movement or reloading or gun clearing....nothing as far as I can see of just standing there shooting). It seems like the best case here is for the shooter to get a "time out" but I fail to see any rule that "sticks" in this scenerio that would result in the shooter getting the DQ that they really deserve. When I took my RO class, we were told that in DQ scenerios we should be prepared to quote the rule that the shooter is being DQ'ed under. In this example, I don't see anything in the rule book that you could use that wouldn't be overturned based on "definitions". If someone could cite a rule number that would stick in this situation...I'd love to hear it!

...but if you issue the DQ, you have to also state the rule number. So which rule number would you issue DQ'ing the shooter? If you state 10.4.2, the shooter could come back and say that the target was less than 3 meters. I don't really see anything in 10.5 (Unsafe gun handling) that would apply unless the shooter was moving with their finger in the trigger guard.

I know it would be really stupid to even consider it...but what would keep a shooter from charging the targets after the start signal? Furthermore....since it appears they could...there's no forward fault line to prevent them from engaging the steel less 10/7 meters (depending on the rule book being used).

I'm running mine at 1.247" This results in the shoulder of the bullet being just slightly above the case mouth; I'm also using a Lee Factory Crimp Die. I've run thousands of these rounds through my Springfield. It eats them up!

If that were the case...you'd think these guys would all be riding sportbikes! Many of the Blue Angels pilots are sportbike riders and say that the bikes are the nearest thing to flying.