MBaneACP

OOOPS! Sorry, Benos, for inexcusable thread drift on the Hate forum! You should probably move the above post... mb

HD should "go live" in January with the beginning fo Season 3. Man, it is *spectacular!* I was looking at the footage from the International Tactical Rifle Championships (ITRC) in Wyoming last month (that's 3-gun, sort of...precision rifle, carbine, pistol), and some of it is just breath-taking with that Wyoming backdrop. RE: 3-gun, I'd have covered Rocky Mountain 3-Gun this year if it wasn't in direct conflict with the Steel Challenge. Hopefully, we're going to get all that sorted out in 2005 and be able to do Rocky Mt. 3-Gun, the Challenge AND the World Shoot in Equador. I'd like to do a couple of shows in 2005 on 3-gun, choosing guns, strategies, etc. God knows there are few enough top level matches without so many of them ending up on the same date! I'd also like to do Frank Garcia's match in Florida if I can make the dates work out and the Practical-Shooting-Powers-That-Be don't smack me on the knuckles with a ruler again. I have an idea for a show that would showcase Open, dispel the myths and explain the importance of raceguns, etc. as well as give Frank a plug. Charles Bond has also been talking to me about filming the Area 6's in 2005. What are you guys' thoughts on us covering an area match? I feel like we're a little light on competition in Season 3 [2-parter on the Steel Challenge, ITRC, 5.11 Challenge cop match)...I had a couple of things I was planning fall out on me, and I bumped all the cowboy stuff to the new cowboy show. I want to add at least one other competition show for Season 4, which starts January 2005. Do you guys think that's more competition is the right mix (I also keep in mind that this is a competition list!). I've also got the match we're planning hanging there like a giant asteroid aimed smack at my head. If I think about that, I become queasy. mb

MEA CULPA! It's MY JOB, and, to use technical terminology, I f&$"#$d up. I can only plead exhaustion. We're so under the gun [so to speak] with the changeover to HDTV--of course, the zillion dollar cameras were six weeks late, blowing the hell out of our schedule--and getting the cowboy show up and running for January that I'm on the road all the time. My beagle no longer recognizes me; my parrots bite me and my girlfriend...well, I won't even *go* there! I just plain missed it on the rough cut. To my old friend Mr. Blaxco, who said and spelled his name on camera, I apologize profusely. Although for about ten bucks at any courthouse in Arkansas, he can formally *change* his name to Blaxco, which is cool neough name to get him a bit part in the PULP FICTION prequel, I'd bet. Again, my apologies. All kidding aside, stupid things like that shouldn't happen. mb

When I lived in Tampa, my shooting buddies and I used to go to a $9.95 all-you-can-eat sushi place for lunch. We all eventually got sick, but, darn, it was cheap! I once asked the sushi chef what was in a certain roll, and he cracked up laughing. I noticed there were no cats in the neighborhood, either. Proving that with enough wasabi, you could probably choke down a concrete block. mb

I've fallen into a whole new world of "television-speak:" • "It's in development..." • "Cut to the chase...the bottom line...(fill in the blank)" • "He's friggin' *talent*; what did you expect?" I hate it all, without regard to race, color, creed or media. CONFESSIONAL: I am one of the people who, in the early 1980s, conspired to shove the word "paradigm" back into the English language. I could tell you the whole sordid story, but suffice to say that I am sorry. Ditto for the word "extreme" in the early 1990s. I am sorry for that, too. I realize I am going to BUZZWORD HELL for my sins. I did it for the money. Put on the handcuffs and take me away, dude... mb

If you're already loading Super, stick with Super. If you're loading .40 for USPSA, consider downloading the .40. Otherwise, 9 is the cheapy way to go. My experience has been the 9s are magazine sensitive like crazy--Springfield Armory ones work the best until Virgil Tripp gets his on-line. You'll have to dink around with the springs to find the weight your gun is happy with. The short story is that small glitches that a .45 would just roll over have a tendency to bind a 9mm 1911 up. mb

KimberKid; I've always thought that the Trojan was the best buy of any 1911 in that price range. My .40 worked flawlessly out of the box (with a cavaet, of course) with both Armscor factory, my major reloads loaded long I had left over from the Old Days and my regular length reloads. It is fiercely accurate. The cavaet is magazines, of course. The magazine supplied with the gun was a no-brainer, but like 300lbGorilla says, I spent a FORTUNE trying different el-cheapo mags before I stumbled onto Virgil's. I sent my gun to Jim Anglin at Sailor's Guns for minor work--a narrow fiber optic front sight from Dawson, cleaning up the trigger, etc. I also sent all the mags and had him tune 'em up...drove him crazy, but now most of my mags will rock and roll. It's my favorite single stack, and I got a bunch of 'em! mb

Joel; You're NOT welcome on this board...not because you're a cowboy shooter, but because YOU'RE FUNNY LOOKING! Yuck Yuck Yuck Yuck! For those of you who don't know Brother Joel, he's the author of an EXCELLENT book on technique in cowboy shooting, BREAKING THE SHOT. It's a very thoughtful, extremely useful piece of work, and (FWIW) I heartily recommend it. Wecome aboard! Now shut up! mb

I see the same thing in the Springs...there's an obsession with "we got 'em young and trained 'em right" as opposed to fielding the best team for the U.S. I think this is a leftover from the old Eastern Block (and current Cinese) style of training, which is something along the lines of indentured servitude. They can't seem to grasp that American kids have not and are not buying into that type of program. The mission statement of USA Shooting *should be* "The best of America competing against the best in the world;" not "The best we were able to round up who were willing to go along with a bucketload of stupid rules and a bureacracy that would do 14th Century France proud." One of the points management has hammered again and again is that professional shooters *expect* things like travel funds, ammo, high quality sponsors the absolute best in coaching and support, and "we just can't do that!" Why not? $300,000 from Kimber...more than $100,000 from NSSF...a total of more than $1,000,000 this year from the industry. After the best fund-raising year in recent history, all the coaching budgets were cut; no improvements were made to the facility in the Springs, although they are desperately needed; there was no new development on the guns used in the events (although, heaven knows, they need it, too!), gold medalist Matt Emmons rifle was vandalized immediately before the Olympics (which management blamed on "those pistol shooters"), public relations budgets were sliced...so, the inevitable question is, where did the money go? The overall implication is that there's something wrong with world class shooters expecting support. I've been to management's houses, seen their new cars, etc. Call me crazy, but they don't appear to be being paid with kibble and bits. Hmmmmmmmmm...is it possible that just about *anyone* on this list could run a world class shooting team with a mil a year? Hell, my *gray parrot* could run a world class shooting team for that kind of budget and probably have enough left over for spare walnuts. I would not be at all surprised to see some serious legal charges come out of this. mb

Project Rapid-Action produced no Olympians because the management of USA Shooting stepped in, insulted everyone involved and made it clear that NO ONE NOT IN THE OLD BOY GROUP would be representing the U.S. in anything. The managent told Todd Jarrett and Mickey Fowler, who offered their services for free to do anything they could to help, that "you guys have nothing to offer us." The management told me, "Those pistol shooters don't have the commitment it takes to be an Olympic shooter. They just run around and shoot and get in magazines." And when Todd finished just out of the money in an Olympic qualifier after his POS Walter bit it, the management told me, "See? I told you they didn't have what it takes." The pistol coach, Erik Buyong, called me up after that and said, "You were right and I was wrong. Those guys are world class all the way." He was fired. The management made it a point of telling everyone that even if Todd Jarrett finished first, he would NEVER be on a U.S. Olympic team. No matter what. The management refused to follow up on a series of world class airgun scores shot by Bruce Gray--his FIRST time out! When Bruce used his own political connections to stop a California bill that would have outlawed Olympic guns in California, the management thanked him by calling him up and shouting, "Who the f^%$ do you think you are, messing in Olympic business?" Don Golembieski offered his gunsmith services...refused by management. And finally... In Athens, the management told everyone who would listen that "American shooters didn't come to the Olympics to shoot; they just wanted a free trip to Europe." mb PS: There's worse stuff. The info's solid, but unfortunately, I can't prove it enough to go with it. The day I get enough proof, it's WELCOME TO THE FEDERAL SLAM time down in the Springs!

Hey Duane-O; Great article! You did a very nice job of hammering home the points that we competitors have learned over the years. And well written, too! RE: GunGAMES, I was the editor of the last incarnation of the magazine. I pulled it out of bankruptcy and relaunched it for the new owners--for years that was one of my gigs, consulting on small magazine launches, resurrections and "saves," so I pretty much knew what I was doing. The problem was that the magazine kept getting shuffled around from owner to owner, and when you scraped the chrome off you were left with a bunch of sleazebags looking to make a quick buck. THERE ARE NO QUICK BUCKS TO BE MADE IN THE MAGAZINE BUSINESS! Not now; not ever... Since then, I've been regularly going back to the big players in the mag biz to try and get something GunGAMES-like put together...and have been totally unsuccessful. Part of the problem is the fact that I worked with the old GunGAMES...the group publisher of Primedia (G&A, Shotgun News, Handguns, Shooting Times, etc.) said that me of all people should know the concept just wasn't viable, since I wasn't able to make a go of it and I was pretty good at what I did. I then went to NYC and made a personal presentation to Stanley Harris, owner of Harris Publications (Combat Handguns, Guns of the Old West, etc.) on the topic. I've worked for Stanley off and on and we get along great. He said that no matter how he ran the numbers, the market just wasn't there. Primedia, Harris and Publishers Development (American Handgunner, Guns) all have professionally done surveys of their existing base that categorically state "little or no interest" in competition related stories. Both I and Paul Erhardt, formerly of NSSF, have argued until we're blue-in-the-face that those surveys are fundamentally flawed, even making a special trip to all the gun mags to make our pitch. No dice. I went for an "end-run," so to speak, by trying to get NSSF to create a shooting sports coordinator position, which would have allowed Paul Erhardt and I to pull the shooting sports together under one roof. We figured that if we could "prove" the market and generate some serious numbers, we'd be in a much stronger position to negotiate. NSSF thought it was a great idea, but not something they wanted to get involved with. The ONLY people who have stood up for the shooting sports are the executives at The Outdoor Channel. That's why I work for them and not OLN or the other shows (who dangled some pretty big carrots). TOC puts their money where their mouth is. They sponsor the Steel Challenge, the Sportsmen's Team Challenge and several other matches and they're letting me put together what will be largest handgun competition ever. We're in the middle of planning a shooting sports documentary that we're going to try and place on other cable channels after we run it. That documentary is also going to DIRECTLY address the issue of why we're invisible in the media..."Somebody that we don't need to talk about on the SHOOTING forum" isn't the only person who knows how to do ambush interviews! mb

Yep...beating up on Kim is like bitch-slapping panda cubs. mb

I'm totally bummed about the whole situation with USA Shooting. A lot of us spent mucho time down in the Springs trying to sort things out, forge links between the team and the industry, hustle up the money, etc. None of us ever even got a "thank you" from that rat's nest. Here's a little example of their shining stewardship of the team...the Powers-That-Be in the Springs have expressed for YEARS their anger and bitterness [directly to me; this is not somthing I just heard] that Kim Rhode made her own deals for her guns and ammo rather than work through the Springs. To put this in perspective, the Springs was willing to "give" her the FULL ALLOCATION of shotgun shells (2500 rounds, roughly what Kimmy shoots in two days) and an okay shotgun. Kim struck her own deal for pallets of shotgun shells and a Perazzi or two. Hey, she is the FRANCHISE! She's got the medals; she's an incredible ambassador for the shooting sports; she's donated huge amounts of her time to juniors programs, etc. All I heard down in the Springs was how hard Kim was to deal with, blah blah blah. Yet she has NEVER refused a request from me on any program; has, in fact, volunteered when I DIDN'T call her. She even once postponed a DATE so she could teach the stuntwomen how to shoot trap. Yet they hate her so much in the Springs the previous marketing director [NOT Leaha Wirth, who's apparently on the way out] could be so rude she made Kim cry in public, for god's sake. The basis of that hatred is that the money Kim generates does not go through the Springs. Draw your own conclusions from that. Rhino...yep, that's the coach that got BURKETT'ed at Rapid-Action. I am proud that I was there when Matt passed into Olympic shooting legend! His comments are probably the most honest words heard down there in years! a disappointed and disillusioned mb

The ICE holster is mega-cool! It's also a Real Good Holster. mb

It's true that the actual team members wouldn't be allowed to shoot another sport close to the Games. The USA Shooting pistol coach has been sent packing...other resignations seem to be in the ofting...sponsors are starting to ask where the money went--a HELL of a good question, BTW. As the person who arranged the Kimber deal (now up to $300K), I'D like to know where the money went, because it sure as heck didn't go to the shooters! USA Shooting couldn't even afford to pay the entry fee for the resident athletes for the national championships in pistol this year (according to what I've been told). The best pistol shooter in Colorado Springs appears to have quit the program. Morale is in the toilet. The only question seems to be whether the USA Shooting board of directors is going to suck it up and make the necessary changes or let the program continue to come apart at the seams. My little moles in the Springs tell me that there's some enthusiasm for scrapping the whole pistol program to "save money." For what? From my standpoint, if the pistol program gets thrown overboard, I can't imagine why ANYONE in this industry would give those weasels one single penny. Isn't there some old samauri saying to the effect of, "the person who does the work of my enemy becomes my enemy"? If there isn't, there should be. mb

Sakai told me that he has won the "Steel Challenge of Japan" (the Airsoft version) six times in a row, using (I beleive) one of the Airsoft S-V raceguns, which is as close to an excact duplicate of a "real gun" that I've ever handled. Mike Dalton said they use 1/4-scale plates for their competitions at appropriately scaled down distances. Sakai comes over three weeks before the Steel Challenge to tune up with a live gun. He told me it takes him a day to make the transition from Airsoft to cartridge gun, because the recoil on the Steel Challenge guns isn't really much of an issue. He says now that he's done it for several years (I believe he's finished 2nd in Open a couple of times), the transition is no big deal. To say the SS was shooting badly doesn't even slightly negate Sakai's accomplishment. Sakai shot dead steady through both Limited and Open. He resisted the urge to blaze when K.C., J.J. and JoJo upped the speed ante. He also resisted the urge to *slow down.* Koenig shot a pretty flawless consistant match, but just off the pace...I'd bet Doug was thinking the Filipino speedsters would eventually draw Sakai into blazing, then, when they all blew up, Doug would be perfectly positioned for the win. Sakai never took the bait, even when it looked like he was out of the running in Open; first JoJo, then K.C. burned up. J.J. was right there, with Todd Jarrett still right behind in the hunt, but Sakai stayed with his game and won it. BTW, by my view, Todd was within one shot of knocking Sakai off (on Five To Go, I believe) after three great runs, but stumbling on the last two and had to eat one. Pendulum was, I believe, the breaking point in both Limited and Open, Looks easy; isn't! mb

I've never seen such small pepper poppers as the ones from the chopper. I badly needed a selector switch! mb

You know, this is a tough issue and one that goes to the heart of the issue of shooting sports sponsorship. I've had this discussion at various times with a lot of the gunmakers, and occasionally with the heads of the sports. In fact, USPSA is too small to be statistically significant in terms of handgun sales for the big players. That's why the sport is domimated by the smaller players who can build guns specifically tailored to the rules. There are not that many new people coming into USPSA anymore, and even if the new person comes in with a Kimber, that person will be "directed" through peer pressure or observation to the "glamor" divisions of Limited and Open, where specialty guns are the norm. It's a great situation for the smaller players...classic word of mouth marketing. Not so great for a company like Kimber, or Sig, or S&W, or Ruger. One way around this is to snag a top shooter who can be leveraged, and there's just not that many of them. TGO is taken; so is Todd. Glock got lucky with Sevigny. There are problems with this apporach...you don't just need a top shooter; you need a top shooter who is smart, quick on his or her feet in front of a camera, charismatic, able to instruct and do R&D for the company AND able to break through the Robbie/Todd/Dave stranglehold on what little media there is (including me). That means this shooter and his or her company would have to give me a compelling reason to feature him or her rather than Rob or Todd or Dave--who are all world class presenters, instructors and, for lack of a better word, personalities. That's tough. In the Back When, we marketed USPSA as a way of reaching the "taste-makers," the people who defined what the larger market of shooters would want next year and as a test bed for finding out what works. That's no longer true. USPSA is essentially the same as PPC, a sport that appeals to a narrow group of shooters and focuses on very specific equipment (in its "glamor" divisions). It's no longer a proving ground, because the rules of the sport are rigidly controlled to protect the "installed base." Yes, those statements are not necessarily true in L-10 and Production, but assuming the sport continues to contract--even at a very slow rate--the multi-divisional format is increasingly squeezed, with the marginalization of the newer divisions. One Nationals, for example. Who will people focus on...the person who wins HOA or the winner of a Division who finiished 20th overall? yes, all teh Divisions are scored separately, but most people have understood basic numbers since before the first grade. IDPA has tried since its inception to convince people that there's no such thing as HOA...how many times have you read that Sevigny won HOA at the IDPA Nationals? He did, by the way. Will this change when the Ban sunsets? Who knows? The assumption in the industry is that regardless of who's elected, a new Ban will probably be put in place within the next year. A Bush landslide could change that, but I don't know anybody who expects a Bush landslide (although maybe if we all keep praying!). I've got no solutions here...I'm now an OFFICAL NONCOMBATANT on all things USPSA. I do believe, however, that there are discussions that need to happen for the good of USPSA and for the good of the shooting sports as a whole. There are times when I think this forum is the only place such discussions will find a home... mb

Hey Alan... The helicopter stage ROCKED! I eeeked out 3 hits, and was DARN glad to have 'em. On the other hand, I couldn't hit THE GROUND shooting out of the moving Humvee. On camera, I attributed this to the undeniable fact that the pepper poppers must have been bouncing up and down. Or an eathquake. Or maybe twinkies. I've got to say the ITRC is one heck of a match; fiercely good competition and excellently designed stages. And [here comes the blatant commercial plug!!] you can see it next February EXCLUSIVELY on SHOOTING GALLERY. mb

USA Shooting is presently imploding, so I'd steer clear until the bodies finish falling. I love the athletes, but the "executives" at the top...well, let's just wait and see. Several members of the team were at the Steel Challenge this year. I don't know how they did, to tell the truth. No offense, but am puzzled at why Kimber should do anything for USPSA. What on earth has USPSA done for Kimber? mb

As Brian noted, Target 2 was the BITCH! There was a trench dug by bullets high right of the plate. Target 4 also had a trench immediately to the right of the plate. As TGO told me, "Hell, I should have gone forward to the closer box!" mb PS: That's a Flying M JOKE!

Sakai won Open and Limited, using guns he borrowed from Mickey Fowler. mb

Shred...you never call, you never write, you never even introduce yourself! Sakai is cool. I *love* that Airsoft-derived style of shooting, with the gun in his face. And for the guy wishing someone had been running at DVD of the Super Squad, someone was!!! We have 20 HOURS OF HDTV VIDEO of the Super Squad from two cameras running constantly, including different POV shots, behind-the-line butt-slappng and chatter, all the blazing runs and exclusive on-the-scene interviews. And we *knew* what was actually going on... I made an Executive Decision to expand our Steel Challenge coverage from one show to two shows this year (it should air end of January, but I'll keep you posted). We should have a longer HD version cut when The Outdoor Channel's all-HD network goes up in mid-2005, and and we WILL have DVDs of the match for sale, with profits from the sale going back to the Steel Challenge for prize money. The Outdoor Channel is honestly and seriously committed to the shooting sports. Thanks heavens! mb

Duane-ster... You know I love you like a brother, but "cheating" is a very big word with very big implications. I say take the guys aside, mention that they're outside the rules and tell them how you *knew* they'd do the right thing! If that doesn't work, then they are cheaters, so hang 'em high. Speaking of good sportsmanship, I filmed the inaugural Western 3-Gun championships a couple of weekends ago out at Piru. W3G is essentially cowboy shooting for people who actually want to shoot. It includes shooting and loading on the move, steel targets with center knockdowns at distances not seen in cowboy matches since the glory days of China Camp, comstock scoring and prize tables. One guy (who's name escapes me at the moment) who finished I believe HOA in black powder, which guaranteed a gun at the table, disqualified himself for having a live round in his rifle. Nobody saw it but him. Class act all the way! mb

Rhino; If what you did last week has anything to do with the picture of Kim Rhode you posted, I'm outa here! MB (back from filming six shows in 10 days!!! Steel Challenge was, as always, entertaining...I gotta get one of them AMERICAN GUN KIDS t-shirts Tatsuya Sakai wears...maybe then I can win Limited & Open divisions of the SC!)