Carmoney

Is that Johnny's brother?

I'm not so sure the "murse" was that big of an advantage. I had decided not to use one of the makeshift versions even before the determination was made by match staff. Loading the murse initially would be faster, of course, but then each and every reload is slowed down, at least by some increment, by having to reach into the bag (a different location than the shooter is accustomed to reaching) and pull out a moonclip, and orient it correctly to the gun. I decided I would be better off taking a little extra time up front and get the ammo on the holders, then shoot the the course normally. Unfortunately, my hands got really fumbly when the buzzer went off and I took much more time than necessary to put 5 or 6 moons on the holders. Bagakis figured out a good smooth and fast way of handling the moons, and executed his plan nicely, and he won the stage by more than 4% with great hits. With no murse. Once again, this whole issue turned out to be a moot point, and everybody pretty much forgot about it.

COOL!! Congratulations guys!

You and them "murse-fart" minor loads.....

Whoa now. Let's hold on just a second here. Nobody is saying anything negative about Nils. He has received nothing but universal accolades from everybody at the match. And nobody mentioned his name regarding this issue until you did just now, Steve. There was no protest. There was no arbitration. There was no controversy on any serious level. One very experienced and reasonable shooter simply voiced to the match staff that it ought to be the same for everybody. The decision was made to confirm that, everybody shot, that was the end of it (other than maybe a bit of joking around about "murses" and whatnot here on the internet, with no mention of any names). I'm certain that the only thing that happened is that a match official approached Nils to confirm that he had worn the device throughout the entire match--otherwise, he was going to be given an opportunity to re-shoot the stage without it, as all the rest of us had been required to do. But as it turned out, there was no problem. And as it turned out, it was inconsequential to the final results anyway. I really think you have received some inaccurate information about what happened. I can understand feeling the need to defend a great young shooter at his first Nationals, but please trust me on this, he was never under attack--and especially not from the other wheelgunners. The only mild criticism leveled in this discussion (by me and Rob) is directed toward the general issue of stage design. Go back and read our posts. It is unfortunate that this thread was ever started. There is not a problem here, so please let's not create one.

Dude, grabbing two extra mags (that's all it took in L-10) is a whole different ballgame than trying to stow a minimum of five moonclips before loading the gun and running the stage. The L-10 shooter also had the option of leaving a mag up front at the car and retrieving it midway through. (See Julie Goloski's website for an example of that option.) The stage was fine otherwise. It's not that big a deal. It was just very obvious that nobody had quite figured out how to handle the whole situation when it came to the revolver shooters. But as it turned out, the "murse" thing was inconsequential to the final result of the stage, and the match. John Bagakis won the stage easily, by simply playing it straight and shooting cleaner and better. [As a side note: For our upcoming Iowa SS/Revo match, we actually considered a stage design which required the shooter to start with an empty gun and retrieve loose rounds from a bowl. We shitcanned the idea pretty quickly, figuring that maybe some revolver shooters would get tricky and bring a couple of those plastic Rimz moonclips, or maybe some .45 AutoRim rounds, just for that stage. I think we made the right decision.] We didn't like the idea of a stage (and potentially, the match) being won or lost on the basis of something like that.

Rob, when I first got my 627 I took a file to the sight and got rid of the gold bead and made it into a nice plain black undercut post. That might be another option for you that wouldn't require the carbide treatment all the time.

I didn't care for that whole silly routine. Anything that could make the match pivot on some little tricky piece of BS is a bad stage idea. I've been to a lot of major USPSA matches all over the country and I've never seen a revolver shooter wearing some big-ass pouch on his belt. Never once. I heard some revo shooters indicating they guessed they would have to go home and design a special pop-top pocket pouch for their shorts for matches with "grab and carry all the ammo" stages. I won't do that, and I certainly hope it never comes to a point where a shooter in cargo pants has a real advantage over a shooter in jeans. Message to stage designers: Keep it about the shooting!!

For those just tuning in, the bright yellow duck was a "traveling trophy" hatched from the evil mind of northwest revo wiz Tom Kettells. The shooter who screwed up the stage the worst (in terms of penalties or lousy hits) had to suffer the indignity of carrying the damn stuffed duck around until some other chump earned it on the next stage. I got to carry the duck after Stage 11, where I dropped a shot off that nice slow windmill. Fortunately, I managed to have a really nice run on Stage 12 (walking the beam), and I was sorta reluctant to hand it off. See, I figured maybe the duck was my good luck charm. ("Lucky duck"???) Yeah, you gotta have pretty thick skin to shoot with this bunch of crazy bastards! But it was all in good fun, and it helped keep the mood light.

Yeah, I saw him. He was obviously on presidential protection detail. Who knew the official dress code permitted an underarmor turtleneck to extend up past the dress shirt collar!

Man Tony, talk about your emotional roller-coaster! Your gun's hopelessly locked up, then you hear the most dreaded word in all of IPSC ("stop"), then a moment later you realize everything has been magically saved! Glad it worked out that way for you.

Danbagger was 3rd last year......I was 4th. With the level of competition this year, I was very pleased to move up just one notch! Anyway, it's obvious that the coveted 2nd place spot is going to be harder and harder to achieve from here on. I think Jerry was only half-kidding when he said he hopes Nils will hurry up and get a wife and a mortgage.

There were so many.....and I was only there for a day and a half!! One of the first that comes to mind was when a whole bunch of us went out to dinner on Friday night to this nice joint called "The Abbey." Or maybe it was "Abby's," who the hell knows. Anyway, we sorta forgot it was Friday night and didn't plan on the place being so packed with people (looked like mostly Quincy locals, you can kinda tell....), and we needed a table for about 18-20. Anyway, we're hanging around in there waiting, spilling over from the bar area into the main dining area of the restaurant. The waitresses can barely get past us. Finally, we decide it's time to start looking for another place to eat. We're about ready to leave, and Burkholder or somebody says, "So Mike, where's Sam??" I look around and don't see him anywhere. Now he's a tough 8th-grade halfback these days, not a little kid anymore, so I wasn't really worried. But still I thought it was a little strange that he wasn't standing there bugging me for food. I looked around, there's a bunch of Iowa limited shooters (but honorary wheelgunners by night, of course) standing down at the end of the room talking to Dan and Bonnie, but no Sam. Finally, Phil looks over my shoulder and starts laughing. I turn around and there's Sam sitting at the bar next to Cliff Walsh, and damned if the two of them aren't engaged in some pretty friendly conversation with two 35-year-old women seated next to them at the bar. Now I understand that Cliff's a young single guy, and single guys have their own special needs. And when a single guy sees two moderately over-ripe but obviously available chicks sitting at the bar, what does he need? A running buddy, of course--another young single dude to hang with him and help talk up the ladies..... The amazing part is the ladies actually seemed to be buying it. As we were leaving I was actually concerned the one was going to give Sam (age 13) her phone number. (Which would not have looked good on my "Father of the Year" application.) Only in Quincy.

Doug told me he's planning to shoot a lot more IPSC revolver next year. We definitely need to hold him to it! (And don't worry, I've got a strange uncle who lives in California too....)

I always feel good when I walk up to a stage at a big match and see Paul Hernandez standing there!

Load up some of the SC stuff and give it a try through your gun. It might work just fine without doing a thing. My single-stack .38 Super runs perfectly fine with SC brass.

No doubt about it--the 610 is definitely a viable option. 'Course, they're getting a little tough to find these days......

I'm kinda hoping somebody else can do that......but it clearly needs to be done. If nobody else is willing and able, I'll whip something up. I would need some help collecting photos, though....I didn't take my camera this year, knowing I would be hustling along the shoot-through format.

From a Revolver shooter's perspective: What a match!! Great performances were posted in all three divisions. Congratulations to the victors in Limited, Limited-10, and Revolver. All were hard-fought battles. Regarding Jerry Miculek: What can anybody say that hasn't already been said? He's the most talented wheelgunner that ever walked the earth, and a true champion of whom we can all be extremely proud. This year Jerry was under more pressure than ever, with participation in Revo up by more than 50% from last year. We all knew the field was improving, getting faster and tougher. We knew the new young GM from Arizona was going to show us his stuff. And Jerry whomped us all again! Congratulations to the winners of the other divisions: Dave Sevigny and Max Michel are both truly great champions, and both faced extraordinary battles to achieve their respective victories. Great job, guys! It's a pleasure to watch the true masters play the game, regardless of the type of handgun being wielded. What a pleasure to see the two top seeds in Limited division going into the match (Rob and EB) sharing a golf cart for the match. That kind of true comeraderie and sportsmanship is what this game is all about. This was just a phenomenal event. I truly enjoyed every aspect of this match. Great stages, great match management, nice recognition and prize table--overall, the 2006 Nationals was very well done. Thanks to everybody who worked so hard to make it so.

Just got back home from the '06 USPSA Nationals, and can accurately report that virtually everybody was shooting a 5" 625. A few 25-2s were mixed in, along with a 610 or two. No minor calibers were present this year, although I sure would like to know where Bubber and his 686 would have finished!

What a match!! There was great wheelgunnin' going on everywhere you looked! Among the truly impressive performances: Nils Jonasson: Wow. If we're not careful here, this game might just become a "race for third place." Exceeding 92% of a strong-shooting and healthy Jerry at a USPSA Nationals was truly a first. I shook his hand at the prize tables, but did not actually see Nils shoot. However, looking at the results will demonstrate very clearly that he is a phenomenal wheelgunner and fully worthy of his Grandmaster status. Guys, this young man is the real deal. John Bagakis (pronouced with the emphasis on the second syllable): John's been a factor in the revolver world for some time, particularly as a steel shooter, and now that he's taken up USPSA seriously, he has quickly become a real factor in this game. At this, his first USPSA Nationals, John performed excellently at 86%, good for a solid 4th place. John is not long for A class, that's for sure. Cliff and Dan: Despite each having a disappointing and costly stage or two, these two diehards managed to make up enough ground to grab 5th and 6th places in the toughest revolver field ever mounted on U.S. soil. With Cliff at 84% and Dan at 82%, both shot percentages that weren't far off from last year's numbers. Good job, my amigos. And of course, Jerry: What can anybody say that hasn't already been said? He's the most talented wheelgunner that ever walked the earth, and a true champion of whom we can all be extremely proud. This year Jerry was under more pressure than ever. We all knew the field was improving, getting faster and tougher. We knew the new young GM was going to show us his stuff. And Jerry whomped us all again. To put it in perspective: There are 33 shooters on the final results list, and the largest percentage difference between any two consecutive shooters on the list is between 1st and 2nd place. In the "closest" Revolver Nationals ever, Jerry still won by a margin of almost 8%. Unreal. Congratulations to the winners of the other divisions as well: Dave Sevigny and Max Michel are also truly great champions, and both faced extraordinary battles to achieve their respective victories. Great job, guys! It's a pleasure to watch the true masters play the game, regardless of the type of handgun being wielded. This was a phenomenal world-class event for wheelgunners. I truly enjoyed every aspect of this match. Jumping the Revolver participation up this year by more than 50%, along with the smaller squads and the half-day schedule, made all the difference in the world--instead of being all put together in one squad, we were everywhere! The presence of the Revolver division at this match was palpable. And I believe the "powers that be" at USPSA took notice of that. Plaques were awarded to the top 4 overall finishers, as well as plaques to the top performers down through the class ranks. As already mentioned, Revolver was the first division recognized, which was a very nice touch. The Revolver prize table was also dramatically enriched from last year, with a total of 8 guns/frames and a bunch of other great stuff. Overall, the 2006 Nationals was very well done. My personal thanks go out to the leadership of USPSA for giving us the chance to prove ourselves as a division, and I want to especially thank all the Revolver shooters from around the country who stepped up and traveled in for their first USPSA Nationals. It was great spending time with all of you. Our division continues to grow. Next year--let's shoot for 50!!

Nemo, I can't help you out with any news, as I'm still sitting in my office in Des Moines!! Today has been just another work day for this Amigo. We're heading over there tonight after Sam's done with football practice. Tomorrow we shoot 6 stages in the morning with one squad, then 6 in the afternoon with a different squad, then the final 6 stages on Saturday morning. That way Sammy only has to miss one school day. I'm really curious to know what's going on myself! It will not be easy to sleep tonight (so I'm taking my flask along....)

Or is he really 40S&WDave?????

You callin' us sissies???

Naw, I just use one of those fiber cut-off wheels to hack the spur and do the rough shaping, then a sanding drum and cratex tip to finish it off. Took me maybe 45 minutes.....(i.e. 3.5 billable hrs)....... It's awfully easy to start short-stroking when you get too excited.