Carmoney

lynn OK, Lynn, I certainly see your point. As I believe Cliff has already pointed out, Waltermitty is--I just don't know how to put it any other way--quite insane.

Really ............ ? More than '05 Ohio State ???? Yes, really! We had 20 wheels at the Ohio Sectional last year. At one point I know we were up to 29 for the Summer Blast, but I think a couple have dropped. I'm positive we'll have more than 20, though. Did the revolver guys ask for that? Again, very nice of you Lynn, but not necessary as long as we have our own division. (If we get wrapped into Limited, well, that's another matter.....) Exactly right!!

I've been thinking a lot about this whole issue regarding the future of the the Revolver Division in USPSA, it occurred to me that there might be a concern that as our division grows noticeably, we might create a growing demand for "revolver-neutral" or "revolver-friendly" stage design. Friends, this is not the case! We don't want it to be made easier for us! We shoot Revolver in USPSA because of the challenge! Over the past year, I have received communication from several considerate and well-intentioned match directors who want me to know that they put effort into making their match reasonably revolver-friendly (not too many standing reloads and so forth). This especially tends to happen when everybody knows there is a big group of wheelgunners traveling in to shoot the match. I always try to respond by saying "Thanks so much, but please don't worry about that stuff on our account, we like tough stages and high round count just as much as everybody else!" Those of us who shoot Revolver in USPSA do it for a reason. If we wanted to shoot matches that are six-round neutral, there are other places for us to go. In fact, we like the mental challenge of breaking down high-round-count stages, and we want to physicially test our coordination by performing frequent reloads, even at inconvenient places. I say, bring it the hell on! As long as we have our own division, we have our own heads-up "match within a match" going on among the wheelgunners. I spent a few minutes this moring looking over the stages for the Summer Blast, which is coming up this weekend. Other than the classifier, none of the stages look particularly friendly to the wheelgun. And it's gonna be great! The biggest group of USPSA wheelgunners in history is going to converge on York, PA, completely undeterred by the tough stages, and we're gonna go at it! So, match directors and stage designers, as long as we have our own Division to compete in, don't worry about doing anything special for us, just set it up and we'll find a way to run it with the wheel! Am I right, guys??

Let's put this "cost" thing in perspective and use the 2005 USPSA Nationals as an example: Last year 20 shooters competed in Revolver Division at the Nationals. We shot right alongside L and L-10, and no changes were made to stage design or anything like that. They had to print off separate results for Revolver, so there was an increased cost of 20 sheets of paper, the printer ink, and the scotch tape needed to hang the results up on the wall. A small prize table was set up for Revolver. Jerry won a gun, Cliff won a frame, Dan won a scope, I won a chrome certificate, and it went downhill pretty fast from there. I believe these prizes were all donated by the manufacturers--if that is correct, then there was no additional administration cost for prizes. There were four plaques made for Revolver Division, plus 18 medals for the stage winners. Obviously, these had to be purchased. There were no other additional expenses of having a separate Revolver Division that I can perceive. Every other dollar spent at Nationals would have been spent anyway, with or without us. Twenty shooters competed in Revolver Division, contributing at least $4,000 in cold cash to the match. The vast majority of these shooters would not have participated in a different division, and would not have competed if they were shooting for a single "Top Revolver" category plaque as part of the Limited match. Bottom line: Having a separate Revolver Division was clearly profitable at the '05 USPSA Nationals. This year with 34+ Revolver participants bringing in $7,000+ in entry fee money, most of whom would not be there if Revolver were not a separate division, USPSA will benefit even more. It's a good thing financially to have us there! The same exact pattern applies across the board, from the Nationals on down. At our Iowa Sectional this year, we had 9 Revolver shooters, paying $450 in entry fees (we're a bargain!) and awarded two plaques. (At least 6 of those shooters would not have shot the match if Revolver were not a separate division.) Again, it was a nice little chunk of money our club would not have made without a Revolver Division. Now look at your typical local club level match. OK, depending on the locale, maybe only a couple wheelgunners turn out. But they still paid their entry fees, right? And they might not have shown up at all if there wasn't a separate "match within a match" for them to compete in. Did it cost anything to post separate results for them? Once again, the club is better off with Revo than without. Whatever the motivation behind the BOD's concerns, it is not a money thing. We more than pay our own way.

Eric, I'd be interested in knowing those numbers too. It's hard to imagine that maintaining Revolver as a separate division creates any identifiable additional expense to USPSA.

And Cliff will be the first to warn you.....make sure there's nobody around who hails from Rammer, Tennessee.

John is used to Dan breaking into a wild dance when he wins a stage, but finds today's hip-thrusting move to be a bit over the top.

Linda, that's awesome!! This is gonna be great!

What happens in York, stays in York.

Thanks Randy and Linda for your excellent observations. And covering the Summer Blast match with a focus on Revolver Division is an excellent idea! I'm going to be shooting with a couple of new USPSA members--guys who joined our organization (almost on a dare!) in order to shoot wheelgun at the Blast. If they're willing, they would be excellent candidates to profile as examples of the growth in our division. In addition to contacting my own Area Director, I have also sent a polite email to the entire board of directors regarding this issue. This has begun some private dialogue that I believe is positive for our cause. Emails, phone calls, personal contact--all of these would be helpful. Keep in mind the single most persuasive point we need to get across is that Revolver Division is demonstrably growing at a much faster proportional rate than the other divisions. That should be point number one.

It is just not true that all revo shooters are "touched." Bob Perdue is perfectly normal.

Here is email contact information for the board of directors: Pres Michael Voigt president@uspsa.org 1 Bruce Gary area1@uspsa.org 2 Chris Endersby area2@uspsa.org 3 Emanuel Bragg area3@uspsa.org 4 Kenneth Hicks area4@uspsa.org 5 Gary Stevens area5@uspsa.org 6 Charles Bond area6@uspsa.org 7 Rob Boudrie area7@uspsa.org 8 George Jones area8@uspsa.org

Everybody needs to just relax and give the USPSA board a chance to do the right thing here. Just because a couple people may not express the kind of support for Revolver that we might hope for does not necessarily mean they're out to hurt us. I know a couple board members, and they are good guys. I'm not saying stay quiet. I think we definitely need to talk to them. Email them. Campaign them. But please keep the tone positive. Getting pissy will not help anything--believe me, I do persuasion and conflict for a living.

Cool--great timing!! See you at the range tomorrow, dude.

Actually, depending on your reload technique, it can work pretty well. I open the gun and toss in the moonclip with my left hand. So keeping my moon-holders behind my left hipbone (per Production rules) is not a problem. I have shot a match or two this way with my 627 in a kydex holster and it worked just fine!

34 and counting! Sam, more than anybody else, I think you deserve the title of "Goodwill Ambassador of the USPSA Revolver Division." You were the guy who really got me going on the big match circuit early last year, beginning with the Florida Open, when you helped me learn how to break down a stage and showed me how to calculate a hit factor! The fun of shooting in Revolver Division tends to be a contagious thing, doesn't it?

Our proposed revision has been submitted to the committee which will be drafting the new USPSA rule book. Thanks to Gary Stevens for helping us communicate the proposal. I believe this will be a positive move that will lead to even more sustained and steady growth in Revolver Division.

No gentleness, pal. I want payback for last year's Area 3! (By the way, don't try to pull that tired old "I'm the new guy" routine around here....)

I just received excellent news from Kim at USPSA--registrations for the 2006 US Revolver Nationals are up 70% from last year. More empirical evidence of the growth trend I keep mentioning.

Kim emailed me back and said there are currently 34 revolvers registered for the Nationals. That's up 70% from last year!

John!! Your very first post! Good to know you're tuned in. We had 20 last year, and I have to believe we're well beyond that for '06....wonder who we could ask....hmmm..... So I assume you're going? (Nice job at Bud's big spring ICORE match, by the way. I was sorry Sam and I had to miss that one.)

Thanks, Merlin. No reason why we can't get the discussion back on track. So...... We pretty much know where we stand with one member of the BOD. Bruce Gary has bravely and clearly stated his viewpoints, and I respect him for doing so right out in the open. I really think what Bruce needs to see from us is continued growth in Revolver division. One of the more immediate ways we can help facilitate that is to ask the BOD (through Gary Stevens' sponsorship) to pass the equipment rule change proposal that we put together and informally polled here on the forum: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...=36769&st=0 This will throw the door open to more revolvers (Bianchi guns, bull-barreled guns, PPC guns, guns with lightened ray-gun barrels, etc., etc.) that have not been allowed to play in Revolver division in the past. That's a good thing--so says 96% of us according to the informal poll we took. It will certainly encourage more shooters to pick up their wheelguns, including those which were not in accord with the old rules, and use them in USPSA matches. So let's get that done post haste. Then we also need to engage in a constructive and polite dialogue with the other 8 members of the Board of Directors. (For those who may not be familiar with the intricacies of USPSA's organizational structure, the BOD is comprised of the 8 Area Directors plus the President of USPSA.) Let's talk with each of them, show them the continuing growth in our division, help them understand the reasons why we need to stay a separate recognized Division. Finally, we all need to do everything we can to spread the word about how much fun it is to shoot Revolver in USPSA. Because of the challenge, because of the unique personalities involved at the highest levels, and because of the great comaraderie we enjoy before, during, and after every match. Talk it up! It makes a difference! People really do show up and shoot the wheel! And some (not just Jerry) manage to do it extremely well!

OK, we've had the poll active now for ten days. As of right now, the vote count is 43 Yes, and 3 No. After we modified the parameters slightly, one guy has indicated he'd like to change his vote to a Yes. So it's 44 to 2 in favor of implementing the new equipment definition. Gary Stevens, you were kind enough to offer to bring this proposal before the board, I'd like to officially take you up on this offer! Thanks--and thanks to everyone who participated.

Well, now wait just a sec.... Making our HHF the absolute max that our #1 top shooter can theoretically perform the stage? C'mon. That's sure as hell not the way it's done anywhere else. USPSA has over 13,000 revolver classifers in its databanks. That averages out to several hundred per classifier, which is more than enough to develop some sort of realistic HHF, the same way it's done in the other divisions (whether it's the best run on record, or an average of the best ten runs, or whatever). It would be so easy to do, just run our data through the exact same formula, and you're done.

Good points, Flex.