Ron Rodgers

Only 5 hp? Gettin soft are you?

As Turtle said, we have 255 registered already. Saturday is full and there are only 6 Sunday slots remaining. I think Friday will start to fill faster once the Sunday slots are gone, so don't wait too long to get your app in! We're looking forward to the match and working hard to make sure you will have a good time at East Huntingdon!

Check out the Custom Limited Gun that is being raffled off to benefit the USPSA Junior Program: Junior Program Gun Raffle Tickets are $5 each and are available to everyone. Thanks go to the following for their generosity: Caspian Arms LTD for donating the frame kit, slide and magazines. Bar-Sto Precision Machine for donating the 40 S&W Bull Barrel. Mark Waldo, for donating the blue job. EGW for donating the Magwell and any other small parts needed to finish the gun. And especially Kevin Greeley for donating his time to build the gun.

No more Saturday slots are available. There are about 20 slots left for Sunday, but I expect they will go quickly now that Saturday is full. Get those apps in!

The Level I Class just completed this afternoon. It was a "little" cold this morning for the practical exercise, but the class ran very smoothly - thanks to Ray Hirst, the instructor. Ray is a great guy, very knowledgeable, and a terrific instructor. Thanks Ray

I just wanted to let everyone know that the match is starting to fill up. Right now there are less than 20 slots left on Saturday and not a whole lot more on Sunday. Plenty of room on Friday and if none of those dates work for you, we can accomodate a limited number of people who would like to shoot with the staff on Thursday. The stages and other match information are on both the Area 8 webpage: http://www.uspsa8.org/Area8Championship.htm and the East Huntingdon webpage: http://www.geocities.com/EHPSA/ The stages should offer something for everyone. There is a good mix of longer and tougher shots as well as a couple of really fast stages. We're looking forward to the match and working hard to make sure you have a great time. Get those apps in soon! Ron Rodgers

East Huntingdon will be holding an NROI Level I Seminar on March 1 & 2. This will be a full day on Saturday and 1/2 day on Sunday. The cost of the class is $40 and includes lunch both days. Ray Hirst will be the instructor. The attached document provides details. NROI_Level_I_Seminar_Information___March___08.doc East Huntingdon Sportsmen's Club is about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, and will also be hosting the Area 8 Championship in May. A map to the club is on our website - www.geocities.com/ehpsa/ Pass the word ..... a great time to take the class given all the recent rule changes! Ron Rodgers

At East Huntingdon, we used to give out plaques to the Division, class, and some category winners at our monthly matches. After a while, people complained they had enough plaques, so we switched to engraved mugs and drink glasses. The costs weren't too different. We got these glasses from a local company that does engraving and kept costs low by committing to a regular monthly order, using up their discontinued stock, and picking up the orders to save shipping. Then some people (not Bill ) started to complain they had enough glasses ..... Seriously, we stopped giving them out because of the logistical problem of picking up orders each month - and the cost. We were awarding 15 + glasses each match.

08-03 and 08-04 both show a "US Popper". Not a big deal, but since the 04 rules, these have been Mini Pepper Poppers.

There was a 20 round course of fire named "Steeler Standards" at the 2006 Area 8 Championship. A good chance that may be CM 08-02.

As Doug said, we're working out a few final details on the match application. I'll post a notice here when it hits our website - probably in a few days. Ron

The clown ..... hmm .... you either loved it or hated it. First time, just about eryone loved it. Second time, some loved it, most liked it, and some .... well, lets just say I got a few nasty looks. Even I could see a trend developing. As Doug said, the Clown met a fiery death. But thats not to say we won't have other challenges in store for you. The 2008 A8 stages are being tweaked right now. Once we get them approved by our RM and NROI, the stages will be posted on the EH website. I'll post a notice here when that happens.

Given the high cost of ammo, I will try to miss steel less often!

I guess we're in the minority - we run with (sort of) dedicated ROs on all 5 stages. We set up on Saturday and most of the ROs shoot after setup is completed. On Sunday, we assign at least 2 ROs to each stage. If either needs to shoot, the other(s) will work the stage until he finishes. The first can then shoot or stay and help work the stage. An RO shooting on Sunday gets a shoot through pass, so they finish pretty quickly. As most ROs shoot Saturday, this allows staff to shoot - at least one gun - and gives us fairly consistent ROing. We usually get 80 to 100 guns. This works for us because we have resources almost no one else has - 10 to 15 dedicated individuals who are willing to commit 2 days, and the ability to to tie up the ranges for the whole weekend.

Mine was in the mail today! I guess I had better start reading

2008 Area 8 Championship Thursday May 22 - Sunday May 25, 2008 East Huntingdon Sportsmen's Club - Scottdale, PA

We are happy to announce that the 2008 Area 8 Championship will be held at East Huntingdon Sportsmen's - Scottdale, PA. Thursday May 22 - Sunday May 25, 2008. Mark it on your calendars! Details for the match haven't been finalized, but we wanted to get the date out for your information. Stages and other match details will be posted here when available. You might remember East Huntingdon from the 2001 - 2004 Tri-State Championships and 2005 Area 8. We are planning an even better match in 2008! Hope to see you then. Ron Rodgers

Do you know of a monthly match that presently employs a chrono ----- and I'm pretty sure the absence of a chrono is not covered by the level 1 exemption..... I'm suggesting that it's not much of an issue --- if you've got a chrono in the match, you're painting steel. Come to think of it, even though we don't do it either, steel should be painted after shooters.... That's what I'm saying .... that Jim's suggestion won't work in monthly matches - probably only big matches that employ a chrono AND paint steel after every shooter. Do we want a rule that only works at big matches?

So a monthly club match will need both continuously painted steel AND a chrono?

Jim, The second part of your suggestion will only work if the steel is painted between each shooter. If not, then I can't see giving someone get a reshoot when it cannot be proven there was a good hit on the steel. I've seen way too many edge hits & low hits resulting from what a shooter swore was a good shot.

Many of the local clubs have had problems with Target Barn's pasters. The bad ones all seem to have been from a joint (5 club) purchase last year. Some clubs stored them in storage buildings, other clubs kept them at home. Didn't seem to matter how/where they were stored, they just wouldn't stay on a target very long.

What would make these bullets smoke more than other jacketed bullets?

I like that! Rotwang pretty well summed up the shooter flow through our match. Open squadding - or whatever you want to call it - works well for us because we're blessed with: - use of the range all weekend - a large group of great volunteers Without both of these, our system probably wouldn't work for you. We usually have enough help to assign 2 ROs to each stage on the Sunday match day. One can work the stage while the other shoots or has lunch. He then relieves his partner to do the same. By afternoon, both ROs are back working the stage - minimizing wear and tear. ROs shooting Sunday, get a "shoot-through" pass, allowing them to get back to work sooner. A real benefit to our open squadding is that anyone wanting to shoot 2 guns can pretty well do so. We've even had people shoot 3 guns on Sunday! I'm guessing, but a normal match will have about 15 or 20 people shooting a second gun. This is a real plus for the shooter - and the club can use the $$. We charge $15 for the 1st gun and $10 for reshoots. Our average match is 80 to 85 guns and we sometimes go over 100. Tear-down is normally completed around 3 or 3:30. "Open squadding" is the norm here in SW PA. While travelling for business, I've been able to shoot matches in other a few other states. No one there has ever seen this done. Must be a Pittsburgh thing

CR Speed looked like it would be a good holster, but I wasn't sure how much work it would be to change length from a 5" Ltd. gun to a longer comped open gun.

OK, I'll admit it - I'm cheap .... and lazy. I shoot an STI open gun and a Para in Limited. I'd like to use one holster for both and am looking for something that requires a minimum amount of adjustment to change from one to the other. I was using an older style Ghost holster (with pin) for Limited and was very happy with it. I tried the Ghost Upgrade block so I wouldn't have to drill my brand new Open blaster, but it just doesn't hold the Para securely enough for me. Any suggestions?