Tengu

If anyone in the country can do this well, Tom Fee certainly can- he has created an incredible shooting facility that is just begging for a match of this caliber. I think it is pretty clear now from all of the well-articulated posts that this could be a money maker for USPSA. It really would be a win-win-win for the USPSA, the host facility in the US, and the international shooting community, which would surely benefit from consistent laws and a friendly atmosphere here. I hope that the shooting community in the US will prove supportive of a bid for the WS in 2011. It does seem to be about time that we hosted it again.

I couldn't agree more. Granted, I'm not there and have to rely on the descriptions of folks on this forum as to how messed up a couple of stages are, but that's good enough for me. The people on this forum have proven to be a very good source of information. +1 Obviously, without being there, it's tough to comment on a stage, but it would be a shame if any match results hinged on a subjective judgement.

Do you have any suggestions as to who this private enterprise entity might be? If they are out there we could let them try their hand with a putting on a nationals and achieve the same goals. Charles Bond You mean like a private entity hosting two pistol nationals in 2006 and 2007 and a Multi Gun Nationals in a couple weeks. I think that would be USSA and they have done a great job, even with this years horrible weather for the last several months. By 2011 this place is gonna rock. I agree that USSA would be the place to do it if they are willing. It's an awesome facility with awesome staff. Tulsa may be a little out of the way for tourist attractions, but the match quality is the main consideration

Do you have any suggestions as to who this private enterprise entity might be? If they are out there we could let them try their hand with a putting on a nationals and achieve the same goals. Charles Bond Sure, although I have no idea if they'd be interested: USSA comes to mind..... ....come to think of it, so does Frank Garcia --- although I have no idea in addition to interest, whether Frostproof is large enough/could be expanded to be large enough..... I think the idea of a private entity hosting a WS is an excellent idea, and could help avoid controversy within USPSA. USSA is already a good part of the way through hosting their second nationals, and from what I saw of their as-yet-uncompleted facility last year, they should certainly have the space to accommodate a world shoot if they were interested. Universal Shooting Academy is another possibility, and already brings in large numbers of international shooters every year for the Florida Open, although it's true the facility there would have to be expanded. Barry or Las Vegas might work as well... IMHO, bringing the WS here would be a great idea- it has been a long time since the most shooter-friendly nation in the world hosted it, and it would give USPSA members a chance to attend without making an expensive and possibly dangerous (Bali???) trip overseas.

It would seem from the 3 stages he's shot in common with the super squad (1st, 4th, and 7th place finishes) that Ben S. is going to be right in the mix for the title. It's always exciting when someone on another squad upsets the balance of power

I heard there was a little prone shooting in the mud today. How are things stacking up on the Limited SS so far?

Anyone have a sense of how things are stacking up in the Production SS after today, besides Matt and Bob shooting really well?

Briley makes excellent interchangeable choke tubes, extended or flush-fitting, with or without porting. They are available for the Rem-choke system, and my wife uses them on her 20 ga Remington with great results. You can check them out at www.briley.com

Limited is certainly incredibly deep this year, although it is unfortunate that because of the match format last year's champ won't be defending his title (which is the case for Production as well...) That being said, I think that Limited will break down: 1. Travis T. 2. TGO 3. Chris T. 4. Mike S. 5. Manny B. Travis has been shooting great this year, TGO is TGO, and no one seems to be paying enough attention to Chris after the show he put on last year in Tulsa. If Todd's gun works all bets are off. As for Production: 1. Dave S. 2. Max M. 3. Angus H. 4. Matt M. 5. Bob V. Dave needs no explanation, and Max has been red hot- I'll go out on a limb here even if Production isn't his usual game. Can't wait to see how it all turns out when the dust settles!

As usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short... got back to NJ last night about midnight after shooting Friday and working on Atlantis Saturday and Sunday. Thanks again to everybody who made this match possible- Scott and Ed, awesome job, Randy, Frankie, BJ, the Robinses, Amy, Steve, Iron Bob, Matt, Lou, my family the Alexanders... the list goes on and on. And many thanks to all of the competitors- you guys and gals are great (I'm sorry about my part in creating the growing legend of "Porkchop Hill"). It's great to see so many familiar faces again, and it's always exciting to see the new faces who make it to our match I also want to make a special thanks to all of our friends from Canada who braved the border crossing and long drive to come down and shoot the match- obviously hockey's not the only sport you're darn good at! Next year we'll try to order one more day of beautiful weather for all of you so you can appreciate VT at its best.

The same 1-2 finish as last year. The Master and the heir apparent. It will be interesting to see how the dust settles in Limited this year...

A real fun match! It ran very smoothly, despite the wind and cold Saturday AM. Many thanks to all the match staff who worked hard to make it come out so well. The Pulp Fiction theme was a nice touch (although my best stage was Bring Out the Gimp... kind of scary!) Some interesting results, too- the stage 9 Production win was the most dominant stage win I've ever seen at a major match I'm looking forward to coming back to Rochester Brooks next year for the Eastern Lakes Section match

(1) IMI Baby Eagle, imported by Magnum Research (2) Bob Cogan, APWCogan (3) 9mm Luger (4) Factory Federal American Eagle 147gr FMJ (5) Millet iron sights (6) Bladetech holster (7) Comfortable Techwear shirt and plenty of bubblegum And although I''ve said it already elsewhere, great match! And I have to add that the picture on the barricade on Stage 7 "Starry Eyed" was priceless! I wish I could get a copy

A great match, with really solid, well-designed stages and a great staff. My thanks to all of the people who obviously worked so hard to put it together! It was my first trip to an Area 6 match, and I plan on being back next year The stages offered an excellent mix of different shooting skills, one of the best of any match I've been to in a long time. My only complaints would be the placement of the most time-consuming stage of the match right after the chrony, which caused a major bottleneck, and the lack of water late in the afternoon (at least on Saturday). Otherwise it was just about a perfect match. Good work guys!

For years the club where I got started (Green Mountain Practical Shooters) has manned tables with volunteers at local gun shows to talk to prospective shooters about our sport. We offer free shoot coupons for one match to the people we meet who are interested. We also offer a free new shooters clinic in the spring for anyone interested the day before a match, to give people a chanch to get a feel for things before their first real competition. Over the years this has gotten a lot of new members involved. It was talking to one of our club's volunteers at a gun show that got me started in USPSA six years ago, and since then I've manned a table a number of times and answered questions from a lot of prospective shooters. One of the things that seems to have been a big plus in attracting people is the addition of Production and L10 (and now SS) divisions. A lot of people don't realize they can compete with their stock gear, and as soon as they find out they can are eager to give it a try. But probably the most important thing is the friendly, supportive atmosphere that I have always found to be such a big part of our sport. As far as the "practical" in USPSA's name is concerned, it's tough to say how much that affects people's opinion of us- I really think it's a mixed bag. I do think a lot of unfamiliar people have an impression from critical articles in some shooting publications that our sport is somehow not practical; unfortunately, it seems that a number of gunwriters who get considerable press have a hard time writing an article without taking a poke at IPSC. It would be nice if these gunwriters would recognize that we as shooters are all in it together, and that tearing down any shooting sport does nothing to help our common cause. Overall, I have to say I think the word practical was put in our sport for a reason, and it's a good thing to keep it there.

Well said

If you have a new shooter show up with a rail type 1911, why not explain that the rules for Single Stack Division (Provisional) do not allow that feature but Limited 10 does. If you had a new shooter show up with a box stock 1911 with a Doctor mounted, wouldn't you explain that that feature puts him in Open Division. Or the new shooter with an 8 shot .357, he can shoot in Revolver Division provided he does not fire more than 6 rounds before a reload (US Appendix D10, 16). If we, shooters, do not take the time to make new shooters feel like they belong it our sport then they probably won't stay and that is our fault. Of course it's our obligation to new shooters to explain to them the different divisions and help them get set in the one that's appropriate for their equipment. And a lot of people are still going to enjoy our sport even if they don't have the most competitive equipment for the division they are in (hell, I've had fun a couple of times shooting open with my Mag-na-ported revolver!). But I'm talking about the frustration of new shooters who get stuck with their off-the-shelf rail 1911 into a group of guys with cutting-edge custom SVs and STIs, and might feel from their first match that they need to buy a new pistol to be competitive. On the other hand, an excuse to buy a new firearm isn't always a bad thing

I think it's pretty clear that rail guns are outnumbered by traditional 1911s and likely to remain so for the forseeable future. On the other hand, if they can be clearly defined in the rules and offer no competitive edge, why not allow them in single stack? Rails are a far cry from full length dust covers. One of the toughest things I've encountered in recruiting new shooters to our sport is the perception that expensive, specialized equipment is required. And if a new shooter shows up to a match and is told he can't compete in what seems to be the most rational division because of an essentially cosmetic (for competition purposes) difference in his gun, we're likely to lose that new shooter.

I guess the only way to keep everybody's equipment even in this division would be to allow only pistols built to the old mil-spec standards- no checkering on the frame, no beavertails, no adjustable sights, no aftermarket grips, no external extractors. But then where is the "practical" element that our sport is suposed to include? This division gives people who love the original single stack configuration a chance to compete against other shooters with similar gear, but (almost) everybody is going to add their own little personal touches. Someone who owns a Springfield Operator or a Sig GSR with a rail has a very "practical" pistol with no competitive advantage that right now is disallowed under the rules. It really shouldn't be too hard to define rail configuarations and pistol weights to allow these sorts of pistols into competition in the single stack division, which is a far more appropriate place for them than L10. There will probably always be people who try to bend the rules to their advantage or find loopholes, but in this case I think the rules could be made pretty watertight and straightforward. And as far as gun weight and balance are concerned, as they stand the rules have no weight limit and state only that pistols used in single stack must have "metallic" frames. How long until someone comes out with a tungsten frame, which would be completely legal and probably kick pistol weight up into the 50+ ounce range?

I think establishing a weight limit is probably the way to go for next year- this is a cool new division, and that would be a (relatively) simple way to allow shooters to participate without a lot of head scratching over rules definitions or attempts to "game" gun design too much And I don't think weight has that big an absolute impact either- each shooter is different, and as has already been pointed out, the 2005 men's and lady's L10 national champs both used plastic framed guns

It is definitely a valid point that it would be problematic to change the rules part-way into the season- I guess I'm looking ahead more to 2007 As to the slight widening of the frame affecting the weight and balance of pistols used in competition, I think it would be pretty easy to define the mounting rails in such a way that no "equipment race" such as we've seen in other divisions became an issue. And as far as a few extra grams of steel near the balance point of the gun affecting a shooter's performance, that is a pretty darn hard argument to make against allowing these sorts of 1911s- something as simple as changing bullet weight from 230 to 200 or 185 grains is going to have a more significant effect on the weight and balance of the pistol. If anyone could show measurable differences in split or transition times between otherwise identical 1911s, one with accessory rails and one without, I'd be very interested to see it.

I just recently saw Jackie Brown- what an awesome flick (even though I'm ten years late renting it). I think it is Samuel L. Jackson's best perofrmance to date, and Pam Grier and the rest of the cast are excellent as well.

Reading through the rules for the new Provisional Single Stack Division I have come across a stipulation that seems sure to cause a lot of confusion and hard feelings in the coming season. It is the limitation that "Pistols with attachment points for external lights or optics are not permitted". As I read this, it would specifically disallow pistols with integral rails in the frame for the mounting of lights or lasers such as the Springfield Armory Operator and similar models. This has become an increasingly popular and practical option for many 1911 owners, and one which has absolutely no bearing on how the psitol performs in competition. As the preamble to the USPSA rules states, the 1911 has gone through a process of evolution over the years and "Those improvements will be recognized, as long as they do not detract from the basic premise of the pistol." Many prospective shooters will only own one 1911 single stack, and when I'm ROing a shooter at the line I do not look forward to teling them that the couple of little grooves they may have on their frame prohibit them from competing in the new division. Just in my home club this will affect several dedicated shooters, and across the country it is sure to create, at the minimum, a lot of unnecessary confusion. I hope that this rule can be changed or clarified to permit the use of pistols with accessory rails as the season progresses.

The Ruger PC-9 is a great little gun that handles well and is quite accurate. While it's not quite as sexy looking as a tricked-out AR or the Beretta Storm, in my experience it doesn't give up anything in performance and will save you a little money, too. My only complaint with the PC-9 is a rather heavy trigger pull. Pro-Mag makes 30 rd mags that so far seem to be 100% reliable (any Ruger P-series pistol mag will fit the PC-9).

I've had good luck with skeets as alternative IPSC targets- they're safer and cheaper than tiles, and available in a variety of styles, including the bio-degradable ones Kimel mentioned. One good way to use them is to string some twine and suspend the skeets from it with clothes-pins. They make a good challenge and are easy to replace.