dogdoc

"However if you are going ot award effort and excellence then it should be done fairly and equally across the board, the top 10% have undoubtedly put in the effort and paid their dues, as it were, and they are not there because of luck, but due to extra time and effort. That effort should be rewarded, it instills in the others the knowledge that if they put in the effort and time then they can reap the same rewards." This statement by Trapr is dead on, and as the saying goes "sometimes the truth hurts". This is where most believe that order of finish will only award the same "top shooters" at every match. Well, hard work and practice don't make you a good shooter at one match, it makes you a good shooter every time, if you are willing to make the effort. I despise raffles, only because of my luck!!! If there are 11 tickets in a bucket and I had 10 and KurtM had 1 I would lose As far as making the tables equal among the divisions, if you look at the percentage of shooters in each division they usually are equal. What I mean is if you take the top 10% of shooters (just a random number) in each division, then generally they get somewhat equitable prizes. For example, at RM3G there were 124 TO shooters and around 25 TI (can't remember exactly). So, that would be 12 shooters in TO and about 3 in TI that won similar prizes from what I saw of the prize tables, guns or complete uppers. The remaining prizes were also very similar. If this math is too complicated for you Kurt let me know After typing all of that crap I vote for order of finish, get a prize you earned and chose!!

[in my case I spend 8 months dry firing for 4 hours a day, 7 days a week. I did very little live fire because I couldn't afford it. I think it worked out just fine for me. There's also no way I ever would have come close to a 3 second el prez if all I had done is shot them in live fire...you simply just can't get the reps out of it that you can in dry fire. I shot the el prez maybe 20 or so times live fire. Jake, 4 hrs a day is insane. I found dry fire to be brain numbingly boring. When I was working hard at it I would dry fire twice a day for about 30-40 minutes each time. But, I shot 3-4 club matches a month. I'm a firm believer that shooting matches is also important. My opinion would be that shooting 300 rounds in practice would equal 120 rounds at a club match. Someone also stated what dry firing helps improve. Draw, sight alignment at the draw and reloads work great. I don't think you learn much about transitions because the gun is not recoiling, and it is hard to simulate movement and shooting accurately with no recoil. Mick, you may not have had you GM card until 39, but as an M you were competitive with any GM at the time!! It was just a card that said M at that time!!

This is just my opinion FWIW, but it seems like the target itself is only half the equation. You can standardize steel all you want, but many times it is up to the ground it is on to determine how reliable it is. You can't standardize the range surface. Myself, as well as all of you, have shot at clubs with grass, mud, sand, rocks, eroded hard surfaces, etc, and all of these can determine how reliable a Popper will fall. I've shot multiple day matches where the weather changed and the surface changed, and Poppers became unreliable, and stages were tossed when the day before they worked flawlessly. Even when the weather doesn't change, a heavy Popper pounding the same spot on the ground time after time can make the stand settle into the ground. Unless you require all steel to set on cement pads, and all steel is the same, you will always have problems.

101abn11b, What exactly is the point of this post? There is no shortage of info on this forum. A post above even states that he won't be there setting up until August 19th! Not sure how you expect to just "bump" into someone on a place that size! Sounds like you have an axe to grind and you're just trying to stir things up!!

The .260 is a 6.5mm, not 6mm, it is a short action. Alot of shooters were going to the .260 AI but are switching back to straight .260. George at GAP is shooting a standard .243 with a 115gr bullet. The whole AI premise is to increase case capacity by raising the shoulder of the brass. So you get higher velocities. Not to mention you have to fire form the brass, which obviously uses barrel life, and you have to buy very expensive custom reloading dies. There is a better bullet selection, weight and bullet type, with the .260 than the .243. Terminal velocity is better with the heavier .260 bullets, but the .243 is capable of the job 99% of the time.

If that's the case, let's just shoot 24 stages at the '06-'07 Area 4 Championship and be done with. At least the '07 dates are set

I agree with lkytx on this. If the PF is so close to the floor for major/minor, increase the charge. If someone chooses to shoot ammo provided from someone else, that is a risk they take. If it scores minor so be it, if it scores 185 PF, deal with that as well. This subject is sensitive with me after scoring minor at Area 4 last year with a 164.8 and dropping 4 positions in the match!! If this happens with me again (it won't!!), I suffer, if it happens to someone using match ammo, nothing changes with them. We both know that no advantage was gained with a 164.8 PF, but rules are rules. How does this work with one ammo company? It just sounds like a good money making opportunity for that company!! Another thought, if a competitor uses ammo from one of the big manufacturers (i.e. Winchester, Federal, Hornady) are they exempt from the PF? Why is PD ammo so exclusive? You can't make ammo with the same PF out of all guns, so rather than make an excemption I think they should deal with the consquences!

That's the only reason that I've never shot a GSSF match because they require membership in their organization if you want your score to count (nevermind the fact I don't own a Glock, I could always borrow one)!!!

You never WANT to take extra shots, but when you call a poor hit or a miss, sometimes it must be done. You don't want to give up too much time vs. the points gained so it matters where you are in a stage and what you are doing. For example, if you are shooting in a static position, or barely moving, you have time to make it up. If you are engaging an array where you are moving hard, you must consider that to stop, back up, re-engage, and get going again could cost you 2 seconds or more. As far as calling the bad shots, it should be done by seeing where the sights are when the shot broke, NOT by looking at the target. At that point you are static staring at a target instead of moving to the next array (or making up a shot per this thread ). I would also go as far to say (because I've done it and I know others on the SS have) that when the unload and show clear command is given that most of the time (not all by any means) the shooter could stand right there and score their targets and be really close because they know where the sights were when they broke the shot.

The pancreas is an organ used to secrete enzymes to aid in digestion. It lies against the very first portion of the small intestine. So when it gets inflammed, it inflames the intestines, thus the pain and vomiting. Something in the diet is causing it. If you feed absolutely no table scraps, and he doesn't get into the trash (common cause), then it is most likely diet related. Feed a high quality diet, if you already are, change to another high quality diet. The care provided by the vet isn't treating the pancreatitis directly, it is providing supportive care until the pancreas has time to heal on its own. It isn't an infection, it is an inflammatory process only. Most are vomiting, so the goal is to stop the vomiting. Vomiting causes dehydration, so IV fluids supports that problem. Ultimately you will have to find and eliminate the cause. Good luck!

Ronnie, The Nationals shoot-offs is based on the Top 16 men in open and limited, and usually top 8 in other divisions. They go head-to-head in a single elimination J-ladder format to get to the final 2. At that point it is best 2 out of 3 for a winner. Just a bragging rights event held after the Nationals are finished.

Staged photo. The slide is locked back!

The rules on the web page state that you will be put into your highest classification.

I think that now that the consumer has shown the oil industry that we will pay over $2/gallon it will be very unlikely to see the price go back to the way it was 10-12 months ago. As far as profits for the gas stations; it aggravates me that most gas stations only get their gas about 1-2 times/week and pay one price for that tanker truck load, yet the price per gallon that they charge will change daily.

I've been shooting a Brazos gun for quite a while now, and have nothing but good things to say about them. My most notable accomplishments with a Brazos gun are 7 straight Top 16 finishes in 3 different divisions, and 9 top 3 finishes at Area Championships!

If a shooter starts his/her match at 8am, I think if they are motivated enough to show up at 6am to preview the stages they should be allowed to. My take on Area 6, like others stated, is that we should have been made aware of the fact that we wouldn't be allowed to preview the stages. The RO on one stage in particular was very aggressive about running people off before allowed. I watched him actually run up to his stage to run someone off and it turned out to be his RO help for the day!! This match was set up in a way that several stages had walls that prevented you from seeing anything until you actually got onto the stage to shoot, and with large squads this did limit the time that the first few shooters had to make a plan of action. If you are shooting the match to compete, and you were first to shoot on your squad, and your competition on another squad was last on that stage, he discussed the stage with the other shooters, taped, and set steel during the stage, he had an advantage without a doubt!

Jim, Supercomp and TJ brass use a .223 shell plate, and Lapua uses a 38 Super shell plate. The rebate above the rim isn't as much as the supercomp or TJ. This is based on a 650, but it is most likely the same for a 1050. The 38 Lapua will fit in the .223 shell plate, but you have to go slow, and it is a hassle!

LL, I didn't know you monitored this forum as well. I was going to put a good word in for you, but you did fine yourself! Good thing they don't know about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle knee and elbow pads ! Like HiCap stated this sport is the closest thing to IPSC with a rifle. Each stage of each match is up to the demented mind of the creator. Aside from the standard drills, they will try to put you in the most uncomfortable/abnormal positions to shoot. Sometimes, as in the TacPro match, the weather makes their job easier in that regard. If you look closely at the picture of the guys below the tower, you'll notice the amount of mud on their shooting attire! Great fun shooting this game!!

I was wanting to know if anyone here knows for sure if TSA can mark the outside of your luggage that contains a firearm. I thought I remembered being told they couldn't identify the outside of the bag as containing a firearm, mostly for theft purposes. I've checked around, but nobody seems to know the answer, not even at TSA. My last experience flying with a gun out of DFW, my home airport and which contains the most assinine TSA agents in the country, had a problem with this. I checked the gun at the ticket window, unloaded and showed clear, put the claim tag in, and placed the locked case inside my hard suitcase. I was sent to the TSA "agents" for the inspection and x-ray. They asked which case had the firearm in it, and they immediately wrote "FA" on the baggage ticket in red marker. I told the guy they couldn't mark the outside of the case that it contained a firearm. The guy said they had to, so the people on the other end would know to look for it. I asked him why they would be looking for it, and told him he also just told all the baggage handlers there was a gun in there. He got bent out of shape and called over his supervisor. I went through the whole thing again with him. He said it had to be done. So I got a piece of paper and told him and the 2 other guys standing there that I wanted their names, because when a gun that costs that much comes up stolen, I was coming to them. The supervisor promptly went to the ticket counter and got a new baggage claim sticker and put it on. So when pushed they will/can leave it unmarked. Was I right or wrong? Thanks.

These are some things that have worked for me in practice, so take it for what it's worth. These are based on trial and error, and observations about my shooting at big matches. I agree with benos about ending a practice with group shooting to check sights. I DO NOT see that it is advantageous to start a practice session with "warm-up" shooting. You don't get this opportunity at large matches, so you need to learn to make the first shots you fire at practice count as much as the last shots you fire, be it stages or drills. Don't be too conservative at the start! Make most of the shots difficult; hardcover, no-shoots, head shots, etc., but be reasonable. Don't do a ton of practicing on open targets at 3-5 yards, it will only make you sloppy.

Steel One! This classifier can be gamed, and the hf is obsurd! The wording of this classifier allows some room for gaming if you look hard enough!

I was shocked yesterday while driving down Interstate 35 in Lewisville, TX (north of Dallas). There was a billboard with the picture of a criminal line-up, and in huge letters across the front it said "GUNS. CRIME. PRISON TIME", and on the bottom it had 1-800-ATF-GUNS!!! It had something to do with Project Neighborhood. I assume this is similar to some crime watch program. My problem with it is why they focused on guns. It didn't say, burglary, robbery, or rape and get prison time. It only mentioned guns and has "GUN" in the phone number!! Has anyone else seen these signs? Is it the new anti-gun campaign for the ATF? This is ridiculous propaganda by the ATF! I almost called the phone number to ask who exactly they were hoping to catch with this campaign! I almost rear-ended the car in front of me while re-reading the sign to make sure I saw it correctly. Glad I didn't or I would be doing "prison time" since I had a gun on the truck.

Steve, >>I worry that there are dogs who would just be.....disposed of if they have an expensive malady.<< You couldn't even imagine how often this happens! It disgusts me every day!

EricW, That doesn't really look like a big deal. I personally hate staples. My philosophy is that if I wouldn't like it in me, I won't use it. They are a hassle to remove. I use absorbable sutures, if I take them out in 10 days fine, if I can't fine, they will absorb. From what I can tell, I would say $150-$175 for that size laceration. Maybe the cost of living in Portland is high!?

EricW, Good thing you put that disclaimer at the bottom of your message, I was about to have to jump in on this one! There are unethical people involved in EVERY form of business out there. I don't know the situation, and I wasn't there to see the laceration and the condition it was in, there are alot of variables there so I won't speculate on the other vet's behalf, but that price does sound pretty steep!