Sleuth2

Ah yes, those were they days. When gentleman wore jackets to dinner. I shot my SIG 220 box stock - the most accurate new gun I ever purchased. Today, it's my nightstand gun! But the beard is gone. Now, I have to search through my boxes of pictures for evidence of the photographer's feats of daring do - or daring didn't!

I had a very experienced shooter who did a very showy 'flip and catch' every time - until the time he forgot to remove the magazine first! He would flip the round high up into the air, drop the hammer, and catch the round in his off hand. As RO, I saw there was another round in the mag, and yelled "NO", but he was in his groove, had an ND, and was required to leave the range. I understand that the detonations have all occurred with .40 S&W, and was one of the reasons for the switch to small pistol primers in the caliber. I have seen one, and it was not pretty - bloody, but not a serious wound.

I would like to preserve some shooting history: Why were shooting boxes 3' x 3' ? Because we bought 1x2's in 8 foot lengths - when cut to 5 foot to hold targets, there was a 3' section left over. Why are they called Pepper poppers? Because John Pepper (whom I spoke to last week) came up with the design. Why is it called Comstock scoring? Because Walt (?) Comstock came up with score divided by time, allegedly while driving with friends to an early match in Northern California. Why is a shot overtime ONLY if it is .3+ seconds over? Because when we used whistles, we figured that was the reaction time. Why is the command "If you are finished, unload &show clear?" Because a Canadian shooter would complete a course of fire, lower his pistol, and scan the targets - if the RO said "Unload & show clear", he would claim he had not finished shooting and demand a reshoot. (I know who this is, but there is no need to identify him here.) What do you guys remember? And does anyone still have a ballistic pendulum?

I think I fit in here - I was a close friend of Bill & Dottie Hahn, and used to shoot with OCPL at the Oceanside Police Range, starting in 1971. I had no idea so many OCPL shooters were still around! I came up with the revised name for the club upstairs in Bill's den, after we went IPSC and "Combat" became non-PC - 'Linea de Fuego' - 'Line of fire' in Spanish. I worked for a large Government agency at the time. I am proud to have a 2 digit Charter Life USPSA membership number. After I moved to AZ, I met Brian E, and Robbie Latham and his dad. I have a CD of Nyle Lathem, Bruce Nelson (one of the IPSC founders), and myself discussing the start of IPSC - sadly, I am the sole survivor of the three. Tim LaFrance built several guns for me - I still carry one of his 9mm NOVA pistols. He rented an apartment from me years ago. I saw him in December at the Small Arms Review Gun Show in Phoenix. He had broken his neck racing a sports car, but is well on the mend. Cross draw holsters came into use because a frequent start position was 'hands clasped at center of chest'. After Tommy Campbell showed up with his chest rig, that position went away. (I'm still in touch with Tommy.) And I still shoot IPSC at a club my wife & I founded here in NE Arizona (up in the mountains at 6500 feet - we expect more snow this weekend). I'm looking forward to "looking back" when we used whistles, stopwatches, and stop plates, and ALL guns were made of steel and walnut, not plastic. OCPL - Oceanside Combat Pistol League