38superman

Man, that was fun. I almost passed this one up, but I'm glad I didn't. That match was a job well done my friends. I've never been to a better level II match. This was the first time I've fired my single stack in competition since the 04 nationals. I shot the whole match clean with the exception a single mike on the first stage. After mowing down steel all day, I now remember what I loved about that gun. 1911 = 1 shot, 1 hit. I feel born again.

Holy Cow Pat, That first pic makes me think a fire extinquisher on each stage might be a good idea.

I took my RO test in April of last year. I was very surprised one month later when I showed up at Area 6 and discovered one of the guys in my class was CRO on a stage. That gentleman was an experienced competitor and just a very sharp individual. He did what I thought was a masterful job. Therefore, I think a lot depends on the individual. As for me, I RO at local matches from time to time, but don't feel I have enough experience to run a stage at a major. I took the test and did well, I studied the rule book, but there is a lot to learn. I found that when I was a rookie shooter, my plan often went out the window when the buzzer went off. Sometimes when things didn't go as plan I began to ad lib, operating based on instinct. I find that RO'ing is a lot the same. You may think you understand the rules and are well prepared until something unexpected happens and suddenly you're unsure how to react. Now with more than a year under my belt, I would have the confidence to RO a Sectional, but I don't feel I'm ready for prime time yet. I think the individual RO knows best when he/she is ready for something or not. If I thought I was getting in over my head I wouldn't refuse to work a match. However, I would ask the RM to make sure I got support when I needed it, or I might insist on being paired with a more experienced RO. I don't think it's necessarily wrong to link shooting experience with RO competence. If you play a game for a long time you know the rules that much better. The only mistake would be to link shooting ability RO competence. That is an entirely different matter. Tls

We cannot let this disrupt the state match next weekend. There is gas available in Memphis. If things have not returned to normal by then, I can drive my Expedition to Dickson on Friday night and pick up as many as five NTPS shooters. If you can't get here any other way, organize it and e-mail me. Tony

Wow, sniperdog and I were born on the same day. By the way, do we have to post the age? Anyway thanks dajarrel for the b'day wishes. Tony

YEHAAA.

I disagree. Take him on. Tell him: "I'm sorry but I can't compromise your safety and that of my classmates by relaxing my defensive posture. However, if it makes you feel better I will keep the pins in the grenades while in class. I might even remove the claymore from my locker. However this will be a hardship because my scoutmaster still has me working on my merit badge for explosives and booby traps." Tls

Very nice classic look. Judging by the targets, it shoots as good as it looks. Tls

My deepest sympathies Merlin. I hope your friend can recover from such a tragic accident. Tls

The latest law to be enacted: "What happened on the last stage, stays on the last stage". Everyone knows that if you tank a stage you have to shake it off and put it behind you. If you can't do that, you lose focus and put the next stage in jeopardy. It's tough to do sometimes because disappointment tends to linger when we get mad at ourselves. I have recently discovered that the reverse is also true. If you have a really great stage, you still have to put it behind you. Don't let the buzzer catch you still basking in the glory of that last stage. Otherwise, you are asking for trouble. Live in the moment. The only shot that matters is the one in front of your sights. Tony

I don't know. I'm living in Memphis now. Ga and Gator are just about the same distance for travel. I've been to the Ga match every year since I started. It's always a well run and fun match. Unfortunately, I just never seem to perform very well at the Ga match. Can't say why. Cosmic coincidence I guess. Never been to the Gator Classic. I might just give it a try this year. This may have to be decided with a coin toss. Tony

But I can practice watching the sights, and pressing the trigger. Is that not what we do every single shot? Every stage I've shot is the same; I might have to pull the trigger 1 or 32 times but each shot is the same. See that acceptable sight picture and press the trigger. All the same... Matt, I would agree that watching the sights, trigger control etc, is what we do most of the time. That you can practice. Yet, I still maintain that sometimes we get pushed into doing something out of the ordinary. If you read my earlier post (#15) I couldn't even see my sights when I made those shots. The only part of the gun I could see was my magwell. The gun wasn't aimed, it was pointed. Fortunately the target was close enough to make it work. It wasn't something I wanted to do, but the stage design force me to think "outside the box". Tls

I thought that the whole idea was that the stages are dynamic. You have to use a basic skill set to solve random shooting problems on-the-fly. You can practice and develop that skill set, ... sure. IPSC target arrays are well defined, ... true. But, .... The arrangement of the targets and the way props are utilized are limited only by the imagination of the stage designer. Sometimes the shooting solution has to be equally imaginative. It may involve some new twist or wrinkle that you never thought of, much less practiced. I don't see how you could possibly practice every scenario you may run across in a match, 100 times or even once. That's where the risk comes in. Good stage designers build risk and reward into every stage. Isn't that what keeps the game interesting? Tls

I don't typically take a lot of risks in majors. I try to run my own game and stay within my comfort zone. Better to shoot YOUR match well than someone else's poorly. However there are times that the layout of a stage forces me to take risks that I'd rather not take. Stage 2 at the Mississippi Classic was a good example. At the end of the stage there was a paper target tucked back directly behind a barricade. The fault lines were laid out such that the shot was practically impossible for a left hand shooter using a conventional grip. My first thought was that I could only do it by transferring the gun and shooting it weak hand only. Fearful that I might drop the gun, I decided not to try the weak hand shot. Upon further review, I came up with an approach that was much riskier. I watched as everyone else stopped, turned and wrapped themselves around the barricade. When my turn came, I never even slowed down as I approached the shot. I planted my right foot on the fault line and stepped off into space. With my strong hand only I swung the gun down and backward at a target that was almost directly behind me. Looking back over my shoulder, I snapped off two rounds just before my left foot hit the ground. This was an underhand shot with the gun completely upside down. It turned out to be an Alpha, Charlie. The RO's only words were "He Pulled It Off". It turned out to be my best stage in the match. Sometimes, a little risk is your only good option. Tony

Hmmm..... This is a tough one. Ga. State is the same weekend. Ga.... Gator.... Gator......Ga... I guess I'll have to flip a coin. Tls

Boobs, beer, cigars and single stacks. Sounds like a Saturday night on Bourbon Street. T

Well Flex for some it's easier to "whip it out" (The Visa card) than do the work. I think that's a little harsh. You can't spend your way to a championship. It takes skill to win and that is not for sale, it has to be earned. The finest blaster money can buy won't get you there if you can't shoot. But ....... Quality gear goes a long way toward greasing the wheels of competition. A gun that won't run will destroy any chance you have to be competitive. A Jam-O-Matic won't get you there no matter how good you are. Tls

All you really need is the AU logo and that rifle will be perfect. WDE Tony

I don't know if I'd say winning stages sucks. I recently won my first stage ever and had to beat some pretty good shooters to do it. That was never a specific goal. I never walk up to the firing line thinking "I'm going to try to win this stage". My mental dialog tends more toward: "watch your front sight" "call your shots" "slow down and make sure you get that steel 1 for 1" "move your butt" I was going about my business and it just happened. However, I see it as a milestone or tipping point in my progress. What it means to me is that my fundamentals have become solid enough that I can win. Now I just have to work on the mental game and become more consistent. Tls

Since I started this thread, let me reply by saying that I was careful not to single out any manufacturer or name names. I respect the firearms industry as a whole and have supported them politically and financially my entire adult life. I am particularly appreciative of the individual companies that are generous enough to lend much needed support to our sport. I understand that competition shooters are a very demanding and very small segment of a very large market. No one is suggesting that gun makers should expend the resources to turn operations into mass production of custom quality guns to satisfy a few. No business model would support that. I am only saying that every gun maker has specifications and standards of accuracy. If you ask them they will gladly tell you what those standards are. I am simply expressing the legitimate concerns that I have when half the guns I buy don't meet the builders own standard. When I spend my money, waste my ammo and then expend my time sending new guns back for repair, it's not unreasonable to ask what's going on. The firearms industry spends mountains of money promoting and marketing their products. It's perfectly reasonable for a consumer of any industries' product to give feedback for better or worse. Whether happy or disgusted, you are not doing them any favors by keeping it to yourself. If that's a violation of the forum rules, then by all means, close the thread. Tony

Most of the local rifle matches are pistol stages or pistol stages with a few 50-100 yd steel targets mixed in. For the close in hoser stuff it's hard to beat an EOTech. It's just fast. For anything longer than 100 I'd probably want a Meopta K-dot. Idealy, I'd like to have both on detachable mounts so I could choose the one I want to use at the start of the match. A JP trigger is a must on my guns. Tls

None of the guns I referred to were Kimbers, but I couldn't single out any one manufacturer. The crappy performance was across the board with 3 major gun makers. 2-3" accuracy out of the box would probably be adequate for the casual shooter and I see no reason why any reputable gun maker couldn't hold to that standard if their quality control is what it should be. For competition, I am not comfortable with any gun that won't group consistently at 2" or less. If my gun produces 3-4" groups off a stable rest, what I get offhand at 25 yds is probably at least double that. This will often be the difference between an A or C hit on paper and the difference between a hit or a miss on steel. I am quite capable of missing without any help from my gun. To meet this 2" accuracy requirement I am forced to spend the money to upgrade the factory guns or buy custom anyway. I just think the factory guns could and should be better than they are. Under no circumstances shoud a gun leave the factory shooting 8" groups from a rest, but they do. Tls

That's one nice looking blaster Tim. I see you're serious about that upcoming SS / Production match at NTPS. Well I had to do something since I sold you my production gun. Stop me where I'm wrong but... That hammer looks like it belongs to a Brazos trigger group. Dawson Fiber optic front sight. Techwell magwell and grip set. The short curved trigger was probably stock from STI Can't tell for sure but it looks like the whole gun has a custom finish. ION Bond maybe? I'm so jealous. Tony

That's one nice looking blaster Tim. I see you're serious about that upcoming SS / Production match at NTPS.

It's no secret that mass produced guns can't match the performance of a good custom or semi-custom gun. However, all major manufacturers have specifications and quality / accuracy standards. Sadly, of the last four 1911 style guns I bought "off the shelf" two were poor and two were simply awful. These four guns came from three different manufacturers. I routinely fire new guns for group with quality factory ammo to document their "as new" performance and to sight in. The groups are 5 shots off sandbags at 25 yds. Two of the guns were grouping around 4" which is poor, but not too far out of line for a mass produced gun. However, the other two guns were spraying ammo all over the target Groups were in the 7 to 8 inch size. When you can't cover a five shot group with a paper plate, I have no words for that other than piece of $hit. I called one of the manufacturers recently and asked what is your accuracy standard for a full size 1911. The reply was 3 1/2" at 25 yards. Not one of these guns met that standard and two of the four were more than double that. One of the worst offenders was sent back for repair and was returned to me with absolutely no improvement. It has now become standard procedure for me to send new guns to the gunsmith to get a custom fit barrel and a new trigger group. Is it just me or is anyone else appalled by this? Tony