hoser

Uummmm, Denise, don't you remember? We have sworn off champagne! Looking forward to seeing you again Jan and Allen. Arnie

Yeah, the results are posted -- but, I am confused. I thought there was going to be three Divisions at 3 Gun, Open; Standard and Tactical. The results only show Aggregate scores for Open and Standard. What's up with that? Arnie

Brian, I think you handled the situation with aplomb. I can find no fault with the way you handled things, I would have done the same. By the way, I have RO'ed at a fair number of international matches and I have never seen any spectator going through the course of fire during the inspection period, so I doubt that it was a foreign shooter issue. Arnie

Shooter Grrl is absolutely correct! There is no such thing as "Condition 1" or "Condition 2", etc. in either USPSA or IPSC. Arnie

I ran the El Prez Challenge at the US Nationals. The goal was a hit factor of 15.0000, which, IIRC, roughly translates to a 3.95 second run with all A's. During the week I talked to most of the big boys and they were split 50/50 on whether or not it was possible. Most of them said they could do it occasionally in practice, but it would be very difficult to do on demand. No one even came close. The highest hit factor was by Doug Koenig with a 12.++ something. I think he was the only one without a miss. A 2.95 second run with no misses??? I don't think so. Arnie

You may be correct there, Luca. Only, I was trying to get Luciano "Pavarotti" to voluntarily have himself committed to the Centre, so I could give him the care that he so badly needs. Arnie

I have to agree with Eric and Leo. My first hi-cap open gun was an EAA Gold Team in 9x21. While I loved the feel of the grips with my small hands, the gun spent more time back at the Custom Shop than it did on the range. I finally got a TRI (forerunner of S*I) and my scores immediately went up 10%-15%. I still have that Gold Team in the vault but I cannot in good faith sell it to anyone, the gun is basically a boat anchor. Arnie

TOP SECRET: They lace the espresso with Prozac. In Luca's case, they lace the Prozac with espresso Is that what happened to me!!!!!! No wonder Luciano Corvetti, the RM, insisted that I drink several espressos in the morning. That is how he keeps the staff under control. Arnie

No problem with that, Erik. I am not sure where you will get the dimensions, though, unless you can find a gauge to measure up yourself. Arnie

Brian, what Vince has reported is usual practice here in Italy too. Either the competitors or the RO will do that. I guess Arnie and Denise were not unfamiliar with this procedure, since when I assisted Arnie in ROing at our lev. III match in april he was not very surprised of this, and he worked "a few" US nat level matches... Luca, Is *that* what was going on? I was wondering how all those squads had their shooting order all set up before arriving at the stage! I guess I did a good job of covering up my surprise. And, I must add, I have never seen a more polite group of shooters than at the match in Italy. Arguing with the RO must be a rare occasion in Italy. Denise and I were both quite surprised by the civility and politeness of the shooters. Arnie

Vince, Now, you know that USPSA is a kinder, gentler sport than IPSC. Heading up to Canada on Friday for the annual Thunder Bay Classic match - these guys up north (northernmost Yankees?) always do a great job on this match, eh? Arnie

Hi Erik, I am not positive, but I believe that USPSA granted exclusive rights to EGW for the mag gauge in return for a specified number of free gauges. However, your Area Director should have an official gauge, why not contact him and request the use of the gauge for the Tournament (soon to be called Level III). That is why all Area Directors have a gauge. Arnie

Troy is indeed correct. The only difference between the two gauges is the anodized color. Apparently, when Troy was on the BOD, they felt that there should be an "official" USPSA gauge in case a competitor challenged a magazine measurement with a gauge that was not an official USPSA gauge. Arnie

Happy Birthday Vince, old man! Next thing ya know, you will be as old as me! Arnie

Several years ago at the Minnesota Sectional match, we had a shooter from Canada who shot the match - he was in a wheelchair. Naturally, he could not see through most of the ports. As Nik (I think it was he) said, out came the skilsaw and the ports were lowered enough for him to shoot. It is far more fair to lower the ports than to require competitors to use a stool or step or whatever to be able to shoot through the ports. Arnie

ROTFLMAO Brian, I am positive you will be at the Ritz, remember Mrs. BDH will be stuck doing stats while you are able to cavort about Quincy. Arnie

Arnie, the squib is only part of the "cartridge". The bullet is already (stuck) inside the barrel, thus you can think of it sort of an extra-long cartridge. I guess this won't make major in my .40" (due to lenght and reduced powder load), but it can be counted in the 3 rounds whose average is discarded when chronoing 6 of them for the chrono test... Well, after I was told about this "trick" I tested a few (4/5) of them both in .40" and .45", and I guess (from the appearance of the spent brass) it was safe. BigDawg, I'll give your method a try this evening with dummy rounds. Luca, Let me see if I have this correct. You have a squib, the bullet is still in the barrel. You then have another reloaded round, with a reduced powder load, bullet and all, and you fire it through the gun with both rounds coming out the barrel? Or, do you have a reduced powder load with some wax in the case to keep the powder from spilling out? I would guess you are referring to having a round with wax in the case instead of a bullet since 99% of the squibs I have dealt with would not allow another round to be chambered. I guess this would not be *too* dangerous since there is not a projectile in the case. But, I am more than happy to let you do the testing. Arnie

If both you and Sky check in, we had better call up Drs. Christianson and McManus to provide care! BDH, Better bring lots of cash, I don't do medical insurance! Dr. Arnie

Luca, What happens when the RM insists that you take your squib clearing load to chrono for a power factor check on those rounds? Ruh Roh, Rorge! I have never heard of being able to "safely shoot" a squib round out of the barrel. Can this really be done? Arnie

BDH, Does that mean I should get to work on providing a mud pit at the Ritz? Arnie

No 'rasslin' this year though! Brian, You better bring extra underwear! Arnie

Ask Arnie and Denise about how much wine can an italian and two minnesothians can drink together... (not to mention my kid of 4... ) Luca, Even though Denise and I are not really Italian, you did your best to convert us! And, tell the truth, your son had his wine cut with water. Arnie

Thanks for handling all that paperwork, Denise. Sam, if the revolver guys want a revolver squad, I will make sure it is done! Arnie

Troy/Arnie, why don't we do that here?? Maybe a little friendly competition between the RO's would help things overall at the Nationals. If I remember correctly, they did something like this in Polo at Area 5 the last two years (I think it was the Harold Barrow Award for best RO).... Brian, Good idea. Troy, do you think we can talk Ray into it? Arnie

Aw hell, Troy. You came to MN when the weather was almost balmy. It wasn't even 30 below Farenheit that weekend. Don't you remember seeing the girls in bikinis while they were ice fishing? Arnie