Slingshot

Will be there shooting (hopefully) with Donnie Burton on Thursday. Good luck to everyone!! Morgan

Sorry for the late weigh in ... yes, I shot on and had issues with the opposite popper that Bob did. This was our last stage of the match … and one thing I've noticed is that equipment, poppers especially, will move around a little over the course of getting knocked down 150+ times. Craig and the SOs at the match professionally handled everything. I say that not because I got an optional re-shoot (and we all know how re-shoots can go sometimes – hey this was a strong/support only stage with non threats), but because they objectively reviewed everything and addressed the issue in a polite and fair manner. One of the things I've tried to do more over the past year or so is to try to ask a few more questions during the walk through. Part of the reason is the obvious need to understand what options are available. The other reason is to make sure that what I would like to do will not incur any negative consequence if there is any possible varied interpretation of the stage instructions such as with cover, tact reload points, starting position (foot position when starting seated), etc. Getting called a gamer occasionally is a small price to pay (even if we're all using a timer and have a competitive mindset) so as to help avoid potential issues *after* the stage has been shot. I think that course design is a very difficult thing to do well. Even harder is putting together a design that embodies IDPA and is challenging to both the MM/SS and the EX/MA shooters via options for negotiating the same COF. Even more difficult is to design one in which you will know ahead of time how everyone is going to shoot it and to account for those differences in such a way that subjectivity, confusion, or interpretation don't play any role whatsoever. Whether or not you agree with a particular course of fire instruction at the beginning of a stage as to a white/black comparison to IDPA intent, such as starting a stage where one opens a door and charges a target shooting it on the move as opposed to taking available cover, it behooves us as competitors to ask questions about what we need to do before the stage starts to understand what we need to in order to not end up in some of the avoidable conversations when it's over. That all said, I think that the OH State Match was a well run match. Morgan

Cy's right.

Well said Bones and Warpspeed. Learn the rules, play the game, be safe, and have fun. Our children's children will probably be hashing out differences in rules interpretation like this one, and I'm sure over time help drive some improvements. But the long and the short of it is that it's a game, there are rules, and folks bright enough to handle firearms can figure out what's right and what's not acceptable with the rules of that game ... or pick a different game to play.

Does anyone have a link to the COF handy?

ABSOLUTELY fantastic - this is the kind of stuff that makes me proud to be involved in the shooting sports and is what I use to describe to my non-shooting friends about what the people are like in this sport.

Completely agreed! I may be mistaken, but isn't there a provision in IDPA rules that states something to the effect that if classified in one Division and not in another, until a classifier in that second division is shot, the shooter will hold the same class for both divisions (or higher of whatever they are already classified in)? Morgan

Tap & Rack'em I did 100% on that one, but . . . here's the one that got me. Now THAT was awesome. Had to replay the video to actually believe I missed it!

I don’t think that an analysis using time dif gaps between top and bottom MA & EX classes within ESP and SSP at the 2008 S&W Indoor Nationals counts as being statistically significant, statistically speaking ;-) In order make a statistically significant statement, or a statement about the population based on the selection of a sample representative of that population, accepting of a margin of error, we’d have to consider at least 20-22 samples or matches. Even if we were to do that, one only needs to look at the politicians for great examples of turning numbers in any direction to suit their cause. That’s not to say that numbers don’t mean anything, or anything against Shooterready, just that I don’t think a spread from one match (or all matches from 2007) makes a resolution of this issue. If we were to apply any kind of numbers to this topic, Robert Ray’s are the ones to use. Any his speak only of the possible need to insert a division in between Marksman and Sharpshooter than anything else. Let’s face it, Gary’s right. Most Master shooters didn’t walk into their first match or classifier and land on that rating. We had to work for it and enjoyed the fruits of our labors along the way. Admit it to yourself. I loved feeling like the king of the mountain in one Class and then another. Why? Being in the middle of the pack, a little effort paid off nicely for most of us because with a little work, we were able to win. Why? Because most of the other competitors in that Class were not willing to work on their game, either at all or at least not as hard as we were. Guess what, that doesn’t change at the top … only the level and amount of effort required changes, as it should. Hence the name, the Top. One of my most prized possessions is a first place Expert plaque bumping me to Master. Not long after joining the crowd, I quickly realized two things: 1) There are many Masters who are not yet Masters, and 2), the competition was harder. My other prized possession (other than my guns), a 4th place Master medal from S&W putting me directly behind Gary. By the way, there already is a Class above Master in IDPA. It is called Division Champion. Morgan