First Match of 04'

[j1b]

Well - shot my first match today. Felt REALLY good - much better than the one match I shot last year.

Didn't shoot great - didn't shoot horrid. Had some gun issues on the first stage - combined with my wedding ring slipping off my finger. That was interesting - I've never really battled keeping a little ring on my finger while shooting - a good challenge!

Shot two stages decent - third stage had one gun hiccup - and went over time on one string (still rusty I guess)

Last stage I shot just ok - not a great performance - but like I said - I'm rusty.

All in all a great day. Had fun, not worried about the gun issues because I think I know what the issues are, and shot pretty decent.

Won't be able to shoot nationals this year due to a hunt, but this would be a good building block year - maybe area 4 . . .

Anyhow . . . Thanks to Old Fort Gun Club for a great match. The stages were awesome, shooters were great, and I enjoyed shooting again for the first time in a long time.

JB

[Bill Nesbitt]

Jack,

Glad you had fun. That's what it's all about.

Bill Nesbitt

[j1b]

Thanks Bill.

It was fun. Got the results back today. Didn't win overall, but did win Lim-10. Missed winning overall by 3 points - so all in all I was pretty happy.

This Lim-10 thing is going to be fun. Challenging to try and win over the Limited and Open shooters!

Anyhow - good time!

JB

[Flexmoney]

Cool. I love to hear about NEW shooters getting out to the range and having fun.

[L9X25]

It has got to be fun to see the "near newbies" ready to stomp the "latest newbie" (J1B) when he shows up to his first match in years ... rude awakening!

We have a few shooters that were top shooters, years ago, and then disappeared for various reasons. They will show up at a match every year or two and shoot whatever gun they have at the moment. Most of the newer shooters have no idea who this "new guy" is and are chomping at the bit to pummel the newbie. Unfortunately, for them, these guys will always be great shooters! They won't likely win HOA but they are going to be in the top 25%. One such shooter is Eric Stafford, who is a former Team Springfield shooter and a really nice guy.

Leo

[tightloop]

L9x25

Shot a lot of then, IPSC yrs ago. Got interested in shooting IDPA in '98. Went to my first match, and local Hot Rock looks at me and says, "Well Gramps, what are you doing here? Come to hear the gun go off?".

After I had won my Division as well as HOA by some 21 seconds, I made it a point to seek Hot Rock out and ask him if he would be at the match next month, cause I had enjoyed stomping his A$$, and was coming back to do it again. After I had won 10 or 12 in a row, he started being an ok guy, after I had won 22 in a row, he stopped coming...go figure.

It won't be that easy to return to USPSA, but I do hope to surprise a few of them...

[shred]

Yeah.. I remember when Ted Bonnet popped in for a local pin shoot one day. I was the only one that knew who he was.. it was a hoot.

[Duane Thomas]

At the last USPSA match I shot, Richard Morgan showed up to shoot his first match in about two years. In case the name doesn't ring any bells, Richard was once one of our top GMs. Now I can say I've beaten Richard Morgan at a match - once. Though for someone who hadn't shot a match in two years, he wasn't at all bad.