RM's are worth their weight in gold.

[Barrettone]

Everyone out there in BE land. I wanted to share with you an epiphany I had at our Tournament this past weekend. I always thought that when you brought in an RM, you were just insuring that the rules were strictly followed. I only saw this as a potential detriment to the shooters. However, after this past weekends activities, I am inclined to think differently. Believe it or not, the RM we brought in for the match actually helped to keep competitors in tthe match that I would have probably DQ'd. It was truly a humbling experience. I had a competitor who had sent one down range AFTER just clearing a jam, and it impacted the berm. He was visibly shaken, as was the staff. He was stopped by our RO, and the RM summoned. We didn't know how fine the line was with "the remedial process of reloading". Once his hand cleared the mag, he didn't have to bring the gun up before firing as long as it impacted the berm and was in the general direction of targets. Literally, a millisecond was all that seperated the two very different outcomes. We all learned something, and this fellow stayed in our match to his and our pleasant surprise. The second occurrence was for a repeated "finger warning", and then a stopped shooter. The shooter was apparently very hard of hearing (later confirmed to be true), and his electronic muffs had dead batteries. He was let off with a warning, and allowed to continue only after getting his equipment functioning properly again. I probably would not have investigated as much as the RM did to get to the bottom of why he wasn't heeding warnings, Doesn't mean the competitor shouldn't have to be responsible for his impairment, but it spoke highly of the RM to get to the bottom of things. The bottom line is: If you have a high-level match, you owe it to your competitors and the match to get the best possible help at the RM position to insure that everyone gets a fair shake. It is unfortunately sometimes one of those costs that MD's don't want to incur (travel expense, motel, meals, etc.), but the benefits and disaster insurance you get is well worth the cost IMHO. These guys are willing to help you if you ask, and I am constantly surprised at how many MD's try to make a go of it with a CRO when they don't have to. Don't get me wrong, there are very seasoned and knowledgable CRO's out there that can get the job done, but that security blanket that an RM(I) gives you is priceless. Just wanted to give KUDOS to these guys and let you know that they are only a phone call away. Man, did I learn a lot just by watching!!!

Jeff

[Vince Pinto]

Jeff,

You've resurrected my faith in human nature. As an IROA RMI, your post was a breath of fresh air, and I sincerely thank you on behalf of all RMs.

Range Masters are not there to be "Head Nasty Guy". We're there to ensure overall safety for all concerned, fair play, the consistent application of the rules and (borrowing a term from the movie "Roadhouse"), to serve as "The Cooler".

And there's no "Us and Them". It's just us, but sometimes some of us are obliged to wear a uniform, while the rest of us have all the fun dressing up like P. Bone Daddy JJ Super Cool Guy. Yo!

Finally, a word of warning: don't even think about considering my weight in gold, dude. Fort Knox ain't that big