Carrying Props

[Harmon]

we had a stage at a club match where we had to move a dummy from one chair(uprange) do a downrange chair and seat him before we could engage 4 targets through a port..there were 8-9 other targets that needed to be shot between the start postition and the last three targets.

I ran out, shot 5 targets, reloaded, shot another 4 did another reload. I then stepped back and grabbed the dummy with my weak hand and ran really fast down to the other chair. with two reloads, and scoring minor(production) i still managed to get a HF around what the open shooters were doing...and beat the limited shooters on that stage.

I was the only person that shot the stage like that..all others shot and walked with the dummy...i guess thats why its called freestyle.

Harmon

[warpspeed]

BDH,

My 2 cents -

Make the drop area, if required, to be friendly such as a big barrel or basket that the item can go in easily so you don't get the complaints that " I tried " or "it was close" .

Make sure the stage description says procedural for each shot fired at targets Tx - Ty without prop just incase they drop it or try to game it

[Phil Dunlop]

We are talking about 'Practical' shooting here, where the competitor can expect ALL his shooting skills to be tested. Yet course designers have to stress about how to force the competitor to use those skills.

If the course designer wants to test the ability to transfer from a freestyle platform to strong hand only why can't he just dictate that?

Freestyle is great if you like burnt out despondent course designers.

P.D.

[Phil Dunlop]

oops, 2 shots one sight picture!

[wide45]

If the course designer wants to test the ability to transfer from a freestyle platform to strong hand only why can't he just dictate that?

He can, in standards.

Why set out to design a "freestyle" stage, then not make it freestyle? This may become a rant!

I'm about fed up with silly stages, and stupid stages. Doing something because it is different, does not cut it. Do it because it is a shooting problem, that people will enjoy, or don't do it.

[kevin c]

Strong hand only in a field course can only be done with a prop of some sort to occupy one hand. Standards are fine, as far as they go. I like the idea (and have done it) of a field course with movement while shooting SHO. Fun stuff!

[Nik Habicht]

Make sure the stage description says procedural for each shot fired at targets Tx - Ty without prop just incase they drop it or try to game it

You can't specify that. It violates the freestyle rule. You can however have the shooter pick something up early in the stage, and then have them drop it somewhere far enough away, that it wouldn't really pay to not take it with you. (Even that can cause some problems --- as some shooters would be tempted to finish shooting the stage and then move the thing, or to throw it part way and throw it again from the middle of the stage, etc.)

The best solution I've seen so far came at the Mid-Atlantic Section Championships this year. You picked up an ammo can early in the course. The final two portsin the stage had a see-saw mechanism covering one port. Putting the ammo can in it's space on the see-saw, exposed the closed port and closed the open port. Activation of the see-saw without use of the ammo can was penalized per shot fired.

Smart, fun, and legal.....

Oh, and revolver friendly. You anly had to engage three paper (they may have been partials) while carrying the ammo can....