Nationals 2005 - Open Lim10

[TriggerT]

This was my first Nationals, and even though I shot the worst I have in a VERY long time, it was a great experience. the RO's and rest of the staff were great, and I was impressed with the job they did with the hotter than HELL conditions.

Depending on where they are next year I would like to make it to nationals again. Only this time I want to finish in the top 25.

[m.e.t.]

I am with Trigger T. My first nationals. Except I have had nothing but bad matches for the last year. But I really enjoyed my squad mates and the over all experience.

I am looking forward to next year...............

[Steve Moneypenny]

I had a great time too. i think b y the time O/L10 nats came by people were tired and cranky.

The whole paper ordeal about survey's was funny. i was one of the early guys through at Prod/lim/rev nats. me and steve Lowe didn't have them filled out. NO one told us, and to me they looked like registration forms. because not all of the shooters behind us had them i thought people just weren't registered . well once we filled out forms we tried to "ease" in line not cause any disturbance but not stand for 30 minutes. Some gentleman (loose terms here) asked "are you range staff" and forced the kinder gentler of the 2 Steves to the back of the line. when i was asked i just refused to acknowlege his rudeness as KG'er steve had already explained the situation to him and gotten a response i would not have been agreeable with. .... and if that ass reading ...

Golf carts... i think a bunch of us should rent our own elsewhere next year, me i'm thinking i should BUY one and then set it up for shooting... a buddy has his own so why not build one with rifle racks and team colors.. YE HAWWWWW! redneck golf cart!

[gunruner]

Well, this was not my first Nationals, but is was the first one that I worked as a RO. I had the time of my life. Learned a lot of thinks that I could take home to my home club. I fell that it ever Level 2 CRO should have to work one National as a RO at some time in their life.

[wgnoyes]

No, you had to fill out a survey... never mind; already answered elsewhere.

[kamakiri]

This was my second nationals (though my first outing, in Bend in '03 shooting a $400.00 "open" gun, only sorta counts), and it was a terrific, albeit grueling, experience. I got to shoot with a bunch great folks and took away a lot of great experiential knowledge about how to approach a match of that level. Wish I was going to the World Shoot... and hats off to all the range staff who suffered through that heat and kept things running smoothly with scarcely a sour face.

Too bad there isn't better coverage of the nationals as a sports event. I feel like all the folks who are just checking the results after the fact, and getting the scuttlebut here, end up missing a lot of the excitement in the closely contested races. For example:

In the Limited match, Todd Jarrett, despite having a mag fall apart in his gun on the second stage, was comfortably leading going into the final afternoon, and should have won by 50 points or more-- but he tanked all three of the last stages, opening the door for TGO and Manny. I think Todd will be the man to beat in Standard down in Ecuador. Rob is incredible, and able to pull out stellar performances when they're needed most, but I think his comparable lack of fitness may be the difference over an even longer, hotter match. Also TGO's narrow win overshadowed Bragg's outstanding shooting in both matches. In addition to being one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet, Manny has really taken his shooting up a notch, and I bet he'll be right there in contention at the World Shoot.

In the Limited 10 match, it was a great back and forth contest, with Dave stomping everybody on day 1, Phil and Rob shooting outstandingly on day 2, and then Phil crashing with gun trouble on day 3 while Dave pulled out several exceptional runs to catch and surpass TGO.

In the Open match, the Spanish shooter Jorge Ballesteros was actually leading the pack after the first day, and as Max graciously acknowledged in his acceptance speech, would have finished well into the top 5 if it weren't for equipment problems. Our Open team is looking really strong, but they have more than just Eric G. to contend with at the World Shoot.

...For me this is the sort of stuff that makes this sport exciting. Wouldn't want a casual reader to think the whole experience was about standing around in the heat looking for missing survey forms... I hope that someone with internet access during the World Shoot will be able to keep us posted here about how the contest is progressing from day to day!

[Jake Di Vita]

Jorge wasn't leading but was about 5 points behind Max at the end of day one. I don't think he had gun trouble...he just flat out tanked a bunch of stages in a row. I was incredibly impressed with his shooting though.

[wgnoyes]

...  Also TGO's narrow win overshadowed Bragg's outstanding shooting in both matches. ...

All right, I gotta ask: how does the acronym "TGO" relate to Rob Leatham?

[XRe]

All right, I gotta ask: how does the acronym "TGO" relate to Rob Leatham?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, you could search..... Brian coined the nickname "The Great One", and it's stuck. Apparently, Rob is uncomfortable with it, but he can't do anything about it - everyone uses it.... and Brian is somewhat tickled about it