Philip Hemphill and Dick Metcalf

[Bill H]

This was posted by Todd Jarret on Facebook. I hope it is ok to put it here. I know both of these men deserve recognition.

Thanks,

Bill

 

 

 

We keep losing some great individuals way to soon. Philip Hemphill Retired Law Enforcement from Mississippi passed last week. If you ever meet Philip you will never forget him. Full of life wherever he stood. An amazing shot and a winner on an off the range. Truly will miss him.

Dick Metcalf passing would be sad for me in many ways. If you ever shot at PASA Park in Barry. ILL it was an awesome fun place over the years. He built one of the 1st major Practical Shooting Facility that most will not forget. He put USPSA/IPSC on the map for decades. Dick was also a great gun writer for many publications over the years.

For me winning my 1st Nationals Championships on those grounds will be something I will never forget. If anyone remembers the 80's and 90's at PASA leave a comment below. 

RIP to both of these men and there contributions to the Firearms Industry.

[Braxton1]

IMHO, the Nationals at PASA and The Masters tournaments were great due to the efforts of Dick and his family.  The PASA ranges always felt like a homestyle setting for me.  Most of the outbuildings were older barns from when the property was their family farm and Dick still lived in the farmhouse.  Several Nationals stages used tractors and other farm implements as props.

[BritinUSA]

My first big match in USA was at the PASA range, it was the US-IPSC Nationals in 1998. I'd escaped from the UK in March of that year following the gun bans, I'd never imagined I'd get to shoot again.

 

From 2011 to 2016 I covered the Single Stack Nationals at this range, the staff/RO's were always accommodating and enabled me to get some great photographs and videos of the top competitors. Dick would make sure I had all the sponsor details and match information to assist me for my articles.

 

PASA Park will always be a special place for me.

[Guy Neill]

Both good men. I'm sorry for their passing and hope their families are holding up.

 

PASA was (is?) a great place.

 

 

[DMS42]

I shot my first USPSA National at PASA in 1988.  Dick was one that I met and talked to along with some others.  I miss them all.

[shred]

By the mid 90s PASA was getting an old and tired been-there-done-that reputation, but without it USPSA would have had a much harder time getting off the ground and growing.

 

 

[carinab]

On 11/12/2023 at 10:11 AM, shred said:

By the mid 90s PASA was getting an old and tired been-there-done-that reputation, but without it USPSA would have had a much harder time getting off the ground and growing.

 

 

Not sure why this was the case...Things got changed up and added regularly.  At one point there was a pneumatic, random target presentation stage that was so challenging, Barnhart called it out as unfair for anyone B class and below.  They added a dark house one year where a flashlight was required for the stage.  Outside of the occasional "out-house" COF, I always thought the matches there were great. 
I think the fact that it was so rural without close entertainment may have impacted it's allure (well okay, not forgetting the late night at the bowling alley bar and the race cart speedway, LOL). But shooters always make their own fun so I never wanted for entertainment! The ladies of the "broad squad" during those times were also great!  I miss shooting with those women! Heck, I nursed my daughter in S&W hall doing a shoot-thru schedule one year!  I agree that PASA will always have fond memories for me!

[Chills1994]

5 hours ago, carinab said:

Not sure why this was the case...Things got changed up and added regularly.  At one point there was a pneumatic, random target presentation stage that was so challenging, Barnhart called it out as unfair for anyone B class and below.  They added a dark house one year where a flashlight was required for the stage.  Outside of the occasional "out-house" COF, I always thought the matches there were great. 
I think the fact that it was so rural without close entertainment may have impacted it's allure (well okay, not forgetting the late night at the bowling alley bar and the race cart speedway, LOL). But shooters always make their own fun so I never wanted for entertainment! The ladies of the "broad squad" during those times were also great!  I miss shooting with those women! Heck, I nursed my daughter in S&W hall doing a shoot-thru schedule one year!  I agree that PASA will always have fond memories for me!

I am pretty sure that the stage with the pneumatic turners was called the “Six in Six Challenge”.  It started out as 3 targets bladed away from the shooters at like 25 yards or more.  I think the 3 separate contraptions were made by Max Davidson (of gunsteel.com and Max trap fame).  The shot timer was wired to a quick acting pneumatic valve.  At he beep, the targets would face you, draw, freestyle, 2, 2 and 2.

 

Then at the six second mark, I think, the targets would blade away from you.

 

Then the shooters would move up 5 yards, and basically repeat that same thing but strong hand only in just 6 seconds.

 

Then the shooters would move up another 5 yards, repeat, but this time weak hand only in 6 seconds.

[shred]

The "random" target stage was cool... for the first day until somebody videotaped the sequence and figured it out for all their friends.

 

The fixed-time turning target standards were a staple at various distances, although pretty soon people realized if you had electronic ear-pro you could hear the air cylinder fire before the targets turned and get a little jump on the start.

 

I think the BTDT nature of matches there near the end was you knew the bays, you knew there would be targets, a stage in the dark house,  a stage that used the rack of poppers, a stage that used the big barricade, you knew PASA and Barry and Quincy.... The same happens with any range where people go over and over sooner or later.   It is what it is.

 

[gmantwo]

PASA Park will most likely never recover from the passing of Dick Metcalf. I have competed, RO’d and driven the four hours to the range just to practice. Dick Metcalf, along with Roy Jinks created the greatest shooting venue ever. In my opinion, The Masters was the finest, most comprehensive pistol competition ever. 
Industry day, where gun riders from every magazine would show up to shoot all the new guns on the pass of range is probably done for good, because dDick had so much pull and influence within the writing community.