Florida: Monster Match

[SmittyFL]

Last minute updates on the website.

We have 140 shooters counting RO's last time I checked; should still have room for a few folks.

Weather isn't looking the best so come prepared.

It's gonna be a fun one, see ya'll there.

[Kevin Kline]

19 or 20

OH YEAH!!!!! Like I said, Production is the only way to shoot this. This has become a big Production hit, huh Smitty??

[SmittyFL]

Hell of a lot more than last year......you weirdo's!!

[dirtypool40]

Look, I love reloads as much as the next guy but COME ONE!!!! You guys want to make 50+ loads this weekend? That's more than an average WEEK's dry fire.

[Kevin Kline]

You know you want to try it Eric. This is FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!

Smitty,

I told you last year this would grow, now see, you should have taken those stock tips I gave you!!

Before the last Monster Match, I asked if you had Prod Div and you said you didnt and I said I wanted to shoot it anyway even if I wasnt scored and you said, "ok". Then 5 showed up, now 20. This is gonna be like Noah's Ark.

[Bigbadaboom]

Look, I love reloads as much as the next guy but COME ONE!!!! You guys want to make 50+ loads this weekend?

Yes, I do.

[Hardball]

Dood, I just bought 1k rounds of .45. Can I shoot my singlestack?

[Sharyn]

Kevin, you're nutz!!!

I can't possibly get the entire stage in one still photo... but here's a sneak peak at Pet Cemetery:

[PaulW]

GULP....That looks freakin AWESOME.

[XD Niner]

I'll be heading down tomorrow about mid-morning. I'm just hoping my quarter ton pickup can haul all the ammo I'll need.

Smitty, are there going to be any vendors there? I may need another few K of ammo.

[Kevin Kline]

Kevin, you're nutz!!!

I can't possibly get the entire stage in one still photo... but here's a sneak peak at Pet Cemetery:

God I hope so Sharyn!!! Can we shoot it in the dark like the picture shows??? Haaaa!!! This is goin freakin rule!!

[zhunter]

Pet Cemetery:

YIKES

[ChrisStock]

I looked at this one on the stage layouts the other night. Yow. 8 reloads for the SS folks, 9 for the revolvers... if you don't miss one. I wish I could make this match, but other plans take priority...like sister's weddings Next year I will have this weekend reserved well in advance. Good luck, folks!

[XD Niner]

I arrived at the range early enough today to scout out all the stages. I'm squaded with Venry, Daniel Cook and eight other folks. Venry and I are shooting Open, we have one Limited shooter and 7, count 'em SEVEN, Production shooters. We'll probably be the slowest squad due to how long it will take us to collect all those spent Production mags.

Smitty, Sharyn and the others did a great job. All ten stages look like they will be fun. Our squad starts on Pet Cemetary. Sixty assorted pieces of steel to be shot in 35 seconds.

The ROs and a few others were shooting today. It was a hot one except for the one afternoon cloud burst. They looked like their butts were really dragging by the last few stages. However, they all wore great big smiles.

I'm ready to go now but have to wait for morning. However, the weather report doesn't look good. It's been raining off and on all evening and there is a 70% to 90% chance all day tomorrow. I may need to trade my Open Blaster for a Super Soaker.

Edited October 20, 2007 by XD Niner

[Hardball]

I arrived at the range early enough today to scout out all the stages. I'm squaded with Venry, Daniel Cook and eight other folks. Venry and I are shooting Open, we have one Limited shooter and 7, count 'em SEVEN, Production shooters. We'll probably be the slowest squad due to how long it will take us to collect all those spent Production mags.

Smitty, Sharyn and the others did a great job. All ten stages look like they will be fun. Our squad starts on Pet Cemetary. Sixty assorted pieces of steel to be shot in 35 seconds.

To those attending. Please take the ten seconds it takes to thank Smitty, Sharyn and the RO's. We were exhausted yesterday trying to shoot all ten stages in one day. Where we shoot it all in one day, the competitors get to shoot it over two days, so you can imagine what a truism my last statement was.

Sharyn makes a great "squad mom" and motivator, and Smitty, well, we all know does a great job at the helm.

Thanks to all who participate and shoot. It's a great match every time and gets better each time Smitty puts it on. Let's perpetuate that!

Have a great day everyone and see ya at the range!

Oh, and BTW, I did NOT shoot it with my singlestack. Was just bustin. Productions guys? Good luck with that.

Edited October 20, 2007 by Hardball

[Big Guy]

First of all, kudos to Shannon and his crew. Awesome stages!!!!

Due to unforeseen reasons, I had to shoot the match in one LONG day. The only way this happened was due to the help of Shannon. Thanks Shannon.

If you are not shooting the Monster Match this year, you better get in next year. Just remember to bring a lot of ammo.

Note to self: Don’t ever shoot a 507+ round match in one day.

[wide45]

RULES: Practical Shooting Handbook, Latest Edition

SCORING: Fixed time, ...

TARGETS: ... Steel

Will be a fun stage, and no one will complain, but not even close to the rules.

[nhglyn]

Any updates from those at the match as to how it is going? We, who couldn't make it, would like some crumbs.

Anyone take videos? Especially of that steel stage?

[hoodhazard]

The round count is leading many into missing.Lot's of mikes by experienced shooters.Pet cemetary was great.A good A shooter that is focused will get all 60 in the time limit.Even the masters are missing a few because there getting to froggy at the controls.

[XD Niner]

I started off the day on Pet Cemetery. I’ve been the first shooter in my squad for the last two Florida Opens, one Area 6 and last year’s the Florida Section match. I was given the dubious honor of selecting three score sheets to set the order for our Monster Match squad. Yep, you guessed it. I pulled my own sheet first. Why can’t I be that lucky in Vegas?

I managed to down 50 of the 60 pieces of steel in the 35 seconds allowed. For me as a C Open shooter I felt pretty good.

The next stage, I Want my Mummy, was a bit of a convoluted one with opening and closing ports. On the first shot at the tenth target I heard a weird pop very similar to a squib. I chose to stop since I feared that it was indeed a squib. The RO did not stop me and it was my choice to do so. That left me with 32 Mikes and a ton of FTE’s resulting in a BIG ZERO for the stage. Of course, when I checked the gun the barrel was empty. It must have been a light but still effective load. Stopping was the right decision as it was much better than ruining a $3000 Open gun and possibly hurting myself or even others. However, that pretty much torpedoed my chances to place well.

Right after that, it began to drizzle on and off, mostly on, for the rest of the day. Fortunately it never became a serious rain and umbrellas or rain gear kept us reasonably dry.

My next four stages went pretty well although like so many others I had two other Mikes as well. One was a long range shot of about 10 feet that I but into the hard cover area. Daniel Cook's flat out belly slide onto the wet, dirty Astroturf covered deck on Stage 2 was one of the highlights of the day. It was a good stage for him but he lost about a pound of flesh from his right elbow. Nice rug burn Daniel!

As Big Guy and the RO’s experienced, shooting this match in one day, especially on a hot, humid, sunny one, would drain anyone’s batteries. A day and half is just about right for a match this long. Just pasting that many targets is wearing.

Kudos to the RO’s and rest of the staff. Despite having been drained at the end of the day yesterday, they have been uniformly great. That must be why those guys make the big bucks!

My focus is now on seeing how well I do on each of the other stages. We shot six today and I have another four tomorrow. Despite the one stage that I screwed up, I’m having a blast and looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be a bit drier.

Edited October 20, 2007 by XD Niner

[dirtypool40]

Long day, fun stages, can't wait to finish tomorrow.

I didn't shoot very well, had some minor odds and ends that kept me from putting up solid stages, no gun problems, just a little mental slip here or there. One CRASH on stage 1 (3 mikes) and then I ended the day with what felt pretty solid on stage #2 with a 39 second run close to my squad's best open runs.

I don't know how much damage I did to my chances for winning, but there's still 40% of the match to go tomorrow. I'll be there ready to fight to the very end.

[PaulW]

Congrats to DP on his limited win.

Shannon and crew, this is probably the best all around match I have seen. Yea a lot of rounds but thats half the fun. No two stages were even remotely the same. GREAT JOB and thank you for all your efforts!

[nhglyn]

Where are/will results be posted? Anyone have videos yet?

[BerettaRacer]

Just got home.

Great match, thanks to all the crew & RO's, great job to all.

Awesome stages. Normally you would say a little of everything, but this was a LOT of everything, LOL. MONSTER RULES!!

Really, some of everything. Hosers, long shots, head shots, ports, prone, rain, sun, humidity. Shooting it in Production had it's own set of problems timing reloads efficiently. Easy to follow the trail of magazines.

I didn't stick around to see any scores, had a 3 hr drive to get back, and I sure didn't do well enough. Did pretty bad on "A-Holes", and only fair on "Pet Cemetary". Got to re-shoot "Mummy" (once I cleaned the mud out of my mags and cought my breath) in the rain on Saturday on for a steel calibration. Shot the other stages fairly solid but not great, few stupid mistakes, have to wait and see how others in Production did.

Can't wait to do it again next year, might have the cramps out of my hand and trigger finger by then.

[dirtypool40]

Had a BLAST!!! That match is so fun it makes me want to run a match as a thank you!!

Restuls will be up soon, Dean Makkos won Open by 1.5% (40 points-ish) over Tim Meaner and our own PaulW.

Jeff Degracia won M&P Division (Production) Production by about 6% if I remember correctly, I think Kevin Insco was #2.

I won Limited like a pig on roller skates. Joe Hart, Keith and Renee were tightly bunched in a pack right behind me. I was all over the place, Ricky Bobby style... "CRASH OR WIN" so I was entertaining if nothing else. Anyone else throw two handfuls of eyeballs at Andy (RO) on "R&R"?

I said it before; these are not just 50 round hoser stages, they are great stages that just have more targets. Thanks to Smitty, Jim, Sharyn and the rest of the crew. See ya'll next year.