nhglyn Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Enjoyed it too, Glyn! Great squad, and nice putting names to the faces I didn't know -- XDNiner, FireAnt, Kenny...The squad was certainly the highlight of the match, for me. I don't think I'll ever drive again. 10 hours alone in the truck on Sunday, on I-95 was pretty miserable; especially having shot poorly for two days straight. You should have taken your $40 airline flight We will try again next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJONES5 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Congratulation to my training partner baa for first B and 11th overall in limited. All the hard work paid off Charles. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L9X25 Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) Congratulation to my training partner baa for first B and 11th overall in limited.All the hard work paid off Charles. Pat I have only one word for your buddy Charles .... SANDBAGGER! Just kidding ... he has been working his butt off and the hard work is paying off. Congrats Charles Edited February 12, 2008 by L9X25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJONES5 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Congratulation to my training partner baa for first B and 11th overall in limited.All the hard work paid off Charles. Pat I have only one word for your buddy Charles .... SANDBAGGER! Just kidding ... he has been working his butt off and the hard work is paying off. Congrats Charles That's ok Leo I have been known to call him that when I am in a bad mood Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulW Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Just wanted to say "Awesome Job Smitty"!! I know you have worked your ass off to get where you are and you deserve to be called "one of the best"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Solid win and a Grrrrrrrrrrrreat way to start the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmittyFL Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) Thanks for the kind words and support. I sincerely appreciate it. I have to admit this is a match I've wanted for a long time and it feels pretty good to win it. I didn't feel I shot my best and a lot of the stages I felt as if I was probably off the pace. Manny had shot on Friday, Mike and Lee were on the other schedule and I didn't look at any scores until after the match so I didn't really have a gauge. Sometimes when you feel slow you're actually shooting good I guess. That, plus these targets were very difficult; I think most of us are just not accustomed to shooting a whole stage or most of a match for that matter without one split under a half or six tenths of a second. As has been said it was a very challenging match. Probably in the top three of the most difficult matches I've ever shot; and that isn't a negative statement by any means, just the facts. I think a couple of the stages could have been a little better but 70% of them were great. Stage 9 was one of the better stage designs I've seen. I'm local to the match, a Section Coordinator and one of the most vocal on the quality of the Florida Open in recent years. My biggest gripes have been the perceived value as they have one of the higher match fees, the schedule (doubling squads on stages), and the decline of the prize table in recent years. I think they have improved a couple hundred percent this year. They added a couple stages this year which adds value to the match. I don't mind paying more if I'm getting more. Granted a couple stages could have been a little better thought out, but you have that with most matches. They did away with the prize table in lieu of giving away a ton of guns, I'm not sure exactly of their system but it was roughly class, category and match winners all got guns...pretty damn cool in my opinion and more guns given away than any other match I can think of. HUGE thanks to the match sponsors. The new schedule was AWESOME!!! They did away with the old two squads per stage deal where you wait 1.5 hours between shooting and went with the half day schedule that a lot of other matches do. This was the biggest improvement fixing the biggest gripe I always hear about the match. The half day schedule rocked!! I would ask that if you shot the match and liked the schedule to PLEASE email Frank Garcia and tell him you appreciated it and thought it was a huge improvement to the match as a whole. I heard through the grape vine he wasn't liking the schedule for some reason and was considering going back to the old way......big mistake in my opinion. Fixing these things that they have fixed will return this match to one of the premier matches in the country. Icing on the cake is it is in February in Florida. I think I actually got a little sunburned on Sunday. Big thanks to the staff (you rock Wadette), the RO's who are always courteous and professional, and sponsors that help make the match possible. Also thanks to the folks that support me....Sharyn who is busy getting a cool video together to post as I type this, Derek Janowicz and Millennium Custom for providing me a gun that runs like the wind and all the local folks that provide support. It means a lot. P.S.-It was brought to my attention after the shoot off that you had to reload between the first and last HIT as opposed to the first and last SHOT as I understood. I missed my first shot on the first run against Manny, did the reload and finished the round winning the heat, the RO's didn't catch it or didn't understand it either. Had I known it was supposed to be between hits I would have done another reload likely losing the heat and the bout; with Manny winning. I offered him the gun I won as a result and he refused being the awesome competitor that he is. I look forward to shooting with him throughout the year and training with him as a fellow member of the US Team for the World Shoot. Edited February 12, 2008 by SmittyFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Smitty I knew that you won, but to put 6.4% on Manny is one hell of an accomplishment!!! Great shooting!! You guys will do us proud at the world shoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I didn't feel I shot my best and a lot of the stages I felt as if I was probably off the pace. ... Sometimes when you feel slow you're actually shooting good I guess. That, plus these targets were very difficult; I think most of us are just not accustomed to shooting a whole stage or most of a match for that matter without one split under a half or six tenths of a second. That's exactly how I feel about this match, and matches my experience the past two years. The stages are low hit factor stages, and we're not used to that kind of shooting experience. The fact is that everyone is shooting slow, and everyone is dropping at least some points. All you can do is shoot your game, and trust that you're getting things done exactly to the best of your ability.... and obviously, you were.... As has been said it was a very challenging match. Probably in the top three of the most difficult matches I've ever shot; and that isn't a negative statement by any means, just the facts. I think a couple of the stages could have been a little better but 70% of them were great. Stage 9 was one of the better stage designs I've seen. Yep, I would agree here - the match ate my lunch and came back after my desert 9 was a cool stage, definitely. I liked 1 and 5, as well. 2 was good because of the focus it required to actually shoot smooth and fast across those targets, and avoid the hardcover. A couple of the others were solid stages, but not standouts, to me (6, 8, 9, 12). 10 and 11, with their "3 box" arrangement, were the only things that I could really point at as being hokey - and really only because of how the boxes were built (they should have been separate boxes, so that the ROs could really call things, if that was the intent). Those both could have forced the desired shooter solution without the three boxes.... I think they have improved a couple hundred percent this year. +1 They did away with the prize table in lieu of giving away a ton of guns, I'm not sure exactly of their system but it was roughly class, category and match winners all got guns...pretty damn cool in my opinion and more guns given away than any other match I can think of. HUGE thanks to the match sponsors. I believe the top 3 in Open (and Limited?) also got them. The new schedule was AWESOME!!! They did away with the old two squads per stage deal where you wait 1.5 hours between shooting and went with the half day schedule that a lot of other matches do. This was the biggest improvement fixing the biggest gripe I always hear about the match. The half day schedule rocked!! I would ask that if you shot the match and liked the schedule to PLEASE email Frank Garcia and tell him you appreciated it and thought it was a huge improvement to the match as a whole. I heard through the grape vine he wasn't liking the schedule for some reason and was considering going back to the old way......big mistake in my opinion. After the reaction he got at the awards ceremony when he asked about it, I don't now how he could change it... This was definitely a better shooting schedule. It kept everyone moving, and went smoothly, as near as I could tell. Yes, some ROs were waiting around a little bit for squads to clear stages occasionally - but I'd rather see the ROs get a break and everyone get to shoot at a good pace, than see the ROs as frazzled as they were last year, and the shooters all standing around waiting... and waiting... I'll definitely drop Frank a note - I was very appreciative that he would take the feedback we sent him last year, and risk a change... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmittyFL Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 After the reaction he got at the awards ceremony when he asked about it, I don't now how he could change it... I wasn't over there at the beginning; I didn't know he said anything about it. I gather he asked if people liked it and the consensus was yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I wasn't over there at the beginning; I didn't know he said anything about it. I gather he asked if people liked it and the consensus was yes? He asked what everyone thought of the new format, and there was a big cheer and applause... which I took to be positive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmittyFL Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Good, I didn't know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novafla Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 NICE POST, Great words, astute assessment, and just a wonderful, gracious and thoughtful competitor. You deserve all the success you get, you have our respect Shannon Smith. It's a pleasure knowing you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Got a sunburn while winning the FL Open... that's hot ! Great job, Shannon! And, Max...awesome. What a great load on that gun pick-up on Stage 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L9X25 Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 For the sake of discussion, I was told that approximately 100 guns were won at the match, with competitiors getting over 90 of them. I lot of folks also won awards that might not have been distribued at the match. As soon as they can package and ship them, they will be on their way to the winners. I am starting another thread to collect opinions and comments, and discuss the structure of the match and ways to refine or improve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpty1 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 This was the first year ever that I only did the vendor thing and didn't shoot the match. The all gun prize table (110 guns as I understand it) meant it was more expensive for me to set up than in previous years and I needed to recoup that extra expense. The higher cost to be there as a vendor was the reason there were fewer vendors there this year IMO. Frank also asked the vendors what they thought of the new format. In my opinion the new format only changed the dynamics of how people came thru the tent. This year it was everyone coming thru in mass, instead of periodically a few at a time as breaks came up in previous years. I think if he keeps the current format and prize structure, he'll have more people wanting to shoot the match than can be run thru in 3 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill d Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Who won the open shoot-off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shay1911 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Who won the open shoot-off? If I remember correctly, SmittyFL won Limited, Kevin Insco (who I had the pleasure to be squadded with) won Production and Lesgar won Open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbadaboom Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Who won the open shoot-off? If I remember correctly, SmittyFL won Limited, Kevin Insco (who I had the pleasure to be squadded with) won Production and Lesgar won Open. Yeah! Kevin won Production. ................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 If it's not too much trouble, Max and I are asking people who took photos of us @ the Florida Open to share their pics. Since we were right after another on the shooting order, it was impossible to take photos of each other as we shot. We need them for work and we would appreciate if anyone could help us out!Thanks everyone! Please forward the e-mails to lee.dimac@gmail.com I didnt break the camera out until sunday afternoon after I was finished shooting but I did get some good shots of you two on stages 8 and 9. let me do some more tweaking and I will send. here are a couple I already worked on for all to see. here are a few pictures of some random shooters, if anyone knows them see if they want the pictures and I can send them. The first two pics of the female shooter is Kaci Cochran from Atlanta, GA - an up and coming junior shooter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharyn Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Here's the video I finally finished... Florida Open 2008 video montage thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baa Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) Congrats Smitty! You worked hard to win this match and that work paid off. You done 813 proud! As always, thanks for the advice and help during the match (and the coaching/training the past couple years.) If you have not taken one of Smitty's classes, you are doing yourself a dis-service. Not only can this guy shoot, but he can teach! I cannot strongly enough state how much his classes have helped my shooting. If you live in, or are traveling to Central FL, get a class with him. I have not shot a ton of major matches but I will concur- This was the most technically difficult match I have ever shot. The distances were far longer than in usual matches and some of the stages were killers. Stage 9 was incredibly tough yet a pleasure to shoot. As a whole, the stages were great, though there were a couple iffy ones thrown in the mix (stage 10/11 come to mind.) I will be sending an email to Frank as well with a request to keep this schedule. The 1/2 format is superior to any other format I have experienced at a large match. It would be wise to adopt it as the permanent schedule. Squad 22 rocked. All of you were great. Thanks for your patience during my stage 12 appeals to the range officials. Pat- Thanks! Your a big reason I shot as well as I did. I couldn't ask for a better training buddy. Leo- Thanks! Uhh, I think! Edited February 12, 2008 by baa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L9X25 Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 Leo- Thanks! Uhh, I think! Don't worry buddy ... you earned the good shooting remark and I took care of the SANDBAGGER issue with the last batch of classifiers that I sent in for you! Stay tuned to your mailbox for incoming mail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJONES5 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Leo- Thanks! Uhh, I think! Don't worry buddy ... you earned the good shooting remark and I took care of the SANDBAGGER issue with the last batch of classifiers that I sent in for you! Stay tuned to your mailbox for incoming mail! :ph34r: pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Hey, BTW - my match video and report are up on my blog http://re-gun.blogspot.com/2008/02/match-r...orida-open.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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