Best Time - No Change

See below bottom photo for dates & times in Classifiers.

The December 27, 2014 Phoenix Rod & Gun Club IDPA Classifier is history.  I shot my best-ever time in this defining match--154.58.  However, such a fast time doesn't change the fact that I remain classified as a Marksman in the Custom Defensive Pistol (CDP) Division.

Try as I might, I can't seem to break on through to the other side and move up to the Sharpshooter Classification.  This time around, I really tired as hard as I could to clear the magical  141.82 bar.  I even shot the Classifier at 138 but my Point Down doomed me to remain a Marksman for the better part of at least another year.

As you know, IDPA requires members to shoot in a Classifier every year.  My last Classifier was February 22, 2014 at the same club and location.  My February time was also my Best Ever up to that point.  My time yesterday was fully six seconds better than the previous Classifier results.  The graph above shows my progress in five CDP Classifier matches.

I shot Down Zero in Stage One this time around with a respectable time of 44.19.  Stage Two wasn't all that bad, only 9 points down and a time of 41.72.  As usual, it was Stage Three that snuffed any hopes of moving out of the Marksman Classification.  I had 23 Points Down and a total time of 68.67.  If I ever have any chance of getting into Sharpshooter, it's going to take near perfect accuracy in all three stages, plus better reloading technique.

I estimate I lost probably 10 seconds in this match because of reloading technique.  First, the mags would not drop free at slide lock.  They had to be pulled out.  Second, there was some fumbling with the tactical reloads.  Those fleeting seconds really add up when you are trying to get into the 140's.

There's absolutely no doubt I need to work, work, and work some more with the 20 yard shots from behind cover.  You have to stay totally behind cover for the 20 yard shots....no use of the "slicing the pie" sight lines from cover.  Luckily, this time around, I placed all 90 shots on paper.  It's the first Classifier in which I didn't have any misses.  There was one shot that was razor thin close to a miss.  t barely touched the outside perf line.

All-in-all, I am happy with this Classifier time.  The Down Zero in Stage One is really exciting and placing all 90 shots on paper was a real milestone, too. An added bonus was having this Classifier also count for the ESP Division.  In the next Classifier, I plan to shoot in SSP and see what happens.  We have a stock Glock 41 hanging around gathering dust.  If I use 230 grain bullets, I can drop the Feet Per Second down to under 600 and still make Power Factor.  It will be fun to check it out.

It always amazes me just how challenging a mere three targets can be!

I think there was a data entry error on the SSR time back in October 2011.  I believe the 182.48 is correct.
Have no clue why the 222.98 continues to show on my official IDPA record.

Total Adjusted Time for 12/27/14 = 154.58

Schmuck & Son Jewelry Store Robbery

The One & Only World Famous Schmuck & Son Jewelry Store Robbery will makes its sole appearance this Arizona Shooting Season for Monday Match #3 on January 19th.

The elaborate stage will be set up in Area #2 which is the wash upstream from the road crossing.  We have tweaked the stage design from prior renditions to make it much safer and to fit the wash perfectly.

All targets, including the infamous moving target will get two rounds.  There are an IDPA-legal three hostages.  This Stage is all about use of cover, correct movement, timing of reloads and, finally, of course, the infamous moving target--which will now be a full 10 yards from P6 at the window.  Note that the size of the window opening has been reduced!  The Schmuck & Son Store was remodeled this summer and all windows were reduced in size to thwart potential break-ins.

Note also that the Gang Leader is in much better shape and is able to hold your son closer.  Therefore the sight picture on the infamous moving target is MUCH smaller than it has been in the past.

Read the Stage Procedure carefully.  Note that we are mixing BOTH Tactical Priority AND Tactical Sequence!  Note also that you can get as many as FIVE procedural error penalties for improper use of cover!  This is arguably the best rendition ever produced for The World Famous Schmuck& Son Jewelry Store Robbery.  This may be the last time we ever build this stage so don't miss out.  Sign up for Monday Match #3 today here:

https://clubs.practiscore.com/monday-match-3/register

Note that,as of this match, advance online registration is REQUIRED.  If you haven't registered online, you can't shoot the match.  Thanks for your understanding.

Here is the link for the one megabyte JPG file of this Stage:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9xPHiI5Jek3dzdDR0ROU25jZVE/view?usp=sharing

We put the Stage Design up in two formats here.  The super huge one is easier to scroll through to see the details and read the descriptions.

Scene Steel(er)

Oh, Boy!  We used $8 of your generous Monday Match donations to buy this primo mini-IDPA target at a Mesa, Arizona, scrap yard December 19th.  It's super high grade steel that can absorb the worst lead Montezuma Marksmen can throw!  We have no clue yet how we're going to use this little Gem.  Suffice to say, we will do our absolute best to find creative and challenging ways to integrate this IDPA midget target into future Stage Scenarios.  In case you're wondering, the target weighs 19 pounds.

Monday Match #2 Results

Many Thanks to everyone who made Monday Match #2 So Fun!  (L-R) John P., Gary W.,
John C.,Deb W.,Pat D., Tony G. Tom B., Cyndy W. David W., Bryan McD., and Michael B. 

Congratulations to John C. for his other-worldy, BLAZIN' Fast #1 time of 83.67, a whooping 35.51 faster than the #2 shooter!  And not only was John C. F-A-S-T, he was BLAZIN' accurate, too, with a mere three Points Down.  WAY TO GO, John!

Likewise a Big Congratulations to David W. for his second place finish and time of 119.18.  Dave is getting better every time he competes.  Dave's gaining on ya, John !

Here's the link to the Monday Match #2 Results:

https://www.practiscore.com/results.php?uuid=e25ffbc4-6d99-49ff-8a95-06f964e07559

Here's a screen shot of the results in two versions.  Not sure which one will show up best on your screen so I put them both up here.

Thanks SO MUCH for your $30 in donations!

Okie, dokie---here's just a few photos.  I apologize for not being able to take any photos from Squad #1.  That's the way it goes.

This photo is one of the goals of anyone who shoots shooting matches (pun intended).  Look very carefully and you will see Tony's spent shell just leaving the ejection port of his Glock 24.   This is one of THE MOST difficult photos to get...at least if you don't have a $2000 camera that takes a high quality picture every tenth of a second.  I have been trying to get lucky enough to get this "moment in time" for YEARS and finally got it today.  You have no idea how much this particular picture pleases me!

Here it is again, cropped a little closer.  Getting this photo with a point-and-shoot camera is a lot like buying a winning lottery ticket--it is PURE LUCK!

We love capturing the spent shell as it flies through the air.  For some unknown reason, we always have great luck with Michael B.  Whenever he shoots, we can be almost guaranteed of getting a photo like this classic.

Here's Michael's pistol throwing another casing into the sky.

And here is Tony's G24 lettin' one fly on the popular High Noon Sequel.

Gary striking a classic handgunner pose with his CZ75 Shadow.  As most of you know, we hold our camera in our left hand and the timer in our right hand.  There's NO WAY an SO could get away with this in a "real" IDPA Match!  But it works for us.

Pat takes aim at the well peppered popper in the "No Fair" Stage.  Thanks Again to Al G. for his gracious loan of the swinger.  It was a Great Match!  THANK YOU ALL for helping make it happen!

Match Director's Notes - MM#2

(UPDATE @ Noon, Sunday, December 14)

FR 9235G Access Road

The Saturday rain was enough to make the wash run at our range.  Water ponded in various low spots of the road.  Three areas were very slick on Sunday morning.  We almost got stuck.  We're hoping it will be dry enough by tomorrow to not get stuck with the trailer.  If we do get stuck with the trailer, the match starting time will be delayed by the amount of time it takes us to get unstuck.

We had no trouble getting into the range to do some work Sunday morning.  On the way out, the last of the three dubious spots caught us.  As we accelerated, the truck turned sideways in the road so we went with the flow and headed to higher, presumably dryer ground.  This isn't something we'd be able to do with a trailer.

FR 9235G Access Gate

The drift gate for FR 9235G has been problematic ever since we started using this area two years ago.  We've worked on it several times.  Sunday morning we got it back into somewhat usable shape.  At least you won't need a comealong to open and close the gate.  Trouble now is that the gap between the gate and the post is unacceptably wide.  Most typical range cattle could work their way through that gap.  We will notify our contact at the Forest Service and offer to volunteer to help them put in a better gate.  In the meantime, it should work great and easily for Monday Match #2

Here is the "Before" picture Sunday morning.  Note how the bottom of the gate post is toed in toward the fence post.
That's what made it so very difficult to open and close the gate with the top wire.

Here's the "After" photo.  Note that the gate post is almost plumb vertically.  That's all it took to make it easier to open.

MATCH Roster & Logistics

The Monday Match #2 Roster has grown to  a tentative 12 participants so we are going to split into two squads. (It's a "tentative 12" because we're not sure if Gary will show up.  Also, Pat's Friend hasn't registered on Practiscore yet.)  We hope our Observer Max C. comes to the Match.

Here are the Squads and Squad Assignments:

Squad #1  (Starts in Area #1 with the "No Fair" Stage)

John C. (SO)

Deb W.

Dave W.

Tom B.

Cyndy W.

Bryan M. 

Squad #2 (Starts in Area 3B with the "All Hands On Deck" Stage)

John P. (SO)

Michael B.

Pat D.

Pat's Friend

Gary W.

Tony G.

Squads simply swap spots after completing their first stage.  In this way, we shoot the shortest stages first.

Match Weather

As of Sunday morning, there are no special concerns regarding the Monday weather. There appears to be no chance of rain. At this time, it does not appear that wind will be a factor either. The Monday high temp is forecast at 56 degrees.

(All of the notes below this point were written earlier and have not changed.)

The Monday Match Stage Trailer

You would think the MD would take pictures of the Stage Trailer in the daylight, wouldn't you?

 Well, the MD started this blog post and realized he didn't have any photos of the Stage Trailer, so...

We've put quite a bit of time and money into the Stage Trailer since the last Monday Match.  We added the new assembly on the trailer tongue.  The double wheels allow the trailer to be easily moved on rough ground.  The assembly folds flush with the tongue so we don't have to worry about it hitting the high spots on the range access road.

We also created an internal top bow assembly and then stretched an industrial tarp over the trailer.  We bought a bungee cargo net to stretch over the top of this tarp, too.  In addition, we bought a hitch wiring adapter that now assures us the trailer lights WILL work.  We've checked and double checked and rechecked the trailer lights and, yes, they work.  All-in-all, this trailer is in the best shape of its service life.  (But more remains to be done, of course.)

Double Truffles

 Truffles are wildly expensive.  The photo above is supposedly a world record but didn't bring a world record price when it sold recently for "only" $50,000.  The top price for a truffle is over $400,000.  Even though truffles apparently don't grow here in America, the idea of a gang attempting to take your truffle is a worthy stage for a club that uses the word "international" in its name.

Here's the info on the truffle shown above:

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/worlds-largest-truffle-goes-auction

Here in North America Asian gangs are definitely a factor in the wildly lucrative mushroom hunting sub culture.  More about that below.

Above you see the Double Truffles we bought to facilitate this Stage.  You get your choice of either to use during your time at the line.  It's REALLY important that you DO NOT drop or throw down the truffle.  To do so would destroy its value and render a gang attack moot.  You must treat the truffle like it is worth its weight in gold bullion, which it most likely actually is.  You WILL get a Procedural Error Penalty for treating your truffle badly.

The photo you see here is highly doctored and "messed with" after I found it online.  This is an Asian Mushroom Hunter.  He may or may not be part of a mushroom gang.  But, trust me, such gangs exist.  And it's a very wild and crazy and often deadly and dangerous game out there where the fungi are found.  Whenever Big Money is at stake, you can count on armed individuals to contend with.  Here are some links to get you started:

http://www.mailtribune.com/article/19970921/News/309219998

http://www.wholeearth.com/issue/2100/article/145/migrant.mushroomers

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/11542133.Gangs_stripping_forest_of_mushrooms__on_industrial_scale_/?ref=mr

High Noon Saloon

 Yes, we've been having a lot of FUN with this stage.  It harks back to our childhood!

Above is the new High Noon Saloon Stage Prop.  Instead of setting up the actual saloon bar, we will use a folding table.  You will be working the cash counter instead of the cash bar.  After engaging the initial gang rush, you will have to move to the RIGHT of the above structure to engage the remaining gang members.

The Gang's All Here

 I spent almost two hours today creating a decent Gang.  Whenever most IDPA Stage Designers say there is a "gang" involved, it NEVER looks like a gang would look.  Nope, it's just a bunch of IDPA targets kinda scattered hither and yon and you are told to "imagine" it's a gang.  Well, today, I wanted to create a Genuine GANG!  So this is now what you get.  This is the first part of the Gang.  You are working the cash register when four gang members rush you while holding a hostage.  Plus, they are obviously wearing body armor.  This is a pretty good rendition of what that situation might look like.  The Gang Target Set (GTS) will be placed at 7 yards from P1.  We toyed with placing it at an IDPA legal 10 yards but decided "no."  Seven yards it going to be tough enough.  Obviously, they are ALL head shots (in any order).

Here's what the back of The GTS looks like.  It's a spiff target set.

Range Prep

 These diagrams were included in the Stage Design post but we realize most of you don't actually read those posts.  Plus, these graphics were all the way at the bottom.  Here they are again.

 We're not going into much detail on this blog post.  What you see is what you get.

This one is pretty self explanatory.  Even if you only glance at these graphics, at least you get an idea.

Weather

Well, we lucked out once again.  Who can say why it is our Monday Matches are so charmed?  But charmed they have been and charmed again is this one.  It's going to be clear and of that there is no doubt.

Precarious Reality

Riflemen are beginning to use our range area is FAR greater numbers and they are coming right at the time we go there--MONDAY MORNING!  I encountered two of them this week and I have seen many others when I drive by the area on my normal travels to and from Cottonwood.  Times they are a changin'! I hate to break this news to you but our days using this area are numbered.  Let us count ourselves fortunate if we are able to stage our December, January, February and March matches in this area without major interference.

Monday Match #2 Stage Designs

(UPDATE @ 6:45 am December 9th)  Whew!  We can exhale now.  We've been holding our breath about Monday's Match weather.  It's going to be fine.  Almost NO doubt about it.  The graphic shown at left is NOAA's QPF for the time period of 5 am (AZ TIME) Sunday to 5 am Tuesday.  D-R-Y is the word of the day Monday!  YEA!  The access road will have all day Sunday to dry out and should be OK.  Stiff north winds might be the issue.  However, we are better rigged for The Wind than ever before.  No Problem.

Greetings!  Here are the four "draft" Stage Designs for Monday Match #2 on December 15th.  We are setting up the range for two squads even though we expect to have only enough participants for one short squad.  It IS The Holiday Season so absences are expected.

As always, ALL Stages are subject to change up until they are shot.

We spent two hours prepping a great addition to the range shooting areas.  We picked these four COF designs while keeping in mind our available space IF two squads were shooting.  This will give us a chance to check out how the Two Squad Arrangement would work if we need to go that route in the future.  There are comments below each Stage Design and a layout of the new Two Squad Arrangement below the Stage Designs,

We came up with the above COF after Monday Match #1.  It seemed a shame to tear down the High Noon Saloon props. It will be set up in the area labeled #1 in the diagram below.

This is an interesting Standards Stages that utilizes "All Hands."  It will be set up in the wash downstream from the road crossing. (Labeled #3B in the diagram below). It was specifically designed to take into account the available space there in that portion of the wash.

This stage will be setup in the new area (Labeled #4 in diagram below) we opened up on December 8th.

This simple stage will occupy the area of the range (Labeled #1 in disgram below) that is most vulnerable to "line of fire"encroachment by other shooters.  If someone comes into our line of fire as they did late during Monday Match #1, we will be able to easily relocate this stage into one of the other areas.  Although Al will be unable to attend Monday Match #2, he graciously offered to help us use his Swinger.  THANK YOU, Al!

Above are the four "bays," if you will, where are Stages will now be set up for each Monday Match.  Bay 1 is most vulnerable to encroachment of the "live of fire" by other shooters.  For now on, we will keep very simple COFs in Area #1.   The diagram below shows how it will all work out with a Two Squad Arrangement.  As Marry M said the other day after he looked at the diagram, "Who' on first?"

And, finally, below you can see the new Area #4 we created December 8th.  Its sweet and SAFE!

New Match Shooting Plan

Tom B. and I attended the Prescott Action Shooter's monthly match November 22.  We thought the match started at 9 am, so we arrived at 8:30 am.  The match started at 10 am so Tom and I had plenty of time to talk about "stuff."

Biggest item on our agenda of talking about "stuff" was the shooting situation in The Verde Valley and also what we could do to preserve our current shooting range area where the Monday Matches are staged.

It was a most productive discussion and we both agreed that arriving an hour early really yielded some productive "mentalizing," as Tom calls it.

Here's the rough outline of what will transpire soon.

First, we are going to split into two shooting squads for the December 15 Monday Match.  The squads can be up to 7 shooters so we can have a roster of 14 participants.  That right there is huge.

Second, we will occupy the wash area upstream and downstream from the road crossing.

Third, we will create a new shooting area "on top," as we call it, with a very decent backstop.

Fourth, we will prep and place a warning sign to rifle shooters who may use the spur road that intrudes into our 180 shooting plane.

Fifth, we will interface with the couple in the Jeep beforehand to make sure they don't show up expecting to shoot in their regular spot.

Sixth, we will interface with the horse people and make sure they don't decide to trail ride into our shooting area during the Monday Match.

Seventh. we will prep and place a warning sign at the Yavapai County Materials Pit where the Horse People stage.

Eighth, We will totally tape off both ends of the wash on our shooting area.

Ninth, we will tape off the road at our shooting site.

And, finally, tenth, we will design all our stages to maximize the closest possible backstop.

We believe these Ten Steps will allow us to expand our Monday Matches without endangering participants or recreationists who may be in the vicinity.  It's a classic win-win situation the way we see it right now.

The two graphics here have captions below.

Our Monday Match Shooting Range is located at "A."  The Horse People Stages at "B."  We will interface with them and make sure they understand our shooting schedule and ride north into the new non-motorized area rather than ride "upwash"as they like to do.

Here's the shooting sight-lines for our new four-stage, two-squad setup.  We are confident it's going to work out really well.  The up and down ends of the wash will be completely taped from bank-to-bank with rebar and yellow caution tape.  Someone would have to get off their horse to remove the tape to get through.  Likewise, a driver would have to get out of their vehicle to get through the caution tape closure on the road.  (Unless they simply drove through the tape.)

We think we're getting somewhere with this new plan and we are pleased that Tom and I could concoct a "doable" deal today.  THANKS, Tom!

High Noon Saloon Sequel

The Wild Bill Hickok Stage in The High Noon Saloon proved to be very popular at Monday Match #1.  We thought it would be interesting to see what happened to The High Noon Saloon generations after Wild Bill and The Wild West were long gone.

This is going to be a very challenging stage because of the use of hard cover for all 11 targets.  In addition, there will be the IDPA legal number of hostages--4.  IDPA allows the use of one non-threat target for every three primary targets.  Thus, with 11 targets we are allowed four non-threats.  (See Rule 6.13)

The non-threat targets will take up quite a bit of the open space of each of the threat targets that are not already hard cover.  Thus, the shooter will have a very small actual sight picture area for most of the targets.  The first four targets are wearing body armor so head shots only will be scored.  We will NOT be using wigs to obscure the heads on any targets in this stage.  Also note that we will NOT be giving an FTN on T1 through T10 of this stage.  A miss on a head shot on T1-T4 will be score as five points down without the five second FTN added.

T11 will be eligible for an FTN.  Remember that.

Since The Wild Bill Hickok Incident, The High Noon Saloon has been expanded many times.  T11 is coming through your bat wing doors with an AR in hands.  Hence, T11 must be engaged at 20 yards and must be neutralized.  T11 is key to this stage's success.

Although technically this is an 18 round stage, it would behoove shooters to expend more than 18 rounds due to the difficult and challenging nature of each target site picture.

Here is the link to the PDF file for this Stage: http://goo.gl/NhGWJF

Match Schedule

Here's Our Arizona Season Match Schedule

Note the "@" sign indicates we participated in that match.

We have also shot in formal practice sessions on November 10 (APP - MM) and November 15 (FLG IDPA).

Note that the Phoenix Rod & Gun Club will be conducting a Tier II Sanctioned Match on January 17, 2015.  The PRG's "South Mountain Showdown" (SMS) is a favorite mid-winter event IDPA members from far and wide.  The SMS Roster generally runs to about 100 shooters. The upcoming match will have 8 stages and a 120-130 round count.  Cost is $85.

Here is the registration link:

https://clubs.practiscore.com/2015-south-mountain-showdown/register

Here's the 2013 SMS results:

http://prgcpractical.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=80&id=834&Itemid=496

Here's the 2012 SMS results:

http://www.prgcpractical.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=80&id=635&Itemid=496

This link has a couple of videos from the SMS:

http://www.idpascore.com/2012/11/05/idpa-2012-south-mountain-showdown/

Monday Match #1 Preliminary Results

David W. begins to engage  the "Secuestro en la Universidad"

while Safety Officer John C. watches with a careful eye.

Thanks for a Great Match!  Eleven shooters participated under sunny skies and warm calm air.  Congratulations to John C. for his Top Finish in both Total Time and Most Accurate.

Here are the preliminary results of the first Monday Match. (Some Photos appear below the data tables.)

One shooter was not able to shoot Stage #4 so the first three stages were scored for a total and Stage #4 was score separately.

We will be calculating the other stage rankings later today as well as posting photos.

Three Stage Totals

Here is the link in case the 46 photo-slide show doesn't appear.

https://picasaweb.google.com/106237303842175829251/SecuestroEnLaUniversidad?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Normally, I take many more photos but my camera batteries died today.  Sorry 'bout that!

Here are the Match Director's Post Match Notes for anyone who may care to read them:

http://goo.gl/2rDfDG