MD Notes MM Match #2

Greetings, Dear Friends!  Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! The Match Director Notes for this last Match of 2015 are LOOONG!  We're putting the pertinent facts first and then you can split the scene.

Just remember this Most Pertinent of Pertinent Facts: Arrive On Range NO Later than 10 AM. Please, please, PLEASE be On Range by 10 AM so you can get your geared up before the Pre-Match Briefing which begins at 10:15 AM. We aim to start shooting at 10:30 AM sharp.

OK, here's the Weather Forecast in a nutshell: Clear and Nice. (Comments below graphic)

As you can see, the Saturday Precipitation Forecast shows Arizona D-R-Y.   That's the way we like it for our Montezuma Marksmen Matches. The latest forecast progs a High of 61 with Probable mid-morning temps in the upper 40's or low 50's.

NWS Flagstaff had this to say Friday afternoon:

HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER NORTHERN ARIZONA TROUGH TONIGHT. A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO SWEEP ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA FROM LATE SATURDAY THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY. THIS WILL BRING BREEZY SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS ON SATURDAY ACROSS MOST OF NORTHERN ARIZONA.

Translated, what that means is there "might" be a chance of annoying winds during the Match...and there probably might not.

Please READ The Stage Designs BEFORE you come to the Match!  We will not be reading the scenarios for each stage and we will presume you have already educated yourself about each stage.

http://montezumamarkmen.blogspot.com/2015/12/mm-match-2-stage-designs.html

The truck's all packed. There's a  Match in there somewhere!

----------OK, now for the Really, Really Long Portion of the Match Director's Notes!------


We have lots of commentary in this month's MD Notes but first, we'd like give Extra Special Thanks for Our Dear Friend Jeff Brown.  We first met Jeff on January 7, 2012, in Atlanta, Indiana.  Yes, there actually is such a place.  My Mom died four years ago this week and we were back there dealing with her Estate and going stir crazy.  When we saw that the local IDPA had a match on an unseasonably warm January day, we were ALL IN!   Jeff loaned us a pistol and we had a blast and the rest is history!

Here's Jeff being Jeff at the 2015 NORAZ High Country Shootout.

Here's Jeff being Jeff SO-ing me @ Atlanta on 1/7/12.

This is our 5th Season of doing IDPA-style Matches in The Verde Valley.  We did 35 Matches in four seasons before, by God's Grace, Jeff decided we should be an official IDPA Club. Jeff made it happen right smack dab on Saint Patrick's Day this year.  We will be Forever Grateful for crossing Jeff's Life Path.  Destiny has Its Ways!

We also wish to give Thanks to each and every one of our Montezuma Marksmen Participants, especially those who will be attending Saturday.  First: Thanks, Tom B.!  Without you I simply wouldn't be shooting at this point in my life.  Thank You for creating the World's First Self-Aiming Pistol to help me look good.  Second, Many Thanks to Tony G., Pat D. and Donna B. for helping form the nucleus of a local IDPA Club.  We SO Appreciate your enthusiasm and support!  Third, HUGE Thanks to David and Deb W. for their undaunted Happiness Forever Always and All Ways. You Two are an Inspiration!  And fourth, Gigantic Gratitude to Jeff B., Leo B. and  Gordon B. for coming all the way over from Prescott for the Match.  You Three are quite The Terrific Trio!   Many THANKS to each and every one of you Dear Friends!

As we forge  ahead into our 5th season, we have already staged one Tier 1 Match and 3 Classifier Matches.  We look forward to each of our Saturday Matches as these events are writing yet another the page in The Montezuma Marksmen log book.

We'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about our Match Philosophy.  We believe each match should purposely be small...just one squad...so everyone can shoot together and enjoy the camaraderie which many of us so appreciate about IDPA.  We have no interest in hosting large matches.  As long as we do Tier 1 matches, we are not under any IDPA Rule which tell us how many people we have to host.  Consequently, each of our Matches will be limited to 10 participants.  Yes, we "might" expand that roster to 12, depending how who is involved, but 10 is the general rule.

The other thing you need to know is that we will put as much effort into prepping for a Match for 10 participants as you would expect for a match of 50 people.

OK, one more Match  Disclaimer--since we shoot on public land, we cannot require a Match Fee. You may make a free will donation to help cover various match supplies and all such donations are considered a "cost-sharing" contribution by like-minded individuals supporting their common interests.

Alright, let's move on.  The biggest change you will notice about this match is new target stands.
There's Good News and Bad News about this change.  Good News is that we can use our pickup for a match (and not the usual pickup-trailer combo).  Bad  News is that it means more work for all match participants.

Instead of just throwing down a typical "H" target stand, each target stand must be anchored to the ground with rebar pins.  That means someone must do the pin pounding and also the pin pulling.  The following photos are a detailed description of why this works for us.

OK, here is what the final product looks like.  It is THE most minimalist target stand possible.

Essentially, it is making TWO target stands out of ONE of the old style "H target stands.

The Old Style "H" Target Stands were wildly inefficient in the usage of space.

The new target stands are THE most Space Efficient Target Stand we have ever used.

What you see here is our Match Truck Packed with 30 target stands awaiting targets.

Yes, we have prepped all of the targets for this match and they are in a storage shed awaiting final packing.  For the First Time Ever, there  is enough space for them without a need for a trailer! The only downside to this plan is that each of the new target stand will need to be anchored with at least one rebar pin.  If it's windy, there will be a need for two such pins.  The upside is that these stands work  much better on uneven terrain and are much easier to orient to the Firing Line.

We appreciate your understanding  and patience in your adaptation to this new plan.  Thank You!

--------------Alright, time for a new topic----------------------

How many of you recall this summer's incident were three American's saved a train car full of French People?   It was a Massacre that didn't happen due to the undaunted courage of those three young American men.

Here's their story

http://www.wsj.com/articles/two-u-s-soldiers-help-subdue-attacker-on-french-train-1440238328

As soon as it happened Pat D. and we began to scheme an IDPA Stage out of the incident.  That's how the "In Training" Stage came about.  It was first named "Yankee Doodle Dandy" but Pat suggested we name it "Train Us" and that's how the "In Training" name is the final result.

We took a lot of "storyteller" and "stage designer" license with the actual event as it was translated into an IDPA Stage but the flavor and essence of the incident remains intact in our rendition.

This is the first Stage that we have ever designed that requires several steps of agility and thoughtfulness prior to drawing and firing a pistol.  It is going to be interesting to see how everyone interacts with this stage and what kind of feedback they provide.

Perhaps biggest piece in the puzzle of this stage is an AK-47.  Thanks to Pat D. for attempting to make a cutout of an AK-47.  The stock split off on the 2nd usage.  Thanks to David W. for going way out of his way to pick up a free fake AK-47 at a Flagstaff Brewery December 17 so we can enjoy the full fruits and fun of this stage.

Essentially, you are going to have to fight your way to a gun fight in this stage.   It's a real hoot.

Here's a GoPro video of how it's going to look for you:

https://www.facebook.com/My.Idaho.Shooting.Highlights/videos/1086906848009254/?pnref=story

---------------Alright, time for a new topic------------------

We are applying a little known and little used IDPA rule to dramatically shrink your targets in this match.  Here's a photo that tells the story below.

IDPA Rule 6.22 Cardboard targets at ten (10) yards (9.1 meters) or less from the shooter must present a portion of the upper or lower down zero zone to the shooter. A contiguous surface of least eighteen (18) square inches (116.1 square centimeters) of either the upper or lower down zero zone must be presented to the shooter. The smallest dimension of the required down zero area presented to the shooter must equal or exceed three (3) inches (76.2mm). (Example: half a head target.)

Here's the "math" of the 18 square inches and how we determined the dimensions of the new target area:

The Square Root of 18

4.2426

4.25 x 4.25 = 8.06"

-------Alright, moving on-----------

We have a new steel target to introduce.  It is T10 in the Mission Impossible Stage.  Good Luck!

---------Speaking of Mission Impossible-------------

We have worked overtime and tried to do our Absolute Best to make The Swinger in Mission Impossible truly Impossible to hit.  That's why we named the stage Mission Impossible! Also, this swinger does not have an activator.  A human behind the firing line does the activating.  The swinger looks benigh in this photo.  It's won't look so user-friendly the next time you see it.

--------Moving on to another topic--------

Here is our typical Pre Match Safety Briefing--we will repeat most of it in some form prior to each match. Safety can never be emphasized too much!

http://montezumamarkmen.blogspot.com/2015/08/pre-match-briefing-safety-speech.html

-----------Another Topic-----------

We understand and religiously follow these (and all) IDPA Rules and these two are definitely applicable for this match.

6.19 No “strong-hand only” strings of fire may require the shooter to engage targets more than ten (10) yards (9.1 meters) distant.

6.23 No shots are to be required at distances greater than ten (10) yards (9.1 meters) for targets head sized or smaller

---------------About Retention---------------

We eliminated "retetion" from this match and would like to pose this question for discussion Saturday  "Should retention be retained?"

http://idpaforum.yuku.com/topic/10833/Shooting-from-Retention#.VnGOqfkrLIU

So, that's it from your Match Director.  I thought about buying Santa Hats for

everyone but figured you are on your own.  Happy Holidays & Many Cheers!