MD Notes for MM IDPA Match #3 - January 9, 2016

For the first match of the New Year, we begin a new practice--posting Match Director Notes early and often.  In past years, we have waited until a couple of days before a Match to post all of the MD Notes all at once.  Not only does this make for a difficult writing chore but it's also a WAAY Long Read for the participants and other interested people.

Whenever we add something to this page, we will put the date above the Note.  The most recent MD Note will be at the top.

WEATHER WATCH

It is beginning to look "iffy" for Match weather on January 9th.  We will keep you posted every day here on the blog.

We have made a Special Page just for watching this week's weather.  It is here:

http://montezumamarkmen.blogspot.com/p/wx.html

We think the road might be OK to use even if it is wet.  However, we won't stage the Match if it is actively raining (or snowing).  We will check the road condition on Friday afternoon.  If there is even a slight chance anyone would get stuck, the match will be called off.  It is far too early to call it one way or another but the weather trend is looking dubious, to say the least.

MD Note as of 11:30 AM, January 8, 2016

Here's the shooting order:

MD Note as of 3:45 PM, 1/2/16

We are finished with all the MM Match #3 prep work except for the paperwork and Practiscore stuff.
We almost forgot one of The Stars Of The Show!  The Bonomo Texas BBQ sandwich!  YIKES!  That would have been pretty embarrassing.

MD Notes as of 8 AM 1/2/16

We really need to gain some time in this and all upcoming matches. If we could gain 30 seconds per shooter, that adds up to 20 minutes a match.  If we could gain a full minute for each shooter, we're looking at a whopping 40 minute gain for the conduct of a match with ten shooters.

There are two easy ways to gain this much time:

First, the upcoming shooter needs to be standing on the firing line fully prepared to load and make ready..

Second--and this is the biggie--we need to clear the range much faster after the targets are taped and scored.  The search for brass is  adding quite a bit of time to the cycle of shooters in each stage.  Brass foraging needs to cease as soon as the last target taper is returning behind the  firing line. Please do not linger looking for errant brass.

Just by paying attention to these two simple actions, the pace of the match will move along in a much more efficient manner.

We appreciate your understanding of why we need to do this.  First, we haven't yet figured out to safely have two Squads.  Second, it's much more fun to have only one Squad.  But one squad of 10-11 shooters can take a lot of time to move through the Stages unless we move along efficiently.  Saving just 30-60 seconds per shooter will greatly increase the overall "fun factor" of the matches.

We're always looking for ways to streamline match logistics: before, during and after the event.  One thing that's always been very time consuming is sorting out the rebar after each match.  You simply wouldn't believe how long it takes to complete a seemingly simple chore.

Hopefully, we have devised a way to eliminate that aspect of post-match gear management.   All rebar is now color coded and needs to be stowed properly in the field after each match.  This will save me huge gobs of time when I get home.

The rebar pins (18 inches less) each have their own color-coded pipe.  Longer rebar needs to be tied into bundles by color.  The four hammers go into their own bucket with the lid firmly affixed.  We really appreciate your assistance in this particular task.  If I don't have to mess with the rebar after each match, my post-match gear sorting time could be cut by as much as 30%!

 Your donation dollars at work...We greatly appreciate your donations.  Your generous donations dollars truly make a difference.  This month we used your donations to buy extra hammers and assemble the color coded rebar pin holders and buy enough target sticks for 20 targets. We were also about to build four more cover/wall structures.

We first got the idea for these cover structures during the summer of 2014. Last year we built one such structure to see how well it would work in Stage Design.  It performed great.  So, as a result of your donations, we had enough funds to buy materials to make four more.  Now they will remain assembled and this will cut way down on setting up and breaking down the Stages.

The next items to buy will be rolls of target tape.  We've put several hours into shopping for target tape.  It turns out that the rolls of tape we use to cover holes in the targets is known as kraft flatback tape.  The "standard" that virtually everyone uses is made by IPG.  It is expensive and hard to find.  We've seen it sell for as much as $5 a roll.  We have lined up an alternative target tape and should receive a sample roll prior to the January 9th match.  While we have enough IPG tape for this match, we'd like everyone to use use the sample tape.  We need your perspectives and opinions as to whether the "new" tape will work as well as the  Old Standby tape.  If we can use the "new" tape, we will be able to get for $1.23 per roll delivered, a possible savings of 60% or more over the cost of the old tape.

MD Note as of 10:30 AM 12/27/15

Scenario Format Change

UDPL Stage Design Guru Steve Koski critiqued all of our Stage Designs for MM Match #2 on December 19th.  One recurrent comment was that our Scenarios were too long and wordy.  He strongly suggested trying to keep Scenarios to two sentences.  He said, "If they are longer, no one will read them."  We heavily edited the Stage Scenarios for the 12/19 match and, frankly, we really liked the new, smaller Scenario Format.  We are now striving to keep ourselves in compliance with "The Koski Two Sentence Rule (KTSR) "  All three Scenario Stages for the upcoming January 9th match are KTSR compliant.

MD Notes as of 7:30 AM, 12/27/15

The Match Theme: "You're In Good Hands..."

We would like to attempt to organize our Matches around a central theme each time.  So, this is our first attempt at doing so.  The January 9th Match is all about single hand shooting.  The Match Round Count is 54.  However, only 8 of those rounds are freestyle.  The remainder are with either the strong or support (weak) hand.  We have attempted to script in a variety of single hand shooting to challenge all IDPA shooter skill levels.  This match will be a good barometer of how well you can manage your single hand shooting.

"He's Got Fluffy"

We are delighted to announce an encore performance of that ever-popular, somewhat shot up, lovable canine, Fluffy!  Despite being hit several times at the Flagstaff IDPA last year, Fluffy has fully recovered and is ready to test his mettle once again.  The upcoming rendition of Fluffy is in honor of Jeff Brown and you can read about it on the Stage Design page:

http://montezumamarkmen.blogspot.com/2015/12/stage-designs-for-mm-idpa-match-3.html

Also, if you want to get an idea of just how Fluffy rolls, check out the little video on this March 2012 post:

http://ifyoushoot.blogspot.com/2012/03/hes-got-fluffy.html

YEA, Fluffy!

MD Notes as of  12/25/15 PM

BUGS WELCOME

Back Up Guns (BUG) both IDPA legal semi-auto and revolver are always welcome at any MM Match.  All MM Matches are designed to be BUG and Revolver Friendly.  Stage round counts are always configured with the six-round limitations in mind for both BUG and Revolver.

IDPA Rule 8.2.6.1 clearly and unequivocally states, "The Back Up Gun division is a required division for Tier 1 matches."  There is no ambiguity in this rule and that is the driving reason why we design our Stages to be BUG Friendly.  By definition, if a Stage is BUG Friendly, it is also Revolver Friendly.

Any BUG shooter will shoot the same MM Match as all other participants.

If you are not up to speed on what constitutes an IDPA legal BUG, please read the relevant rules relating to them. Those rules can be found in section 8.2.6 of the IDPA Rule Book.

Note that anyone bring a BUG to participate in an MM Match will have their BUG weighed, measured and checked to make sure it complies with applicable IDPA Rules. BUG shooter magazine carriers will also be checked for compliance.  It is the BUG Shooter's responsibility to know and follow the BUG Rules.

The Emergency Medical Supplies

One of our New Year 2016 Goals is to further refine the Match Emergency Medical Supplies.  While are have been confident our existing First Aid Kit would have provided adequate supplies for a first response to a Match Emergency, we feel we can and should do better.

Beginning on the January 9th Match, we plan to have on hand two units.  One will be a typical First Aid Kit for small cuts, scrapes and abrasions.  The other will be much more specifically put together to address a emergency trauma such as might occur while shooting firearms.

We invite our present and past Medical Professionals to assist in redesigning our Emergency Medical Supplies.

We would also like to prepare and have on hand a written Emergency Response Plan in case of a firearms-related accident occurring during a Match.  This plan will ideally specify the roles of each responder to such an emergency.  Prior to each Match, specific individuals will be assigned those roles according to their willingness and professional skills.

MD Notes as of 10:30 AM, 12/25/15

Stage Design posting change

Stage Designs will now be posted whenever any given design is in final draft form.  You can read more about it here:

http://montezumamarkmen.blogspot.com/2015/12/stage-designs-for-mm-idpa-match-3.html

New Shooter Position markers.

As all IDPA members know, it seems each club has its own unique way of marking or denoting a shooter position.  Methods range from angle iron and PVC pipe squares to orange paint, etc.   We have always used orange paint.  However, the paint tends to wear off after the 2nd or 3rd shooter.

Now we are going to give this small "fun hoops" a try.  The tubing diameter is small enough  that they should not present a tripping hazard.  The cheap plastic will definitely have more "give" and rigid angle iron or PVC pipe.

We plan to attach them to the earth with small aluminum nails and rubber washers.  We purchased these for $1 each at the Dollar Tree store in Cottonwood.