Monday Match #7

Monday Match #7 took place under perfect weather conditions February 18th at the Donga Din shooting range.  Gary, Al, Brad and John shot three stages a total of 7 times.

Stage 1 was 8 numbered targets and one six-inch steel plate.  The targets were 10 yards from the shooter box.  The plate was 13 yards. As the shooter faced uprange, the targets were randomly reshuffled.  Three random numbers were drawn from a coffee can.  At the buzzer, as the shooter turned, the numbers were called out.  The shooter had to shot the targets in order of the numbers called and then shoot them in reverse order before shooting the plate until down.

Stage 2 was four targets at 20 yards from a Bianchi cover structure.  At the buzzer, the shooter could shoot from either side of the cover with one round in each target as they became visible.  Then the shooter switched to the other side of cover and placed one round in each target and they became visible.  Procedural penalties were given if the shooter's foot overstepped the cover line.

Stage 3 was entitled "The Powerball."  At the buzzer the shooter had to kneel beside the "bed" and then grab the winning ticket from beneath the "mattress" and then run to the doorway and then down the hall to the front door.  Shooters were loaded to 8 rounds each so there would be a mandatory reload from slide lock on this stage, equalizing the difference between the CDP and SSP division pistols.  (A full description of The Powerball is at the end of this long blog post.

Note that there are three slideshow videos here: Gary, Al and Brad shooting Stage 1.  We took 4,000 photos with the GoPro camera on a one second time lapse interval.  For whatever reason, the photo sequences for Stages @ and 3 were uninteresting when converted to video.  Therefore we picked out four photos from each of the three stages to show here.  Believe it or not, it only took 3 hours to process 4,000 photos! Additional still photos were emailed to each shooter.  Thank You for your $15 in donations received.

Gary Shooting Stage #1


Below is Al Shooting Stage #1



Brad Shooting Stage 1

Below are 12 still photos, one each of four shooters in three stages.

 Al Stage 1

 Brad Stage 1

 Gary Stage 1

John Stage 1

 Al Stage 2

 Brad Stage 2

Gary Stage 2

John Stage 2

 Al Stage 3

 Brad Stage 3

 Gary Stage 3

John Stage 3

Here is a description of "The Powerball."  This is the same stage we did last spring.  Herman plays the same numbers each week.  He finally wins.  The c-store clerk recognizes Herman's numbers and tells her boyfriend who gets gang together to rob the ticket and burn down Herman's house.  Herman, meanwhile, can't sleep and has been sitting beside his bed all night.  The Powerball ticket is tucked under his mattress.  Two gang bangers break into Herman's bedroom while two more thugs work in the hallway to begin to set fire to the place as another thug stands guard outside.  What the gang bangers don't know is that Herman has used his annual vacation time each year to go to Front Sight in Las Vegas to keep his defensive pistol skills sharp.  The thugs have met their match!

Monday Match #5

 Brad

 Al

 Al

 John

 Gary

 Gary

 Nancy

 Michael

 Nancy

Tony

Plans C-D-E

Our Plan A range is now unavailable unless we had carry match materials a fairly long haul.

Our Plan B range is a great spot and we're looking forward to shooting there on January 21.

 However, we needed a Plan C, D, and E. Why? One word: cattle.

Our Plan B range sits on prime grazing land that has been in the "rest-rotation" cycle this year. Right now, this pasture is covered with prime food for cattle. It's not a matter of "if" cattle are going to return, simply a matter of "when." Although we will inquire with the Forest Service as to when cattle might be authorized to return to the Plan B area, they may or may not tell us.

It's up to us to have a Plan C, D and E should we should up at the Plan B range only to find ourselves holster deep in cow-calf pairs. That's why we went out Saturday to find other potential shooting spots. We found three.

Each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, as do practically all public land shooting spots. Unless and until we have a gated private range, we simply have to live with the pros and cons each spot brings.

The Plan C Range is actually a legal and quasi-developed shooting range maintained by the 1st Regiment of the Beaverhead Brigade, whoever the heck they are. It's in an old borrow pit on Forest Service land south of the Beaverhead Road (Yavapai County #78) perhaps a mile west of Highway 179.

The Plan D Range is on Old Hwy 179 maybe a half mile from the Stage Stop Day Use Area which is also known to historians as the "Beaverhead Stage Station."

The Plan E Range is along the same Old Hwy 179 not far from this road's southern intersection with the new Hwy 179.

Discussion of the Plan C, D and E Ranges continues with notes accompanying the photos below.

 We don't know this range has a formal name but we're giving it one--The Beaverhead Borrow Pit. (BBP). This is a view looking from the east end toward Yavapai Cty. Road # 78 (AKA: The Beaverhead Road).  Note the other shooter's vehicle in the background.  When we use this area, we will line all our trucks across the area at the bottom of the photo so all the trucks face east.  We have sufficient vehicles to essentially block off the east end of this area.

This area will be our first choice when cattle reappear at the Plan B Range.It's certainly going to be easy to get the trailer in and out of here.  Parking and the backstop are perfect and there is ample space  to set up at least three stages at once.

Here's a view of the BBP looking east from the approximate area out trucks would be parked.  This is a wonderfully, wide-open area to set up a pistol match.  The last time we looked at this place was years ago and is was a mess.  Obviously, someone has graded and shaped the area for use by shooters.  There's even a sign that says "Pick Up Your Targets."  We will attempt to contact the Beaverhead Brigade to find out the "back story" on this shooting area.  There's no doubt whatsoever that this place has the official blessing of the Forest Service to be used as a range.  

The two primary disadvantages to this location are the presence of other shooters as well as an abundance of pallet nails everywhere.  We believe our match set up will clearly separate ourselves from other shooters.  Likewise, we do have a magnetic sweeper and we will try to remove as many nails as possible before we use this area.

Here is the Plan D area not far from the Stage Stop.  We suspect the area is actually closed but,as of right now, it has an official road number sign and so we would use it until someone tells us we can't.  There's a nice shooting area in the middle top of this photo.  We would be shooting somewhat to the left so the range would be sloped to our right.  Parking and backstop are fine.  Any moisture will turn the parking area into slick snot and the shooting area to goo.

 The Plan E Range offer OK parking.  It's not optimal but it will work with a little careful jockeying of the vehicles alongside the road.

If there's any moisture in the shooting area, this is the kind of stuff that will attached 3-5 pound gobs of weird mud to each of your boots or shoes.  Likewise, the area is filled with rocks so any movement within a stage would have to be carefully managed to avoiding tripping hazards.  This would also be one of the dustiest areas in which to shoot.  The Plan E Range is what we call a "deep backup" and only to be used when all other alternatives are unavailable.

In closing, we wish to note that we will continue an aggressive search for additional alternative shooting spots.  Ideally, someday we will find a permanent location with many advantages and few, if any, liabilities.
Until then, let's just be thankful that we actually now have four potential shooting spots to use while we look for other suitable locations.

Jewelry Store Stage Videos

OK, here's the first one.  Each one takes 30-40 minutes to upload and process so it's going to be a long night.  I apologize for not getting everyone to star in their own video.  We promise to get better at this.  Thanks for your patience. Here's Tony's video Here's Josh's video.

Range 2 Photos

 Here's the drift gate into FR 9253G.  The gate is problematic, of course, especially since some macho cowboy set the tension for the top wire loop.  We can change that pretty easily to make it more user friendly.

 The numbers on the sign don't match the way the road is numbered on the MVUN map.  However, it's clear that this road is ON their map and open to motor vehicles.

 Although the turn is kind of tight into the pull out for the gate, there actually a good aggregate base for a much larger apron.  Look carefully over the hood of the Samurai and you can easily see it.

 Here's the parking area and turning radius down adjacent to the wash.  The area is large enough to set up smaller stages here, too, in addition to parking.

 This upstream portion of the wash would be the main shooting area.  Luckily, the wash take a bend to the left not far upstream.  We would put a sign up there in case an ATV might be coming down wash.  The backstop is AWESOME!

Here's the wash looking downstream.  It has some pretty potential for a stage set up, too.

 Looking up out of the wash toward the very large parking area.  You can barely & briefly catch a glimpse of traffic passing on the Cornville Road.  I don't think they would see vehicles in the parking area.  They "might" but they would have to really be looking and 99% of drivers don't pay any attention to what's off the road, especially that far away.

Jewelry Store

Here is the Jewelry Store set up.  We have tweaked the layout quite a bit since the first time we shot this Course of Fire (COF).  The dimensions, layout and measurements are much more precise.  The entry door has been relocated to reflect a better reality.

We are not using wall panels this time.  Survey Flagging tape will suffice to denote a hard wall that you cannot go through.  It is expected to be windy on January 7th so we have reduced wind resistance on this COF to the barest minimum.

There will be a minimum of nine targets in this COF, including the moving target.  We might make it ten targets.  You will have to do one reload from slide lock when you are located behind the cover of the display room wall.

This is a Vickers Stage because you have the option of reloading again (with retention) before attempting to shoot The Moving Target.

SSP shooters will have 21 rounds while CDP shooters will have 17.  Some targets will be two rounds each and some targets one round.  The video is intended to give you a general idea of the layout of this COF without giving away too much about precisely where the targets will be located.

The Moving Target

We once again have The Moving Target up and running.  We have increased the span to 30 feet from 20 feet.  The travel distance will range between 4-6 seconds depending on how fast the "puller" is pulling.
In the Monday Match #4 you will be shooting this target from behind either of the alley doorjambs, so left-handers will have no advantage over right-handers.  We will make a special effort to equalize the differences between left and right handers.