Match Director Notes for Monday Match #3

First & Foremost.  The "Okie Dokie, Opie" Stage has changed.  Everyone will shoot a revolver and everyone will shoot one round which MUST be loose in their pocket.  Each of the three strings will be ONE round only.  There will be no reloads in any of the three strings.  John C. has graciously agreed to provide an IDPA-legal .38 Special revolver and ample rounds for all participants.  THANK YOU, John!

OK, as of Saturday evening, I am still in Mesa.  I had a great two-day experience on Staff for the PRG South Mountain Showdown.  It was both educational and humbling.  On Saturday I enjoyed a truly fine and fitting Match Day with Frank S. and Collin B.  They were so awesome to work with!

Alright, moving right along.  I doubt I can get back to The Verde until the noon-ish time frame.  I will work non-stop to get the match ready to go all day Sunday.  As you know, I've already put a lot of hours into Match Prep.  However, for this particular Monday Match, I am going to need "all hands on deck" to make it happen.  If you can't come early to help with the set up, I expect and hope that you will show up with your holster and magazine holder on your belt, mags loaded in range bag and your rig ready to go.

At this point, we have 12 shooters so we will have two squads.  The Stage schematics and range layout have already been described.  Here are the tentative Squad Assignments.

Squad #1

John C.
Aubrey C.
Tom B.
Gary W.
Pat. D.
Tony G.

Squad #2

John P.
Larry M.
Deanna M.
Cyndy W.
Brad W.
Michael B.

Believe it or not, Monday's high in Rimrock is progged to be 70 degrees.  This Season's Monday Match #3 will mark the 33rd consecutive Monday Match that we have staged WITHOUT a weather interruption.  Bear in mind we calendared this match last April! We are simply amazed.

OK, moving right along, we have a HUGE change in the way we will use the Swinger for the Barrel Stage.  Suffice to say it's a total role reversal.  We can't hardly wait to show it to you.

Alright, at this time we simply can't imagine the access road will be gumbo'd up.  The weather had simply been too good the last few days.  Unless you hear otherwise from us tomorrow, assume the Match is a GO!

Remember, be there by 9:45 am so we can start shooting promptly at 10 am.  Many Cheers, jp!

Monday Match #3 Stage Designs

Monday Match #3 Stage Designs

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!