SDPS MATCH
June 23, 2004
MATCH RESULTS – June 23,
2004: Allen
Lowe finished 1st overall. Wayne Johnson was 2nd, by a
little more than 1 sec. He was followed by Mike Grant in 3rd place
overall. Jay Mirando finished in 4th place. John Mercurio finished 5th,
trailing Mirando by little more than 2 sec. Brent Jarvis was 6th
overall, just a half second behind Mercuiro. Nick Young, in 7th
place, closely edged out Tex Hollis, in 8th place, by less than a
half second. Brad Maynard, in 9th place, followed Hollis by a little
more than a second. Mike Kern finished 10th overall. The complete match results can, as
always, be found on our web site.
Notes
from the President Fellow Members: Our July
match is on the 4th. What better way to celebrate our 228th year of
independence than to attend an IDPA pistol match! Ed Vernon and I will be the
Match Directors. We will put on four very short scenarios so that we can get to
the Murieta Pizza Parlor by 1:00 to have food and drink (No, SDPS will not pay
for your beer. Soft drinks, yes. Beer, no.)
We will also have our Annual Prize Table Drawing after we eat. In order to be
eligible for the pizza and drawing, you will have to pay your annual SDPS dues
($25.00) at the match. Your dues are duly due as of July 4th. If you are not a
paid member, you can not participate. Prizes will be Myriad and Varied. Don't
forget, bring dues money!
FYI: I will be scheduling a Matt Burkett
two-day class (a Friday and Saturday) in the near future. Matt will be
contacting me after the 3 Gun Nationals for arrangements. If you want to learn
from the best IDPA competition trainer around let me know. Burkett isn’t cheap,
but he is the best.
Your leader, Wayne K. Johnson
The
Grand Pooh-Bah of the First Exalted Order
SCENARIOS: The
match presented us with some interesting scenarios. Stage One had a swinging target
that came out from behind cover and to the side of the shooter. The scenario
required the shooter to engage the swinger while moving backward to cover. The
shooter was further required to engage two targets, from the opposite side of the
cover, in tactical priority (slicing the pie) with three shots to the
body (I know, I know. I forgot and fired
the standard two shots to the body. Whose idea was this stage anyway?)
On Stage Two the shooter’s task was to aid a shooting victim. The scenario included: a beer keg that was used as cover; a Pepper Popper-activated target that moved laterally across the bay; a simulated wounded and downed colleague; and the victim’s .44 cal. revolver that was used to take out the last Pepper Popper. (Parts of my performance on this stage cannot be fully described in mixed company.)
We began Stage Three by engaging three near targets in tactical sequence (spread fire) while backing up toward cover. Then we had a tactical reload, a shooting port, two Pepper Poppers, and a turning target activated by one of the Pepper Poppers.
Stage Four’s scenario was highlighted by another iteration of Alec Libante’s traveling target designs. The target was activated at the buzzer by manually knocking down a Pepper Popper. The target moved toward the shooter who then drew his/her sidearm and engaged the target.
The
scenario on Stage Five further depleted John Lustig’s store of tee shirts and
placed his movable no-shoot indicators at even greater risk than usual. The
reason? We shot the stage wearing welder’s goggles. The goggles were very
effective, simulating conditions of late twilight to darkness quite well. Rather
than the brightly-colored, soft-stuffed, toy stars that John usually uses as
no-shoot indicators, he used dark-colored gloves. This fooled only a few of us.
However, seeing one’s front sights could be challenging. We were seated during
the run, for safety (A good thing for me
as there is this hallway doorjamb that I occasionally encounter at night….)
The
traveling targets were fun! Each traveling target setup used a falling Pepper
Popper to trigger release of the targets and the fall of a weight which pulled
the target assembly over a set of pulleys. Some problems were encountered with
the release mechanisms, particularly on Stage Two. This is to be expected with
new props and allows us to try out various designs and improve on them. It
would be good if someone could come up with a (if you’ll pardon the expression) “bullet proof” release mechanism.
A
skeptic masters Guns 101 By Diana Wagman
Guns are bad. All my
life, it's been that simple. At my son's preschool, if a child pointed a banana
and said "bang," he was admonished to "use the banana in a
happier way." As far as I was concerned, the Second Amendment gave us the
right to protect ourselves against invading armies, not the right to buy a gun
and keep it under our beds.
So what would make
someone like me change my mind? I met this gun enthusiast. As research for my
new novel, I asked him many questions, all the while voicing my disgust. My
character might use a gun, but I never would. "Come to the range,"
the gun guy said. "I'll teach you to shoot."
I expected a dungeon
full of men missing teeth and wearing T-shirts decorated with Confederate
flags. Instead, I found a sunny, wood-paneled lobby and guys who looked like
lawyers on their lunch break.
The man behind the
counter was as pleasant as a grandfather from Central Casting. "What would
it take for me to buy a gun?" I asked him. He explained the
When my guide arrived,
he gave me a choice of handguns. I went with the .357 magnum -- I recognized
the name -- and a traditional target with a red bull's-eye. I couldn't imagine
shooting at one shaped like a man.
First lesson, respect
your firearm. I got a little talk about how powerful it was. I learned how to
hold it. To load it. And finally to fire it. It was terrifying. The gun was so
heavy, I couldn't keep it steady. It took both index fingers to pull the
trigger, and then there was a flash of flame, a loud crack, a substantial kick.
It was much harder than it looked in the movies. I occasionally hit the target,
but I also managed to obliterate the metal hanger that held it.
I have to admit: I
loved it. I had a fantastic time. The power of that gun for me, a 5-foot-3
woman, was immediately, shockingly seductive. The thrill when I hit the
bull's-eye (once) was as great as making a perfect tennis shot. I felt like I
was playing a careful game of darts in a small, alcohol-free bar.
Later, I was surprised
to discover that some of my closest friends owned guns. People I never would
have suspected confessed that their guns made them feel protected. Still, most
of my friends thought handguns should be outlawed, completely, in every
circumstance.
I no longer was so
sure. I did some research -- there are countless testimonials about guns saving
someone's life. I looked into shooting as a sport. I spoke to a woman who had
found a wounded deer and shot it, ending its agony. I changed my mind: Guns
aren't bad.
Which leaves gun
violence. At least in
What else?
The answer has to be education: teaching people to deal with anger, to solve problems, offering them brighter futures, but also Guns 101. Maybe if teenagers were given computer-generated pictures of their own bodies, post-gunshot wounds, it would help them understand the enormity of firing a weapon. Maybe if everyone spent an afternoon at the shooting range, forced to follow the rules, they would respect the power of a gun.
I confess, I don't
know exactly how to solve the problem, but at least now I know I don't know.
Firing guns as a sport is great fun. Having a gun because it makes you feel
safer seems understandable. Changing the way people behave? If you thought gun
control was a distant dream ... it could take centuries.
Meanwhile, my
15-year-old has asked me to take him shooting. And I've agreed.
Wagman, a novelist and screenwriter in
Los Angeles, is the author of Bump and Skin Deep.
HoustonChronicle.com
Jan. 30, 2004, 11:57PM
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/editorial/outlook/2380055
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Michael McGinn, A04824