4/23/04

SDPS Members:

The NCCRC is coming along just fine. As of this date we have 83 shooters from all over California signed up with only eight days to go. I need to borrow an "easy up" type of shade cover to be put up at Stage # 8 on Sat. May 1st. Please contact me on this item. I have made a parking sign to encourage people to use the area next to the fish pond for parking. We will need a "herd" of people to help set up on Sat. May 1st. starting at 0800 to completion. We will also need all of our members to be there VERY early ( 0700 ) the next morning to put up all fresh targets just before the match starts.

The following is a reply from Dru Nichols at IDPA headquarters to Ron Durham, our Area Coordinator about rules clarification:

Hi Dru: I have four questions for you. We seem to still have a heated disagreement on mags being stowed in the top pocket of your shooting vest. All of our vests we had made up years ago by one of our members put pockets in the top. Small as they are, you can still stow mags in it. The problem with some of the members is if it is not in the rule book, it shouldn't or can't be enforced. Since we have the Regional Match coming up and folks coming from all different areas in our region and not knowing what their local rules are, I don't really think I want to hand out procedurals to people who never got the word. So that is my first question.

>> Actually, this is covered in two places in the rulebook, but I’ll leave the location as an exercise for the student. Please suggest to those members that seem to be “letter of the law” types that they go back to the Purpose and Principles of the rulebook and refresh their memories. We won’t always have every little thing covered by the rulebook. If we did that, the book would be so big that you would need a wagon to carry it around in. We trust that match directors will follow the guidelines and use their common sense to work out specific problems. That’s what the purpose and principles are for.

I will actually answer your question, though. Mags are only to be stowed in a pants pocket, vest pocket (lower), jacket pocket (lower), waistband or magazine pouch. The use of specially designed pockets (such as the ones you describe on the vests), shirt pockets or holding the mag in hands or teeth is specifically prohibited.

Second question.....air gunning or sight picture with your hand. Let's say you are on deck and you take off with your finger pointed hand clasped together simulating a gun, can you clarify that for me please?

>> This is not allowed. It is another thing that is not specifically spelled out in the rulebook, but is against the purpose and principles of IDPA competition.

Third......we are getting young fast shooters that are taking advantage of let's say going into a doorway and there is only one target to engage.
They go thru so fast that they definitely have their leg in the door while they are shooting. The SO's have no time to give them warning and they are through and gone. If we know there is going to be a problem with the stage, can we give the shooter a warning before he starts and then legitimately give him a procedural for not using cover?

>> It would be a good idea to change the CoF slightly to avoid this, but you can offer up the cover warning in advance when giving the walk through. You can tell them that you know that the SO won’t have time to call a warning so they are getting the warning in advance and if they don’t use cover, they will get a procedural. However, make sure that the SO you use for that stage is NOT a range Nazi. Just because there is the chance that shooter’s will abuse this doesn’t mean that they will abuse it.

Thanks Dru, things are going very well for our Regional Match. They seem to get easier as you do them if you can get people to help, and we have, so things are looking good.

>>I’m glad things are looking well for the match. It’s amazing how folks will help out if they just know what to do. It seems that if you can
just hand out little pieces of the job, it gets done much better.

Ron Durham

See you bright and early on Sat. the 1st.

Wayne Johnson, Grand Poobah and all High Ruler of the First Order