SDPS NEWSLETTER – March 2007

OK, this month I decided to wait a week for all the numbers to “settle” before publishing the newsletter this month. The past two months there have been corrections in the results so I decided to wait a week and let all the gun smoke clear before writing this….so what happens, no corrections this month! I also want to thank our Web Master, Mark, for doing such an awesome job of posting my babbling with the pictures and the addition of video of the stages is really cool…THANKS! If you haven’t gone to the website lately you really need to check it out at www.sdps-idpa.org

The weather continues to be outstanding for all of our matches as does the shooter turnout. We had 68 shooters this month and 8 or 9 new to SDPS shooters again. As usual, we had a high number of unclassified shooters, so check out the announcement below and sign up for a qualifier, it makes it more fun when you can shoot apples to apples and see how you stack up!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Classifiers – This month we had 20 “unclassified shooters”, that’s better than the 25 number from last month but still 30% is a large percentage and we would like to get it down to 10%...help us out and sign up with Mark Leister to shoot one of the Classifiers that are coming up in the next few months…THANKS.

California Cup – The California State IDPA Championship is in Richmond CA July 6-8. The website is http://www.californiacup-idpa.com/ Jim Griffiths is the Match Director and you can reach him at (510) 329-1139 for more information about shooting or volunteering to help staff the matches.

Mar 4, 2007 SDPS Match Summary

The stages and scenarios just keep getting better from my perspective and I am sure you will agree.

This month “Big John” (John Lustig) was the Match Director and I was the assistant MD. The team did a really nice job of coming up with another good combination fun and challenge in the stages. Georges “railroad tracks” for the “Bank Robbery” on Bay 1 was unique, and a couple of people figured out a good way to “beat it” by running up really close to make it easier to shoot. I am sure George will find another way to use it; the next time it appears that will be a bit more challenging. Most of the stages required some movement and obstacles and no-shoots to work with, and Bay 4 Drill “Triple Bill w/ a Twist” provided lots more equipment and reloading problems than expected…but it was fun anyway!

This month the ladies “wussed out” again like last month; we only had two Ladies shooting with us: Danielle and Cindy. The guys all appreciated the feminine touch at the range and hopefully the warmer weather will entice more of you to come back out and shoot!

The class Champions rotated again this month; we had 3 repeat winners. Chad Case won SSP with a 80.36 (21), Wayne Johnson won CDP with a 96.63 (15), and John Prall won ESP again with a 80.88 (32). New class winners were Steve McCormick in ESR with a 143.51 (37) and the SSR winner was Ken Kuch with a 240.00 (20).

Best stage scores were:

Stage 1: 17.85 (2) Chad Case

Stage 1

Video Clip (1.41 MB)

Stage 2: 16.38 (2) Chad Case

Stage 2

Video Clip (2.04 MB)

Stage 3: 14.42 (5) John Prall

Stage 3

Video Clip (871 KB)

 

Stage 4: 15.53 (7) Allen Lowe

Stage 4

Video Clip (874 KB)

Stage 5: 11.06 (3) John Prall

Stage 5

Video Clip (865 KB)

I did a “double take” when typing the stage scores, because I knew Chad had shot my Stage 4 in 12.06 seconds for 18 rounds with 2 reloads and Allen was listed with “best time” at 15.53…it just goes to show that those 0.5 second penalties for “points down” really do add up!

The “Fantasy Shooter’s” score for the match would have been 75.24 down 19…so everybody still has something to shoot for…keep practicing!

Stage of the Month

OK, this month it was harder to pick than the last two. I liked Georges “railroad” (but people figured a way to beat it quickly), the “Shoot the cowboy boot” on Stage three was unique also, but I think in keeping with the “mechanically complex theme” ( for one more month) I am going to give the award to Stage 2 with both a turner and a swinger and the twist of having your equipment laying on the table…again it provided unexpected complication like “I’ve got a loaded mag in my hand, what should I do with it???” But, if you’re looking to win the “stage of the month” award with your next design, don’t just make it mechanically complex…it also has to work well, be fun to shoot, and have something else “special” to insure it will win!


Till we shoot again…..
Bob