Updated 08/08/10
 |
The pistol scores are
here. |
 |
The next day match is
September 12. |
 |
It was another hot
day, but maybe not quite as hot as last month. We had 19 shooters
today. Not too bad for August. We even had a couple of new shooters
as well. |
 |
Today's match results
look much like most matches with a few exceptions. Our match winner
was Max Michel, competing in Open. In Limited, first-time shooter
with SMPSA, Gerwin Henn, easily took Limited. Our best match today
happened in Production, where Adam Bossier, a normal Open shooter,
crossed over to Production and just squeaked out a win over Jackson
shooter Cliff Cargill. The margin of victory was just 0.4428 points.
That is 0.1%! It probably came down to the difference between an A
and a C. |
 |
As always, we
appreciate all the people who take time to come out and shoot with
us. This especially includes those people who drive more than an
hour to get to the range. We also got some great help setting up and
taking down the stages today. |
 |
The scores today went
better than last month, but there were still a lot of math errors.
All score sheets were accounted for and no missing time, either, but
we will review proper scoring math next time. |
 |
On a disappointing
note, we had a shooter DQed before he fired a shot. In an
unfortunate event, he broke the 180 degree rule while making ready
at his first stage. The details aren't too important, and this was
not a new shooter. It happens, and it was purely an accident, but it
emphasizes the importance of muzzle awareness. As they say, if you
shoot long enough, you will have a DQ happen to you sooner or later. |
 |
See you next month! |

Updated 07/12/10
 |
The pistol scores are
here. |
 |
The next day match is
August 8. |
 |
The second match
hasn't been shot in some time so please don't come out expecting it
to happen on a regular. We are debating whether to change the format
since we are shooting three-gun matches now. |
 |
Speaking of
three-gun, our matches have been postponed until AT LEAST September,
because of the heat. The September match is scheduled for Labor Day
weekend, so it may be cancelled as well. Please check the web site
before coming out for these matches. |
 |
Sorry for the delay
in posting the scores. I managed to leave without all of the score
sheets, but they have been found and recorded, so the results are
final! |
 |
Our overall match
winner and Open division winner was Adam Bossier. He managed to take
the match by almost 5% over the next place shooter. In Limited,
Derek Flores cruised to an easy win, Wayne Alcock took Limited 10,
the ever-popular Production division was won by Bob Brandt, and
Gerald Benton took Revolver. Congratulations to all the winners! |
 |
Overall, the match
went well, but there were environmental issues galore. First, the
rain the previous night turned the driveway into a slip-n-slide.
Thank goodness for 4-wheel drive. Then, the oppressive heat took
over. For the second straight month, the heat was the dominating
factor. We did shoot only 4 stages this time, and we made good time,
but was still hot... |
 |
Thanks go out to our
stage creators. As always, the Bentons and Bryant Willett whipped up
a great and challenging walled wonder of a stage. Bob Brandt took a
stab at the house and came up with a stage that challenged everyone.
Wayne managed to win the worst stage designer of the year award with
his romp in the woods. Maybe worst is a bit harsh, but his stage
pushed everyone to the limit of their skill. Long shots on poppers
proved that the front sight still does matter (for those without the
little red dot). It was a very challenging stage that forced you to
slow down for the long shots yet rewarded you with touchable paper,
if you wanted. Our match is one of the best around simply because of
our unique range and the quality of the stages we set up. And that
is due to the shooters themselves. Your officers really appreciate
the help provided by all. |
 |
At the end of the
match, we also had great support for picking up. We really
appreciate that, as well. |
 |
And now, the bad.
Unfortunately, we have several scoring snafus, beyond the missing
score sheets. Some of the numbers were written in ancient
hieroglyphics and we had to decipher them. But worst of all, two
shooters simply didn't have times recorded on stage 3. When
this is discovered after the fact, all I can do is guess. This
short-changes everyone because I am just not that good at guessing.
The shooter doesn't have a real score and the other shooters don't
really know where they ended up, because either we toss out the
whole stage (not great) or we throw out the shooter's stage (not
great) or we guess at the time (not great). As you can see |
 |
it's not great! So,
please, please, pay attention when you are scoring. This affects
both the RO and the scorer, since BOTH are responsible for this. We
don't shoot for money (thank God!) so it really doesn't matter THAT
MUCH, but you don't come out to just waste lead and powder, you come
to compete against others. I will make an effort to review our
scoring at the next match and maybe even do a quick check on the
score sheets before we tear down. We might also go for a checklist
for each stage before the squad leaves. Whatever it takes... |
 |
Last month and this
month, we had a bunch of new shooters, who also were generous enough
to join the club. We really appreciate this and remind you that this
is how we continue to support the club activities. Thanks again to
all of the renewing members as well. We are up to about 45 members
for 2010-2011. Our finances are significantly better compared to
just a couple of years ago, so we are planning on investing in lots
of new props. A Texas Star is tops on our list, but if you have
other requests, please let me know. |

Updated 07/11/10
 | Yikes! Somehow, two sets of scores for
Squad 2 did not make it into the score box in my truck, so I won't
have the scores for the entire match for a while. I haven't even
located them yet, but I suspect they are in one of the clipboards.
So, please check back later to see if they have turned up.
|

Updated 06/13/10
 |
The pistol scores are
here. |
 |
Commentary will be
added later, but the scores are up. NOTE: there was some concern that
a shooter got to reshoot the gully stage because of an equipment
malfunction. He did shoot this with a different gun, but he was scored
with a 0 on the stage for the match results. This was his first match
and he wanted to get the experience. Remember, this is a local match
and we are trying to grow new shooters, so we can be a little flexible
with the rules. His score of 0 means his reshoot will NOT adversely
affect anyone else's scores.
|

Updated 05/09/10
 |
Thanks to all the shooters who attended the
annual "Doghouse" match. If you shot today, you were probably in the
doghouse, because you neglected Mom, the Wife or someone significant
in your life. But, you had a good time today. The weather was great
and we had good stages and things went well. |
 |
The pistol scores are
here. |
 |
We had 17 shooters today for the tune-up for
the Mississippi Classic, which will be held in Jackson, MS on May 15
and 16, 2010. Today's match was oriented around practice for the
Classic and it was a bit different than most typical matches.
Coincidentally, we shot the same classifier stage that is scheduled
to be shot next week! Wow! Hopefully, that will help those shooters
who are shooting next week. |
 |
The scores today were hot and cold. Stage 2
was designed to help with practice on drawing and firing quickly, as
well as changing magazines. These two skills are vital to scoring
well but most people don't get enough practice on either. With
targets just beyond contact shooting range, the shooters were
tempted to blaze away. More than a few struggled as they found the
upper limit of their skills. |
 |
And now, the winners. Our overall match winner
and Limited Class shooter was Joe Jones, who screwed up the least of
anyone. Winston Freeman took Open, Michael McDonald took Limited 10,
Don Evans took Production and the venerable Tom Duchmann took Single
Stack. |
 |
The shotgun match was cancelled due to the
lack of shooters. |
 |
There was a suggestion that we change the
format of the afternoon match (currently alternating between rifle
and shotgun) to something like IDPA or concealed carry
style shooting. Since we are shooting the three-gun match every
month, the turnout for the rifle and shotgun matches is dwindling.
If we were to shoot a different style match, we might get more
shooters to come out. The idea would be to let people shoot a carry
gun that isn't high cap or long range, but still needs the practice.
If you have any thoughts or opinions, let me know.
NOTE: THIS WOULD NOT AFFECT THE REGULAR USPSA
MATCH IN ANY WAY. |
 |
Remember the MS Classic next week, and if you
go, shoot well! |

Updated 04/24/10
 |
The rifles scores have
been posted here! |
 |
The next handgun match
is May 9. Please note that this is Mother's Day. We will be shooting
because it is the last weekend before the Mississippi Classic, so
practice will be the order of the day. The next Three-Gun match is May
2. |
 |
The pistol scores are
here. |
 |
Your webmaster wasn't
there, so I don't have too much commentary, just scores. Once I
interview a few shooters, I will add a few words of wisdom. |
 |
One great comment is
the exceptional turnout. We have 40 shooters this weekend, which is
great. Thanks to everyone who came out. |
 |
A special thanks goes
to Tom Duchmann, who had the unenviable task of scoring the match.
Forty shooters make a lot of score sheets. Thank you very much, Tom,
for taking care of this. If he hadn't done this, these scores would
be a few days later. |

Updated 03/14/10
 |
The next handgun match
is March 11. The next Three-Gun match is March 28. |
 |
The pistol scores are
here. |
 |
What a great match
today! Well, at least weather-wise. There were a few problems with the
scoring that affect the result. Somehow, squad 3 (shooters 20-29)
managed to omit one paper target on Stage 3, so every shooter ended up
with 2 shots too few. And, one of these shooters was the stage
designer. I really don't know what happened, but we can't reshoot it,
so we are throwing out Stage 3 for this match. There was also one
score sheet on this stage that did not have the time recorded. If you
had a good run on Stage 3, then you lost. If you had a bad run, then
you got a break, but with 9 shooters missing a target, it wasn't a one
shooter accident on scoring. They just didn't shoot it. This was the
last squad to shoot it, and maybe a target blew off. It was a paper
target that was missed, not a mystery steel. |
 |
Also, we are missing a
score sheet for Stage 2. Somehow, Adam Bossier's score sheet for 2 is
MIA. So, his scores do not reflect a score for Stage 2, so his and
everyone else's scores are subject to change when we find the score
sheet. Oh well. Stuff happens. |
 |
We had six stages
(before 3 was tossed) for a round count of 157 minimum. Once again,
Gerald and Josh Benton and Bryant Willet set up a fantastic field
course worthy of national level consideration. Thanks! |
 |
Back to the important
stuff. We had a great turnout today, with 29 shooters making the
grade. We also had a great turnout of new shooters. There were 10
shooters that shot their first match at SMPSA today, and we really
appreciate you coming out. We hope you enjoyed our match, despite the
stage 3 miscue. |
 |
Now, the result's
please! Our overall match winner and Open division winner was Max
Michel. In Limited, we had a big upset. Joe Jones squeaked by to take
this division by less than 0.5% over Bryant Chaffin, who struggled
with ammo problems on one stage. Production was the most competed
division today with 13 shooters. The winner was new SMPSA
shooter, Jeremy Jouette. Gerald Benton was the only revolver shooter
as was Allen Hoover in Single Stack. Congratulations to all winners! |
 |
Thanks to everyone who
set up a stage, or helped tear down. We really appreciate your efforts
|
 |
Next month, we renew
our membership. Your annual membership is only $25, and for this you
get a key to the range to use any time. You also get a $5 per match
discount on your fees. Please help support our club by joining.
Financially, we are back on our feet, and hope to be buying some new
props in the near future. We will also be electing officers next
month, so if you are interested in serving, please show up. |
 |
Thanks again to all the
shooters who came out today, especially the new shooters to our club
and extra thanks to those that helped with setup and tear down. |

Updated 02/16/10
 |
The next handgun match
is March 14. The next Three-Gun match is March 7. |
 |
The report will be
brief this time. The webmaster was out of town again and could not
participate in the fun, so it's just scores this month. |
 |
The pistol scores are
here. |
 |
Since we didn't shoot a
classifier this time (sorry, I had planned to be back in time but I
was delayed by the bad weather and spent too much time in airports
that weekend), we will shoot two classifiers next month. |

Updated 01/24/10
 |
The next match is
February 14th.
|
 |
The first match of the
new year was a trial by cold. The temperature as kickoff was
approximately 17° F. That's !!COLD!!.
There were only 5 shooters crazy enough to brave those elements. There
isn't much else to say, so...
|
 |
The overall match winner
was Wayne Alcock, who also took Limited. Alan Sullivan captured first in
Production.
|
 |
The pistol match scores
are here.
|
 |
The shotgun match saw
four of the pistoleros stick it out as the temperature rose to above
freezing. The shotgun match winner was Wayne Alcock. The shotgun match
scores are here.
|

Updated 01/02/10
 |
The 2010 match schedule
has been posted here. Download the
schedule in PDF form here. |
 |
Remember that the
three-gun matches are shot on the first Sunday of each month. |

2009 Monthly
Commentary Archive
2008 Monthly
Commentary Archive
|