It's a long way to Missoula, but we made it. Three shooters from the 43rd Virginia Rifle and Pistol Club, plus the team's coach, showed up in Missoula for this year's Al Kimery Memorial Match. There were five IPSC stages this year, and the entire match took a minimum of 98 rounds. The picture above shows one of the local shooters firing two quick shots at one of the targets. The dust in the distance shows the short interval between shots.
Here we are. I'm on the left, wearing the shirt from last year and part of a left over costume from the movie "Pam's Great Adventure in West Virginia." Elton (Sandy) and Nan Sanders are also there representing the 43rd Club. It's hard to see in the picture, but my cap says "SunMaid" on it. Sandy's cap said "Motorola." I believe that Nan's cap said "Help Me, I Am Shooting A Beretta in an IPSC Match!" I shot the new loaded Springfield. Sandy had a stock Glock 19, and Nan was shooting a stainless Beretta Model 92. In an IPSC match, you want to shoot a "major" caliber like the .45 ACP, because near misses (B, C, and D zone hits) with a large caliber count for more points.
Note that Pat is shooting from the left side of the barrier. In this next picture you'll see someone doing the same thing.
He is shooting at the targets on the left. Here is a diagram of the stage.
It says to engage the targets on the left from the left side of the barricade. Why am I illustrating this with so much detail? The answer is to, once again, make the point that competition, as well as in real life, successful shooting is mental not physical. I just checked the score sheet and I had the highest score on this stage in terms of pure shooting. My 75 was better than the stage winner's 72, although my time was a lot slower. I lost ONE HUNDRED and THIRTY points for not shooting around the sides of the barricade, but instead shooting the entire stage through Port A. I didn't do great on any of the other stages, but had no penalties and hit no "hostages," something to be proud of, but one mental lapse put me way down on the overall list. This is not to complain, but to reemphasize how important it is to use your mind as well as whatever shooting skills you might have.
In John Wayne's last movie, "The Shootist," there is a scene where he shows Ron Howard how to shoot a .45 revolver. Ron Howard's character says, "My group is smaller than yours," and John Wayne says that it's different when someone is shooting back.
In spite of my mental lapses, the Springfield 1911 pistol worked great - when I used the Wilson Combat magazines. On one stage, I used a MecGar for a reload right at the very end and got a double feed. It wasn't the magazine, but the way I reloaded. When I got the gun clear, I slammed the MecGar magazine into the grip and the pain and subsequent puncture wound reminded me that the MecGars didn't have any base pads. Ouch. At this point, I am a great fan of the Springfield pistol, Wilson magazine combination, and plan to get Wilson magazines for the Colt CCO carry gun. They work every time, in the dust, in the hot weather, every time.
As always, the range officers knew what they were doing so that we had fun and stayed safe throughout the match. There were no "DQ's" (disqualifications) at this year's match, and there were several new shooters.
From the beginning of the match when we registered...
...until we were all done shooting, it was a great day to be in Montana with a great bunch of people.