The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Upcoming Events => Topic started by: alfsauve on January 07, 2025, 04:15:14 PM
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So starting off the new year, I've decided I want to emphasize Steel Challenge and Rimfire Challenge. ICORE second and IDPA third.
However, I've confirmed that CMP in Talladega is preparing to hold NRA Action Pistol (Bianchi Cup) matches starting soon. It's on my bucket list to compete in BC at least once. This will afford me some practice and who knows, maybe BC might move to CMP.
IDPA Nationals are too far away and not in a place I want to "tourist". IDPA State is the same day a Miss Kitty's wedding anniversary. Ain't going to happen, no way.
So besides Steel and Rimfire, it leaves ICORE Southern Regional and maybe, just for fun a couple of GSSF matches.
Things are a little slow match-wise because it's winter I guess.
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Well heck. I competed (poorly) when Rimfire Challenge was the Ruger Rimfire Challenge was held at USSA. I've pretty much been tied down to work and family since then and I'm way off the mark on knowing what to do to get ready for the Rimfire Challenge. Hopefully I can dedicate some time and make a few matches this year. Same with the Steel Challenge.
So Alf...(and anyone else competing in the matches) lets talk about the newest hardware hacks and practice regimens (to include how to address the problems of aging). I've got 20k plus rounds of 22 that needs to be burned up because it's getting old. I know I need to burn through 4,000-5,000 rounds to maybe avoid being in the "clown class" and avoid being a joke.
Heck...I really wish Les was here to talk about old eyes and how to address that part of the equation.
Regardless I need to haul out what I have locked down in the move to the woods and take inventory. While it's really cold address some hardware enhancements and repairs. Then try it out on a warm day.
Ideas?
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BTB: This thread is for anybody to use to share their competition experience, not just me.
Rastus, you can fiddle forever with the RF guns. I’m going to happy with my 2 10/22s (light barrel and Ruger target trigger) and my 22/45 Lites. In my declining years I don’t think further equipment upgrades are going to do much for my scores. My final buys for these guns will be another BX trigger for the first rifle and two more deVang comps for the new guns. (The deVang isn’t really a comp, but a flash suppressor. Sends the flash and noise forward.).
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Yeah I used a Browning Buckmark with a TacSol barrel back when and a dot...still have it. Not the most reliable 22 pistol in the world. I got the longer 7" bbl for velocity reasons to hunt a bit with but I think that isn't what I need to compete with.
I have a Sig Mosquito which I really love to shoot but it is way unreliable. The Ruger MarkII I have is a government competition model...way to heavy.
So I'm thinking moving to a new gun for competition and I figure that's going to be a Ruger Mark IV? Any other suggestions out there?
I do have a nice Ruger 10/22....all blue and such with a TacSol bbl, light nice stock and a matching blue Leupold scope. Thanks to MB or that giveaway back many many years ago. So of course I can't go with a scope but should I go with a dot or open sights? Are their classes for each?
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In both Rimfire Challenge and Steel Challenge there are Optic and Iron divisions. I don't think anybody uses anything but red-dots in the Optic division.
Without going to the expensive, custom made guns like TandemKross or Volquartzen, Ruger 10/22 and Mark IV are common at least their actions are common. So is the comparable S&W and some use the Buckmark. I drank the Ruger Koolaide many years ago but have since rehab'd, however you just can't beat the price and the aftermarket products for their guns.
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I'll stick with the 10/22 I have but I'll need that new MKIV type pistol. Replacing the scope with an optic on the 10/22 I suppose the old Cmore are old hat these days. I do like how you can change the size of the reticle on them though. I hear a lot about the Holosun but I hate buying from the CCP.
Modern suggestions for the 10/22 optic?
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CMore’s history is more of competition while the others are more EDC. I’ve played with red dots since the original Aimpoint 1000 didn’t like them because of my astigmatism. Now that that’s been fixed , I’m love’n them more. Vortex and Holosun are two pretty good ones. They make both small size for EDC and slightly larger for Competition. I have a simple Vortex red dot on my rifles because there’s never a problem finding the dot. With the pistols I’ve come to love the Holosun Comp which has a selectable reticle. Large circle and small circle, each with or without the center dot. Or just the dot by itself. Red or green. While not a fan of the Chinese, I’ll say this for them, most bend over backwards to provide customer service. Lost a part of my Vortex rail mount and they had me a whole new mount within 3days.
Side Notes:
Some CMores, and others, strictly for competition, have lousy battery life. Many competitors just put in new batteries each match. I chuckle at them turning their dots on and off at each stage. Those , like Holosun and Vortex, are of the EDC world where shake-on and battery life are paramount. I don’t even check any more except the first stage.
I think the US consumer is at a point with China now, that the post WWII generations were with Japanese products in the ‘60s. Slightly different circumstances.
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Recent notes on shooting around the ATL.
Talladega Marksmanship Park (TMP-CMP): My shooting buddies were over there for the monthly Steel Challenge and confirmed the mover is complete and looks really professional. I'm guessing at this point they're waiting till after the Bianchi Cup to start matches at TMP.
(forgive me if I repeat myself). River Bend GC now allows Steel Challenge practice on 7 bays. My buddies have built bases and correct sized posts for most of the stages. Between the 5 of us we have almost 2 complete practice sets. I have 4-10" and a 12" round so I can practice 5-to-Go. It and Pendulum are arguably the hardest so I want to master it. Next month I'll add 2 more 12" plates then I can do Pendulum. We use to practice early mornings, but they've gotten lazy and don't go till almost 10am. With my own plates I'm not bound to their schedule. I'm within 2 seconds of Class B in both RF Rifle divisions (optic and iron sights). Will be going to the Talladega shoot in March to see if I can bump myself up one class. I'll also see if anyone have more info on Action Pistol.
GSSF-River Bend (Dawsonville, GA) is next month and is one of the two largest Glock shoots. 3 days long with over 1,000 entries. Been practicing my falling plates. Will need to double check my sights on paper before then. For those not familiar, it's 3 stages, always the same three with minor variation. It's pretty much first-come-first-serve at each bay. If it's not crowded you can be in and out in an hour. You don't have to stay for 3 days, if you were wondering. I shoot it twice in two divisions; Amateur Civilian and Competition. The later is both amateurs and master shooters competing, but there is a prize for high amateur.
Did IDPA this weekend. It was marvelous weather with the rain ending about 5am. However, half the entries dropped out giving "weather" as their excuse. So the 30 of us left were pretty much the hard core shooters. I did snubby revolver and not surprisingly was near the bottom. Been 6 months and I was a little rusty on the rules, but didn't get a PE.
Stay safe out there and get out and shoot.
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Thanks for the updates on the optics. I was wondering about various models and the dot/circle options as well as what size dot/circle you prefer for the rimfire rifle and pistol.
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So after a pretty boring Jan & Feb, 3 matches all local, March and April are looking exciting.
I opted to pass on the GA State Steel match because Augusta is 3 hours each way without traffic problems, which there always are. That and they're only shooting 6 stages not the full 8. Instead that weekend I'll go to Talladega and shoot in the local match, which has all 8 stages. My squad are three of my buds and we're all shooting 2 guns so there'll be no time to rest as we'll all take turns being RO, Scorer and painting. Maybe we'll wave painting.
The 2nd weekend is the GSSF Dawsonville (River Bend GC) on Friday and ICORE on Saturday. And the next week end is an IDPA classifier match where they shoot both the long and short course classifier but broken into about 5 or 6 stages.
April is River Bend Steel the first weekend and Alabama state steel match on the 2nd.
Haven't firmed up May, but June 1st is the GA State IDPA match.
OH and after converting ICORE's postal match into Excel, discarding duplicate entries, accounting for totals that don't add up, I finished 44th out of 130 Classic shooters and 16th of 35 amongst Classic B Class. That's okay for an old man
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Talladega sounds like the best option. Right now we're in the snow again and single digits for the majority of a 24 hour day.
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Did the GSSF match at RiverBend today (Dawsonville). Second largest match with usually 900+ entries.
Since they're now recognizing Amateur shooters in the Master-Stock division, I did three entries. That and I had $60 credit with Glock for some reason, it was basically 3 entries into the gun lottery for $30.
Not my best:
Amateur Civilian Division - 70.89
Competition Division - 77.37
Master Stock - 90.17.
shot each stage in order MS, Comp, AC, which is reflected in the scores. Other things and weather prevented any practice in the last 3 weeks, so it is what it is.
70 would be a winning score in Amateur division at many ranges, but there's too much competition at RiverBend, and also at the Nationals (Talladega) and at Savannah. Got to go to some of the smaller matches to get a match win.
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<snip>
Got to go to some of the smaller matches to get a match win.
Or get some practice weather....
That score is nothing to sniff at...
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Prizes have been awarded. Got $75 for High Super Senior.
I’ll hand it to GSSF since they updated their procedures they’ve been very prompt about posting the scores and awarding prizes. In the past we’d wait 2 weeks for scores to be posted and another week or two for awards. Now it’s such that if corrections aren’t in by Monday morning then it’s too late. And the check’ will probably be here by next Monday. And that’s with 775 entries.
This weekend is River Bend’s IDPA classifier match. Doing both long form and 5X5, plus a couple of fun stages. And yet again weather is going to make it difficult for me to get in practice outdoors. At least drynfire with a revolver is realistic.
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Good job.
So I gotta ask...how many seniors were there?
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So I gotta ask...how many seniors were there?
Since GSSF has implemented their own on-line match registration and scoring system, it's really not possible to tell. Unlike Practiscore where you can get a list of competitors and their categories, GSSF doesn't have that feature. It's also not reported in the match results. The only data is name and amateur/master status, and of course score.
I do know I beat out all other special categories, Senior, Lady, Jr Lady and Jr Male.
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Nice.
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Steel Challenge.
I skipped the GA State match last month because a) It was 6 hours round trip b) They only shot 6 stages. That weekend I went to Talladega for their local match which is less than 4 hours round trip and they shot all 8 matches. Of course the state match had "prizes".
I did go to the AL State match this past weekend in Talladega. Besides the usual chatchkes I got a $200 certificate from Hunters HD Gold glasses. Basically it amounts to 50% off as they're pretty much all $400 with shipping. Oh well, had a great time. I chose to shoot with the SOs on Friday. My squad ended up with only 4 shooters each of us doing 2 divisions. So we all shot each stage twice. I did Optic Sighted Revolver and Rim Fire Rifle Irons. On my squad were to two really nice Master shooters. Paul Sims out of Birmingham and Erick Sauder out of Harrisburg PA. With only 4 people we didn't have time to rest. If you weren't shooting you were running timer or tablet and of course painting. Busy but fun. I enjoyed watching Paul and Erick shooting up close as I ran the tablet when they shot. Paul shot one stage faster than the "peak" time so casually, it almost made me feel I could do that.
I ended up 7/9 in OSR. I was the lowest classified but beat our two "B" level. and I shot a new Personal Best on every stage and only need ~1.5sec to move from "C" to "B" class. Hopefully at the local May match. I'm going to be practicing 5 to Go and Pendulum over the next couple of weeks.
In RFRI there's not much hope with all the young guns like Jesse Grant. I did manage 2nd place amongst all the non-master shooters. 21/29. If you're quick on the math you realize 19 of the 20 shooters were Master Level. So I'm proud of that. Only improved PB on two stages.
As far as Distinguish Senior (70+) I was first in OSR (the only one) and 3 of 4 in RFRI.
I'll shoot OSR in the local May match then, after World Speed Shoot, if I make it, I'm on the wait list. I'm going to send the 929 off to Clark and have the barrel shortened to 5". Then I'll shoot RF Pistol Iron for the summer.
OH Anybody want the $200 off certificate from Hunter HD? I'm going to pass. I like to get all the light I can on my sights when shooter and am not a fan of auto-tint. Just PM me.
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Got back last night from World Speed Shoot. Really off my game. Improved in two stages with both OSR and RFRI by a little.
Maybe I'm tired, maybe it's sour grapes, but I think the World Speed Shoot was rather bland. Okay, yes all Steel Challenge matches are the same, but there are nuances that make each match fun, enjoyable, or satisfying. Several specifics.
-There were almost no giveaways. One or two vendors had a patch you could pick up at the check in table, but that was it. No random prizes at all.
-The setups were basic. 1 shooter's barrel, w/ top, a tent for the shooter/RO and one for the ROs rest area, and a cooler with water. The local club at Talladega does so much better job of even the local matches. A second barrel/top just for the on-deck shooter. A barrel on either side of the shooters position for the paint. Tents if needed including one for the on-deck shooter. Snacks as well as water at each bay.
-Something many high level IDPA matches do is print out an plastic ID card for each shooter. It has their name, Divisions, Classification and home city/state. Afterwards it's a souvenir of your participation. For a World Shoot, I'd do ID cards with Country and State/Providence flag.
Maybe I'm getting old, but I thought the previous years' were better. It just didn't feel special. Didn't feel World class.
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Things get in my craw and I can't let go. Here's my design for a shooter's card for Steel Challenge.