South Mississippi Practical Shooting

It started out to be a nice morning, but as the day wore on, it got hotter and hotter. Fortunately, two of the stages had pop-shade set up to keep the shooters out of the Sun. We’ll try to get them all covered next time.

Speaking of next time, the next 3-gun match will be in September. If you have to ask why, then you weren’t out shooting with us today. We take the Summer off because it just gets too hot. The 3-gun matches take longer than USPSA, and there is more setup and pickup and resetting stages takes longer, and people just get worn out. Watch the calendar and reminders for the Fall return of 3-gun.

We had 17 shooters today, with a mix of old faces and a few new ones. Thank you to everyone that came out on such a great day. We appreciate all the great help setting up and picking up. At least in my squad, the help was outstanding. Everyone pitched in and stages were always reset and patched quickly.

We shot 4 challenging stages today. The round count was not outrageous, but the stages were quite challenging. Once again, the 500 yard rifle target reared it ugly head. Yes, it was still a bonus target, and no, no one hit it today. One of the stages was nicknamed “Top Shot” for the lack of a super high round count and focus on fundamental skills, such as loading and aiming, but in the end it seemed to go over well with the rest of the shooters. In the end, the winner wasn’t much in doubt. 

Our winner today was Cameron Thompson, by almost 55 match points. He won 3 stages outright and was a close second on the fourth one. Being fast is great, but being accurate at the same time is even better. Many shooters cratered their chances for gold with high penalty times. You really have to think about your shooting in 3-gun and consider what a failure to neutralize will do to you. They add up quickly. Our second place finisher was Wayne Alcock, who won the fourth stage over Cameron. The rest of the field was a “fur piece” back. For all the scores, the good, the bad and the ugly, click the score sheet to the right.

Thanks again to everyone, not just for today’s great turnout, but the help before, during and after the match. As The Tempos once said, way back in 1959, see you in September.