South Mississippi Practical Shooting

The 2017 Mississippi Production State Championship is in the books, and despite the rain all week leading up and the threat of more all weekend, it ended up being a nice weekend and everyone had a great time. I told people leading up tht our range drains really well, and those who came out saw the dry field even after 10 inches of rain all week. We ended up with 118 shooters turning out, and it was a pretty deep field of competition throughout.

First and foremost, as always, I want to thank everyone who came out and shot the match, most especially those who helped set it up and who worked to make it a success. I always like to thank the staff first, because without them, these matches just don’t happen. Thanks to Keith Lemoine for serving as Range Master. Thats a big committment to give up 2 days to works a match out of town and not even shoot it, so next time you see Keith, give him a big high-five. Also, huge thanks to ROs and setup crew Ethan Boudreaux, Bob Gonzalez, Jonathan O’Brien, Michael Morgan, Jason Welch, John Nguyen, James May, Nick Saucier, Michel Brolaski, Barrett Dupuy, Bryant Willett, Thomas Knight, Lee Frasier, Tommy Mcguire, Ken Hablitzel, Harry Williams, Gerwin Henn, Roger Henn, David Pape, Steven Tannetta, Brandon Guillory, Brian Dolly, Stephen LaSavia, Calvin Lindsay, George Miller, Ken Cornwell, Teddie Gartman, Kyle Gartman, and Chris Davis. Thanks to Gerald Forbes for taking match videos that we’ll be posting soon. I want to especially thank Bryant Willett for coming out and cutting all the grass, otherwise we’d be knee deep in weeds, and to Lee Frasier for serving as acting MD on Friday and Sunday as I got called away for work and couldn’t be around. Big thanks to all the ROs who pulled double duty working both days, and who came back the second day to help cover some shortfalls. It’s hard enough doing it once.

I also want to again point out that many of the same names that work to make these matches happen are the same names at the top of the leaderboard. It really does say a lot when the top shooters are putting in the work and volunteering their time to make it happen. You don’t see that everywhere else.

I also want to thank Max’s Choice for coming out and setting up, and for donating prizes, and for Michael Brolaski and Studio 6 for donating some certificates for free nights.

Now on to the action:

Stage 1, One Hit Wonder, was an 8 round short course that had four target and four steel, engaged from behind a barricade. The twise here being the paper only required one hit. Craig Okenfuss took the stage win here with a 5.7887 hit factor, with Steven Mosher right behind him at 98%.

Stage 2, Lean On Me, was a 16 round medium course that had the shooter engaging the same four paper targets from behind the barricde, only this time two hits each from one side, performing a madatory reload, and then two hits each from the other side of the barricade. Jim Gabelbauer edged out Brandon Guillory for the stage win here, 6.8627 to 6.7989, or 100% to 99%.

Stage 3, Ducks in a Row, was a 16 round medium course that featured four poppers in the center in a row (actually more of a column), and three paper on each respective wing. Brandon Guillory shot all A’s here and took the stage win by a large margin with a 8.2389 hit factor, with the closest finisher being Ricky Hayes at 92%.

Stage 4, Sweep Right, was an 18 round medium course that feature 4 lollipop steel, and gave shooters a few different options to approach them. Brandon Guillory squeaked out the stage win here over Craig Okenfuss with a 7.4271 to 7.3543 edge.

Stage 5, Push Up, was a 24 round all paper long course that had you moving forward through the stage and rewarded quick feet, with Rowdy Bricco taking the stage win with a 7.0243 hit factor and Bryant Willett right behind him at 98%.

Stage 6, Pull Back, was a rehash of the previous 24 round long course stage, with the shooter starting at the front and having to work their way back. Brandon Guillory worked best in reverse with a 7.6283 hit factor, followed by Gerwin Henn at 92%.

Stage 7, Your Table is Ready, featured an unloaded table start, and was a 13 round medium course that required only one hit per paper and had four poppers. The one hit per paper really made for a low hit factor stage. Craig Okenfuss won this one with a 3.9662 hit factor, and Brandon Guillory was second at 96%.

Stage 8, No Time to Sit, was the same setup only this time a 22 round long course that required two per paper. Ken Cornwell took the stage win here with a 6.0132 hit factor, and Todd Stout was second at 96%.

Stage 9, Southpaw Success, was 24 round long course that featured 8 pieces of steel, and as the name implied may have favored leftys. James May took the stage win here with a 6.2941 hit factor, and Lawton Segler was second at 97%.

Stage 10, Get Down, was 14 round medium course that required shooters to shoot the last six rounds strong hand only, and had the back three targets engaged through a low port that many decided to engage prone. Others chose to squat, or lean, or do verious contortions. In the end, prone won out, as the top two both chose that route, with stage winner Jason Welch putting up a 6.6047 hit factor and Steven Mosher second at 96%.

When all the results were added up, the final leaderboard looked like this:

1st Overall – Brandon Guillory
2nd Overall – Jim Gabelbauer
3rd Overall – Rowdy Bricco
MS STATE CHAMPION – Gerwin Henn
High Junior – Bryce Dupuy
High Senior – Gerwin Henn
High Super Senior – Lee Frasier
High Lady – Cassey Bernstein
High Law Enforcement – Wes Green
High Military – Stephen Tucker

1st GM – Brandon Guillory
1st M – Jim Gabelbauer
2nd M – Rowdy Bricco
3rd M – Craig Okenfuss
1st A – Gerwin Henn
2nd A – Todd Stout
3rd A – Steven Mosher
1st B – Jacob Thomas
2nd B – Lawton Segler
3rd B – Brant Pace
1st C – Carl Bernstein
2nd C – JD Williams
3rd C – Benjamin Thompson
1st D – Alan Regala
2nd D – Andrew Ouzts
3rd D – Robert Foil

2017 Mississippi Production State Champion MVP – Lee Frasier

Tanfoglio Stock 2 Gun Drawing winner – Lee Frasier

Full results can be found here:
https://practiscore.com/results/new/38299

and here:
https://www.uspsa.org/uspsa-display-match-results-detail.php?indx=21842

Special shoutout to junior revolver phenom JW Aguirre for finishing 62nd out of 118 (62%) shooting his revolver in a production match.
Another big congrats to junior Kyle Gartman for shooting his *first* USPSA match, and beating his dad!

And lastly special recognition to junior shooter Dylan Brose for his awesome display of sportsmanship in handling adversity.

See you at the next match!