South Mississippi Practical Shooting

Today was about as good as it gets, weather-wise. The temperature was mild, the sun was out and the humidity was low (for us…). The turnout was also great with 57 shooters actually shooting the match. We had reached as high as 72 at one point during the registration period, but there is always a certain percentage of no-shows for any match. It was a good number, and for the most part, things went smoothly. There was a bit of an imbalance in the stages that caused some backups, but hey, it was a nice day!

Once again, the Henn design team outdid themselves with some fun, but really technically challenging stages today. Only one person managed to shoot the match clean. However, the overall match winner discovered that you can actually shoot fast enough to make up for your mistakes. The overall match winner was 9 seconds (total time) faster than the shooter who came in second (and 5 seconds ahead of the next fastest shooter). That was good for about 10% right there.

In case you aren’t able to figure it out, the match winner today was Read more…

The weather was just too nice to not shoot, so we did. With the range work on two of our usual bays not quite complete, we thought we might have to cancel. However, we made a change to the usual format, so instead of 5 stages including a classifier, we shot just 3 stages with no classifier. However, those 3 stages had round counts of 44, 37 and 48 rounds respectively. That’s about the round count for a normal 5 stage match.

One of the downsides to having only 3 bays available for shooting is only being able to support 3 squads. At the peak, we had about 62 people signed up to shoot. We made it a point to warn everyone about the format change and this resulted in a fair number dropping out. That actually worked in the favor of those who did come out, because we ended up with three 13-man squads and that seemed to work out just fine. The squads moved along nicely and the stages seemed fairly well balanced, time-wise.

With the high point stages featuring lots of movement, you expected the “fast youngins” to do well. And for the most part, they did. The overall and Open division winner falls into that category. Congratulations to Read more…

As you may have seen, there is some significant work going on with several of the bays at the range in Biloxi. As a result, we will not be able to use two of our normal bays for the match Sunday.

This leaves us with just three bays available which isn’t all that great for a match. We still plan to shoot but with a couple of changes:

1. We will not have a USPSA classifier
2. We will have only three stages but each will be AT LEAST 40 rounds and could go as high as 50
3. Match fees will be reduced to $10 for CRPC members and $15 for non-members
4. Right now, we have 62 people signed up, and that means 21 man squads

There is really no other solution available at this time that meets our needs. If you do not want to make the drive for just three super jumbo stages, we certainly understand. But it can’t be helped. If you choose to withdraw, we would greatly appreciate it if you would formally withdraw using Practiscore (the link below will do the trick).

The weather is just too nice to cancel, so this is our plan. You’ll probably get the same number of rounds as you would in a normal 5-stage match, but in only 3 stages. And there’s no risk of affecting your classification, either. But there will be more standing around, too. The up side is reset should go super fast with so many people per squad (hint, hint)!!!

Gerwin and Bill

Registration is still open and slots are available for this month’s USPSA match, presented by the Deep South Shooters Association. The match will take place at the Coast Rifle and Pistol Club in Biloxi on March 24, 2019. Shooting begins at 9 AM. Please arrive no later than 8:30 AM to check in and pay.

Juniors shoot for free, CPRC members shoot for $15, all others shoot for $20.

To register, click the big registration button below.

While the overnight weather certainly didn’t help, it turned out to be pretty much a non-factor. We expected (and got) quite a bit of rain over Saturday night into early Sunday morning, but you couldn’t tell that from the condition of the range. We have shot there in way worse conditions. It was damp-ish, but there was no standing water in the stage areas, and the mud factor was pretty low. I don’t think it affected the movement at all, at least for most people. Anyway, Sunday morning brought a darn nice day for a match. It was sunny all day and close to 70 by the time we left.

While online registration got as high as 59, in the end there were 43 shooters when the hammers dropped. It’s not unusual to lose so many due to the threat of weather, but if you used that as your excuse today, you missed a good one for no reason. As usual, the stages were challenging, with tough shots on partials and middle distance targets everywhere. Several stages offered so many plan options that it was hard to pick one and stick with it. Seeing your fellow shooters walk a completely different plan than yours can be disconcerting, especially if you are up next or on deck. But you just have to stick with YOUR plan at that point. Good stages are always marked by a preponderance of plans where no one way seems the best for everybody. Great job, Roger and Gerwin!

When the scores were finally tallied, it looked pretty much like normal, with maybe a few exceptions. Our overall and Open division winner today was Read more…

Registration is open for this month’s USPSA match, presented by the Deep South Shooters Association. The match will take place at the Coast Rifle and Pistol Club in Biloxi on February 24, 2019. Shooting begins at 9 AM. Please arrive no later than 8:30 AM to check in and pay.

Juniors shoot for free, CPRC members shoot for $15, all others shoot for $20.

To register, click the big registration button below.

As I sit down to write this, the Sun is shining, the temperature is moderate and it appears to be a very nice afternoon. My only question is, where the heck was this weather this morning?! We should be thankful it wasn’t raining, and it wasn’t below freezing, but for the entire match, it was very cool and overcast and it wasn’t one of those days you relish being outside. It tried to warm up during the match, but it never quite got there. The Sun tried to break through, but it never did. I suppose it could have been worse, so I’ll quit complaining now.

It was a fun match today, with relative low round count stages and an inversely high level of difficulty. How hard, you ask? Well, the overall match winner was the only one to shoot the match clean (no Mikes or No-shoots). If fact, only two shooters had no Mikes for the whole match. There were no scores showing a hit factor of 10 or higher, and most were significantly below that mark (i.e. no hoser stages today) . It was a lot of shoot, move, shoot, move, and so on. The stages were challenging without being gimmicky and tough without being unfair. Oh, yeah, and interesting as well.

This was one of those matches where you felt that without your careless mistakes, you might have done pretty well. I certainly felt that way. And while the overall winner is thinking he was slow here or there, he shot with fewer mistakes than any of the wanna-be’s and took home the title once again. Congratulations to  Read more…