A Little Wood

Last night was the Annual Awards Banquet for the Cactus Combat Match League and Terry Allison and his faithful minions did it up right, once again. The Pinnacle Peak Patio in Scottsdale was delightfully casual...something about a sawdust-strewn floor and scissor-abbreviated neckties tacked to the walls to remind you that this is no golf club. After the booze-and-schmooze social hour, we dug into a great steak dinner (as award recipients, Jon and I got our meals picked up by the club). After I got my take-out box filled with leftover steak, bread, and beans, League President John Hard and his wife checked to make sure everybody was fed and happy before kicking off the night's official proceedings.

The first shooter's award was a surprise for Jon...his stepson (now living in Virginia) was named Top Pistol-caliber Carbine shooter. Jon had fixed him up with his Glock/Mech-tech carbine for several of his visits to Phoenix and that was enough to accrue points in that discipline. Next, Jon picked up Top Riotgun Open and Riotgun Limited, but since I was the only other regular riotgunner to play all year, I didn't feel slighted for getting no award...I took second place last year when there was a lot more participation (but Jon was off fighting a war).

Jon also brought home Top Carbine, Phil Gallegos took second, and yours truly third. Phil is a Master class pistol shot to Jon's B class, but Jon's more competitive with a long gun. As for me, I just hung around; participation and persistence counts when some matches are held in 100+ degree summer heat. Jon also placed third in Top Limited shooter, the same award I got last year...I'd much rather have Jon around to shoot with than a plaque on the wall.

After they named the league's top shooter, a Spacegunner (Open class), natch, they gave equal attention to the League Service Awards. You gotta love the folks who go the extra yard to make the League such a wonderful organization. From the kid who shows up every match to help set-up and take-down, to the number-crunchers in the Stat Shack, to the Prize Coordinator in the League's big-ticket tournaments...these are the folks who make it worthwhile to drive two hours each way to shoot with a great bunch of folks.

After awards, Terry kicked off the fundraising auction. Several folks brought in items for bidding; Jon donated one of his spare flight suits. I bid on a couple of the RCBS Rockcrusher reloading presses, but didn't "press" enough to win...they went relatively cheaply since this is Dillon Precision Country (I've already got one Dillon progressive and two RCBS singles, but I've been too lazy to reload for years...if I ever get into Cowboy Action Shooting, I might start handloading for .38 and .44 Special). Anyway, I brought home some plastic cartridge boxes, a set of .44 dies, and some solid copper .40 S&W hollowpoint defensive ammo.

I hear they're building a new shooting facility right down the road from me near the Pima County Fairgrounds. If a 3-gun match league springs up there, I might think about joining, but not if their match schedule conflicts with the Cactus League!