Back on the Range

Yeehaw! It seems like forever since there was a Cactus League match, but I was still warm from the Superstition 3-Gun. I squaded with some fellow 3-Gunners; a welcome change from the usual crowd of one-trick pistoleros. Call me a snob, but Hey, It's a Combat Match League...who goes to combat with only a pistol?

Feeling the need for speed, I brought out the Bushmaster Shorty, only to see two guys show up with SOCOM-16s! The Thumper that shot with my squad sported tactical optics and shot very fast...it'll be interesting to see how the scores sort out; I had a average time (for me) and great hits, but one miss and some sloppy Ds might hurt.

On our riotgun stage, it was 870 Day! Four had brought our trusty Remingtons; it was way cool to match skills with others having the same "handicap." I'm sure one of the "spacegunners" won the stage, but out of those of us on the short bus, I had the best stage time. Must be residual mojo from the Superstition; I remember watching the others shoot and thinking, "Why are you running and not reloading?" When it was my turn, I ran without reloading, but did such a quick reload that I'm surprised I didn't lose flesh on my fingers.

Pistol-wise, I was among my peers, C and D Class shooters with Limited guns. I spied two Glocks, a Springfield XD, and a Beretta. I was living life on the edge by shooting my Para .40, trusting my new nickel mags to work. Well, they did! I had one misfeed (but I don't know if it's the mags fault), only one no-shoot penalty, and several misses (damn you, hardcover!), and a fair time in all four stages. I almost pissed myself when I almost cleaned the Texas Star...then I double-missed the last plate and had to reload (and experience that misfeed).

The only downside to the day was that Jon and his brother couldn't make it. Maybe next month, we'll run the match with 9-mm carbines in lieu of pistols. I think I'll kick Jon's ass.