Fun in the Sun!

2009 Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun Match

*SIGH* It's over already. Did darned well (for me) with 131st place out of 158 Tactical Scope shooters and 207th out of 245 total shooters. It's the first year I ever cleaned up ALL the long-range steel, so I can't see myself (or much else) going back to Heavy Metal unless I get my eyes examined. The POF-Meister and Benelli definitely contributed to my improvement -- sometimes you get what you pay for!

Imagine how well I could do if I was lighter (maybe can do) and physically coordinated! (ummm....)

The match did suffer a talent drain due to a match in Texas on the same weekend. That and the slow economy resulted in a more disappointing prize table waaay down at my end. Well, I'm certainly not in the game for the prizes, but....

Y'all are gonna have to wait a bit for the video, since I still have neither the equipment nor software to transfer my camera footage to computer. I think that'll change by next week.

Jon finished 6th out of 25 Heavy Metal shooters and 4th out of the Pump Shotgun sub-division. He placed 39th overall!

A friend of ours and his son (1st Superstition!) shot on our awesome squad and the youngster (already a sponsored shooter) won High Junior! Yeah, he beat me too. So much for Age and Treachery.

And Here We Go Again

After voice dubbing, it's off to PHX I go, to try to get a few winks of sleep before loading up at oh-dark-thirty Friday to sign in at the Superstition 3-Gun and shoot the first day's schedule. Jon couldn't get Thursday off to register, hence the late sign-in. Three days of shooty goodness in the Mesa sunshine, then it's homework all day Monday.

Wednesday or Thursday night, we shoot our second film! I've already got my second video in pre-production, if I can only convince Lisa the Biker Chick to participate. I better work on Plan B too.

Where did the week go?

After packing two matches and a video shoot into a weekend, I had to pack most of my homework into Sunday afternoon and all day Monday (oops! forgot to call Mom!). All my classes are packed into Tuesday and Wednesday, with 11 hours between my Tuesday night Editing class and my Wednesday morning Screenwriting class.

Wednesday afternoon was Screening Day for our first film, which was to be composed of 40 shots on a 100-foot roll (about 2:45) of 50 ISO film. Unfortunately, the film transfer company in CA dropped the ball on us and didn't get the digitized version of our footage to our editor until Tuesday! Our courageous editor worked like a madman, even skipping the beginning of Weds. class to maybe squeak it in, but as producer I pleaded that he just get a letter or Email from the transfer company (documenting their SNAFU) so we could get an extension from the Professor (and not take a grade hit for a late submission). So my other teammate and I sat through the screenings/critiques of our classmates' films wondering whether our editor was going to show up. He didn't, but gave me a call after I got home. I'm meeting him this afternoon to dub voices.

Sometimes I get my Video Production class mixed up with my Cinematography class -- the Professor does too, since some of us have bravely taken the two classes concurrently. As he was handing back our first Cine. quiz results, he remarked that the best score was by one person, who "only missed one item -- again." As this was our first quiz, he must have been referring to the Video class, where I also crushed the first quiz with only one item missed. I hope we get that extension -- I'd hate to see a good "A" ruined.

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Sticky until Monday -- Scroll Down for New Stuff

Got a better caption or photoshop for this unsourced photo, courtesy of Lil Bro? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar!Leave a caption or photo link in comments, or Email a pic to me at the address in my profile. If you're sending a large animation, please provide a hot-linkable URL. You need not own a blog to win! I'll advertise your favorite charity, web site, or even your winterized waterwings!

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday p.m.

Winner!

KeesKennis wins with a photoshop!

Lil Bro gets an Honorable Mention for:

We’ve all seen the glorious camel toe or moose knuckle, now introducing the narwhal nipple.

Hey, didn't he supply the picture?

Other Contests:

Support your Local Gunfighter
Family Security Matters
Gone Rick Motel
Right Pundits
Outside the Beltway
RT's Ponderings

March ACTS Match

Just when you think it'd be so hard to top Zombie-Wars 2009, our Esteemed but Evil Design TeamTM cooked up a match drawing upon events of the 1986 FBI Miami Shootout. Shooters were beset by many more handicaps than a normal ACTS Match, but that was part of its charm, and Teh Evil. Though the only rifle in the real event was one of the perp's Mini-14, we added some more rifle, because, hey, we're a rifle bunch o' guys! Though, we're by definition not a shotgun league, we added a a pump riotgun to mirror the heroic actions of Special Agent Edmundo Mireles, who dished out 5 rounds of buckshot completely one-handed!


(Click to enlarge)
Stage 1: "Platt's Rally" puts the shooter in the place of the bad guy who did most of the damage in the shootout.

Here's a vid of Kelly in the very southpaw-friendly stage. All shooting outside the car had to be done weak-shoulder and weak hand.












Stage Two was two stages in one. Inside the car, you were Special Agent Manauzzi, who lost control of his weapon inside the car. According to Wiki, he didn't get off a shot. That just wouldn't do. We had six in the gun (simulating his revolver), six in the belt, and six loose rounds in an ammo box.

The second string was SA Mireles gutsy one-handed stand with the shotgun, then a one-handed assault.

Video.

Looks hard, huh? I got 5-for-5 on the Texas Star, by the way. :)







"If Risner had a rifle" is a charge by the only unwounded agent in the battle.

I'm not sure whether this is a hypothetical charge or not, though the rifle part definitely is. This is in no way criticism of S.A. Risner's actions; I just don't see mention of it in Wikipedia. Perhaps if I pay close attention to the TV treatment....

Video.









Stage 4 simulated S.A. Grogan's loss of eyeglasses, except we used Fatal Vision "Beer Googles" (I Love You, MAN!) instead of merely a blurred medium. Believe me, these goggles could make you puke if you tilted your head often enough. That's just the kind of special services we provide!

For safety sake, the shooter was allowed NO MOVEMENT. Believe me, you didn't want to move! The googles totally destroyed my time with miss penalties because I couldn't get a cheek weld to use my scope, but I won't complain too much. My pistol hits were dead on, so don't mess with me, even if I'm drunk!

Video.

Just Plain Wrong

h/t to Lil Bro

Bikers are Good People

That's Me

You Scored as Maximus After his family was murdered by the evil emperor Commodus, the great Roman general Maximus went into hiding to avoid Commodus's assassins. He became a gladiator, hoping to dominate the colosseum in order to one day get the chance of killing Commodus. Maximus is valiant, courageous, and dedicated. He wants nothing more than the chance to avenge his family, but his temper often gets the better of him. Maximus 83% The Amazing Spider-Man 75% Batman, the Dark Knight 71% Indiana Jones 67% Neo, the "One" 63% William Wallace 63% The Terminator 50% James Bond, Agent 007 50% Captain Jack Sparrow 46% El Zorro 33% Lara Croft 33%

Never mind the formatting problems.

H/t Brigid

This is Pretty Cool

Click.

h/t to Tricia.

Holy Hand Grenade Closes Pub

Brother Maynard was unavailable for comment.

h/t to Jay

Wanna Be a Video Star?

Instead of wandering around the NRA Convention floor looking for something interesting to video, why don't I wander around, looking for bloggers with something interesting to video? One disadvantage to being a videographer is that it's hard to ask questions with your face buried in the viewfinder. Plus, I've got a face made for radio.

Are you a Blogger covering the Phoenix NRA Convention/2nd Amendment Blog Bash in May?

Do you want a high-quality video record of your special interview or blogcast?

Would you like to be included in a compilation of celebrity and gunblogger interviews?

All it'll cost you is a small pack of DVD-Rs and a card with your name and address!

(Due to equipment limitations, I can record in HD, but can't find a Blu-Ray burner to make Hi-Def DVDs... so far. If you bring your own MiniDV or DVCAM tape, I'll send it back to you after capture and editing.)

I ask for a small pack of blank DVD-Rs because I might need more than one (I'm not perfect) and the extra disks ought to make up for what I'll spend on postage... and I don't particularly want to handle money. Individual segments will be exported as Quicktime files viewable on your computer DVD player, while the whole she-bang ought to be one self-executing DVD (I think). I'm still taking the Final Cut Pro class, but that's what the book says I can do.

Five Years

R.I.P., Dad.

Verily

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Paddy's Day Wisdom: Irish whiskey was first developed for its medicinal benefits. It's just lucky for the rest of us that the Irish are such a sickly bunch.





Saint Patrick's Day, the day when we honor the man who drove the snakes out of Ireland and onto a MFin' plane.

h/t to Tom and Mike

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Sticky until Monday -- Scroll Down for New Stuff

Got a better caption or photoshop for this Break.com photo? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar!Leave a caption or photo link in comments, or Email a pic to me at the address in my profile. If you're sending a large animation, please provide a hot-linkable URL. You need not own a blog to win! I'll advertise your favorite charity, web site, or even your refurbished inflatable doll!

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday p.m.

Winner!

Red wins with:

"Mom? MOM?!?!?!"

I suspect I know this guy!

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Other Contests:

Support Your Local Gunfighter

Family Security Matters

Gone Rick Motel

Outside the Beltway

RT's Ponderings

New Toy

Sure, the first match I had it mounted upside down, but iMovie fixed that for me.

Video here.

Note the "studnut" tag... my video production class is gonna see this in action more than once.

Why does anyone still use BlogRolling?

It doesn't even refer back to your own blog!

Ditched it in time, I did.

Usery Pass Pistol League 3-Gun

I could've sworn I posted about this match. Maybe not.

Sunday, Jon and I competed in the 3-Gun Match hosted by the Usery Pass Pistol League at the Rio Salado Sportsmen's Club (site of the upcoming Superstition 3-Gun). Jon beat lots of Tactical Scope gunners with his unaccounted-for Heavy Metal configuration (Les Baer .45, Springfield M1A, and Remington 870), while I led the lower third amid a field of many semi-pros. Since this match merely existed to prepare for the Superstition Match, it showed that all comers were serious about their 3-Gunning.

As I have all year, I toted a Glock 19, POF-Master AR, and Benelli M-2. I think I'll do Heavy Metal next year, if only because I've got a year's worth of .308 and only a few months of .223 left. Man, if I could sell that stuff... I'd have extra cash but a poorer soul.

This might be the last match I cover in Standard Definition. Stay tuned for future match coverage in fabulous High Def!

Here's Jon burning up (mostly) four of the five stages:

News from the Beastmaster

Meet Brody, a mysterious puppy with Mastiff lines, whom Jon's wife found shivering and starving under her truck one morning. After due diligence of trying to locate his owners, they decided to adopt him. He immediately chose Marley, the geriatric blond Lab, as his playtoy, avoiding the cranky ol' Maggie. (Sadly, Maggie had to be put to sleep not too long afterwards... but her suffering is over.)











Rustle the Ferret is springing back to health after a scary illness that resulted in a lot of weight and hair loss. Now he's got some problems with his left eye. Let's hope it's nothing serious.

Umm... No, Thanks

h/t Hillary aka Bob

Mea Culpa

Lil Bro gave me a ration of crap about missing the weekly Caption Contest this week!  I was a busy boy!  Our school movie shoot got pushed to Saturday morning due to poor lighting conditions, so we shot it Saturday, then I rushed over to the Gun Show to be social (Lisa the Biker Chick and Piter were there).  After seeing all the wildly priced AKs and stuff, I just fulfilled my social obligations, bought an AR lower pin & spring kit, and went home to take a nap before the drive up to Phoenix.

Jon had some yummy beer and a 1973 Egypt-Israeli battle waiting for me.  I loaded up magazines during his turn.

Sunday morning we trucked over to the Rio Salado Sportsman's Club for a 3-Gun match put on by the Ussery Pass Pistol League... excellent practice for the Superstition!  I led the bottom third, but I was in the company of a lot more semi-pro shooters than normal.  Shotgun was my weakest discipline, but at least it was only ME slowing me down and not my wonderful Benito Benelli.  Jon acquitted himself well, especially since there was no Heavy Metal division provided for.  I think I only saw one other guy with an iron-sighted rifle!

We were pretty bushed afterwards, so I decided to stay another night at Jon's after crushing the Israeli Army underfoot and having a few more yummy beers.  I'd brought my Cinematography textbook along so I could study for the upcoming test.

As for our movie, that's headed for the developer's soup after which they'll transfer it to video and send it back so our Chief Editor Freddy (above) can work his magic.

March is Made for Matches

In preparation for the Superstition 3-Gun, I'm trying to attend every multi-gun match I can before the final weekend. Here's a stage from the Pima 3-Gun last Sunday. All steel, all three guns. Woohoo!

Incidently, it's the eventual match winner, sporting among other things, a way-cool Patriot Ordnance AR.

So Much for the Beautiful Scenery

We can't film in the park unless we have a million dollars in insurance... and the college won't sign off on that. Looks like we look for a remote corner of the college parking lot.

So Much for BAG Day

So, for what do I need another gun? I need a real prosumer camcorder, though! This little baby is good enough to shoot indie films in High Def!

I didn't get much hands-on experience in my video production class so far, but now that I'm on a smaller team, that should change. Our next assignment is to cover a sporting event -- so guess what sporting event I want to cover! Well, it's not the Tucson Action Shooters Club 3-Gun Match! Their match director got downright squirrelly at the idea of strangers with video cameras showing. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along!

If we can't get the school camera for this Sunday, I might end up covering college baseball... or I could use my own to cover the ACTS Match on the 21st, if the crew doesn't mind waiting that long.

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Sticky until Monday -- Scroll Down for New Stuff

Got a better caption or photoshop for this unsourced photo (hat tip to B.)? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar!

Leave a caption or photo link in comments, or Email a pic to me at the address in my profile. If you're sending a large animation, please provide a hot-linkable URL.

You need not own a blog to win! I'll advertise your favorite charity, web site, or even your refurbished inflatable sheep!

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday p.m.

Winner!

Captain Attila with:

"What? You've never seen From Here to Eternity?"

Other Contests (list swiped from Wyatt Earp, as usual):

Support you Local Gunfighter
Family Security Matters
Gone Rick Motel
Right Pundits
Outside the Beltway
RT's Ponderings

Third Place!

Okay, there were only seven shooters at the Pima 3-Gun (now a monthly match)...one was a semi-pro and there were at least two LEOs, one of whom I beat.

This is going to be a match-heavy month, highlighted by the Superstition 3-Gun at the end of March. I hope I don't run out of ammo before then!