Ammo and gas costs are effecting all of us, and that's partly the reason for the new poll. This subject comes up once in a while, and it has come up again.
Would our match be better if it were a little smaller? Some say that our match is too much of a good thing. I know some of the older guys think our monthly USPSA match has gotten to be an endurance event. I also know some people drive extreme distances because we run a section match every month. I can see both sides of the coin. I'm there to shoot, but on the other hand I really enjoy Southern Chester which is only 5 stages and 115 rounds or so.
I want your opinion. What is the perfect size for a monthly USPSA pistol match at Izaak Walton?
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6 comments:
i think we have the ability with the new configuration of the back pits to make much better use of the labor it takes to design and run the monthly match. Thanks to the EXCELLENT crew we have at york, we are able to put on a serious match with huge roundcount every month. Not many clubs can do it like we do it. im proud to be a part of it.
But with access restricted to the back pits, we could build the stages once a month and use them more frequently. thursday night or saturday matches in the summer for example. also, some of the wall combos we build are too good to use just once. moving targets around or changing target types/placement could get some extra yardage out of some excellent ideas.
id also like to see much more multi gun in our club. we can easily get 4 stages of pistol with 100 rounds every month and still build awesome rifle and shotgun stages up front. also, the matches could be configured for classifiers more frequently in the front. rather than run 2 classifier matches, we should put a few in the front pits every month and simplify the tear down.
I'm old - and half a$$ed crippled and I DON'T think 7 stages and 150 rounds is an endurance test. Far from it. It's 190 miles each way for us and I want to shoot as much as possible. I'd rather shoot 150 rounds in a match than shoot less and practice.
Mike
You’ve nailed the issues pretty good. I come to York for the big league action and you always deliver. I’d love to have big round counts and lotsa stages but that’s simply too much to ask for a regular event. So I’d opt for the high round count and low (6) stages. To be honest, I’d be far happier with matches that flowed smoothly than I would anything else. It’s already a strain that we all travel so far, spend so much money, and our entire Saturday to only shoot what equates to a few MINUTES of shooting time. But to then spend time waiting on the squad ahead is a good way to ruin an otherwise great day. Nothing directed toward the York match specifically with these comments. Just a general observation from one who has shot plenty of matches in my time. It takes a lot to avoid bottlenecks and sometimes they still happen. But the more the round (and stage) count, the greater the likelihood of it happening. So that’s my logic for opting for fewer stages and lotsa bullets.
If you do elect for the higher stage count matches, here are some suggestions that I believe MAY help to avoid bottlenecks (like you didn’t know this already)
Try to assign stages to shooting bays that alternate the type of stage design that it is… i.e. Speed/Field/Speed/Field/etc….. Back to back of the same type (especially speed stages) will create a problem. Unfortunately most ranges do not allow such luxuries.
Try to design stages that can assure you of a good reset time between shooters (ideally 5 min). Avoid long walks to score/paste targets – Lots o complicated moving targets to reset. It takes a good balance to provide a challenge, entertainment and not increase your reset times.
Try to assign shooters to the squads to intermix the experience/talent. DO NOT put all the new/inexperienced shooters together. That’s a guaranteed bottleneck. By the same token, those pre-Madonna high ranking OPEN shooters also cause the same issues. Walkthroughs need to be limited.
Squads full of members too good to paste and help reset the stage. I’m not too fond of these individuals anyways. Unless you’ve just finished shooting or you’re on-deck shooter, or you’re old as Moses and/or physically impaired you need to get your magwell out there and paste.
I don't want to influence the poll, but I will address parts of alby's comment.
We do have a great help. I can't thank them enough.
Those of us who practice use the back stages to death. (you shoud try it) I don't think reconfiguring them from match to match is a big deal. Especially with the crew we have to do it.
Thursday night matches are a very real possibilty. I would be up for some small scale Thursday night matches. More weekend matches are problematic. We don't want to step on other clubs toes, and Summers are very busy for most of us. Personally, if I spent any less weekend time doing other things with house, work and family I would be in big trouble. If you want to shoot more on weekends there are plenty of quality matches available.
More multigun.....that could be another poll question all of it's own. I really like the long guns, but a lot of shooters either have no interest in them or don't have the equipment. And talk about ammo expense...Wow! I don't want to disenfranchise our core customers, but the seperate pistol in the back, long gun up front combo does seem to be a winning ticket. We could look at doing more of those next year.
The reason we run 2 special classifier matches rather than 1 classifier every month is manifold. Specials are great for those who want an initial classification in a division. Specials also are more profitable for the club in various ways. Specials are easy to set up. Shooting a classifier in a 5 stage match like when we do 5 in the back and a long gun up front would just suck. The main reason we don't do one every month is that a lot of our shooters shoot too many anyway and end up overclassed. It might be nice to brag about being an "X" class shooter, but when you go to an Area match or Nationals and get your "X" class butt kicked by shooters classed lower than you it just doesn't work.
Thanks for the comments. I enjoy thinking about these kind of issues and I welcome all input. I believe we have one of USPSA's best clubs and intend to keep it that way. Your valuable opinions will help us accomplish this goal.
I like it the way it is. I am a senior shooter and need an even bigger endurance test once a month. We have the dedicated help, the match fills up, we are taken seriously because we are serious. Why make it like South Chester? They already do a nice small match there. I look forward to the big round count matches. Unless I am missing the point, make it big until it can't be done anymore.
Thursday nights? Sounds good to me. I don't travel far, though
i'm all for the biggest match you can put on each month...more stages, bigger stages. i still think the york 300 would be a great match!
try some different colors for the poll...it's difficult to read the #s.
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