Recently a couple of my good friends got into a "discussion" on the comments to one of my posts. It is humorous how a thread can morph, you never know if you are going get a moth or a butterfly. Anyway it got me thinking about 2018 season.
The most memorable match of 2018 for me was a match at the last Texas circuit shoot against Lucky 45. We were evenly matched in quickness and temperament. After 4 shots the match was tied each having won two on quickness. The match was decided on the fifth shot. It did not matter who won, it was great fun.
The second most memorable was a series of three consecutive matches at the Springs against Okie Ed. Again we were evenly matched, with the matches all being decided in less that five shots. Unfortunately, we eliminated each other from the main match but again it was great fun.
The third most memorable was four matches against Oregon Ranger in the Marshall Cup. It is memorable for me because I was shooting at a 1.41 (.61+.80) clip which normally will win an event easily but Ranger was at 1.60 plus. Again great fun. Memorable for me because I hit my fastest competitive time of the year while hitting better than 80%.
I like "sayings," generally acquiring a new one about one a year. My new saying for 2018 is "80% is just average." And that is, if you are following my others. "Never ever slow down!" "Your quickest shot is your most accurate." "We don't practice missing!"
Just think what our sport would be like is everyone shot 80% or better. All matches would be decided by quickness, and you would rise in the standings to the level of your quickness and mental toughness. It would eliminate the lottery matches where the outcome is just a matter of chance.
"80% is just average!" Alleluia Ruah.
Saturday, December 22, 2018
Monday, December 17, 2018
Handicapping the Gunfight at Pioneer
The final gunfight of the year for The Association of Arizona Gunfighters will be held on December 29. We are expecting a big turnout and will have two 6 lane ranges in operation. It will be sort of a practice run for Winter Range and we will be shooting our normal Arizona Bracket shoot but with a 6 bracket shoot off. We can handle up to 100 shooters easily but the turnout probably will be about 60.
The club Top Gun points are in play with some tight races to be determined. The top two spots for the ladies have been decided but there is still a battle to be fought for third. Hot Flash is currently in third but Troublemaker is in range because she has 40 points in play. Most Improved awards for the ladies is pretty much set.
In the men's division the top spot has been settled for a few months, but there are five shooters competing for 2nd and 3rd. QC Carver, Waco Kid, and Shady Mike stand at 257, 255, and 254 for those spots. But as Old West learned at FGA you have to be wary of those in striking distance. Rodeo Romero and Hi Strung both have 40 points in play and are capable of reaching 2nd or 3rd.
For the men the Most Improved is really hard to handicap because Top Gun award winners are not considered for Most Improved. The crowd favorite has to be Coyote Kid who currently sit in fourth and is capable of catching third place Rodeo Romeo. If Rodeo shoots poorly Coyote Kid may catch him, if Rodeo shoots well Rodeo probably will get a Top Gun award and will not be considered in Most Improved.
For 2019 we are changing the rules a bit. Presently you have to have an average from the previous year to be considered for Most Improved which effective eliminated new shooters. For 2019 new shooters will start with their first placing in an event. Also, to be considered for Most Improved, you must have shot in a minimum of 4 events starting in 2019.
Being the Copper State. awards will be copper.
I hope to see you at Pioneer. It will be fun. Come looking for a gunfight, but remember the Cowboy Way. It is all about work, play, and being neighborly. Enjoy the task at hand, that bonc or maverick will be there again tomorrow.
The club Top Gun points are in play with some tight races to be determined. The top two spots for the ladies have been decided but there is still a battle to be fought for third. Hot Flash is currently in third but Troublemaker is in range because she has 40 points in play. Most Improved awards for the ladies is pretty much set.
In the men's division the top spot has been settled for a few months, but there are five shooters competing for 2nd and 3rd. QC Carver, Waco Kid, and Shady Mike stand at 257, 255, and 254 for those spots. But as Old West learned at FGA you have to be wary of those in striking distance. Rodeo Romero and Hi Strung both have 40 points in play and are capable of reaching 2nd or 3rd.
For the men the Most Improved is really hard to handicap because Top Gun award winners are not considered for Most Improved. The crowd favorite has to be Coyote Kid who currently sit in fourth and is capable of catching third place Rodeo Romeo. If Rodeo shoots poorly Coyote Kid may catch him, if Rodeo shoots well Rodeo probably will get a Top Gun award and will not be considered in Most Improved.
For 2019 we are changing the rules a bit. Presently you have to have an average from the previous year to be considered for Most Improved which effective eliminated new shooters. For 2019 new shooters will start with their first placing in an event. Also, to be considered for Most Improved, you must have shot in a minimum of 4 events starting in 2019.
Being the Copper State. awards will be copper.
I hope to see you at Pioneer. It will be fun. Come looking for a gunfight, but remember the Cowboy Way. It is all about work, play, and being neighborly. Enjoy the task at hand, that bonc or maverick will be there again tomorrow.
Monday, September 17, 2018
Muster matters, Format matters, Newbies learn!
I write this blog to the powers that be, those who make decisions and to the new shooters, those who learn. The Marshal's Muster agenda is out and it looks like some of this discussion may be helpful.
CFDA byes remind me a lot of the dogooders' attempts to help the poor by raising the minimum wage. Businesses close, jobs are lost and the poor get poorer. Unintended consequences matter. A bye is when a competitor moves to the next round without competing. They are necessary for bracketing and as long as they are fairly allocated either by lot or reasonable rules, they work fine.
Some complained that it was not fair for a shooter to move to the next round without competing so we ended up with the CFDA bye which is inherently unfair. To understand this you must realize that the shooter under our system still moves to the next round without competing. If the match format is three winning shots, the bye winner does not compete in the format for the match. What happens is that we have a three shooter shoot-off to allocate the bye. The winner of the shoot off gets to move to the next round without competing.
The allocation of the shooters who get the opportunity to shoot off for the bye is not set in advance by rule and/or is not determined by lot. The CFDA program matches winners against winners, losers against losers, with losers shooting first. Therefore the opportunity to shoot off for a bye is allocated to the winners. If you are shooting a no X format or in the first four rounds, the opportunity for a bye normally goes to the best of the winners. Winners of a bye remain among the best of the winners. That is why you see repeat shooters in the bye shoot offs. One of the clubs in Arizona do not use the CFDA program and in their program winners shoot first so the bye opportunity goes to the worst shooters of the event. Using their program you don't have repeat bye winners because the bye winner shoots themselves out of the opportunity for a bye.
The unfairness of the CFDA bye is really emphasized in the last man standing event. If you have a last man standing event with 99 shooters, in the first four rounds about 1% of the field would get a true bye, and under the CFDA allocation 3% of the field would get an opportunity to shoot off for the bye. By the start of the second day, about 10% of the field will get the opportunity for a bye. When the field is down to 7 shooters, 42% of the field will have the opportunity for a bye, when down to 5 shooters, 60% of the field will have the opportunity for a bye. When the field is down to 3 shooters, 100% of the field gets the opportunity to shoot off for a bye, and you would think that would then be fair, but the real unfairness comes to light.
The shoot off is a one winning shot affair with three shooters. It favors certain shooters and certain types of shooters. In 2017 at a Territorial event I observed an event where the winner advanced through three of the last four rounds without competing. It was a last man standing event, the event winner entered the last 3 standing with 3 xs, the other two shooters had 2 xs and 1x. The event winner won 3 shoot offs in a row. The event winner only competed in one round of the last four rounds. The format favored that particular shooter.
For the new shooter, you can train for the format that you shoot. Practice with techniques that requires you to hit and to hit right now and you can become a good bye shooter. I love byes! So does Cal. He is a good bye shooter. Train for it. It is not going to go away.
But Marshals, when you are thinking about SOPs realize a true bye is fair, a CFDA bye may not be. Why muddy up side matches with time consuming CFDA byes. We love our byes, but there is nothing wrong with a true bye. We do not score by wins anyway. Only x count matters. I apologize for being critical of the posse officials at the Southern. I did not know there was a SOP that did not follow the published rules.
While I am on my soap box, I call upon the Marshals to think about the CFDA resurrection. Because a significant number of titled events are won by shooters that have exceeded the x count, most recently Quick Cal at the Southern, I suggest the format is not working as well as it might. I strongly favor a resurrection feature that is open to all shooters. There is no reason we can not have an event where all shooters are still in play on the final day. We have the range time to do it. It would be easy to do and a lot less work than the side match system we now use just to occupy eliminated shooters.
If x count is so important and we don't want a resurrection feature open to all, get rid of it. If you exceed the x count you are out. Get rid of the CFDA resurrection. It is easy to write such a format.
"In a magnificent event when the main match field is reduced to less than 10% for men, less than 20% for ladies, the main match ends and the remaining shooters are seeded by x count and time out for a progressive 2 x elimination match." At the Southern, Cal would have been out and you would have shot a Magnificent 6 shoot off.
At the Southern, the powers that be were trying to save range time, but the SOP wasted the time saved and added a lot of unfairness and confusion to the bracket match (a side match). In the gunfighter bracket, 33% of the field had the opportunity to shoot off for a bye, 66% did not.
I have been accused of advocating changes that would benefit me personally. That is not true. I am a good shoot off shooter and a good bye shooter. I train to shoot the format that is used. You can too. But I understand that I place better than I should because of the format. Format matters. Quick Cal places better than he should, but then he wrote most of the rules.
Do not misunderstand me. I am not advocating that we eliminate the CFDA bye that results from an odd number of shooters. I love the CFDA bye. But it is inherently unfair and does not need to be expanded to replace the true bye which is fair that results for someone failing to appear for a match, for whatever reason.. Also understand that to determine champions, the magnificent format is better than the last man standing format because when to field is reduced down to about 10%, the magnificent format eliminates luck of the draw and the CFDA bye from the format, both of which are inherently unfair.
Lesson from the Great Plains: This blog has simmered for about thirty days. I started with the premise that CFDA byes are inherently unfair, which they are, but have moved moved my opinion to believing CFDA byes are a good thing. At the Great Plains in the 8th round the last three shooters had gunfighter ratings of 1.20, 1.35 and 1.10, respectively with the 1.10 shooter being the last shooter drawn. If it had been a true bye, the 1.10 shooter would have advanced without competing based solely on luck of the draw, and the 1.35 shooter would have eliminated the 1.20 shooter. But using the CFDA bye shoot off, the 1.35 shooter, as would be expected, won the bye and advanced without competing and the 1.20 shooter eliminated the 1.10 shooter. Format matters. The CFDA bye favors the better gunfighter. Maybe it is a good thing to have a format that favors the better gunfighter, it mitigates the luck of the draw unfairness.
On a personal note, I competed in two fewer rounds than other shooters that went out at the same time. I love the CFDA bye.
For the FGA Blast for Cash:
Cal, for the FGA blast for cash, let the squawkers squawk, start it at 8 sharp, if someone does not show up, use a true bye. That way we probably have time to shoot a 3 winning shot 2 x affair. In a side match in the first round true byes would save you enough time to go to a 3 winning shot format. I can suggest a clear SOP.
"In side matches when roll call has not been taken, in the first round a failure to appear by a shooter shall result in a forfeiture of round pursuant to Paragraph IV. 6 (page 21). The scorekeeper shall note the win and the failure to appear on the score sheet and the shooter failing to appear shall be withdrawn from the match for the next round."
"Let's dance!"
CFDA byes remind me a lot of the dogooders' attempts to help the poor by raising the minimum wage. Businesses close, jobs are lost and the poor get poorer. Unintended consequences matter. A bye is when a competitor moves to the next round without competing. They are necessary for bracketing and as long as they are fairly allocated either by lot or reasonable rules, they work fine.
Some complained that it was not fair for a shooter to move to the next round without competing so we ended up with the CFDA bye which is inherently unfair. To understand this you must realize that the shooter under our system still moves to the next round without competing. If the match format is three winning shots, the bye winner does not compete in the format for the match. What happens is that we have a three shooter shoot-off to allocate the bye. The winner of the shoot off gets to move to the next round without competing.
The allocation of the shooters who get the opportunity to shoot off for the bye is not set in advance by rule and/or is not determined by lot. The CFDA program matches winners against winners, losers against losers, with losers shooting first. Therefore the opportunity to shoot off for a bye is allocated to the winners. If you are shooting a no X format or in the first four rounds, the opportunity for a bye normally goes to the best of the winners. Winners of a bye remain among the best of the winners. That is why you see repeat shooters in the bye shoot offs. One of the clubs in Arizona do not use the CFDA program and in their program winners shoot first so the bye opportunity goes to the worst shooters of the event. Using their program you don't have repeat bye winners because the bye winner shoots themselves out of the opportunity for a bye.
The unfairness of the CFDA bye is really emphasized in the last man standing event. If you have a last man standing event with 99 shooters, in the first four rounds about 1% of the field would get a true bye, and under the CFDA allocation 3% of the field would get an opportunity to shoot off for the bye. By the start of the second day, about 10% of the field will get the opportunity for a bye. When the field is down to 7 shooters, 42% of the field will have the opportunity for a bye, when down to 5 shooters, 60% of the field will have the opportunity for a bye. When the field is down to 3 shooters, 100% of the field gets the opportunity to shoot off for a bye, and you would think that would then be fair, but the real unfairness comes to light.
The shoot off is a one winning shot affair with three shooters. It favors certain shooters and certain types of shooters. In 2017 at a Territorial event I observed an event where the winner advanced through three of the last four rounds without competing. It was a last man standing event, the event winner entered the last 3 standing with 3 xs, the other two shooters had 2 xs and 1x. The event winner won 3 shoot offs in a row. The event winner only competed in one round of the last four rounds. The format favored that particular shooter.
For the new shooter, you can train for the format that you shoot. Practice with techniques that requires you to hit and to hit right now and you can become a good bye shooter. I love byes! So does Cal. He is a good bye shooter. Train for it. It is not going to go away.
But Marshals, when you are thinking about SOPs realize a true bye is fair, a CFDA bye may not be. Why muddy up side matches with time consuming CFDA byes. We love our byes, but there is nothing wrong with a true bye. We do not score by wins anyway. Only x count matters. I apologize for being critical of the posse officials at the Southern. I did not know there was a SOP that did not follow the published rules.
While I am on my soap box, I call upon the Marshals to think about the CFDA resurrection. Because a significant number of titled events are won by shooters that have exceeded the x count, most recently Quick Cal at the Southern, I suggest the format is not working as well as it might. I strongly favor a resurrection feature that is open to all shooters. There is no reason we can not have an event where all shooters are still in play on the final day. We have the range time to do it. It would be easy to do and a lot less work than the side match system we now use just to occupy eliminated shooters.
If x count is so important and we don't want a resurrection feature open to all, get rid of it. If you exceed the x count you are out. Get rid of the CFDA resurrection. It is easy to write such a format.
"In a magnificent event when the main match field is reduced to less than 10% for men, less than 20% for ladies, the main match ends and the remaining shooters are seeded by x count and time out for a progressive 2 x elimination match." At the Southern, Cal would have been out and you would have shot a Magnificent 6 shoot off.
At the Southern, the powers that be were trying to save range time, but the SOP wasted the time saved and added a lot of unfairness and confusion to the bracket match (a side match). In the gunfighter bracket, 33% of the field had the opportunity to shoot off for a bye, 66% did not.
I have been accused of advocating changes that would benefit me personally. That is not true. I am a good shoot off shooter and a good bye shooter. I train to shoot the format that is used. You can too. But I understand that I place better than I should because of the format. Format matters. Quick Cal places better than he should, but then he wrote most of the rules.
Do not misunderstand me. I am not advocating that we eliminate the CFDA bye that results from an odd number of shooters. I love the CFDA bye. But it is inherently unfair and does not need to be expanded to replace the true bye which is fair that results for someone failing to appear for a match, for whatever reason.. Also understand that to determine champions, the magnificent format is better than the last man standing format because when to field is reduced down to about 10%, the magnificent format eliminates luck of the draw and the CFDA bye from the format, both of which are inherently unfair.
Lesson from the Great Plains: This blog has simmered for about thirty days. I started with the premise that CFDA byes are inherently unfair, which they are, but have moved moved my opinion to believing CFDA byes are a good thing. At the Great Plains in the 8th round the last three shooters had gunfighter ratings of 1.20, 1.35 and 1.10, respectively with the 1.10 shooter being the last shooter drawn. If it had been a true bye, the 1.10 shooter would have advanced without competing based solely on luck of the draw, and the 1.35 shooter would have eliminated the 1.20 shooter. But using the CFDA bye shoot off, the 1.35 shooter, as would be expected, won the bye and advanced without competing and the 1.20 shooter eliminated the 1.10 shooter. Format matters. The CFDA bye favors the better gunfighter. Maybe it is a good thing to have a format that favors the better gunfighter, it mitigates the luck of the draw unfairness.
On a personal note, I competed in two fewer rounds than other shooters that went out at the same time. I love the CFDA bye.
For the FGA Blast for Cash:
Cal, for the FGA blast for cash, let the squawkers squawk, start it at 8 sharp, if someone does not show up, use a true bye. That way we probably have time to shoot a 3 winning shot 2 x affair. In a side match in the first round true byes would save you enough time to go to a 3 winning shot format. I can suggest a clear SOP.
"In side matches when roll call has not been taken, in the first round a failure to appear by a shooter shall result in a forfeiture of round pursuant to Paragraph IV. 6 (page 21). The scorekeeper shall note the win and the failure to appear on the score sheet and the shooter failing to appear shall be withdrawn from the match for the next round."
"Let's dance!"
Friday, August 24, 2018
Story of a pig.
It all began with an argument over a pig. Whether domesticated or feral, that was the bone, had the notch a human origin or nature's fate, I do not know. Like all viable feuds, each side had the law in their corner fueling the righteous indignation. In the pig fight it was state and county versus county and state, although all had been confederates, and some think the real fight was over do you stay or do you go? Once it had degenerated, it became if I remember the quote, "he is a jack ass, but he is our jack ass."
The great deceiver always places the law on both sides. In Cochise county, it was the federal and municipal (republicans) versus the county (democrats), two posses seeking to serve warrants of death on the other. In Johnson county, state versus local, with the feds rescuing the hired guns. Lincoln county the regulators were serving warrants with bounty hunters getting in the middle. "Let's dance!" As Billy and Tom Horn found out, it matters little what is right, what the law is, what the facts are, it only matters who is holding the end of the rope.
I know who is holding the end of the rope so I will hide. Maybe it is time for a new alias, or a new land. We will see!
What I know for sure is ...........!
(I leave the rest of the story for the commentators to fill in. I know better than to say it, but it jingles so well. I know I will share it, but only to my closest allies or directly to my foe. The crux will be, whom thee be!)
"He's all lathered up, chomping at the bit, give him some rein, cause there ain't no quit, be gone, hold on, Comes BoogieMan,"
The great deceiver always places the law on both sides. In Cochise county, it was the federal and municipal (republicans) versus the county (democrats), two posses seeking to serve warrants of death on the other. In Johnson county, state versus local, with the feds rescuing the hired guns. Lincoln county the regulators were serving warrants with bounty hunters getting in the middle. "Let's dance!" As Billy and Tom Horn found out, it matters little what is right, what the law is, what the facts are, it only matters who is holding the end of the rope.
I know who is holding the end of the rope so I will hide. Maybe it is time for a new alias, or a new land. We will see!
What I know for sure is ...........!
(I leave the rest of the story for the commentators to fill in. I know better than to say it, but it jingles so well. I know I will share it, but only to my closest allies or directly to my foe. The crux will be, whom thee be!)
"He's all lathered up, chomping at the bit, give him some rein, cause there ain't no quit, be gone, hold on, Comes BoogieMan,"
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Format Matters; High Plains Territorial
I write because because I am waiting for the motel breakfast bar to open and the High Plains Territorial keeps churning in my mind. The High Plains is one of the few territorials that use the last man standing format. Big Ugly was so dominant and he was shooting so well that he probably would have won it in the magnificent format but he would have not been the favorite. The top seven from bottom to top were Buzzard Cooper, Everett Hitch, Old Drifter, Quick Cal, Beaver Creek Kid, Bolder Vaquero and Big Ugly. In a magnificent seven a handicapper probably would have pick one of the World Champions, there were three in the top seven. I would have pick Cal or that shoot-off expert. Quick Cal had been eliminated in the Southern only to be resurrected and win, but the field in the Southern was not as strong.
There are four factors in major events that determine who wins. In their order of importance they are luck of the draw, mental toughness, accuracy and least important is quickness. A shooter can practice and improve three of the four. In a last man standing format all four factors remain in play to the end. A magnificent seven eliminates the luck of the draw factor when the field is reduced to seven. Format matters!
Not only does last man standing keep luck of the draw in play, at some point CFDA bye rounds are used. The CFDA bye round is inherently unfair which is a matter for a separate discussion. A Magnificent Seven eliminates the CFDA bye rounds and eliminates luck of the draw.
The Ladies High Plains is also interesting in this discussion. Top three women were KK Kid, Holli Day, and Whippin N Spurrin (side note 2 of the 3 were Arizona Gunslingers) In a Magnificent Seven, if I was handicapping it I would have pick that Shady Mtn Shooter, Holli Day. KK Kid won the event. She was clean going into the top three. I assume, but do not know, that was a result of luck of the draw early in the day. Being clean was a great advantage for KK Kid. It may have been deserved or it may have been the result of luck of the draw. In any event, a magnificent format levels the playing field when the field is reduced to seven and each shooter is clean in a 2x shoot-off. Prior success is rewarded by a high seed, but the #1 spot may not be the preferred seeding for all shooters.
Luck of the draw is such an important factor in determining who wins, that consideration should be given to dealing with it in some fashion. I can name five major events in the last three years where the eventual winner of the event was eliminated only to be resurrected to fill the bracket. Most recent was Quick Cal in the Southern. That is why I lobby for an resurrection avenue for all shooters.
In closing I must says that the High Plains was a great event, well run and most enjoyable. Many thanks to the Powderhorn Ranch Regulators on a job well done.
There are four factors in major events that determine who wins. In their order of importance they are luck of the draw, mental toughness, accuracy and least important is quickness. A shooter can practice and improve three of the four. In a last man standing format all four factors remain in play to the end. A magnificent seven eliminates the luck of the draw factor when the field is reduced to seven. Format matters!
Not only does last man standing keep luck of the draw in play, at some point CFDA bye rounds are used. The CFDA bye round is inherently unfair which is a matter for a separate discussion. A Magnificent Seven eliminates the CFDA bye rounds and eliminates luck of the draw.
The Ladies High Plains is also interesting in this discussion. Top three women were KK Kid, Holli Day, and Whippin N Spurrin (side note 2 of the 3 were Arizona Gunslingers) In a Magnificent Seven, if I was handicapping it I would have pick that Shady Mtn Shooter, Holli Day. KK Kid won the event. She was clean going into the top three. I assume, but do not know, that was a result of luck of the draw early in the day. Being clean was a great advantage for KK Kid. It may have been deserved or it may have been the result of luck of the draw. In any event, a magnificent format levels the playing field when the field is reduced to seven and each shooter is clean in a 2x shoot-off. Prior success is rewarded by a high seed, but the #1 spot may not be the preferred seeding for all shooters.
Luck of the draw is such an important factor in determining who wins, that consideration should be given to dealing with it in some fashion. I can name five major events in the last three years where the eventual winner of the event was eliminated only to be resurrected to fill the bracket. Most recent was Quick Cal in the Southern. That is why I lobby for an resurrection avenue for all shooters.
In closing I must says that the High Plains was a great event, well run and most enjoyable. Many thanks to the Powderhorn Ranch Regulators on a job well done.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Given Up Cont.;Lesson from Colorado
I am going to respond to some of the comments with lessons from Colorado. I do this because there are some really good illustrations for this discussion. Colorado is really one of the best run events using the current formats.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
In the past several years there have been more than a half dozen events where the event winner had been eliminated with four x s only to be put back into the event by the CFDA resurrection to fill the magnificent shoot off. The most recent was the 2018 Southern wherein Quick Cal was resurrected and then won the event. This happens frequently. What this tells you is that sometimes the best shooter at the event is eliminated before he or she gets to the shoot off. What we don't know is how often the best shooter is eliminated by the format and he/she is not resurrected to fill the vacancy.
From Colorado: I and Okie Ed were each shooting well enough to win the State Championships but neither of us made to the shoot offs because of the luck of the draw. In the final rounds of the main match, we drew each other in consecutive rounds. We were evenly matched, matches going 2 to 2, final shot on quickness, splitting the matches, each missing out on the shoot-off because of those two matches. Okie Ed won the shoot off for place between us finishing 7th. Since it was a Fubby Five instead Magnificent Seven, Okie Ed, did not get the opportunity to see if he was the best gunfighter there. (My distain for the Fubby Five does not come from Colorado, but from the last Arizona State Championship where I finished 7th)
Also from Colorado an illustration that the format may not be working as well as we think is the final standings of the State and Territorial. The top two shooters in the standings of the State did not make the final shoot-offs of the Territorial. The top two shooters of the Territorial did not make the shoot-offs of the State. If these four shooters were truly the best four gunslingers at these events you would expect that they would be in the shoot-offs of both events or at a minimum at least one of them would make the finals of both event.
Luck of the draw is such a big factor in how you place. I did well winning the jackpot shoot and placing 2nd in the Master Gunfighter Bracket, but I have no illusions. "I was lucky in the draw, but then I have always been lucky when ....." When it gets down to the top 20% of an event, not only do you need to be lucky in your draw, but you need to be lucky in who the rest of the field draws. It really helps when someone else takes out that shooter that you can not handle, whether by speed, accuracy, or mental toughness. In the jackpot shoot and the bracket shoot the draws were favorable for me, in the main events not so much.
" I get fourth seed in the main match...stripped of qualifying seed.."
This is a valid concern but stems from our difficulty of accepting change. It is no different from the 6th or 7th seeds in fubby five matches. At least in the format changes I am proposing those almost made it places have two more days of shooting to make it to the shoot offs. The fact that repeatedly eliminated shooters win events means there is a need for a resurrections element in our formats.
At Colorado only one shooter, Two Buck Chuck, made the magnificent shoot-offs in both events. Expanding the fubby five to a Magnificent 7 does not change it, only one still made both.
Time, Time, Time:
When you consider event format and match format, it is a balancing act. To mitigate the adverse effects of luck of the draw you need a higher elimination factor. To get more x s, you need more range time. That can be done by either shortening match length or eliminating side matches. My vote would be to eliminate side matches.
At Colorado we shot a jackpot shoot on one range with 47 shooters in 4 hours. It was Nevada Eight 2x shoot. Since the time taken for Nevada Eight is about the same as Three Winning shots, I am sure we can easily shoot 100 shooters on two ranges 2 x in about five hours. I really think we could shoot 100 shooters on two ranges 3x the first day, shooting down to three. The second day we could again shoot 3 winning shots 3x down to three shooters. There have been a lot of state shoots shooting 4 x three winning shots in one day.
Side matches consume range time and we shoot side matches just to occupy eliminated shooters. It is really unnecessary. It you don't eliminate shooters until noon the third day you don't need the side matches.
Another thing that takes range time is place shoot-offs. At Colorado, there were a lot of shoot-offs for place. The rules say place for recognized places must be determined by a shoot-off and not by x count and time out. The solution to this is how you structure recognized places. If your recognized places are the Magnificent 7 and the top three places in the bracket shoots, then all the recognized places are determined on the line by the format without shoot-offs. That would be 29 places recognized on the line although some of those places would be taken by the same shooters. (Ladies 7, Men 7, and five brackets 3 each, Master Gunfighter, Gunfighter. Sheriff, Deputy and Shootist for a total of 29) For 100 shooters that is 29% of the shooter which is comparable to what most shoots do now.
Thinking about time again, there is no reason we can not shoot 100 shooters on two ranges, main match 3x three winning shots, resurrection 3 x three winning shots and then on championship day shoot five brackets, 2x two winning shots. Bracket winners, men range A and ladies range B, magnificent five at high noon, and then start the Magnificent Seven Shoot-off at 1:00. Awards at 3:00.
We have the time and the ranges. We can have an 8 x match. It is not hard. Just cut out shoot-offs and side matches. Keep all shooters in play to the morning of the third day.
Administrating ease:
I am sure this is easier to do that what is done now because there are fewer matches and less shoot-offs, but I have not punched the keys. My question to Wench and Miss Betty is can the same matches be run the second day with the same shooters on the same computer. How do you reset the computer with the same shooters? My simple solution would be to get a second laptop. Computer 1 runs the first day. Same shooters entered into Computer 2 and it runs the second day. During the second day the brackets are set up on Computer 1 for the third morning. Brackets are run and posted on the second day for the morning of the third day from first days shooting since that is the main match. Seems simple and easy.
Enough for now. "Bring me another shooter!"
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
In the past several years there have been more than a half dozen events where the event winner had been eliminated with four x s only to be put back into the event by the CFDA resurrection to fill the magnificent shoot off. The most recent was the 2018 Southern wherein Quick Cal was resurrected and then won the event. This happens frequently. What this tells you is that sometimes the best shooter at the event is eliminated before he or she gets to the shoot off. What we don't know is how often the best shooter is eliminated by the format and he/she is not resurrected to fill the vacancy.
From Colorado: I and Okie Ed were each shooting well enough to win the State Championships but neither of us made to the shoot offs because of the luck of the draw. In the final rounds of the main match, we drew each other in consecutive rounds. We were evenly matched, matches going 2 to 2, final shot on quickness, splitting the matches, each missing out on the shoot-off because of those two matches. Okie Ed won the shoot off for place between us finishing 7th. Since it was a Fubby Five instead Magnificent Seven, Okie Ed, did not get the opportunity to see if he was the best gunfighter there. (My distain for the Fubby Five does not come from Colorado, but from the last Arizona State Championship where I finished 7th)
Also from Colorado an illustration that the format may not be working as well as we think is the final standings of the State and Territorial. The top two shooters in the standings of the State did not make the final shoot-offs of the Territorial. The top two shooters of the Territorial did not make the shoot-offs of the State. If these four shooters were truly the best four gunslingers at these events you would expect that they would be in the shoot-offs of both events or at a minimum at least one of them would make the finals of both event.
Luck of the draw is such a big factor in how you place. I did well winning the jackpot shoot and placing 2nd in the Master Gunfighter Bracket, but I have no illusions. "I was lucky in the draw, but then I have always been lucky when ....." When it gets down to the top 20% of an event, not only do you need to be lucky in your draw, but you need to be lucky in who the rest of the field draws. It really helps when someone else takes out that shooter that you can not handle, whether by speed, accuracy, or mental toughness. In the jackpot shoot and the bracket shoot the draws were favorable for me, in the main events not so much.
" I get fourth seed in the main match...stripped of qualifying seed.."
This is a valid concern but stems from our difficulty of accepting change. It is no different from the 6th or 7th seeds in fubby five matches. At least in the format changes I am proposing those almost made it places have two more days of shooting to make it to the shoot offs. The fact that repeatedly eliminated shooters win events means there is a need for a resurrections element in our formats.
At Colorado only one shooter, Two Buck Chuck, made the magnificent shoot-offs in both events. Expanding the fubby five to a Magnificent 7 does not change it, only one still made both.
Time, Time, Time:
When you consider event format and match format, it is a balancing act. To mitigate the adverse effects of luck of the draw you need a higher elimination factor. To get more x s, you need more range time. That can be done by either shortening match length or eliminating side matches. My vote would be to eliminate side matches.
At Colorado we shot a jackpot shoot on one range with 47 shooters in 4 hours. It was Nevada Eight 2x shoot. Since the time taken for Nevada Eight is about the same as Three Winning shots, I am sure we can easily shoot 100 shooters on two ranges 2 x in about five hours. I really think we could shoot 100 shooters on two ranges 3x the first day, shooting down to three. The second day we could again shoot 3 winning shots 3x down to three shooters. There have been a lot of state shoots shooting 4 x three winning shots in one day.
Side matches consume range time and we shoot side matches just to occupy eliminated shooters. It is really unnecessary. It you don't eliminate shooters until noon the third day you don't need the side matches.
Another thing that takes range time is place shoot-offs. At Colorado, there were a lot of shoot-offs for place. The rules say place for recognized places must be determined by a shoot-off and not by x count and time out. The solution to this is how you structure recognized places. If your recognized places are the Magnificent 7 and the top three places in the bracket shoots, then all the recognized places are determined on the line by the format without shoot-offs. That would be 29 places recognized on the line although some of those places would be taken by the same shooters. (Ladies 7, Men 7, and five brackets 3 each, Master Gunfighter, Gunfighter. Sheriff, Deputy and Shootist for a total of 29) For 100 shooters that is 29% of the shooter which is comparable to what most shoots do now.
Thinking about time again, there is no reason we can not shoot 100 shooters on two ranges, main match 3x three winning shots, resurrection 3 x three winning shots and then on championship day shoot five brackets, 2x two winning shots. Bracket winners, men range A and ladies range B, magnificent five at high noon, and then start the Magnificent Seven Shoot-off at 1:00. Awards at 3:00.
We have the time and the ranges. We can have an 8 x match. It is not hard. Just cut out shoot-offs and side matches. Keep all shooters in play to the morning of the third day.
Administrating ease:
I am sure this is easier to do that what is done now because there are fewer matches and less shoot-offs, but I have not punched the keys. My question to Wench and Miss Betty is can the same matches be run the second day with the same shooters on the same computer. How do you reset the computer with the same shooters? My simple solution would be to get a second laptop. Computer 1 runs the first day. Same shooters entered into Computer 2 and it runs the second day. During the second day the brackets are set up on Computer 1 for the third morning. Brackets are run and posted on the second day for the morning of the third day from first days shooting since that is the main match. Seems simple and easy.
Enough for now. "Bring me another shooter!"
Monday, July 23, 2018
Given Up!
I have given up on the 7 X titled event. In order to do that, you need to use the best 5 shot option which folks will not even try. If they tried it they would love it, but I guess they don't want to use the best, so I have given up.
I have move on to advocating for the 6 X event. It would be really easy to do.
First day is the main event. Matches are three winning shots, elimination factor of two, shooting down to three shooters. These are the three top spots in the Magnificent Seven.
Second day is Resurrection. Same shooters, matches are three winning shots, elimination factor of two, shooting down to three shooters, taking top three not already in the Mag 7. These are the next three spots in the Mag 7.
Third day is Championship Day. All shooters are still in competition. Break all shooters down into four brackets. Matches are two winning shots, last man standing, elimination factor of two. (Same as FGA a few years ago.)
High Noon, bracket winners shoot off, top man and lady shooter not already in Mag 7 from each bracket carrying their x count forward for a shoot off for the final Mag 7 spot.
Recognized places would be Magnificent 7 and the top three spots of the brackets.
Advantages of the 6 X event:
All shooters get 6 x. All shooters are still in contention for title championship on the morning of Championship Day.
No need for side matches that just waste range time.
Drawing of rounds is much simplified since the same match is drawn on day one and day two. Should be little or no down time for drawing rounds
Few if any shoot-offs for place.
It is easy. It will run smoothly. There will be little down time.
I am pitching it to the Association of Arizona Gunslingers, Inc. Failing there I guess I will look for new blood, maybe Iowa. Want to come to the casinos in January and shoot in a 6 X State Championship. It would be great for a new club, maybe fewer cats there.
I have move on to advocating for the 6 X event. It would be really easy to do.
First day is the main event. Matches are three winning shots, elimination factor of two, shooting down to three shooters. These are the three top spots in the Magnificent Seven.
Second day is Resurrection. Same shooters, matches are three winning shots, elimination factor of two, shooting down to three shooters, taking top three not already in the Mag 7. These are the next three spots in the Mag 7.
Third day is Championship Day. All shooters are still in competition. Break all shooters down into four brackets. Matches are two winning shots, last man standing, elimination factor of two. (Same as FGA a few years ago.)
High Noon, bracket winners shoot off, top man and lady shooter not already in Mag 7 from each bracket carrying their x count forward for a shoot off for the final Mag 7 spot.
Recognized places would be Magnificent 7 and the top three spots of the brackets.
Advantages of the 6 X event:
All shooters get 6 x. All shooters are still in contention for title championship on the morning of Championship Day.
No need for side matches that just waste range time.
Drawing of rounds is much simplified since the same match is drawn on day one and day two. Should be little or no down time for drawing rounds
Few if any shoot-offs for place.
It is easy. It will run smoothly. There will be little down time.
I am pitching it to the Association of Arizona Gunslingers, Inc. Failing there I guess I will look for new blood, maybe Iowa. Want to come to the casinos in January and shoot in a 6 X State Championship. It would be great for a new club, maybe fewer cats there.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Know the Rule, Follow the Rule!
At the 2016 Marshall's Muster shoot at World the format was last man standing Hateful Eight (now Nevada Eight). As the Comish will tell you it is hard to get gunslingers to do something new. When the match got down to two, an influential black badge and an opponent who was significantly slower, the black badge opined that hateful eight would not work because if they were tied at eight shots both would get an X and there would be no winner. The black badge talked his slower opponent into changing the format to three winning shots format. Ultimately, the opponent won, but not in five shots as would have been the case if the format had not been changed. I do not impute bad faith to the black badge although the change clearly benefited him, the important point is that bad faith was possible because the participants did not know the rule, nor follow the rule.
Later when I discussed this with Quick Cal he expressed considerable consternation because the specific circumstances are cover in the rule book. The Comish opined that it is hard to herd cats to which I responded it is the "can't factor" as in "you can't do that!"
I tell this little story, true in every detail, because it illustrates two separate issues. First, is that we should know the rule and follow the rule. Secondly, matches can be and routinely are manipulated, mostly with good intention but sometimes in perceived bad faith, when we don't know the rule and follow the rule.
This blog is about Rule IV, 6, (see page 20 of rule book) which states:
Each contestant must have an opponent. If the opponent does not show up, the present contestant will win by default and will not be allowed to shoot uncontested.
This rule is very simple, very clear and very easy to apply. If it would be followed, we would avoid much of the delay and turmoil that has occurred in recent years. There have been significant problems at 2017 and 2018 Nationals, at the 2016 and 2017 World, and at the Southern this year because this rule was not followed. The "cats" or "can't fraction" simply do not know or follow the rule.
The clearest illustration comes from the Southern this year. Because the match director was trying to fit a large number of shooters into a small time slot he directed that the first round be drawn on the second day without a roll call. This saves about 30 to 45 minutes and gets the shoot started on time. I was in the gunslinger bracket and will tell you what happened there. The score sheets come and there are three missing shooters. The powers that be (I am describing those running the posse whomever that may be) do not know the rule or follow the rule and decide that the way to handle the situation is to shoot byes. So we shoot three byes. The confusion and byes squander all to the time that the match director was trying to save and cause the whole event to be manipulated (maybe in good faith or bad faith) because 9 shooters, almost a third of the bracket, got the benefit of shooting a bye. I do not know how the powers decided who the bye shooters would be, they either went up or down on score sheet, or right or left on the range. In any event the draw was manipulated at the range, either in good faith or bad faith. I elect to believe in good faith.
All of this delay and confusion is easily avoid if we simply know the rule and follow the rule. Draw the round in advance without roll call, if a shooter fails to appear, it is a "win by default" pursuant to the rule. There is no delay, no confusion, no manipulation of the draw at the range.
I know the sage from the mountains is going to cry that it is unfair that some get to advance because of a "win by default", but that is simply the luck of the draw. It is no more unfair than drawing me when I can't find the target, some would say that is a win by default. It is much better to simply accept the luck of the draw than to open the door to draw or format manipulation. Perceived manipulation should be avoided if possible which following the rule does.
I will tell you that there are some who are quite bitter over perceived format manipulation in a side match at this years nationals. It serves no purpose to disclose the details, what is important that the bitterness is there, and results from the powers (again those at range level) not following the announced format. Specifics are not important but I will give you the specific of an ancient feud. The first time I ever did well at an event was the 2013 Winter Range. I was also shooting SASS and had gotten a 11:00 posse thinking I would be eliminated from the fast draw event before the SASS posse. Eleven o'clock comes and I'm still clean, off I go to shoot SASS. When I come back I am chastised by that horse punching fella from the springs who tells me I should have withdrawn from the fast draw event and he had withdrew me from the event. I did not know any better and said "that is fine, that is what I intend." Of course, if I had known the rule and the rule had been followed I would still have been shooting. The next year, 2014, we did follow the rule and a SASS competitor won the fast draw event after forfeiting three matches to shoot his SASS event.
There has been much effort and consideration put into the rule book. We should know the rule and follow the rule. I urge Quick Cal to continue to start side matches without roll calls. Bring me a shooter, I am ready to go, I don't need to wait another hour to get started in a side match. "Let's dance." The rule works well if only we follow the rule.
Later when I discussed this with Quick Cal he expressed considerable consternation because the specific circumstances are cover in the rule book. The Comish opined that it is hard to herd cats to which I responded it is the "can't factor" as in "you can't do that!"
I tell this little story, true in every detail, because it illustrates two separate issues. First, is that we should know the rule and follow the rule. Secondly, matches can be and routinely are manipulated, mostly with good intention but sometimes in perceived bad faith, when we don't know the rule and follow the rule.
This blog is about Rule IV, 6, (see page 20 of rule book) which states:
Each contestant must have an opponent. If the opponent does not show up, the present contestant will win by default and will not be allowed to shoot uncontested.
This rule is very simple, very clear and very easy to apply. If it would be followed, we would avoid much of the delay and turmoil that has occurred in recent years. There have been significant problems at 2017 and 2018 Nationals, at the 2016 and 2017 World, and at the Southern this year because this rule was not followed. The "cats" or "can't fraction" simply do not know or follow the rule.
The clearest illustration comes from the Southern this year. Because the match director was trying to fit a large number of shooters into a small time slot he directed that the first round be drawn on the second day without a roll call. This saves about 30 to 45 minutes and gets the shoot started on time. I was in the gunslinger bracket and will tell you what happened there. The score sheets come and there are three missing shooters. The powers that be (I am describing those running the posse whomever that may be) do not know the rule or follow the rule and decide that the way to handle the situation is to shoot byes. So we shoot three byes. The confusion and byes squander all to the time that the match director was trying to save and cause the whole event to be manipulated (maybe in good faith or bad faith) because 9 shooters, almost a third of the bracket, got the benefit of shooting a bye. I do not know how the powers decided who the bye shooters would be, they either went up or down on score sheet, or right or left on the range. In any event the draw was manipulated at the range, either in good faith or bad faith. I elect to believe in good faith.
All of this delay and confusion is easily avoid if we simply know the rule and follow the rule. Draw the round in advance without roll call, if a shooter fails to appear, it is a "win by default" pursuant to the rule. There is no delay, no confusion, no manipulation of the draw at the range.
I know the sage from the mountains is going to cry that it is unfair that some get to advance because of a "win by default", but that is simply the luck of the draw. It is no more unfair than drawing me when I can't find the target, some would say that is a win by default. It is much better to simply accept the luck of the draw than to open the door to draw or format manipulation. Perceived manipulation should be avoided if possible which following the rule does.
I will tell you that there are some who are quite bitter over perceived format manipulation in a side match at this years nationals. It serves no purpose to disclose the details, what is important that the bitterness is there, and results from the powers (again those at range level) not following the announced format. Specifics are not important but I will give you the specific of an ancient feud. The first time I ever did well at an event was the 2013 Winter Range. I was also shooting SASS and had gotten a 11:00 posse thinking I would be eliminated from the fast draw event before the SASS posse. Eleven o'clock comes and I'm still clean, off I go to shoot SASS. When I come back I am chastised by that horse punching fella from the springs who tells me I should have withdrawn from the fast draw event and he had withdrew me from the event. I did not know any better and said "that is fine, that is what I intend." Of course, if I had known the rule and the rule had been followed I would still have been shooting. The next year, 2014, we did follow the rule and a SASS competitor won the fast draw event after forfeiting three matches to shoot his SASS event.
There has been much effort and consideration put into the rule book. We should know the rule and follow the rule. I urge Quick Cal to continue to start side matches without roll calls. Bring me a shooter, I am ready to go, I don't need to wait another hour to get started in a side match. "Let's dance." The rule works well if only we follow the rule.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Test Run
We tried out a new format at the camp. I thank the 18 gunslingers that tested this format and Rodeo Romeo for letting us use the best facility in CFDA.
We shot Arizona Five with Rotation. I wanted to see if there was a enough time savings to justify using this format. What I found was that it took 1.1 minutes per shooter per round. We had 18 shooters and shot 6 rounds in 2 hours. To answer the questions I had posed in an earlier blog, the score sheets worked well, the shooters learned the format easily, there was no benefit on data entry stress, the sort was about average, and we could not get CFDA program to draw the rounds in advance.
My conclusion is that while the format would be good for practice, for an organized shoot the time benefit does not justify the extra work of preparing and using special scoring paper and training scorekeepers.
Gunfighter Rating: Whenever I can get my hands on score sheets I calculate the gunfighter rating of the shooters. This is helpful is in determining how good the sort is by a format. The gunfighter rating of a shooter is not affected by wins and losses. The top three shooters at the test shoot had a gunfighter rating of 1.17, 1.15 and 1.11. The top rated gunfighter finish 7th, the 2nd rated gun fighter finished 2nd and the third rated gunfighter won the event. The fastest gun there had a gunfighter rating of .89 and finished middle of the pack as you would expect. Whenever there is an anomaly such as the top rated gunfighter finishing 7th, I look for an explanation in the score sheets which I will detail below.
Being Prickly: The gunfighter rating is very useful in explaining why certain shooters finished where they did. It can benefit individual shooters in their quest to get better.
The top rated shooter had one bad match and then got caught by the luck of the draw. In his first match his gunfighter rating was .77 and then he shot 1.26 for the next five matches finishing with a 1.17 rating. In an Arizona Bracket shoot, you can survive one or two losses because of there is no elimination factor in this format but not three losses. After the first round he had two unlucky draws. He did not draw better shooters just drew shooters who got lucky shooting against him. Three losses moved him to Bracket B which he won finishing 7th.
The winner had a main match rating of 1.11, but when he got into the shoot offs his rating improved to 1.25. He shot both quicker and more accurate in the shoot offs. He won the event because he was the toughest shooter there. Since he has won two in a row, I think he has now learned that it does not matter how quick you are but how tough you are.
The gunfighter rating of the fastest gun there is informative. This gunfighter is trying to develop "a go to shot." When the gunfighter was slow shooting, the first two matches, the gunfighter rating was .57. In the next four matches, the gunfighter rating was .95 (including fastest shot of the event, a .353) for a main match rating of .89. I have been asking for some time "why." I remember observing with the Desert Master three years ago asking the same question.
For completeness, the 2nd rated gunslinger finished as you would expect 2nd.
Just because the test did not justify a new format does not mean it was not a success. You test not only to find what will work but what will not work.
Shooting in the Valley of the Sun. We shoot about 20 events using the Arizona Bracket shoot each year including two major jackpot shoots. It is popular and does a good sort. In some ways I think it does much better sort than the title match formats because 33% of the main match field has a chance to win whereas in a titled match only 5 to 10 % of the field has a chance to win. It is not unusual for the winner to come from well down into the field. You can overcome a poor match or an unlucky draw in an Arizona Bracket shoot.
"Boys, quick don't matter much if you don't hit that which you are trying to be quick about!" Virgil Cole
We shot Arizona Five with Rotation. I wanted to see if there was a enough time savings to justify using this format. What I found was that it took 1.1 minutes per shooter per round. We had 18 shooters and shot 6 rounds in 2 hours. To answer the questions I had posed in an earlier blog, the score sheets worked well, the shooters learned the format easily, there was no benefit on data entry stress, the sort was about average, and we could not get CFDA program to draw the rounds in advance.
My conclusion is that while the format would be good for practice, for an organized shoot the time benefit does not justify the extra work of preparing and using special scoring paper and training scorekeepers.
Gunfighter Rating: Whenever I can get my hands on score sheets I calculate the gunfighter rating of the shooters. This is helpful is in determining how good the sort is by a format. The gunfighter rating of a shooter is not affected by wins and losses. The top three shooters at the test shoot had a gunfighter rating of 1.17, 1.15 and 1.11. The top rated gunfighter finish 7th, the 2nd rated gun fighter finished 2nd and the third rated gunfighter won the event. The fastest gun there had a gunfighter rating of .89 and finished middle of the pack as you would expect. Whenever there is an anomaly such as the top rated gunfighter finishing 7th, I look for an explanation in the score sheets which I will detail below.
Being Prickly: The gunfighter rating is very useful in explaining why certain shooters finished where they did. It can benefit individual shooters in their quest to get better.
The top rated shooter had one bad match and then got caught by the luck of the draw. In his first match his gunfighter rating was .77 and then he shot 1.26 for the next five matches finishing with a 1.17 rating. In an Arizona Bracket shoot, you can survive one or two losses because of there is no elimination factor in this format but not three losses. After the first round he had two unlucky draws. He did not draw better shooters just drew shooters who got lucky shooting against him. Three losses moved him to Bracket B which he won finishing 7th.
The winner had a main match rating of 1.11, but when he got into the shoot offs his rating improved to 1.25. He shot both quicker and more accurate in the shoot offs. He won the event because he was the toughest shooter there. Since he has won two in a row, I think he has now learned that it does not matter how quick you are but how tough you are.
The gunfighter rating of the fastest gun there is informative. This gunfighter is trying to develop "a go to shot." When the gunfighter was slow shooting, the first two matches, the gunfighter rating was .57. In the next four matches, the gunfighter rating was .95 (including fastest shot of the event, a .353) for a main match rating of .89. I have been asking for some time "why." I remember observing with the Desert Master three years ago asking the same question.
For completeness, the 2nd rated gunslinger finished as you would expect 2nd.
Just because the test did not justify a new format does not mean it was not a success. You test not only to find what will work but what will not work.
Shooting in the Valley of the Sun. We shoot about 20 events using the Arizona Bracket shoot each year including two major jackpot shoots. It is popular and does a good sort. In some ways I think it does much better sort than the title match formats because 33% of the main match field has a chance to win whereas in a titled match only 5 to 10 % of the field has a chance to win. It is not unusual for the winner to come from well down into the field. You can overcome a poor match or an unlucky draw in an Arizona Bracket shoot.
"Boys, quick don't matter much if you don't hit that which you are trying to be quick about!" Virgil Cole
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
LOESS HILLS PALADINS, INC
"A dream with a date becomes a goal.
A goal broken into steps becomes a plan.
A plan with action becomes reality!"
When I started to shoot cowboy fast draw at age 65 what impressed me the most was a group of boys, ages 6 to 16, who were the most respectful courteous young men I had ever met. They had social skills way beyond their years. Being an old youth coach I can recognize a true sport when I see one. A sport is a character building activity. That is it's only function. Too many of our sports have been high jacked for their entertainment value.
Cowboy fast draw remains sport despite the efforts of some. It teaches discipline, responsibility, respect, and courtesy despite your age. It is also a sport wherein the participants compete in an non-homogeneous environment. There is great benefit to a 6 year old learning to converse and compete with a 60 year old, both for the 6 year old and the 60 year old.
My ringers have all moved back to the loess hills of the plains where there is a dearth of CFDA clubs. (Part of explanation of the name.) Paladins were the knights of Charlemagne court, defenders of a noble cause. They would travel about righting wrongs and protecting the weak. The corporate name comes from the brilliant wit of Possum.
Loess Hills Paladins, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation formed to provide facilities for "exempt purposes." The exempt purposes are:
1. Educational. To provide facilities for events (town alleys) that promote and teach gun handling and gun safety to members of the public;
2. Charitable. To provide facilities for events (club shoot) that combat community deterioration and juvenile delinquency.
3. National and International Sports. To provide facilities for events that foster national and international sports competition by training competitors for those events (club shoots and titled events.)
The initial facility is material sufficient for a portable range that can be configured as a 2 lane, 4 lane, or 6 lane range. It is can be erected in about 30 minutes for a 2 lane range, 1 hour for 4 lanes and, 1.5 hours for 6 lanes by 2 men. It has double ballistic backstop of 10 feet and sides of 8 feet. It is a championship range of 15 feet with 17 inch targets. The material for the range, that is steel and ballistic, will be loaned to CFDA clubs with only two provisions. It must be used for an "exempt purpose" (see above) and the club must have liability insurance for the event. Electronics are to be provided by the club. The use of the material and responsibility for it's use rest with the club. The Paladins are simply providing the material.
2018 Schedule: The range has been used by The Association of Arizona Gunslingers for two events, a national competitor practice and a club shoot. In April the range is going to the home range of the River City Gunslingers for their use for town alleys during the summer of 2018. In October the range will be back in the Valley of the Sun. The range would fit nicely next to the Oriental Saloon in Tombstone in the event some club might want to put on a titled event at that location. (Got a 7 x format all ready to go.)
Needs: Right now the Paladins do not own electronics for the range. We do have lights, sensors, cables, and junctions boxes that are compatible with River City Gunslingers timers. Those timers are not CFDA approved as of yet.
It is the intention of the Paladins to apply for 501 (c)(3) recognition. We have 27 month from April 1st to do this and be recognized back to the incorporation date. The significance of this is that if so recognized donations are tax deductible. Yet to be determined is whether the Paladins is a public charity or a private foundation. That will depend on the source of donations to the Paladins.
Donations may be made to Loess Hills Paladins, Inc., P.O. Box 74726, Phoenix AZ 85087.
"Life has a way of making the foreseeable never happen, and the unforeseeable that which your life becomes." Everett Hitch, Appaloosa.
A goal broken into steps becomes a plan.
A plan with action becomes reality!"
When I started to shoot cowboy fast draw at age 65 what impressed me the most was a group of boys, ages 6 to 16, who were the most respectful courteous young men I had ever met. They had social skills way beyond their years. Being an old youth coach I can recognize a true sport when I see one. A sport is a character building activity. That is it's only function. Too many of our sports have been high jacked for their entertainment value.
Cowboy fast draw remains sport despite the efforts of some. It teaches discipline, responsibility, respect, and courtesy despite your age. It is also a sport wherein the participants compete in an non-homogeneous environment. There is great benefit to a 6 year old learning to converse and compete with a 60 year old, both for the 6 year old and the 60 year old.
My ringers have all moved back to the loess hills of the plains where there is a dearth of CFDA clubs. (Part of explanation of the name.) Paladins were the knights of Charlemagne court, defenders of a noble cause. They would travel about righting wrongs and protecting the weak. The corporate name comes from the brilliant wit of Possum.
Loess Hills Paladins, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation formed to provide facilities for "exempt purposes." The exempt purposes are:
1. Educational. To provide facilities for events (town alleys) that promote and teach gun handling and gun safety to members of the public;
2. Charitable. To provide facilities for events (club shoot) that combat community deterioration and juvenile delinquency.
3. National and International Sports. To provide facilities for events that foster national and international sports competition by training competitors for those events (club shoots and titled events.)
The initial facility is material sufficient for a portable range that can be configured as a 2 lane, 4 lane, or 6 lane range. It is can be erected in about 30 minutes for a 2 lane range, 1 hour for 4 lanes and, 1.5 hours for 6 lanes by 2 men. It has double ballistic backstop of 10 feet and sides of 8 feet. It is a championship range of 15 feet with 17 inch targets. The material for the range, that is steel and ballistic, will be loaned to CFDA clubs with only two provisions. It must be used for an "exempt purpose" (see above) and the club must have liability insurance for the event. Electronics are to be provided by the club. The use of the material and responsibility for it's use rest with the club. The Paladins are simply providing the material.
2018 Schedule: The range has been used by The Association of Arizona Gunslingers for two events, a national competitor practice and a club shoot. In April the range is going to the home range of the River City Gunslingers for their use for town alleys during the summer of 2018. In October the range will be back in the Valley of the Sun. The range would fit nicely next to the Oriental Saloon in Tombstone in the event some club might want to put on a titled event at that location. (Got a 7 x format all ready to go.)
Needs: Right now the Paladins do not own electronics for the range. We do have lights, sensors, cables, and junctions boxes that are compatible with River City Gunslingers timers. Those timers are not CFDA approved as of yet.
It is the intention of the Paladins to apply for 501 (c)(3) recognition. We have 27 month from April 1st to do this and be recognized back to the incorporation date. The significance of this is that if so recognized donations are tax deductible. Yet to be determined is whether the Paladins is a public charity or a private foundation. That will depend on the source of donations to the Paladins.
Donations may be made to Loess Hills Paladins, Inc., P.O. Box 74726, Phoenix AZ 85087.
"Life has a way of making the foreseeable never happen, and the unforeseeable that which your life becomes." Everett Hitch, Appaloosa.
Sunday, April 1, 2018
"It was not personal." "To me it was!"
Apparently, I again offended the "self-proclaimed" with one of my comments. I don't know why this keeps happening, I try to be careful. Guess it is just illustrative of the Hamilton/Burr road to perdition. "Bet you think this song is about you." It is not.
I was just trying to drum up attendance for a Wednesday Shady practice. This Wednesday we are doing a test run of the format for the Loess Hills Jackpot Shoot which is going to be held in August to benefit the new club(s) in the loess hills of Nebraska/Iowa/South Dakota. This Wednesday we will be shooting at the Camp and need about 18 shooters for a good test. Specifically, what we are trying to find out is:
Time; How long does it take to shoot a round. We will mark the start time and the finish time for each round on the scoresheets. Not only will that give us the time for the round but will give us the down time between rounds. I hope that each shooter will get about 40 rounds in the main match and an average of 10 rounds in the shoot-off.
Scoresheets: I have prepared scoresheets for this test. Are they simple and easy to follow? I could do all the scoring myself but that would not be a valid test of the scoresheets. Can the average shooter/new shooter follow the format and be a scorekeeper.
Early Departures: We always have a few folks that have to leave early. In a normal match you give them a 99 which takes them out of the draw for the next round. We are not going to do that because we are going to draw all of the rounds at the start of the main match. This will reduce the downtime between rounds and the stress on the data entry person. We will use the procedure Cal used at 2017 World in the Bracket Shoot. Early departures remain in the draw, and if they no show the match is forfeited pursuant to CFDA rules. Luck of the Draw.
Data Entry; In a normal match there is great stress on the data entry person because scores must be entered before the next round can be drawn. In this format all the rounds are drawn at the start of the event so the scores can be entered as the data entry person is available. It should be less stressful. It should also lessen down time between rounds. There are two methods of entry in the CFDA program, hopefully we will be able to try them both to test which is the best method.
Sort: How good was the sort? See prior post on the best five shot option.
Scoresheets: I have a good scoresheet for a standard round. I need to make some provision for a bye round and a tied time round. I will work on that some more and hopefully have it resolved by Wednesday.
Facility: As I have said in the past the Camp is the best facility in the nation to practice cowboy fast draw. I thank Rodeo Romeo for making it available to us to do this test run. It will be fun.
"Man, it is just practice""Just practice, man!"
I was just trying to drum up attendance for a Wednesday Shady practice. This Wednesday we are doing a test run of the format for the Loess Hills Jackpot Shoot which is going to be held in August to benefit the new club(s) in the loess hills of Nebraska/Iowa/South Dakota. This Wednesday we will be shooting at the Camp and need about 18 shooters for a good test. Specifically, what we are trying to find out is:
Time; How long does it take to shoot a round. We will mark the start time and the finish time for each round on the scoresheets. Not only will that give us the time for the round but will give us the down time between rounds. I hope that each shooter will get about 40 rounds in the main match and an average of 10 rounds in the shoot-off.
Scoresheets: I have prepared scoresheets for this test. Are they simple and easy to follow? I could do all the scoring myself but that would not be a valid test of the scoresheets. Can the average shooter/new shooter follow the format and be a scorekeeper.
Early Departures: We always have a few folks that have to leave early. In a normal match you give them a 99 which takes them out of the draw for the next round. We are not going to do that because we are going to draw all of the rounds at the start of the main match. This will reduce the downtime between rounds and the stress on the data entry person. We will use the procedure Cal used at 2017 World in the Bracket Shoot. Early departures remain in the draw, and if they no show the match is forfeited pursuant to CFDA rules. Luck of the Draw.
Data Entry; In a normal match there is great stress on the data entry person because scores must be entered before the next round can be drawn. In this format all the rounds are drawn at the start of the event so the scores can be entered as the data entry person is available. It should be less stressful. It should also lessen down time between rounds. There are two methods of entry in the CFDA program, hopefully we will be able to try them both to test which is the best method.
Sort: How good was the sort? See prior post on the best five shot option.
Scoresheets: I have a good scoresheet for a standard round. I need to make some provision for a bye round and a tied time round. I will work on that some more and hopefully have it resolved by Wednesday.
Facility: As I have said in the past the Camp is the best facility in the nation to practice cowboy fast draw. I thank Rodeo Romeo for making it available to us to do this test run. It will be fun.
"Man, it is just practice""Just practice, man!"
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
The Best Five Shot Option
The capacity of a 6 lane range is about 60 shooters. At Winter Range we had 90 shooter so we were at about 150% of capacity. To get the shoot in we had to use a five shot option for the entire event. The powers that be decided on the Nevada Five format followed by a First Two winning shots 1 x shoot off. This was not the best that we could have done but results from a lack of understanding among shooters of the options available.
At any event, World, Territorial, State, or large jackpot shoot, the main match is just a seeding tournament wherein the shooter are sorted from top to bottom. If there are 100 shooters then the main match sorts those shooters and ranks them for 1st to 100th.
Generally, our events do a pretty good job of sorting except for one major flaw, luck of the draw. If, for example, you are the 4th best shooter in a 3x event and you draw the three best shooters, you will be sorted out to the bottom of the event even if you hitting 100% at your quickest times. What mitigates luck of the draw is the elimination factor. The higher the X count, the more chance a shooter has to overcome a tough draw, but I have heard many a good shooter says "What chance did I have?" and then list 4 tougher shooters. Always remember for sorting the higher the x count, the more matches, the more shots in a match, the better the sort.
At Winter Range a five shot option was needed. Three options were considered, Montana Five, Nevada Five, and Arizona Five. With Montana Five and Nevada Five there are ties possible with a one shot sudden death to break the tie. In Montana Five the sudden death is unlimited and in Nevada Five the sudden death is limited to three shots. Because of the ties and tie breakers Montana Five and Nevada Five really do not save you much time. Most matches are extended to what would be needed just to shoot a standard Three Winning Shot format. Montana Five and Nevada Five do not sort well because ties become a sudden death shoot off in which 2/3 of the matches are decided by chance.
On the other hand, Arizona Five, saves you at least 25% in time. At Winter Range we could have shot five seeding rounds instead of four. What saves the time is that there are no ties in Arizona Five. Let me repeat, there are no ties in Arizona Five, only winners and those with an X. Because there are no ties, all matches end after five shots. Everyone leaves the line at the same time, either a winner or with an X. That is what saves the time. An additional and very substantial benefit of Arizona Five is that it promotes the valid sorting of shooters.
There are no ties in Arizona Five. Whoever has the most winning shots after five shots wins the match.
If the the score is 0-0 after five shots both shooters get a lose. For sorting, both shooters are hitting at 0% and neither can muster a winning shot. These two shooters should be sorted downward so they get a lose. If the score is 1-1 after five shots both shooters are hitting at less 40% and neither shooter can muster more than one winning shot or only 20% of their shots. So both these shooters should be sorted downward.
If the score is 2-2 after five shots, both shooters are hitting at least better than 40% and maybe as high as 80%, and both shooters have won at least 2 shots. Both of these shooters should be sorted upward. Both shooters get a win in Arizona Five.
The protestations against Arizona Five generally is that shooters don't like the ties. But there are no ties in Arizona Five, only winners and losers, and those are sorted as they should be.
A good illustration at Winter Range was Cowboy Up. In the third round he drew the second best shooter in the event. (How I know that later.) The match was 2-2 after five shots, both shooters having hit two winning shots. Since we were shooting Nevada Five, the match went to a sudden death next winning shot and Cowboy Up lost so he was sorted downward. Ultimately he was seeded 7th. Had we been shooting Arizona Five he would have gotten a win and been sorted upward. He would have been seeded in the top three if Arizona Five was being used.
Arizona Five would have save us time and we could have gotten in 5 rounds. The more rounds the better the sort.
Short Matches. A decision was made to use First Two Winning Shots in the shoot off. I don't consider first two winning shots a fair fight. The match is not long enough to determine who the best gunfighter is. If you think about it in the extreme and consider a match where the first winning shot wins, most would agree it is just a matter of chance as to who will win. In fact, in first winning shot, 1/3 of the matches will be determined by quickness and 2/3 by chance. First two winning shots is not much better. The match is just not long enough. Getting back to Cowboy Up, he met the same shooter in the shoot offs and hit the first two shots winning the match. Had the match been a three winning shots the odds favored his opponent.
A digression: Some will wonder what is the basis for some of my statements. Well, I have the gunfighter ratings for the top group of shooters at winter range. This is not speculation or based on averages. This is the actual results of the actual shots fired in an actual event. These are the rating for that day in the main match without any mental toughness factor. Gunfighter rating (combination of quickness and accuracy): The Draw, 1.38; Everett Hitch 1.27; Rodeo Romeo 1.12; Cowboy Up 1.10; Arizona Coy Dog 1.09; Old West 1.06; Hell on Wheels 1.04; Holli Day 1.04; Shady Mike 1.01.
Back to the Options. In you are out of time consider Arizona Five. It will not only save you 25% on the time needed but it also does a good sort which is the purpose of the main match. Even if you have plenty of time consider it for your practice matches.
Arizona Five is a great practice tool. It demands that you hit and hit right away. The pressure to hit duplicates the pressure in an event. It sorts well. Arizona Five is shot almost exclusively on Shady Mountain although we don't call it that, we do shoot it.
Those that protest against it probably are the shooters that need it most. If you don't like a five shot option it probably because you have trouble finding the target early in a match. If that is the case, you need to shoot more Arizona Five.
For a couple of shooters pretty evenly matched, the original marble match is great. It is Arizona Five with a marble (gold dollar) on the line. Five shots, most winning shots wins, loser put a marble in the can. If match is tied 2-2 both win, no marble. If tied 0-0 or 1-1, both put a marble in the can. At the next monthly shoot, double elimination three winning shot for all the marbles.
Now let's get to sorting!
"Been quick enough so far!" Virgil Cole
At any event, World, Territorial, State, or large jackpot shoot, the main match is just a seeding tournament wherein the shooter are sorted from top to bottom. If there are 100 shooters then the main match sorts those shooters and ranks them for 1st to 100th.
Generally, our events do a pretty good job of sorting except for one major flaw, luck of the draw. If, for example, you are the 4th best shooter in a 3x event and you draw the three best shooters, you will be sorted out to the bottom of the event even if you hitting 100% at your quickest times. What mitigates luck of the draw is the elimination factor. The higher the X count, the more chance a shooter has to overcome a tough draw, but I have heard many a good shooter says "What chance did I have?" and then list 4 tougher shooters. Always remember for sorting the higher the x count, the more matches, the more shots in a match, the better the sort.
At Winter Range a five shot option was needed. Three options were considered, Montana Five, Nevada Five, and Arizona Five. With Montana Five and Nevada Five there are ties possible with a one shot sudden death to break the tie. In Montana Five the sudden death is unlimited and in Nevada Five the sudden death is limited to three shots. Because of the ties and tie breakers Montana Five and Nevada Five really do not save you much time. Most matches are extended to what would be needed just to shoot a standard Three Winning Shot format. Montana Five and Nevada Five do not sort well because ties become a sudden death shoot off in which 2/3 of the matches are decided by chance.
On the other hand, Arizona Five, saves you at least 25% in time. At Winter Range we could have shot five seeding rounds instead of four. What saves the time is that there are no ties in Arizona Five. Let me repeat, there are no ties in Arizona Five, only winners and those with an X. Because there are no ties, all matches end after five shots. Everyone leaves the line at the same time, either a winner or with an X. That is what saves the time. An additional and very substantial benefit of Arizona Five is that it promotes the valid sorting of shooters.
There are no ties in Arizona Five. Whoever has the most winning shots after five shots wins the match.
If the the score is 0-0 after five shots both shooters get a lose. For sorting, both shooters are hitting at 0% and neither can muster a winning shot. These two shooters should be sorted downward so they get a lose. If the score is 1-1 after five shots both shooters are hitting at less 40% and neither shooter can muster more than one winning shot or only 20% of their shots. So both these shooters should be sorted downward.
If the score is 2-2 after five shots, both shooters are hitting at least better than 40% and maybe as high as 80%, and both shooters have won at least 2 shots. Both of these shooters should be sorted upward. Both shooters get a win in Arizona Five.
The protestations against Arizona Five generally is that shooters don't like the ties. But there are no ties in Arizona Five, only winners and losers, and those are sorted as they should be.
A good illustration at Winter Range was Cowboy Up. In the third round he drew the second best shooter in the event. (How I know that later.) The match was 2-2 after five shots, both shooters having hit two winning shots. Since we were shooting Nevada Five, the match went to a sudden death next winning shot and Cowboy Up lost so he was sorted downward. Ultimately he was seeded 7th. Had we been shooting Arizona Five he would have gotten a win and been sorted upward. He would have been seeded in the top three if Arizona Five was being used.
Arizona Five would have save us time and we could have gotten in 5 rounds. The more rounds the better the sort.
Short Matches. A decision was made to use First Two Winning Shots in the shoot off. I don't consider first two winning shots a fair fight. The match is not long enough to determine who the best gunfighter is. If you think about it in the extreme and consider a match where the first winning shot wins, most would agree it is just a matter of chance as to who will win. In fact, in first winning shot, 1/3 of the matches will be determined by quickness and 2/3 by chance. First two winning shots is not much better. The match is just not long enough. Getting back to Cowboy Up, he met the same shooter in the shoot offs and hit the first two shots winning the match. Had the match been a three winning shots the odds favored his opponent.
A digression: Some will wonder what is the basis for some of my statements. Well, I have the gunfighter ratings for the top group of shooters at winter range. This is not speculation or based on averages. This is the actual results of the actual shots fired in an actual event. These are the rating for that day in the main match without any mental toughness factor. Gunfighter rating (combination of quickness and accuracy): The Draw, 1.38; Everett Hitch 1.27; Rodeo Romeo 1.12; Cowboy Up 1.10; Arizona Coy Dog 1.09; Old West 1.06; Hell on Wheels 1.04; Holli Day 1.04; Shady Mike 1.01.
Back to the Options. In you are out of time consider Arizona Five. It will not only save you 25% on the time needed but it also does a good sort which is the purpose of the main match. Even if you have plenty of time consider it for your practice matches.
Arizona Five is a great practice tool. It demands that you hit and hit right away. The pressure to hit duplicates the pressure in an event. It sorts well. Arizona Five is shot almost exclusively on Shady Mountain although we don't call it that, we do shoot it.
Those that protest against it probably are the shooters that need it most. If you don't like a five shot option it probably because you have trouble finding the target early in a match. If that is the case, you need to shoot more Arizona Five.
For a couple of shooters pretty evenly matched, the original marble match is great. It is Arizona Five with a marble (gold dollar) on the line. Five shots, most winning shots wins, loser put a marble in the can. If match is tied 2-2 both win, no marble. If tied 0-0 or 1-1, both put a marble in the can. At the next monthly shoot, double elimination three winning shot for all the marbles.
Now let's get to sorting!
"Been quick enough so far!" Virgil Cole
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Winter Range 2018
Well, Winter Range is in the books. Congratulations to all of the shooters and especially the top three in each bracket. Rodeo Romeo won Bracket A coming from the 6th seed, a truly difficult task since the shoot off was a 1 x 2 winning shot affair. Rodeo was the toughest gunfighter at the event.
We had 90 shooters which put our 6 lane range at 150% of capacity. We had to adjust the format a bit going to Nevada Eight for the entire main match and then Best Two shot shoot off 1 x, but we got it all done before the sun set. The club in a box was in the box before dark thanks to all the gunslingers that stayed to put the range away.
The large numbers meant that the pot was large, payout was 80%, with substantial money going to California (Cowgirl Up), Colorado (Wench), and Iowa/South Dakota/Arizona (wherever Sky now calls home). Bracket winners were: A. Rodeo Romeo, Hell on Wheels, and the Draw; B. Grey Wander, Cowgirl Up, Sky Queen; C. Quiet Thunder, Wench, and Calaboose Bill. We had a little trouble getting Quiet Thunder to the photo op, with his protestation that he was not familiar with the routine, but I know that is not true since he put me out at the Springs last year.
Shootist Winners were Ladies: Miss Kitty and Wench; Men: Brasada Spur, Noah Chance, and Dirty Dan.
The cat factor kept us from using the best 5 shot option, more on that in a later blog. Next year, whether it is a Jackpot shoot or a State Championship, we will have two 6 lane ranges, the Loess Hills Paladins (another later blog) are committed to a second range for 2019 Winter Range raising our capacity to 120 shooters
On a personal note, I shot about as well as possible hitting at a better that 75% at low 4 quickness breaking down into the 3s for the SASS competition. No match for the entire week was less that 60% with most better than 80% except the last match (50%) which was a two winning shot format.
Unfortunately, we had to go to a two winning shot format for the shoot off since each bracket had more than 30 shooters in it. This format does not allow for sufficient shots to have a valid test of gunfighting ability. It make Rodeo's feat all the more remarkable.
Weather for the Jackpot Shoot was a bit nipping in the morning, but by mid day it was perfect. Hope to see you all next year at Winter Range. If you have never experienced it come early, more vendors than anywhere else, 800 plus SASS shooters, 5 days of practice if you want, then a big money jackpot shoot on Saturday or maybe a titled match, we will see. I'm lobbying for the 7 x shoot. (Another later blog)
We had 90 shooters which put our 6 lane range at 150% of capacity. We had to adjust the format a bit going to Nevada Eight for the entire main match and then Best Two shot shoot off 1 x, but we got it all done before the sun set. The club in a box was in the box before dark thanks to all the gunslingers that stayed to put the range away.
The large numbers meant that the pot was large, payout was 80%, with substantial money going to California (Cowgirl Up), Colorado (Wench), and Iowa/South Dakota/Arizona (wherever Sky now calls home). Bracket winners were: A. Rodeo Romeo, Hell on Wheels, and the Draw; B. Grey Wander, Cowgirl Up, Sky Queen; C. Quiet Thunder, Wench, and Calaboose Bill. We had a little trouble getting Quiet Thunder to the photo op, with his protestation that he was not familiar with the routine, but I know that is not true since he put me out at the Springs last year.
Shootist Winners were Ladies: Miss Kitty and Wench; Men: Brasada Spur, Noah Chance, and Dirty Dan.
The cat factor kept us from using the best 5 shot option, more on that in a later blog. Next year, whether it is a Jackpot shoot or a State Championship, we will have two 6 lane ranges, the Loess Hills Paladins (another later blog) are committed to a second range for 2019 Winter Range raising our capacity to 120 shooters
On a personal note, I shot about as well as possible hitting at a better that 75% at low 4 quickness breaking down into the 3s for the SASS competition. No match for the entire week was less that 60% with most better than 80% except the last match (50%) which was a two winning shot format.
Unfortunately, we had to go to a two winning shot format for the shoot off since each bracket had more than 30 shooters in it. This format does not allow for sufficient shots to have a valid test of gunfighting ability. It make Rodeo's feat all the more remarkable.
Weather for the Jackpot Shoot was a bit nipping in the morning, but by mid day it was perfect. Hope to see you all next year at Winter Range. If you have never experienced it come early, more vendors than anywhere else, 800 plus SASS shooters, 5 days of practice if you want, then a big money jackpot shoot on Saturday or maybe a titled match, we will see. I'm lobbying for the 7 x shoot. (Another later blog)
Monday, January 29, 2018
Grailfever
Rodeo Romeo has made some personal and hurtful comments to me. I did not mean to start an argument or say anything offensive to him, but if I did I apologize. He asks for an explanation and so here it is.
To be a competitive gunfighter you must have a finalized draw. By that I mean you draw to the same anchor point and fire each and every time. Each draw is identical to each other draw. Perfection is when every bullet hits the same hole in the exact identical time. By definition, if you have a finalized draw your quickest draw will be your most accurate shot because you are getting to the anchor point as quickly and as smoothly as possible. Anything that causes you to change your draw will cause you to have to re-finalize or re-learn your draw.
If you are constantly changing your draw to get that last millisecond of time, you have to relearn your draw with each change. Every change for whatever reason brings you back to the entry level of accuracy, from my observation less than 30%. To constantly chase the clock impedes a gunslinger's development. Disregard for where you hit takes away the opportunity for your subconscious to learn accuracy.
Partime in Texas is a good study in the development of a gunslinger. When I first saw him he was just another pretty gun. He would come to titled matches and after four rounds go home. Quick but hitting less than 30%. He even wrote a song about it. Then he came to the Springs and had a session with Marshall Cooper. Within six months he was the best gun in Texas. What happened? He finalized his draw. He began to hit the target and see every hit. He no longer was practicing missing. If you see every hit your mind and body will walk the hits to the light. Some will say he learned to be fast then he learned to be accurate. No, that is not what happened. When he was "learning to go fast," he just was not paying attention. Hitting didn't matter. He was depriving his subconscious the opportunity to learn to be accurate.
DO NOT PRACTICE ACCURACY! You can not do it. Practice speed only. To think about accuracy or to try to be accurate causes you to miss. "Any thought changes an expert into a novice." The Sports Gene.
What is needed is to give your subconscious the opportunity to learn those small incremental changes that walk the hits to the light. If you think about hitting you will miss. If you try to be accurate you will miss. If you think about going fast, you will be slow. (For me, trying to go fast in competition causes me to be about 30 mls slow)
"I was lucky in the order, but then I have always been lucky when it comes to killing folks." William Munny
Now to get personal. Saturday at Pioneer we shot an Arizona Bracket shoot. The field was divided into three brackets by x count and time out. In A bracket there were 15 gunslingers, all good and tough gunfighters, not an easy draw in the bunch. Of the 14 matches only three matches were decided by quickness, Old West was quicker than Shady, Holli Day put Old West out on quickness, and I put Ranger out on quickness. Quickness is important, but not as important as mental toughness. In the last seven matches only one match was decided on quickness. The rest were decided on something else and it ain't accuracy.
Those matches were decided on the mental processes of the gunslingers. Based on time out 6 of the 7 were quicker than me. What happened. Well, the same thing that happened at Nationals when 5 black badges went down to Johnny Three Toes. They thought about it. In some form of another they all thought, "I got to hit the target!" or they tried to slow down because you are more accurate when you slow down (another myth). When you think about hitting, you miss.
A couple of shooters Saturday were "slow shooting." Slow shooting is the kiss of death to a gunslinger. Why? Because you have to think when you are changing from fast to slow or from slow to fast. Any thought changes an expert into a novice.
Getting back to the subject at hand. I have suffered through several bouts of grailfever before and I know it takes about 6 months for it to run it's course. Even knowing that, come February 5, based mainly on comments by Levi, I will start a new stance and an new draw. I will start off the clock. Time does not matter. Only a finalized draw matters. It may be quicker or it may not be, but I will let my subconscious walk the hits to the light, there is no excuse for less than 80%.
"I warned em!" Virgil Cole
To be a competitive gunfighter you must have a finalized draw. By that I mean you draw to the same anchor point and fire each and every time. Each draw is identical to each other draw. Perfection is when every bullet hits the same hole in the exact identical time. By definition, if you have a finalized draw your quickest draw will be your most accurate shot because you are getting to the anchor point as quickly and as smoothly as possible. Anything that causes you to change your draw will cause you to have to re-finalize or re-learn your draw.
If you are constantly changing your draw to get that last millisecond of time, you have to relearn your draw with each change. Every change for whatever reason brings you back to the entry level of accuracy, from my observation less than 30%. To constantly chase the clock impedes a gunslinger's development. Disregard for where you hit takes away the opportunity for your subconscious to learn accuracy.
Partime in Texas is a good study in the development of a gunslinger. When I first saw him he was just another pretty gun. He would come to titled matches and after four rounds go home. Quick but hitting less than 30%. He even wrote a song about it. Then he came to the Springs and had a session with Marshall Cooper. Within six months he was the best gun in Texas. What happened? He finalized his draw. He began to hit the target and see every hit. He no longer was practicing missing. If you see every hit your mind and body will walk the hits to the light. Some will say he learned to be fast then he learned to be accurate. No, that is not what happened. When he was "learning to go fast," he just was not paying attention. Hitting didn't matter. He was depriving his subconscious the opportunity to learn to be accurate.
DO NOT PRACTICE ACCURACY! You can not do it. Practice speed only. To think about accuracy or to try to be accurate causes you to miss. "Any thought changes an expert into a novice." The Sports Gene.
What is needed is to give your subconscious the opportunity to learn those small incremental changes that walk the hits to the light. If you think about hitting you will miss. If you try to be accurate you will miss. If you think about going fast, you will be slow. (For me, trying to go fast in competition causes me to be about 30 mls slow)
"I was lucky in the order, but then I have always been lucky when it comes to killing folks." William Munny
Now to get personal. Saturday at Pioneer we shot an Arizona Bracket shoot. The field was divided into three brackets by x count and time out. In A bracket there were 15 gunslingers, all good and tough gunfighters, not an easy draw in the bunch. Of the 14 matches only three matches were decided by quickness, Old West was quicker than Shady, Holli Day put Old West out on quickness, and I put Ranger out on quickness. Quickness is important, but not as important as mental toughness. In the last seven matches only one match was decided on quickness. The rest were decided on something else and it ain't accuracy.
Those matches were decided on the mental processes of the gunslingers. Based on time out 6 of the 7 were quicker than me. What happened. Well, the same thing that happened at Nationals when 5 black badges went down to Johnny Three Toes. They thought about it. In some form of another they all thought, "I got to hit the target!" or they tried to slow down because you are more accurate when you slow down (another myth). When you think about hitting, you miss.
A couple of shooters Saturday were "slow shooting." Slow shooting is the kiss of death to a gunslinger. Why? Because you have to think when you are changing from fast to slow or from slow to fast. Any thought changes an expert into a novice.
Getting back to the subject at hand. I have suffered through several bouts of grailfever before and I know it takes about 6 months for it to run it's course. Even knowing that, come February 5, based mainly on comments by Levi, I will start a new stance and an new draw. I will start off the clock. Time does not matter. Only a finalized draw matters. It may be quicker or it may not be, but I will let my subconscious walk the hits to the light, there is no excuse for less than 80%.
"I warned em!" Virgil Cole
Friday, January 26, 2018
Lessons of Geography
I awoke this morning composing this post as a response to the swagger of loverboy, but upon further consideration decided that he deserves to strut a bit as long as he doesn't trip on his spurs. The vehicle was going to be a geography lesson, but then decided that the vehicle itself had merit since there may be some traveling here for Winter Range.
The main trail in and out of Phoenix is I-17. From the intersection of the main trail with Wickeburg/Carefree road, about 1/2 mile west is the venue for Winter Range. About a thousand shooters and their camp followers will be at Winter Range February 18 to 25. The Association of Arizona Gunslinger will have a 6 lane range up and running Feb 19 through 24, with a Arizona Bracket Shoot on the 24th. CFDA shooters can shoot all week warming up for Saturday, but it may not do you much good, as the competition is pretty salty at the Showdown at Winter Range.
If you head east down the Wickenbugr/Carefree Road, just about 1/2 mile past Central Avenue (divides Phoenix east and west) you will come to the road (7th Street) that goes from Shady Mountain north around Daisy Mountain back to the main trail (I-17). If you turn south about 1/2 mile you will come to Shady Mountain, the home range of many World and National Champions. Those champions gather about weekly, mostly for social shooting, gunsmithing, and general foolishness. Shooting there is by invitation, but Shady is pretty free with the invitations, his only limit being the space available for the crowd that wants to come.
If, at the intersection of the Carefree road and the Daisy Mtn road, you turn north and go about a mile you come to loverboy flats. When you will come to the girlie street (Dolores), turn east and go about 1/4 mile and you come to the Camp. The Camp is open 24/7 to CFDA shooters and it is a world class 6 lane facility where speed is king. The Camp has a jackpot shoot the first Saturday of the month and quarter matches the third Saturday of the month. The Camp has a 8' by 32' greased wall so there is no practice missing at the camp. If you practice at the Camp and shoot less that 80%, you are not paying attention.
From the intersection of the main trail and the Wickenburg/Carefree road, 1/2 mile to the north is Pioneer Village, Arizona Territory, the home range of The Association of Arizona Gunslingers. They hold a Arizona Bracket shoot on the fourth Saturday of every month. The saying is that "There is no lollygagging at Pioneer Village," but the very nature of the Arizona bracket shoot is to insure that the new shooter, the drifter, the youth and generally everyone feels welcome and competitive..
For those that want to shoot every Saturday, you can travel down the main roads through Phoenix out east beyond Red Mountain and shoot at the Rio Salado Range. The Salty River Cowboys (officially the Rio Salado Vaqueros) hold a club shoot the second Saturday of every month. It is alway an excellent shoot with different formats.
The Loess Hills Paladins, Have Range, Will Travel, are building their portable range at Shady Mtn. The Paladins plan to break camp and head for the Loess Hills when the snow is out of the mountain passes. They will go through Flagstaff then pick up the Pueros River onto the Rio Grande River to Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Trail. They intend to stop at Manual Lisa's place before heading onto the home range of the River City Gunslingers. I will give a photo report when the range is done, hope to set up at Pioneer Village, March 24.
Well, we will see how the swagger goes Saturday.
The main trail in and out of Phoenix is I-17. From the intersection of the main trail with Wickeburg/Carefree road, about 1/2 mile west is the venue for Winter Range. About a thousand shooters and their camp followers will be at Winter Range February 18 to 25. The Association of Arizona Gunslinger will have a 6 lane range up and running Feb 19 through 24, with a Arizona Bracket Shoot on the 24th. CFDA shooters can shoot all week warming up for Saturday, but it may not do you much good, as the competition is pretty salty at the Showdown at Winter Range.
If you head east down the Wickenbugr/Carefree Road, just about 1/2 mile past Central Avenue (divides Phoenix east and west) you will come to the road (7th Street) that goes from Shady Mountain north around Daisy Mountain back to the main trail (I-17). If you turn south about 1/2 mile you will come to Shady Mountain, the home range of many World and National Champions. Those champions gather about weekly, mostly for social shooting, gunsmithing, and general foolishness. Shooting there is by invitation, but Shady is pretty free with the invitations, his only limit being the space available for the crowd that wants to come.
If, at the intersection of the Carefree road and the Daisy Mtn road, you turn north and go about a mile you come to loverboy flats. When you will come to the girlie street (Dolores), turn east and go about 1/4 mile and you come to the Camp. The Camp is open 24/7 to CFDA shooters and it is a world class 6 lane facility where speed is king. The Camp has a jackpot shoot the first Saturday of the month and quarter matches the third Saturday of the month. The Camp has a 8' by 32' greased wall so there is no practice missing at the camp. If you practice at the Camp and shoot less that 80%, you are not paying attention.
From the intersection of the main trail and the Wickenburg/Carefree road, 1/2 mile to the north is Pioneer Village, Arizona Territory, the home range of The Association of Arizona Gunslingers. They hold a Arizona Bracket shoot on the fourth Saturday of every month. The saying is that "There is no lollygagging at Pioneer Village," but the very nature of the Arizona bracket shoot is to insure that the new shooter, the drifter, the youth and generally everyone feels welcome and competitive..
For those that want to shoot every Saturday, you can travel down the main roads through Phoenix out east beyond Red Mountain and shoot at the Rio Salado Range. The Salty River Cowboys (officially the Rio Salado Vaqueros) hold a club shoot the second Saturday of every month. It is alway an excellent shoot with different formats.
The Loess Hills Paladins, Have Range, Will Travel, are building their portable range at Shady Mtn. The Paladins plan to break camp and head for the Loess Hills when the snow is out of the mountain passes. They will go through Flagstaff then pick up the Pueros River onto the Rio Grande River to Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Trail. They intend to stop at Manual Lisa's place before heading onto the home range of the River City Gunslingers. I will give a photo report when the range is done, hope to set up at Pioneer Village, March 24.
Well, we will see how the swagger goes Saturday.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
If you think 2016 was bad, wait for 2018, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Got a look at the new holster rule, and if you thought 2016 was bad for gunfighters misbehaven, wait for 2018. It is going be a springs fiasco all year long. (No fault of the host.) Maybe we can some how divert the powers that be travel plans and the locals will get along just fine.
Any way, one of the funniest story I heard from the old timer yesterday was how when they used to shoot with the hand 6 inches from the gun the rule was enforced with a yardstick to measure the shooter hands during the draw. One particularly wired competitor came completely unglued with a stick being poked at him during his draw.
Now it appears the Comish has got a new bud, it will be interesting to see how he nips it comes spring. All I got to say is that the Range Masters in the Valley of the Sun don't tolerate nonsense much. Warm the penalty box up. I am impressed with the wisdom of my board, we don't have any title events here in 2018, so we can travel and be amused elsewhere.
Any way, one of the funniest story I heard from the old timer yesterday was how when they used to shoot with the hand 6 inches from the gun the rule was enforced with a yardstick to measure the shooter hands during the draw. One particularly wired competitor came completely unglued with a stick being poked at him during his draw.
Now it appears the Comish has got a new bud, it will be interesting to see how he nips it comes spring. All I got to say is that the Range Masters in the Valley of the Sun don't tolerate nonsense much. Warm the penalty box up. I am impressed with the wisdom of my board, we don't have any title events here in 2018, so we can travel and be amused elsewhere.
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
So you want to be a gunfighter!
Recently I had to opportunity to share thoughts on this sport with a aspiring gunfighter by text message. This topic being too voluminous for text I will share by blog.
Over the last two years I have competed in 30 to 40 events, club, State, Territorial, National, and World. What I have observed is that the average CFDA shooter has gunfighter rating of between .80 to .95. If a shooter has a rating of 1.0 or above for an event he or she is in the top 25% of the CFDA. Gunfighters that make it into the Magnificent 7 generally will be those with a gunfighter rating of 1.2 or better. Normally there is only a handful shooting this well, maybe 5% of the shooters.
Gunfighter rating is a shooter's speed index, 1 minus his normal quickness, plus his accuracy index, his average shooting percentage. For example a shooter with a quickness of .35 will have a speed index of .65 and if he is shooting at 30% accuracy his gunfighter rating will be .95.
It really does not matter how you get above 1.0 and to 1.2. A .6 shooter hitting at 80% for a rating of 1.2 is competitive with a .4 shooter hitting at 60% for a rating for 1.2. Granted speed matters, but not as much of you think when you get to the real gunfight, the Magnificent Seven. That is why that .6 shooter was able to put down all those black badges at Nationals. When you get to the real fight, where all the shooter are 1.2 shooters, then the deciding factor is mental toughness.
Speed is glamorous, but accuracy is deadly. The .35 shooter hitting 30% may think he is good, but really he is just a little above average. Get to 1.0 and you will start to be in the top 25% of shoots. Get to 1.2 and you will win most club shoots and make the Magnificent Seven of major shoots.
Those of us who compete against each other know the gunfighter rating of our opponents. We know who is the .5 shooter hitting 60% and who is a .4 shooter hitting only 40%. This ain't hard to figure out and over the long haul the .5 shooter is going to do consistently better than the .4 shooter. Now if that .4 shooter can move his accuracy to 50%, then he is at 1.1 same as the .5 shooter and they will probably split their matches throughout the year.
What is your gunfighter rating? Where do you want to be for 2018?
Over the last two years I have competed in 30 to 40 events, club, State, Territorial, National, and World. What I have observed is that the average CFDA shooter has gunfighter rating of between .80 to .95. If a shooter has a rating of 1.0 or above for an event he or she is in the top 25% of the CFDA. Gunfighters that make it into the Magnificent 7 generally will be those with a gunfighter rating of 1.2 or better. Normally there is only a handful shooting this well, maybe 5% of the shooters.
Gunfighter rating is a shooter's speed index, 1 minus his normal quickness, plus his accuracy index, his average shooting percentage. For example a shooter with a quickness of .35 will have a speed index of .65 and if he is shooting at 30% accuracy his gunfighter rating will be .95.
It really does not matter how you get above 1.0 and to 1.2. A .6 shooter hitting at 80% for a rating of 1.2 is competitive with a .4 shooter hitting at 60% for a rating for 1.2. Granted speed matters, but not as much of you think when you get to the real gunfight, the Magnificent Seven. That is why that .6 shooter was able to put down all those black badges at Nationals. When you get to the real fight, where all the shooter are 1.2 shooters, then the deciding factor is mental toughness.
Speed is glamorous, but accuracy is deadly. The .35 shooter hitting 30% may think he is good, but really he is just a little above average. Get to 1.0 and you will start to be in the top 25% of shoots. Get to 1.2 and you will win most club shoots and make the Magnificent Seven of major shoots.
Those of us who compete against each other know the gunfighter rating of our opponents. We know who is the .5 shooter hitting 60% and who is a .4 shooter hitting only 40%. This ain't hard to figure out and over the long haul the .5 shooter is going to do consistently better than the .4 shooter. Now if that .4 shooter can move his accuracy to 50%, then he is at 1.1 same as the .5 shooter and they will probably split their matches throughout the year.
What is your gunfighter rating? Where do you want to be for 2018?
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