After shooting in the Magnificent Seven of the Southern Territorial, a young shooter about age ten asked me why I shake my hips before I shoot. I responded that I have one artificial hip and one bad hip and it is painful for me to shoot. It helps if I can loosen up my hips and my lower back before I shoot.
More importantly it is my current waggle. Most professional athletes in sports that require a shot, golf, baseball, tennis, etc. use a waggle. A waggle is a meaningless motion that is done after the athlete has got through his physical and mental routine before the shot. It is the signal to the athlete that he is ready to go and make the shot. Wild Onion Willie's waggle is to stick his trigger finger in the trigger guard and then position it to its shooting location. Stampede Loverboy checks to make sure his gun in loose in the holster. Many top shooters do a mock draw, that is what Thirsty does. A waggle is a signal to the body and mind that you are ready to make the shot. My waggle is currently loosening the hip and shift of balance right and left.
I shot pretty well at the Texas State and the Southern Territorial. In the State I had 19 matches including the bracket match and was 15-4. Of my 4 losses, two were competitive losses and two were losses that were mental losses. In the Territorial main match I had 3 losses two of which were to Short Keg. I have shot a bit against Short Keg and quite frankly in the Territorial I just got flustered and could not find the target against him.
I was seeded 6th in the Magnificent Seven and when I got the seeding I texted Shady that I thought I had a good draw. My confidence was boosted by the fact that I had just beaten the 1st seed and 7th seed in the main match. Also, we would be shooting on 1 & 2 of Range A where I had finished the previous day winning three matches in a total of 10 shots. Even though the field had two black badges and 4 three shooters, I felt I could handle the field if I put the fear of Alleluia in them. My attitude was "I ain't missing, bring me the next shooter."
I had lane choice and I chose lane 1 because I thought that would put me on lane 2 for Short Keg. I really don't remember the first five matches, except somewhere in there I see Miss Kitty motioning me to clean my gun, to which I responded I ain't leaving, bring me the next shooter. I don't need to clean my gun I only shoot three rounds per match, bring me the next shooter.
Eventually I got to the number 1 seed, Delta Whiskey, who was the number 1 seed not because he is quick, which he is, but because he is mentally tough. He gives me my first loss and I have go take care of the number 3 seed a second time. I ain't missing, bring me the next shooter.
In our rematch I defeat Delta Whiskey. We have now shot three times and I have won twice. Most shooters would fold, but Delta Whiskey has that champion mental toughness and hits 60% winning the Championship. It was a fun match and I am looking forward to a rematch. I ain't missing.
Any discussion of mental toughness has to include that gal from Virginia. Slow Poke is a solid 4.8-5.5 shooter who has the game figured out. At the Four Corners Territorial she is eliminated only to be resurrected and win 5 in a row to win the event. She won the Southern. She has the champion mental toughness. I am going to listen to her to see if I can pick up her mental routine. That will be worth more in wins that any speed that I can get. Another new shooter to listen to is Powder Keg. He went through the Texas State and the state bracket shoot with only one loss. Almost an impossible feat.
I still have not come down, bring me the next shooter. Hope I don't stumble on my spurs.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
Put the fear of Alleluia in 'em!
I had a pretty good day shooting at Rio Salado Vaqueros practice shoot. It was a 3 x last man standing affair. The field was not overwhelming but it did have a World Champion, several World Champion Category shooters, multiple Territorial Champions and of course a Two-time National Champion. 38 shooters in all. I only had one poor match shooting 57% at mid four speed. In the other ten matches I shot 89% at mid four speed. To quote William Munny, "I was lucky in the order, but then I'm always lucky in the order when......" Most of the speed ended up shooting in the 2nd chance match.
I mention this only as a prelude to my main point. The Alleluia training regiment trains gunfighters, not necessarily the quickest but maybe the most deadly. Saturday shoot, for me was what it always should be, except that one match in which I got flustered and lost the target.
I am looking for two disciples to train in the Alleluia system for 8 weeks. I would prefer new shooters because they come without all that baggage, but would consider seasoned shooters who have the right attitude. Would like one lady and one man. Plan to start May 1 and finish the week before the Pioneer shoot in June. Prefer folks in the Valley of the Sun so I can meet with them weekly, but would consider others dedicated to the system.
Commitment:
1. Must be willing to shoot a minimum of 150 rounds off of the clock a week. Would plan to meet with you at least once a week in the desert for a practice session. Normally student would shoot 50 rounds three times a week. Wax is reusable so 500 wax should be sufficient.
2. Must be willing to forego the clock except for competition. You can't learn to be a gunfighter if you have grailfever.
3. Must be willing to dry fire in front of a mirror on days not shooting live rounds.
4. Must forgo outside influences. Only one mentor allowed. Quickest way to booth hill is to work on your draw during competition.
5. Must acquire practice stand. (about $25)
6. Must agree I can use your alias and story in any future publications.
Goals:
1. Goal for the man would be to be a 4 shooter shooting better than 80%.
2. Goal for the lady would be to be a World Champion. This is not a higher goal, it just that the next Lady World Champion will be a 4 or 5 shooter shooting better than 60%.
3. My goal is to see if I am in left field or not. You will be the test of the training regiment.
The Draw:
Most new shooters start out with the level and follow through draw. They spend months or sometimes years learning to be fast with this technique. Some become top shooters but most level out in the mid 5s. Some spend years trying to unlearn the follow through to get truly fast. We will try to learn the Lock-elbow/Thumb-roll draw. If you can't do the lock elbow draw you still can be a 4 flat shooter shooting the level and follow through. The flail draw is a defect and not an acceptable draw although some shoot world record times with it. It is a symptom of grailfever.
I plan to video students before, during and after the 8 weeks and give each their reaction/draw splits.
Observation: I have to end this post with an observation of my idol, Miss Kitty, World Champion. She is getting ready to hand judge me late in the event and she has her box of 100 cartridges open looking at them. To me there is no reasonable order to the shot shells and unshot shells so I ask her about it. She tells me there is a definite order and she can ascertain the hits and misses of each round from the order in the box. See why she is a world champion. I got to get her to train me more! She never has, I just pick up tips here and there by watching her.
I mention this only as a prelude to my main point. The Alleluia training regiment trains gunfighters, not necessarily the quickest but maybe the most deadly. Saturday shoot, for me was what it always should be, except that one match in which I got flustered and lost the target.
I am looking for two disciples to train in the Alleluia system for 8 weeks. I would prefer new shooters because they come without all that baggage, but would consider seasoned shooters who have the right attitude. Would like one lady and one man. Plan to start May 1 and finish the week before the Pioneer shoot in June. Prefer folks in the Valley of the Sun so I can meet with them weekly, but would consider others dedicated to the system.
Commitment:
1. Must be willing to shoot a minimum of 150 rounds off of the clock a week. Would plan to meet with you at least once a week in the desert for a practice session. Normally student would shoot 50 rounds three times a week. Wax is reusable so 500 wax should be sufficient.
2. Must be willing to forego the clock except for competition. You can't learn to be a gunfighter if you have grailfever.
3. Must be willing to dry fire in front of a mirror on days not shooting live rounds.
4. Must forgo outside influences. Only one mentor allowed. Quickest way to booth hill is to work on your draw during competition.
5. Must acquire practice stand. (about $25)
6. Must agree I can use your alias and story in any future publications.
Goals:
1. Goal for the man would be to be a 4 shooter shooting better than 80%.
2. Goal for the lady would be to be a World Champion. This is not a higher goal, it just that the next Lady World Champion will be a 4 or 5 shooter shooting better than 60%.
3. My goal is to see if I am in left field or not. You will be the test of the training regiment.
The Draw:
Most new shooters start out with the level and follow through draw. They spend months or sometimes years learning to be fast with this technique. Some become top shooters but most level out in the mid 5s. Some spend years trying to unlearn the follow through to get truly fast. We will try to learn the Lock-elbow/Thumb-roll draw. If you can't do the lock elbow draw you still can be a 4 flat shooter shooting the level and follow through. The flail draw is a defect and not an acceptable draw although some shoot world record times with it. It is a symptom of grailfever.
I plan to video students before, during and after the 8 weeks and give each their reaction/draw splits.
Observation: I have to end this post with an observation of my idol, Miss Kitty, World Champion. She is getting ready to hand judge me late in the event and she has her box of 100 cartridges open looking at them. To me there is no reasonable order to the shot shells and unshot shells so I ask her about it. She tells me there is a definite order and she can ascertain the hits and misses of each round from the order in the box. See why she is a world champion. I got to get her to train me more! She never has, I just pick up tips here and there by watching her.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Four Corners, Rule 17, and Resurrected Shooter!
The 2016 Four Corners shoot is in the book. Although Ruah did not show up Everett did and took copious mental notes.
The shoot ran well with few problems. Although Arizona Gunslingers were the primary host the Rio Salado Vaqueros pitched in with one range. Many thanks to them and especially Muletrain and Southwest KC. The San Juan Shootists provided equipment, guidance and did the scoring with help from Miss Betty. Wench can run one of these in her sleep, many thanks! Our club was a little short on tear down labor, but those bandits from down south (Old Pueblo Gunfighters) helped get the club in a box back in the box in just a little over an hour. It is amazing how help just seems to appear from out of the crowd, I am thinking of all the range officers, for example that cowboy from Idaho who is not only dangerous on the line but behind the mic
One of the great strengths of CFDA is how the folks all pitch in and get the job done but that is also one of the weaknesses. It was humorous how the board had spend a lot of time discussing and making decisions on minor details and then when the workers went to work all that planning went out the window. You can't make water run uphill, all you can do is shrug your shoulders and go with the flow.
Ground Breaking Event: Don't know how many noticed but we had the first ever Territorial Tenderfoot Championship with Lil' James taking Coyote Kid to three matches in a Magnificent Two. Also first time at a titled event that three Magnificent shoot-offs were held simultaneously on one range. We were prepared for 15 shooters, would have had 8 except Dismal could not handle the heat after a week of flu. We had separate championships and awards for Billy the Kid, Anne Oakley and Tenderfoot. We got a prep talk from the newest Annie Oakley before the first round was fired on how it was okay to lose as long as you were having fun.
The Resurrection: We did have a Second Chance Shoot, which is many times misnamed as a resurrection match. Top five there received "Almost Made It" bottles filled with wax so they could practice more. Following CFDA rules the true resurrection occurred in the ladies' main match . After 11 rounds 6 were left with 5 having 3 Xs and 1 having 2 X s. Round Twelve ended with Southwest KC getting her 3rd X and Slow Poke and Holli Day being eliminated. That left only four for a Magnificent Five, so following the rules, Holli Day and Slow Poke squared off in a resurrection shoot off to get back into the match. Slow Poke being the more accurate shot her way back into the fifth seed.
Slow Poke then proceeded to show that though she had been eliminated she was the best gunfighter there by gunning down the next four seeds in a row. The world record holder, Honey Badger, fought back from the loser bracket and defeated Slow Poke in their second match of the Magnificent Five. (Slow Poke had been lamenting that she had been 2-2 with Honey Badger in the main match only to have Honey Badger win the match setting a new world record, which Honey Badger did twice over the weekend.) The third match went to 2-2 before that ice in the veins gunslinger from Washington DC, Slow Poke, won with a accurate shot on the plate to Honey Badger blazing miss.
From facebook comments I learn that some of the credit should go to WOW who helped her get a stuck cleaning brush out of the barrel and the hand judge, Cowboy Up, for reminding Slow Poke to breathe. Slow Poke won best dressed ladies award and 50/50 raffle. But all good fortune has to be paid for and I understand as I write this that Slow Poke is still stuck in the airport gridlock trying to get home. I am sure glad she can't be holstered and heeled or someone would have to be repainting TSA staff.
Men"s Magnificent Five: When I made it to the top seven, I thought I had a chance to make the Magnificent Five or at least a resurrection shoot-off to get in. The men's event was unusual in that the top five had really conserved their X s with Master Gunfighter being in jeopardy being eliminated. Only one, I, was eliminated in round 13 and only one, Pork Rind, was eliminated in round 14, so there was no resurrection shoot-off. Lawless Speed was first out followed by the Draw. Rodeo Romero was on (better than 60%) hitting in the low 3s but not quite quick enough. The Championship was determined in three matches between Marshall Cooper and Master Gunfighter with the final match going to 2-2 with Master Gunfighter hitting and Marshall missing. Master Gunfighter had also won Fridays jackpot shoot.
School is in Session: A CFDA event is a great place to learn life skills. It is especially good for our kids. They learn discipline, responsibility, courtesy and respect. Before you play you got to work. We sold souvenir cups and magnets for shoot for the stars and I tasked AZ Gunslingers and Rio youth to solicit donations. I look around and see Buckeroo Ben with the cutest gal he can find at the time in tow working the crowd. Every time he came to me to report his results he had to tell me how proud of how his little brother, Coyote Kid, was doing with donations. Together they had over half of the total of about $700 in sales. Many thanks to all who bought magnets and cup. Each are individually designed so it will take me a while to work through the orders.
Rule 17: Before the event started the Comish, Quick Cal, announced there would be a change in how Rule 17 would be enforced from what had been published. In essence, the enforcement of the rule was being changed from guilty until proven innocence to innocence until proven guilty. I don't know if this is going to be published or just announced at titled events. The rule was not a problem and there were no loss of shot penalties but two warnings issued. I will tell you that it is a little stressful to have Quick Cal take the range when you are the only one on the line that may have a problem. But what the heck, the gunfighter facing you is a more important worry.
Summation: It was a fun event. Sure glad we have a full time Trail Boss running the show. Now if I just could find another 20 milliseconds, maybe I could get back to hearing some clank in my tin. I'm afeared Shady been looking for a more worthy opponent. Been trying to get Doc into marbles but she won't take the bait.
The shoot ran well with few problems. Although Arizona Gunslingers were the primary host the Rio Salado Vaqueros pitched in with one range. Many thanks to them and especially Muletrain and Southwest KC. The San Juan Shootists provided equipment, guidance and did the scoring with help from Miss Betty. Wench can run one of these in her sleep, many thanks! Our club was a little short on tear down labor, but those bandits from down south (Old Pueblo Gunfighters) helped get the club in a box back in the box in just a little over an hour. It is amazing how help just seems to appear from out of the crowd, I am thinking of all the range officers, for example that cowboy from Idaho who is not only dangerous on the line but behind the mic
One of the great strengths of CFDA is how the folks all pitch in and get the job done but that is also one of the weaknesses. It was humorous how the board had spend a lot of time discussing and making decisions on minor details and then when the workers went to work all that planning went out the window. You can't make water run uphill, all you can do is shrug your shoulders and go with the flow.
Ground Breaking Event: Don't know how many noticed but we had the first ever Territorial Tenderfoot Championship with Lil' James taking Coyote Kid to three matches in a Magnificent Two. Also first time at a titled event that three Magnificent shoot-offs were held simultaneously on one range. We were prepared for 15 shooters, would have had 8 except Dismal could not handle the heat after a week of flu. We had separate championships and awards for Billy the Kid, Anne Oakley and Tenderfoot. We got a prep talk from the newest Annie Oakley before the first round was fired on how it was okay to lose as long as you were having fun.
The Resurrection: We did have a Second Chance Shoot, which is many times misnamed as a resurrection match. Top five there received "Almost Made It" bottles filled with wax so they could practice more. Following CFDA rules the true resurrection occurred in the ladies' main match . After 11 rounds 6 were left with 5 having 3 Xs and 1 having 2 X s. Round Twelve ended with Southwest KC getting her 3rd X and Slow Poke and Holli Day being eliminated. That left only four for a Magnificent Five, so following the rules, Holli Day and Slow Poke squared off in a resurrection shoot off to get back into the match. Slow Poke being the more accurate shot her way back into the fifth seed.
Slow Poke then proceeded to show that though she had been eliminated she was the best gunfighter there by gunning down the next four seeds in a row. The world record holder, Honey Badger, fought back from the loser bracket and defeated Slow Poke in their second match of the Magnificent Five. (Slow Poke had been lamenting that she had been 2-2 with Honey Badger in the main match only to have Honey Badger win the match setting a new world record, which Honey Badger did twice over the weekend.) The third match went to 2-2 before that ice in the veins gunslinger from Washington DC, Slow Poke, won with a accurate shot on the plate to Honey Badger blazing miss.
From facebook comments I learn that some of the credit should go to WOW who helped her get a stuck cleaning brush out of the barrel and the hand judge, Cowboy Up, for reminding Slow Poke to breathe. Slow Poke won best dressed ladies award and 50/50 raffle. But all good fortune has to be paid for and I understand as I write this that Slow Poke is still stuck in the airport gridlock trying to get home. I am sure glad she can't be holstered and heeled or someone would have to be repainting TSA staff.
Men"s Magnificent Five: When I made it to the top seven, I thought I had a chance to make the Magnificent Five or at least a resurrection shoot-off to get in. The men's event was unusual in that the top five had really conserved their X s with Master Gunfighter being in jeopardy being eliminated. Only one, I, was eliminated in round 13 and only one, Pork Rind, was eliminated in round 14, so there was no resurrection shoot-off. Lawless Speed was first out followed by the Draw. Rodeo Romero was on (better than 60%) hitting in the low 3s but not quite quick enough. The Championship was determined in three matches between Marshall Cooper and Master Gunfighter with the final match going to 2-2 with Master Gunfighter hitting and Marshall missing. Master Gunfighter had also won Fridays jackpot shoot.
School is in Session: A CFDA event is a great place to learn life skills. It is especially good for our kids. They learn discipline, responsibility, courtesy and respect. Before you play you got to work. We sold souvenir cups and magnets for shoot for the stars and I tasked AZ Gunslingers and Rio youth to solicit donations. I look around and see Buckeroo Ben with the cutest gal he can find at the time in tow working the crowd. Every time he came to me to report his results he had to tell me how proud of how his little brother, Coyote Kid, was doing with donations. Together they had over half of the total of about $700 in sales. Many thanks to all who bought magnets and cup. Each are individually designed so it will take me a while to work through the orders.
Rule 17: Before the event started the Comish, Quick Cal, announced there would be a change in how Rule 17 would be enforced from what had been published. In essence, the enforcement of the rule was being changed from guilty until proven innocence to innocence until proven guilty. I don't know if this is going to be published or just announced at titled events. The rule was not a problem and there were no loss of shot penalties but two warnings issued. I will tell you that it is a little stressful to have Quick Cal take the range when you are the only one on the line that may have a problem. But what the heck, the gunfighter facing you is a more important worry.
Summation: It was a fun event. Sure glad we have a full time Trail Boss running the show. Now if I just could find another 20 milliseconds, maybe I could get back to hearing some clank in my tin. I'm afeared Shady been looking for a more worthy opponent. Been trying to get Doc into marbles but she won't take the bait.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Arizona Five
On Shady Mtn we did a test run of Arizona Five and found that it is works well using the CFDA scoring program. It has two big advantages, one, there is no down time between rounds and two, you get to shoot against twice as many shooters.
I am going to lobby hard to use it this summer at our practice shoots. Our problem is having a large number of shooters in 115* heat. Arizona Five will help getting more rounds in.
The format: Arizona Five is a five shot option. You shoot five shots with the shooter hitting the most shots getting the win. If the shooters are tied 2-2, both shooters get a win because both shooters are shooting good enough to win, hitting between 40-80% and winning at least 2 shots each. If it is tied 0-0 or 1-1, after five shots both shooters get a X because both shooters are shooting less than 20% and deserve an X. Ties in time are re-shot. After five shots round one is complete for those six shooters.
The Shuffle: Upon the completion round one for those 6 shooters, the shooter on lane one moves to lane 6 and all other shooters move one lane to the left. Must move to the left to make score sheet work. Hand judges stay where they are, since they are the next round one shooters. You then shoot round two for those 6 shooters. Each shooter has a new opponent.
Scorekeeping: When setting up the match you tell the CFDA program to print only six shooters per sheet. (Or the number of lanes you have.) The first five boxes are used to score round one, boxes 6 & 7 record W/Xs and fastest time for round one, box 8 is lane assignments for round two, that leaves 6 boxes for scores of round two. Shooter on lane one is first shooter on the sheet and then you move him to the bottom row for scoring round two. It can be confusing and it helps to draw dark lines between the round two matches so it is clear who is shooting who. On the line there is no problem because targets are scored against your opponent.
While round two is being shot, scores of round one can be entered. ONLY round one! When the last round one match is complete those last six shooters are entered. The computer then draws what it thinks is round two. You can use that draw for round 3 and 4. You must enter a round completely then have the computer draw the next round before entering the next round scores.
Downtime On our test run, we used two draws to shoot four rounds, but the computer drew four rounds. We did not use two of the draws. WARNING: The x count listed on the draws may not accurate if you are using an earlier draw to shoot a round but you can run standings report after completion of entering a round that will have the correct x count. If you want an accurate x count on the draws you would have to wait until the scores of the second round shot on a scoresheet are entered, but then you would have downtime while those scores are entered.
In our test run, we did wait and used draw three for rounds three and four so we did have some downtime. But we could have used draw 2 for rounds 3 & 4 and there would not have been any downtime. Draw 2 having been made before the completion of rounds 1 & 2.
Scorekeeping can confusing but it is not hard once you get used to the format and you "follow the form, See score sheet for rounds 1&2 from test.
This test was actually much more confusing because we shot it on two lanes using a 6 lane score sheet. Shooter one had to wait several matches to shoot his/her second round.
Application to Events: I would only recommend Arizona Five for events where you are shooting a No X event for seeding. Shooters are not going to accept elimination based on ties. But you have to consider that most main matches are really nothing more that seeding matches. It is how we get to the top gunslingers on a particular day, whether it is Last Man Standing, Magnificent or Bracket shoots.
At Winter Range, Shady Mike reached a #2 seed, shooting against only 5% of the 79 shooter field. If he had shot against more shooters it probably would not made any difference the way he was shooting. I shot against him all week and I was hitting 80% at 4 flat and finished 1-6 against him in marble matches. He was just on and no one there could compete against him. But that is not the normal event. Normally the more opponents you shoot against, the more accurate the seedings will be. If we had shot Arizona Five, each shooter would have had 8 opponents or 10% of the field.
At our club shoots with say 40 shooters, should be able to get in 10 rounds of Arizona Five in summertime, and each shooter will have shot against 10 opponents or 25% of the field. So with a 1x magnificent shoot-off each shooter would get 11 matches. With our current format we are lucky to get 4 or 5 matches with a 40 shooter turnout in the summertime.
The only challenge is training the scorekeepers and computer operators. After we are done with Four Corners, I am suggesting we shoot this for 12 shooters every Sunday. If you want to come shoot on Shady Mtn, you got to learn how to score Arizona Five. Vic pick it up great Saturday That way we will have at least 12 trained scorekeepers for the summertime.
I am still trying to find people who want to learn how to announce and score a Magnificent 2 x shoot on two lanes instead of on 6 lanes. Seems to me to be terrible waste of lanes to use only one half of your facilities, guess it it more fun to shoot in the dark than to get done by sundown (insider neddle).
I am going to lobby hard to use it this summer at our practice shoots. Our problem is having a large number of shooters in 115* heat. Arizona Five will help getting more rounds in.
The format: Arizona Five is a five shot option. You shoot five shots with the shooter hitting the most shots getting the win. If the shooters are tied 2-2, both shooters get a win because both shooters are shooting good enough to win, hitting between 40-80% and winning at least 2 shots each. If it is tied 0-0 or 1-1, after five shots both shooters get a X because both shooters are shooting less than 20% and deserve an X. Ties in time are re-shot. After five shots round one is complete for those six shooters.
The Shuffle: Upon the completion round one for those 6 shooters, the shooter on lane one moves to lane 6 and all other shooters move one lane to the left. Must move to the left to make score sheet work. Hand judges stay where they are, since they are the next round one shooters. You then shoot round two for those 6 shooters. Each shooter has a new opponent.
Scorekeeping: When setting up the match you tell the CFDA program to print only six shooters per sheet. (Or the number of lanes you have.) The first five boxes are used to score round one, boxes 6 & 7 record W/Xs and fastest time for round one, box 8 is lane assignments for round two, that leaves 6 boxes for scores of round two. Shooter on lane one is first shooter on the sheet and then you move him to the bottom row for scoring round two. It can be confusing and it helps to draw dark lines between the round two matches so it is clear who is shooting who. On the line there is no problem because targets are scored against your opponent.
While round two is being shot, scores of round one can be entered. ONLY round one! When the last round one match is complete those last six shooters are entered. The computer then draws what it thinks is round two. You can use that draw for round 3 and 4. You must enter a round completely then have the computer draw the next round before entering the next round scores.
Downtime On our test run, we used two draws to shoot four rounds, but the computer drew four rounds. We did not use two of the draws. WARNING: The x count listed on the draws may not accurate if you are using an earlier draw to shoot a round but you can run standings report after completion of entering a round that will have the correct x count. If you want an accurate x count on the draws you would have to wait until the scores of the second round shot on a scoresheet are entered, but then you would have downtime while those scores are entered.
In our test run, we did wait and used draw three for rounds three and four so we did have some downtime. But we could have used draw 2 for rounds 3 & 4 and there would not have been any downtime. Draw 2 having been made before the completion of rounds 1 & 2.
Scorekeeping can confusing but it is not hard once you get used to the format and you "follow the form, See score sheet for rounds 1&2 from test.
Application to Events: I would only recommend Arizona Five for events where you are shooting a No X event for seeding. Shooters are not going to accept elimination based on ties. But you have to consider that most main matches are really nothing more that seeding matches. It is how we get to the top gunslingers on a particular day, whether it is Last Man Standing, Magnificent or Bracket shoots.
At Winter Range, Shady Mike reached a #2 seed, shooting against only 5% of the 79 shooter field. If he had shot against more shooters it probably would not made any difference the way he was shooting. I shot against him all week and I was hitting 80% at 4 flat and finished 1-6 against him in marble matches. He was just on and no one there could compete against him. But that is not the normal event. Normally the more opponents you shoot against, the more accurate the seedings will be. If we had shot Arizona Five, each shooter would have had 8 opponents or 10% of the field.
At our club shoots with say 40 shooters, should be able to get in 10 rounds of Arizona Five in summertime, and each shooter will have shot against 10 opponents or 25% of the field. So with a 1x magnificent shoot-off each shooter would get 11 matches. With our current format we are lucky to get 4 or 5 matches with a 40 shooter turnout in the summertime.
The only challenge is training the scorekeepers and computer operators. After we are done with Four Corners, I am suggesting we shoot this for 12 shooters every Sunday. If you want to come shoot on Shady Mtn, you got to learn how to score Arizona Five. Vic pick it up great Saturday That way we will have at least 12 trained scorekeepers for the summertime.
I am still trying to find people who want to learn how to announce and score a Magnificent 2 x shoot on two lanes instead of on 6 lanes. Seems to me to be terrible waste of lanes to use only one half of your facilities, guess it it more fun to shoot in the dark than to get done by sundown (insider neddle).
Monday, February 29, 2016
Winter Range, Partners, and Adversaries
Most of the fastdraw loot at Winter Range came home to Shady Mtn. I won the SASS fastdraw sidematch on speed and the 45 revolver on luck. Shady Mike cut through 78 shooters to win the jackpot shoot without a loss. Miss Kitty won Bracket C of the jackpot shoot.
I have to believe the games we play on Shady Mtn may have something to do with it. Shady and I shoot marble matches about twice a week. It is just a 3 out of 5 match for a marble, a $1 gold piece. It is good to shoot against someone that is a little faster than you or a little more accurate with something on the line. It simulates those shoot off matches. We used to shoot for all the marbles about twice a year, but one of us got tired of that game.
The SASS side match was interesting, fun, and useful for training. At our town alley the SASS shooters got to shoot 10 shots for free, the first five being practice and not counting for time, and the second five for time with the sum of the three fastest counting for a score. You had to hit three to get a score. If a shooter wanted to improve his score he could buy an additional 5 shots for $5. All proceeds went to a SASS charity. Each SASS shooter got a ticket for each 5 shots for a drawing for a 45 revolver, one for men and one for ladies. Shooters could try as often as they wanted to. Only open to members of SASS who also competed in SASS event (I did long range but not very well.)
It was a good training match, the fact that you had to hit 3 out of 5 put pressure on you to be accurate. To improve your time put pressure on you to be quick. I purchased extra rounds every day and improved my time each day finally reaching a .394 average which was the winning time. I only shot SASS rounds once or twice a day and had to declare them to be SASS rounds before I shot, no picking a good 5 shot string. Last year it took me to the last day to catch the leader. This year my last day round was also the best. Trying to get that last few milliseconds while hitting better than 60% is really a good training routine.
I always shoot better against Shady, about 30 mls faster, and he helped me by shooting against me in my SASS matches. Some were also marble matches, don't know if I can afford to show up on Shady Mtn cause the tab is due. I have to add I always had one shot quicker than his fastest shot, but since he has been tuned up to about 80%, sadly he got all the marbles but one.
The SASS matches would make a good club practice match. You could have two tin cups one being a daily pot and one a monthly pot. Five shots would cost $2, $1 in each pot. Pot strings have to be declared before they are shot. The fastest total of 3 shots wins the daily pot. Must have 3 hits to get a score. One might think the daily pot might go to the fastest gun, but may more likely go to the most accurate. Quick only matters if you can hit that which you are trying to be quick about. Monthly pot would go to the shooter that improved his time the most during the month. I went from 1.223 to 1.182 over five days improving each day. Hard to shoot 60% while finding that last millisecond of speed.
I had the pleasure of hand judging a match between Holli Day and Honey Badger. It was something to behold. Holli Day had a .374 and Honey Badger a .375. Neither would give in or give up a millisecond, but I would add the match was determined on accuracy not speed.
Many thanks to all those 78 shooters who came to our bracket jackpot shoot, especially those bandits from down on the border, those Deputies from the coast, and those Shootists from the mountains. Think I only have one more bracket shoot left in me, that being Cave Creek.
Took my winnings and spend them on sutter's row, so you will just have to come to the Four Corners to see what the dog drags in.
I have to believe the games we play on Shady Mtn may have something to do with it. Shady and I shoot marble matches about twice a week. It is just a 3 out of 5 match for a marble, a $1 gold piece. It is good to shoot against someone that is a little faster than you or a little more accurate with something on the line. It simulates those shoot off matches. We used to shoot for all the marbles about twice a year, but one of us got tired of that game.
The SASS side match was interesting, fun, and useful for training. At our town alley the SASS shooters got to shoot 10 shots for free, the first five being practice and not counting for time, and the second five for time with the sum of the three fastest counting for a score. You had to hit three to get a score. If a shooter wanted to improve his score he could buy an additional 5 shots for $5. All proceeds went to a SASS charity. Each SASS shooter got a ticket for each 5 shots for a drawing for a 45 revolver, one for men and one for ladies. Shooters could try as often as they wanted to. Only open to members of SASS who also competed in SASS event (I did long range but not very well.)
It was a good training match, the fact that you had to hit 3 out of 5 put pressure on you to be accurate. To improve your time put pressure on you to be quick. I purchased extra rounds every day and improved my time each day finally reaching a .394 average which was the winning time. I only shot SASS rounds once or twice a day and had to declare them to be SASS rounds before I shot, no picking a good 5 shot string. Last year it took me to the last day to catch the leader. This year my last day round was also the best. Trying to get that last few milliseconds while hitting better than 60% is really a good training routine.
I always shoot better against Shady, about 30 mls faster, and he helped me by shooting against me in my SASS matches. Some were also marble matches, don't know if I can afford to show up on Shady Mtn cause the tab is due. I have to add I always had one shot quicker than his fastest shot, but since he has been tuned up to about 80%, sadly he got all the marbles but one.
The SASS matches would make a good club practice match. You could have two tin cups one being a daily pot and one a monthly pot. Five shots would cost $2, $1 in each pot. Pot strings have to be declared before they are shot. The fastest total of 3 shots wins the daily pot. Must have 3 hits to get a score. One might think the daily pot might go to the fastest gun, but may more likely go to the most accurate. Quick only matters if you can hit that which you are trying to be quick about. Monthly pot would go to the shooter that improved his time the most during the month. I went from 1.223 to 1.182 over five days improving each day. Hard to shoot 60% while finding that last millisecond of speed.
I had the pleasure of hand judging a match between Holli Day and Honey Badger. It was something to behold. Holli Day had a .374 and Honey Badger a .375. Neither would give in or give up a millisecond, but I would add the match was determined on accuracy not speed.
Many thanks to all those 78 shooters who came to our bracket jackpot shoot, especially those bandits from down on the border, those Deputies from the coast, and those Shootists from the mountains. Think I only have one more bracket shoot left in me, that being Cave Creek.
Took my winnings and spend them on sutter's row, so you will just have to come to the Four Corners to see what the dog drags in.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Philosophy from the Salty River
We have had lively discussion about format with Levi and Mitch. Levi says there can only be one winner. The acorn does not fall far from the tree. Mitch says that when he is 4th in Bracket C he is 32nd and deserves nothing. Both look at this from an individual perspective, Levi from his five year plan to win a World Championship and Mitch under the influence of his father. When you're talking about formats one needs to leave the realm of the individual and think in terms of the whole, the CFDA, the club, and the average shooter. That is why Quick Cal says "CFDA strongly supports the instituting Bracket Matches at all classes of events."
Last Saturday the Rio Salado Vaqueros held a 3x Magnificent Seven Match. As always it was an excellent event with 44 shooters attending. It is informative to consider the results in the discussion of format. The best gunfighter of the day clearly was The Draw (World 3rd) and the 2nd best gunfighter probably was Coyote Kid (Tenderfoot, age 7). Hi Strung was lamenting all day to me that he was shooting poorly (slow) but he was hitting and ended the main match clean with no x s. As such, Hi Strung was seeded 1st in the Magnificent Seven. Although probably in the top 20%, it was clear he was not the top gunfighter at the event.
Resurrection Feature: Although there was no official resurrection feature in the contest, it being a standard CFDA format, a resurrection did occur. In the last round of the main event, Coyote Kid eliminated the Draw reducing the field to 6. Following standard protocol, The Draw, clawed his way back through two other shooters to re-enter the field as the 7th seed.
This is not uncommon. In 2015, Marshall Cooper was resurrected at Winter Range to go onto win in a Magnificent Five format. At Colorado, Bonnie Ringo out shot Marshall Cooper to secure the 5th seed. It happens at most shoots with the magnificent format.
This resurrection feature was instituted for its entertainment value, to have a full field, but many times it serves a better function, that is to determine who the best gunfighter is on a given day. On Saturday, The Draw even though he had been eliminated won a bye round, then 8 matches in a row to win the event. He was truly the best gunfighter on February 13 on the Salty River.
The Magnificent Seven format does a pretty good job sorting out who the best gunfighter is on a given day. Getting ready for the Magnificent Seven, I see Hi Strung in the dry fire area, trying to find some more speed and I lectured him to dance with the girl (draw) that got him the number #1 seed. He and I both could not take my advice, and two losses resulted for both of us.
Lest you think it is easy to shoot in the Valley of the Sun here is the results of Saturday's shoot. 1st The Draw (Two-time National Champion), 2nd Whiskey, 3rd Hi Strung (2nd Tombstone),4th Muletrain (2015 Senior World Champion), 5th Coyote Kid (Tenderfoot age 7), 6th Alleluia Ruah (2014 Super Senior National Champion) 7th Miss Kitty (2015 World Champion and Multi-Territorial Champion).
Getting back to the discussion, I think it is good for the sport to have multiple champions. I love the way the Powderhorn Ranch Regulators shoot the National Championship. On Sunday, championship day, they crown 15 or so category champions and then the overall youth, women and men's overall champions. I hope, but doubt, this year's national shoot will have that format.
The inadvertent resurrection feature has worked so well in determining the best gunfighter, I see no reason that we do not institute it for all shooters and have a true resurrection shoot. Now we have 2nd chance shoots just to occupy eliminated shooters. There is no good reason or rule that prevents us from putting meaning into these shoots by allowing the winner back in as the number 7th seed. (paragraph 4, page 21 would have to be tweaked a bit.) Shouldn't our goal be to determine the best gunfighter on any given day.
It is too late to do much about the 2016 schedule, but 2017 is less then a year away. Got my work cut out for me. I have stated before, the best championship format would be to shoot down to five, (or 6 if not having categories) then let the resurrection winner in as 7th seed and the fastest category champion in as the 6th seed. Don't we want to find out who the best gunfighter is at any given event. One of the weaknesses of the elimination format is that the luck of the draw many times determines how you do, not how you are shooting. To come back from the resurrection match to win is nearly impossible except for the best gunfighter there, and that is what we are trying to determine.
Last Saturday the Rio Salado Vaqueros held a 3x Magnificent Seven Match. As always it was an excellent event with 44 shooters attending. It is informative to consider the results in the discussion of format. The best gunfighter of the day clearly was The Draw (World 3rd) and the 2nd best gunfighter probably was Coyote Kid (Tenderfoot, age 7). Hi Strung was lamenting all day to me that he was shooting poorly (slow) but he was hitting and ended the main match clean with no x s. As such, Hi Strung was seeded 1st in the Magnificent Seven. Although probably in the top 20%, it was clear he was not the top gunfighter at the event.
Resurrection Feature: Although there was no official resurrection feature in the contest, it being a standard CFDA format, a resurrection did occur. In the last round of the main event, Coyote Kid eliminated the Draw reducing the field to 6. Following standard protocol, The Draw, clawed his way back through two other shooters to re-enter the field as the 7th seed.
This is not uncommon. In 2015, Marshall Cooper was resurrected at Winter Range to go onto win in a Magnificent Five format. At Colorado, Bonnie Ringo out shot Marshall Cooper to secure the 5th seed. It happens at most shoots with the magnificent format.
This resurrection feature was instituted for its entertainment value, to have a full field, but many times it serves a better function, that is to determine who the best gunfighter is on a given day. On Saturday, The Draw even though he had been eliminated won a bye round, then 8 matches in a row to win the event. He was truly the best gunfighter on February 13 on the Salty River.
The Magnificent Seven format does a pretty good job sorting out who the best gunfighter is on a given day. Getting ready for the Magnificent Seven, I see Hi Strung in the dry fire area, trying to find some more speed and I lectured him to dance with the girl (draw) that got him the number #1 seed. He and I both could not take my advice, and two losses resulted for both of us.
Lest you think it is easy to shoot in the Valley of the Sun here is the results of Saturday's shoot. 1st The Draw (Two-time National Champion), 2nd Whiskey, 3rd Hi Strung (2nd Tombstone),4th Muletrain (2015 Senior World Champion), 5th Coyote Kid (Tenderfoot age 7), 6th Alleluia Ruah (2014 Super Senior National Champion) 7th Miss Kitty (2015 World Champion and Multi-Territorial Champion).
Getting back to the discussion, I think it is good for the sport to have multiple champions. I love the way the Powderhorn Ranch Regulators shoot the National Championship. On Sunday, championship day, they crown 15 or so category champions and then the overall youth, women and men's overall champions. I hope, but doubt, this year's national shoot will have that format.
The inadvertent resurrection feature has worked so well in determining the best gunfighter, I see no reason that we do not institute it for all shooters and have a true resurrection shoot. Now we have 2nd chance shoots just to occupy eliminated shooters. There is no good reason or rule that prevents us from putting meaning into these shoots by allowing the winner back in as the number 7th seed. (paragraph 4, page 21 would have to be tweaked a bit.) Shouldn't our goal be to determine the best gunfighter on any given day.
It is too late to do much about the 2016 schedule, but 2017 is less then a year away. Got my work cut out for me. I have stated before, the best championship format would be to shoot down to five, (or 6 if not having categories) then let the resurrection winner in as 7th seed and the fastest category champion in as the 6th seed. Don't we want to find out who the best gunfighter is at any given event. One of the weaknesses of the elimination format is that the luck of the draw many times determines how you do, not how you are shooting. To come back from the resurrection match to win is nearly impossible except for the best gunfighter there, and that is what we are trying to determine.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Quotes, MisQoutes and Banter
"Gosh, Monte, why do you always have to needle Shorty?" "Needling folks is what I do!"
Monte Walsh
Monte Walsh and Shorty were good friends even though they ended up on the opposite sides of a gun fight. Monte Walsh is a great movie because it shows a lot about human nature and the frailty of man. There are no bad people in the movie, only good people gone astray.
I enjoy lively banter. I enjoy needling folks, especially folks that don't have a sense of humor. My needling is always intended to be good natured. However, I have concluded that my banter and needling has caused harm and ill-will. I get myself into more trouble than I should. My opinionated sob nature shows through unfortunately. I don't mean to be that way, I just am.
Trying to do better. I have deactivated my face-book account. Maybe that will help.
Monte Walsh
Monte Walsh and Shorty were good friends even though they ended up on the opposite sides of a gun fight. Monte Walsh is a great movie because it shows a lot about human nature and the frailty of man. There are no bad people in the movie, only good people gone astray.
I enjoy lively banter. I enjoy needling folks, especially folks that don't have a sense of humor. My needling is always intended to be good natured. However, I have concluded that my banter and needling has caused harm and ill-will. I get myself into more trouble than I should. My opinionated sob nature shows through unfortunately. I don't mean to be that way, I just am.
Trying to do better. I have deactivated my face-book account. Maybe that will help.
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