Winter Range, Tombstone Revisited!

I did not mean to say, but did say, that one of the top four should have intentionally lost for a competitive advantage.  That is not the cowboy way.  I apologize.  My wife has said for years that my thinking is a half of bubble out of plumb.

Having said that, we are now in the planning stage for next year's shoot, be it a jackpot or state championship.  It is informative to look at this year's shoot at Tombstone (Last Man Standing) as compared to Winter Range (Magnificent Five).

Had Winter Range been a Last Man Standing shoot the results would have been completely different.  Last Man Standing would have resulted in Marshall Cooper 5th, Cobb 6th and Brasanda Spur 7th.  Most likely Cowboy Up would have won since only he had no Xs among the top four shooters, although you never know because he would have been shooting the top four in every subsequent round, two of whom were as quick as he. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th places would have been determined on the line between the Draw, Short Keg and Hyde Hunter.

Which do you prefer?  Last Man Standing is the fairer of the two.  (To highlight the unfairness, 1st place had 4 Xs while second place had only 2 Xs at Winter Range)  Magnificent Five/Seven is the more entertaining. Magnificent Seven is used as nationals and world so that is a good reason to use it here. I have been to other State Championships that use Last Man Standing format.

Having won a Magnificent Five I prefer that format.  We can do either in a jackpot shoot or a state championship.  I have been lobbying for a major shoot with 17 Magnificent Five shoot-offs, I find that format so much fun, even if a little unfair.

Think about it then let the board know which you prefer.  I suggest an e-mail to a board member, something in black and white has more staying power than word of mouth.

Thanks for reading the ramblings of an old fool.