Area 4 Match (Part 2)

Area 4 Match (Part 2)


Continuing the video review with stages I shot in the afternoon after the break.




Stage 13:






First stage after lunch, I wanted to come out well. There was an argument with the RO's about 2 shots, I was given a "Mike" when there was a hole at the top of the C zone shoulder, and they felt it did not break the perf, and there was another I got scored Alpha/Charlie instead of 2 Alpha. Their reasoning was that I shot from an angle, so the center of the whole was not the diameter of the bullet, it was from an angle. My argument that if the perf is broken, it doesn't matter fell on deaf ears. Next time this happens, damn it all, I'm going to cause the delay and have the RM called. I was right and got hosed twice on the scoring of this stage.

Other rule of thumb? If you are going to RO a major match, you should know the scoring rules, don't make 'em up on the spot.



Stage 14:







Three shots per target, I'm really not taking extras. Yes, I was slow as hell, anything else? The long distance target to the right was about 25 yards, and my 3 shots could have been covered with a quarter. I can be accurate, I just have to do it faster.


Stage 15:






Yeah....I started off so god awful slow, and I'm not sure my plan was the best in the 2nd section, but I got hits, and was starting to feel pretty solid about how things were going, as if maybe I could finish strong, and start to turn things around.


Stage 1:






Yeah.....I actually swallowed a bug or a fly or something when running across the bay from the 3rd spot to the 4th position, and damn near gagged, it was actually pretty funny. I took a dumb mike thru the slot on the target about 2 feet from me because I was moving the gun away from the slot and trying to get to the next position. This was a pretty clear case of me being tired, and not finishing the job. Yes, my plan could have been better, I essentially ate a standing reload.


Stage 2/3:

No Video






Stage 4:






Hey, I got my hits, I was slow, it did not feel quite right, and being honest, I was starting to feel like the end of the day was near. I really wanted this stage to go well, and even having to tap/rack I came out saying "this is just getting it done."



Stage 5:





And here was the stage that caused it all, last stage of the day. The clear INTENT of the stage designer was that if you shot from the podium, you would have to do it from the small shooting area at the very top, which would prevent you from seeing the targets on the other side. By this point, I was tired, I was beat up, and I was not going to dive and go prone on either side. I know that strong hand, and especially weak hand are not my strong suits, so I wanted to not take a mike, and decided to add time, and insure I got points.

The RM should have added a forward fault line, between the two sideways paths. Without one, he essentially had a box inside a larger box. He tried to say that the stairs were not part of the shooting area, as denoted by the fault lines on the top of the platform. I understand he wants to believe that, but the stairs were absolutely part of the REST of the shooting area....oops, shitty stage design! Squad 33 shot it like I did, but on Friday the RO's assessed procedural penalties to anyone who shot from the stairs. After my argument, the written stage brief was changed (3.2.something) for clarity of the shooters on Saturday and Sunday, telling them that specifically the stairs were not part of the shooting area. The fact that they changed it means that they absolutely knew they fucked up, the bad part is they knew it, and they tried to sweep it under the rug. Problem is now an awful lot of people know exactly what they did.



Match Summary:


I won't try to do 15 stages in a day again, but my lack of preparation for the match really showed up. Physically I was able to do it and stay sharp, but the way I shot was for crap. Stupid penalties....bottom line, I was 80 seconds over 15 stages slower than the first place Limited B shooter, that sounds like a lot, but with 15 stages, it means I needed to shave 5 seconds per stage. On stage 5, because of my "safe" plan, I actually gave up 17 seconds, so 63 seconds over 14 other stages is not really a whole lot. My points before penalty were actually better than his, so it's not that I was awful, I needed to make small, consistent, and repeatable changes.

Look at my draw to first shot, I'll bet on just about every stage I could have saved at least a second, slow splits and transitions cost me too, again, I'll bet I could have saved 4-5 seconds at least with faster transitions. While I was disappointed as a whole, I do see small fixes on fundamental items that applied across a match go a long way.

The biggest disappointment though is that I've run the gun way harder, and way faster in the past. When I earned my "B" in Production I was running the CZ far harder and faster, and I should not be seeing regression, but I am. That's on me.