She was naked on the range.
No no, I'm not appealing to your prurient interests. Well, maybe the subjec does, but that's your fault.
Scientists (?) tell us that dreams of being naked are a sign of vulnerability, or a yearning for self-empowerment. We've all had dreams of being naked in a public place (when I was in junior high school, I use to dream of being naked on the main street of my home town -- I ran from store to store looking for a necktie to go with my outfit! You won't be surprised to learn that I never found the Perfect Necktie for a nude boy.)
SWMBO's dream was unique in that it took place on a shooting range. She was at an IPSC match, and ran from place to place asking people she met if they had seen her clothes.
Her squad was yelling at her:
SWMBO! Hurry up, it's your turn to shoot!
She remembers shouting back:
I can't shoot! I don't have loops!
Which brings us to the question: why must your belt be threaded through pants loops?
In the USPSA Handgun Competition Rules (January, 2004), chapter 5 deals with "Competitor Equipment." Rule 5.2.3 clearly states:
... The belt or inner belt or both must be either permanently fixed at the waist, or secured with a minimum of three belt loops.
So I'm asking myself: Why?
This is perhaps the most abused rule in the book. In the heat of the summer, I can't guess how many competitors I've seen wearing shorts and a Safariiland-type (or CR Speed Belt) belt-and-holster system over the waistband. It's too HOT to wear pants (even in Oregon) and many competitors choose to wear the lightest material possible. This is often some kind of short pants with an elastic waistband. Sometimes it's a pair of short cargo pants, which may or may not have belt loops wide enough to thread the inner-belt.
But the ride of the belt and holster seems to be the same whether there are belt loops or not.
The draw is the same (due to the weight of the heavy belt system) whether there are belt loops or not.
SWMBO and I talked about this question. We alternately offered the suggestion that it was safer (but could not offer a convincing reason why it was safer) and that it provided a secure base for the holster so that the draw was more consistent.
If it only offers a consistent draw, it seems to me that this is the shooter's choice. If the shooter decides that an 'unsecured belt' won't slow down the draw, what does IPSC care?
And what's this about "a minimum of three belt loops"? Is that a magic number? Is a belt threaded through 3 belt loops intrinsically more safe, or secure, than one threaded through two belt loops? Does it matter WHICH three belt loops are chosed?
I think this is a subject best left for discussion. Does anyone have a supportable reason why 3 belt loops must be used to ... er ... support a gunbelt?
And can anyone tell me the meaning of the phrase "Permanently affixed at the waist"?
Doesn't this sound painful to you?
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