However, if you're a member of USPSA you can see the full-names in the match results by clicking on the "Member Page" icon at the top of the USPSA home page and entering your userid and password. Again, click on the "Match Schedule and Results" sidebar button and follow the above directions.
Here's what you get:
2007 Area 1 Multi-Gun Championship
Albany Rifle and Pistol Club
6/29/2007
Division Name USPSA Competitors
Limited Patrick Kelley -- 21
Open Robert Johnson -- 20
Tactical Carl Carbon -- 42
Total: 83
(I've deleted USPSA Member Numbers from this display) .
"Field Of Dreams" Stage Thrown Out:
Note that only nine (9) stages are listed. The long-range rifle stage ("Field of Dreams") was thrown out of the match due to the excessive stage times. This WAS the biggest choke-point of the match, with some competitors actually registering times of 700 seconds on this stage.
There were only five targets, but they were presented at 300 to 350 yards distance. There were three positions -- two standing, one prone -- and competitors were required to engage all five targets from each position.
As many as two squads were backed up on this stage, and according to Match Director Mike McCarter they had to drop the stage to allow all competitors to complete the match. The first day, each squad was expected to complete seven stages. Some squads were on the range until after 7pm the first day. Some squads still had 5 stages to shoot on the second day.
McCarter notes that "this is a young sport" and match administrators are still learning from experience. Chances are that long-range rifle stages will be much simpler in future Multigun matches. In the 2006 Multigun Nationals (held July 7, 2006 on this same range) similar problems were encountered with this kind of stage.
USPSA On Top Of The Problem:
In a telephone interview tonite, McCarter stated that Area 1 Director Bruce Gary had already begun the process of bringing these and other Multigun problems to the attention of the USPSA Board of Directors with the intention of establishing a change in the competitor rules allowing the match to set a time limit on stages.
Moving Targets
One of the successes noted by Mr. McCarter was that the eight moving targets experienced ZERO Range Equipment Malfunctions. This was due, according to McCarter, with the "hinged sticks" designed by USPSA RM Jay Worden.
These are 1" square wooden sticks which have been sawn apart in the middle, then rejoined with a simple metal hinge. An eye-screw is affixed to the stick near the hinge, and the cable to the activating device attached to this eye-screw. Further, the joint between the two halves have been sanded so that there is a slight bend in the assembly, so that the stick looks like a leg with the knee joint where the hinge is. It's intuitively obvious how to set the stick correctly ("Eye-screw toward the activator") in the target array, and it breaks reliably every time.
Cost of construction: under a dollar, and you can make one in your garage in a few minutes. No, the eye-screws don't pull out of the wood because the stick 'breaks' so easily.
"Snipe hunt" 28-round Shotgun Slug stage:
McCarter also discussed the problems with shooting a large number of slug rounds through a shotgun on a single stage. This stage included a number of IPSC targets to be engaged at relatively close ranges, but also some steel targets at ranges of about 50 feet. Shooting 12-guage Shotgun Slugs is a grueling exercise in pain management, as soon as the adrenaline wears off. He suggested that the wave of the future for Multigun shotguns may be moving to 20 guage. These are still classified as Major Power, and using a sabot round further aleviates the punishment, according to McCarter.
I'm not sure if Benelli makes a 20 guage auto shotgun comparable to the 12-guage guns which are currently so popular with Open Division competitors, but this sounds as if it might be worth looking into for Multigun matches next year.
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