I admit, I don't have the statistics to tell you how many years this world-class High Round Count IPSC-type competition has been presented by CVSC, but I'm sure that Paul M., "Evil" Bill M. or Marty L. will let me know as soon as this article hits the Internet.
And they should be proud of their brain-child, because this 460-plus round (8 stages!) has been around long enough to achieve an international reputation as, if nothing else, an "Iron Man" test of equipment reliability, ability to make reloads quickly, accuracy, speed and pure competitor endurance.
(Note that the match is probably the "Brain Child" of either Jonathan Umfleet or Tom Chambers, both of whom are past presidents of the club and both of whom should receive full credit for their contribution which took this small club from a local "plinking and pre-hunting-season sight-in-your-rifle" club to one which regularly presents some of the most challenging and difficult matches in America. Yes, I expect updates to follow from the current Club President and /or Evil Stage Designer.)
The hallmark of this match is "You Got Bullets?" Each stage requires at least 50 hits to complete, some of them over 60 rounds.
In case you get the impression that it is a 'hoser match', please allow me to disillusion you.
Although there are plenty of 4-target arrays which encourage you to stand and deliver 8 rounds as quickly as you can, it's not all a matter of unloading magazines ten times quicker than you can load them. There are plenty of 10" plates at distances calculated to test your accuracy. Plate racks, the "Evil Oregon Star," and Pepper Poppers engaged through the 12" hole in a steel 'donut' reward a moment's inattention with, at best, a miss. At worse, the donut rings resoundingly, signaling to all observers that your Pepper Popper engagement was far off the mark.
It's always a surprise to realize that Revolver shooters put their six-round limitations to the test at this match. Coincidentally, six revolvers were used in this 2007 version of the famous Croc Match.
Here are the Top 30 of 106 competitors:
Place Name Cls Div. Cat Points Match%
1 Shepherd, Rob GM Open 2014.0487 100.00%
2 Tyler, Keith GM Open 1879.5676 93.32%
3 McGee, Bobby GM Open 1788.8717 88.82%
4 Lee, Yong GM L-10 1788.5253 88.80%
5 Bright, Norman M Open 1767.4391 87.76%
6
7 Schmidt, Carl M Open Sr 1713.3135 85.07%
8 Hodsdon, Kevin A Open 1693.5543 84.09%
9 Fague, Scott B Open 1678.3901 83.33%
10 LeRoux, Scott A Open Sr 1675.5745 83.19%
11 McDonald, Casey B Open 1640.2551 81.44%
12 Tomasie, Squire M Open SS 1601.0319 79.49%
13 Bright, Zac B Open Jr 1564.0208 77.66%
14 Suh, Al B Open 1563.3510 77.62%
15 Loo, Bob A Open SS 1557.9321 77.35%
16 Paek, Peter A L-10 1454.0014 72.19%
17 Ott, Trevor M L-10 1445.6568 71.78%
18 Kies, Alan M L-10 Sr 1423.6767 70.69%
19 Marrs, Bill B Open Sr 1422.9178 70.65%
20 Fuller, Dennis A Open 1403.2551 69.67%
21 Blosser, David A L-10 1392.6748 69.15%
22 Newquist, Doug M Prod 1388.9763 68.96%
23 Stachour, Mike A L-10 1382.7855 68.66%
24 Shepherd, Caryn B Open Ldy 1365.2078 67.78%
25 Lee, Jimmy A Open 1344.6474 66.76%
26 Hockens, Ernie B Open 1308.5619 64.97%
27
28 Falkner, Eric C Open 1282.9813 63.70%
29 Hoang, Vinh B L-10 1267.5958 62.94%
30 Dickinson, Jim B L-10 SS 1267.4100 62.93%
(Sorry, this probably doesn't align correctly in your browser. For a complete listing of the results, go here.)
Jungle Run
One of the most popular features of this match is the infamous "Jungle Run". The Oregon Rain Forest Climate has blessed Dundee with a fast-running creek bed, bounded by minor ridges, forming a perfect shooting bay. The entire range is sited on the side of a high hill (in the SE portions of America, it would be considered a mountain), and the heavy annual rainfall plus the creek runoff combine to populate this restricted area with ferns, bushes and trees. This provides the perfect combination of awkward terrain and dense foliage in which to hide targets. A plethora of branching trails serves to confuse the shooter, because there are typically very few clues to help the competitor decide which branch of the trail to take as they run through the woods shooting at cardboard targets as they become available. While you're shooting at one target, it's easy to glide past another target hidden in the foliage on the other side of the trail.
This year, the branching trails were deliberately not marked. More than one shooter expressed a wish that they were, because as they headed down the wrong trail they were treated to a loudly expressed admonition by Range Officer Loren O. to "Get Back On The Trail!"
Did I mention that this is a "Surprise Stage?"
If the shooter errs, the best he can expect is a verbal correction from the RO. There are no reshoots because the competitor didn't understand the stage instructions, or because the RO hollered at him ... causing the competitor to stop in confusion because the thought there was a more serious problem than that he went down the wrong trail.
One competitor was vociferous about his complaint that the 'right' trail was not obviously marked. He was right, it wasn't fair.
Another competitor was careful, in an interview, to make the point that the Jungle Run was the most fun stage in the match, but because it was a 'surprise stage' the results should not be counted as part of the match.
They were both right, but both competitors (although they are both Locals and have both shot this match for as long as they have been competing locally) missed the point.
The Croc Match is determinedly and deliberately "Not Fair".
Not Fair!
It's not FAIR that the Jungle Run is a Surprise Stage, not chance for a reshoot, you aren' t given enough information to know where all the targets are before you shoot the stage, or that reshoots just ... aren't ... part of the game.
It's not FAIR that if you make a random mistake on the Jungle Run, you can't buy a reshoot.
It's not FAIR that six-round-limited Revolver Shooters must engage a large number of 8-round arrays with a rich selection of 'optional' targets, that other shooters can engage because they have more ammunition loaded.
It's not FAIR that there is no forgiveness in the entire match, and than if you make a mistake you will pay heavy penalties.
Here are some other considerations:
This match use to be scheduled in May, when the weather was much cooler ... but usually rainy.
To encourage attendance, it was deliberately rescheduled for Labor Day Weekend, when the sun was (usually) still out ... but it is HOT! The temperature in this period is typically in the mid-to-high Nineties, so this match is in more than one way an "Endurance contest".
Why does this match find itself scheduled over the Labor Day weekend? Because more people can find free time to shoot a 2-day match, leaving another day for travel.
Sun and Heat are a factor:
I shot this match several years ago, the first Labor Day Weekend it was scheduled. I finished the match in the Rifle Bay (3 bays, actually) where there is no shade except, late in the day, on the targets. Great, you get to engage targets in the shade after you have spend most of your pre-shooting time in the sun. Getting hot. The first few targets you often can't see clearly, because while you're in the sun you're looking at targets in the shade. Decidedly Not Fair.
At that match, it was the last stage my squad had to shoot.
The "Rifle Bay" is situated at the lowest part of the range. There's a steep hill to climb to get back to where the rest of the range (and the Stats Shack, and the cars, and the shade) are located.
I and another competitor were so drained of energy that we simply did not consider it feasible possible to climb the hill. We found a place where shade was available by virtue of being under an erected tarp, and we found chairs there. We sat and drank warm water until the match staff arrived to take down the tarp. They were not listening to our protests that we needed the stage, so we sat in the hot sun until we decided that we HAD to move back up to the main range if only to get out of the sun.
Somehow, we found the energy to drag ourselves out of the low basin and back to the shade. We decided that we were getting too old for this stuff.
Still, I showed up to watch the 2007 match, even though I wasn't prepared to shoot the match. It's No FAIR that you can't brass. No match rules against it, but it's simply too hot to brass and besides, there's usually another squad waiting to shoot the stage. More important, after the first two stages you (I) usually don't have the energy to pick up your brass. This becomes a major factor in deciding to shoot the match, when .38 Super brass costs over $170 a thousand and you're dumping about 500 rounds of brass on the range.
No FAIR.
No Fair:
Here's the bottom line. If you are looking for Fairness, don't shoot the Croc Match.
If you can't afford to drop 500 rounds of brass on the range, don't shoot the Croc match.
If you think it's outrageous that you will be called upon to shoot a Surprise Stage, with no recourse when Things Go Wrong, don't shoot the Croc Match.
But if you're up for the toughest challenge in IPSC competition, if you don't care what it costs, if you just want to measure yourself against the American Standard of "Iron Man" competition ... you can't afford to miss the 2008 Crocodile Dundee Banzai Ballistic "You Got Bullets?" match.
Coming next year, reserve your Labor Day Weekend for this most unfair match in America.
PS: USPSA can't sponsor or encourage this match, because it does not adhere strictly to USPSA standards. (Sometimes, the match requires more than 9 rounds from a single shooting position. Not this year, but in previous years.) However, CVSC scrupulously pays Match Fees to USPSA, so it's possible that USPSA will allow articles about this match to be published in the Front Sight magazine. You haven't seen it yet, but one these days I'm going to write an article about this match for the Front Sight.
Feedback?
PPS: Watch This Site for pictures and videos of the match. In the meantime, EVERY picture and video is currently available at Jerry the Geek's Video Shooting Gallery.
I'll be editing videos for the next week, and some smaller (read: viewable here without waiting for ten minutes to see what you have downloaded) videos may become available in the meantime.
If you have videos from this match, please contact me at the email address cited at the bottom of this page. I will host videos, or link to videos, as they become available.
YouTube Video version of this stage:
(Available here as a download on Jerry the Geek's Video Gallery)
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