Captain Bill Burt

What a fun match!! I enjoyed every minute of it, despite learning that shooting duelist is tough and affects every part of the stage, not just the pistols. I’ll enjoy getting back to traditional in four days at the Bushwhack!!

Florida State is in the books. What a fun match!! I'll post some pics and videos over on https://southeastopenmagnificentseven.com/ later. We did pick up a few more shooters and it's perfect that our total number of shooters is now 77! Registration is closed and I picked up just enough extra to get one more buckle, We're adding Lady Senior!

Things are kicking off tomorrow. The Florida match is looking very good. The stages look fun and the target size and distances are just right!!

I go wheels up Thursday morning. I'm pretty much ready other than I need to chamber check my main match rounds, then it's gas up the Camaro and keep an eye out for smokies. Waze tells me it's about a 4 hour drive, which means I should be able to get there in about 3.5 hours. Looks like my AirBnB is less than 4 miles from the range.

Hanging on wooden pegs.

Perfect!!

Their website is here: https://mississippiriverrangers.org/ Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2432-rabbit-ridge-rd-byhalia-ms-38611-7713-united-states/smokin-guns-at-rabbit-ridge-xxiv/246898120193352/

Charlie writes great stages. The Marauder's fifth Saturday matches always draw a crowd and this is the perfect warm up for The Last Stand.

You know spring is here when it's time for Florida State. I can't wait to see what Stan and Delta have for us!!

The deadline to sign up is fast approaching. If you want some of what Stew is cooking the time to sign up is now!!!

I'm excited to finally get back to the Ponderosa. A huge party and there's a match too! This will be three state matches in three weeks for me, something I've never done before. https://ponderosa-pines.com/ky-state-championship

If you like big targets and fast stages this is your match. Austin likes to give the shooter lots of options!! https://www.northalabamaregulators.com/copy-of-ambush-southeast-regional

Fast Eddie and his crew are hard at work crafting yet another perfect match. He approaches the State Match the way he does SKBs, anything less than perfect isn't acceptable. https://www.srscowboy.com/events.html

Smokin' Guns at Rabbit Ridge is coming up in May! I've heard a lot of good things about this match and unfortunately haven't been there yet. Everyone says food is great and the Riverboat is amazing. Get yourself to Mississippi and join the fun! The dates this year are: May 23-25. https://mississippiriverrangers.org/

The Regulator's Reckoning is coming up in June! It's a fantastic match. Great stages, great range, great door prizes (especially if you like whisky) and most of all great people. It's also the finale of the Magnificent 7. The dates this year are: June 5-7. This is a bucket list match!! https://www.wartraceregulators.com/StateMatch.aspx

I'm happy to announce that the 2025 Magnificent 7 has the most sign ups in the three years it's been around. We're at 77 shooters. I expect we will pick up a few more this weekend at the Tennessee Mountain Marauders 5th Saturday match (be sure to attend as they do a great job) and potentially a few more at Florida State. The deadline to sign up will be before the Florida State match results are announced April 5th. That's to allow any of the Cracker Crew who haven't jumped in yet to do so. We know they can be slow at times 😂 Thank you to our wonderful sponsors, SASS, Florida State, South Carolina State, Kentucky State, Alabama State, Georgia State, Mississippi State, Tennessee State, Bullets by Scarlett, Outlaw Bullets, Page Custom Knives, and Buffalo's Wild West.

Sharyn and I will be there. I’m going to shoot this one duelist as a warm up for FL State.

That's a pretty gun.

I’m looking forward to shooting this one Senior Gunfighter! Stand well back and you might want to cover the women and children’s eyes.

Whitey you only need to add one more SE State to join us in the Magnificent 7. I bet Kentucky isn't that far from you. https://southeastopenmagnificentseven.com/ Miz Pete we would love for you and Pecos to join us again. You're already signed up for four Mag 7 matches and you only need three!

Florida State South Carolina State Kentucky State Alabama State Georgia State Tennessee State (Magnificent 7 finale) South East Regional.

I didn't attend EOT this year, so I have no business commenting on the quality of the match. If I had attended and enjoyed it, I would share that here. If I attended and didn't enjoy it I would share that with the MD, privately.

You must know which match Creeker and Sue are referring to, which I don't. I'm pretty sure it wasn't Land Run as I attended that and thought it was really fun.

I think it's fair to say that people want some degree of predictability in the matches they sign up for. I also think it's fair to say that you can't please everybody and Match Directors are well advised to remember that they're in the entertainment business and if matches are not entertaining attendance will decline. I've seen it more than once. Someone takes over a match and starts writing stages and placing targets the way they want them, but NOT the way the majority of their shooters prefer. Then a few years later they're scratching their heads and wondering why their attendance is in single digits. I don't think the idea that championship matches should be harder than typical matches is valid. The difficulty comes from who else is signed up since everyone is shooting the same match. I'll be shooting six state matches this spring and I already have a pretty good idea which ones will be difficult to place in the top ten and which ones will be difficult to place in the top twenty and it has pretty much ZERO to do with target size, distance or shooting sequences and everything to do with who else will be there. So intentionally making a match 'difficult' through really long distances or really tough sequences is only going to irritate a segment of the middle of the pack and lower shooters who are denied the chance to get in personal best times or to walk away with a clean match. Mix it up folks. Give the shooter some speed runs, give them some 'challenge' stages, give them some that are in the middle of those two extremes. If matches are built that way there ends up being at least some stages that will appeal to pretty much every shooter there. Unless you prefer the Henry Ford attitude of folks can have any color car they want as long as it's black. *Matches like Bordertown are an exception to that. Everyone knows what they're going to get there, so if you don't like big and close you shouldn't have signed up.

Good luck with your first match.