Texas Jack Daniels

Shotglass and I had a great time. As travel permits we will keep going for sure. Slick and his family are extremely nice people.

Hi all, In the most recent Chronicle Justice Lily Kate announced her retirement from the SASS Scholarship Fund. Kate has been the face of this fund for a long time. Many of our shooters have benefitted from the Scholarship fund under her leadership for these many years. I would like to thank Kate for her years of service and wish her all the best in this, her second, retirement. I know just taking care of the Judge is job enough...…...

Savy Jack. Don't worry somebody would miss it too.

Nope.

I think Phantom hates the cowboys that have the armholes. Not the ones that are solid. Phantom if you hate the solid ones could you explain your reasoning please? I have had a lot of different shooters on my posse. 5 yrs old to 95 years old. wheelchairs, and even a blind guy. His buddies helped him aim. A lot of clubs try to design stages that are neutral for left or right handed shooters these days. As far as stand and deliver is concerned as I have shot with many clubs across the USA not all clubs have the luxury of having stages with much/any movement and props. Some clubs have to set up and tear down everything every month. The first club I shot with had 1 stage in the corner of a corn field. We had to set up in the morning and tear it down when we were done. When I die God will ask me what I did to help others, not how much money I left behind.

That looks like a very nice set up. And I see the tilt to minimize splatter.

Wow, holy mackerel, and tornado targets Batman !!!!!! This is a lot of responses. If you know me I am about customer satisfaction, customer retention, and the math behind it. Remember, I am the guy who analyzed 40,000 scores to propose we change to total time. So where are we at? 1. Most targets from a steel plate with minimal cutting. 1.a. 18 out of a 4x8 sheet if 16" squares, 8 if 24" squares 1.b. Everything else is more torch/plasma cutter time and has more scrap steel 2. It doesn't make any difference. Everybody shoots at the same thing. 2.a. Agreed, except for the whole marketing thing about wanting happy shooters (aka customers) who come back. 2.b. Older and novice shooters tend to have a larger group size. They want to feel like, although not as fast, they can at least hit the same targets our semi-pros do. 3. Targets that do not lend themselves to success aren't such a good idea. This includes: 3.a. Diamonds where 75% of the target will not be part the group coverage if you pull the trigger when you first have steel (i.e. the left or right corners) under your sight. 3.b. Triangles (and the notorious peppers at EoT) where the target gets narrower as you go down. Most new shooters shoot low. (My 25+ years of observation) 3.c. Any target that is wide and narrow. low and high shots are misses. too much and too little sight. 3.d. Any target that has holes in it. (i.e. arm holes). 3.e. Card suits are terrible. Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades all have very little contiguous target area. 3.f. Stars 4. Target that seem to be good are: 4.a. Large (not huge) 4.b. Without protrusions (that cause a new shooter to pull the trigger to soon) 4.c. Without holes (arm holes,...) the bullet can go through 4.d. Squares, Large solid... buffalos, bears, cowboys, are good. 4.e. Tombstones are good 4.f. Circles are OK but not great (for the same reason as diamonds). 4.g. One time I made a train. 5 targets; locomotive, coal car, 2 passenger coaches, and a caboose. They were 16 in tall and 32 in wide. No holes in them and everybody liked them. 5. Simple shapes are boring 5.a. One time I cut out 24 bears, vultures, pigs, etc. (all from 16x24 rectangles). A lot of work and looked great. Eventually the club quit using them for reason 4.c. 5.b. Spend your time and money on stage decorations might be better 6. Variety is good 6.a. Don't make all the targets exactly the same. 6.b. For example; mix up some 16x16 squares with one large solid cowboy. 7. Great idea I heard... Paint a border on the target in a contrasting color with the center (i.e. black border and white center) 7.a. Increases the probability of a hit for new shooters coached to aim at the center color (i.e. white). Now I didn't talk about target placement, the 100 different sweeps, stage design. Just the target itself. This was awesome response I hope those who make targets, write stages, create matches find this useful. Many thanks. Sincerely, TJD

Here are my latest creations. Bear and Cowboy are 48 inches tall and 32 inches wide. Buffalo is 32 inches tall and 48 inches wide. All three hang off on chains in the back and RING when hit. The 6 inch white circles bonus poppers and are all hinged with a back dingle bob and pop and RING when hit as well. Everything is AR500. ~22 degree tilt to deflect lead into the dirt.

When I first started this game 25 years ago I thought targets that had shapes were cool, Buffalos, card suites, bears, cowboys, buzzards, steer heads. They added to the atmosphere of the stage. I cut up a lot of steel in my yard. Now as we have evolved (devolved?) I am more worried about customer satisfaction and helping others. I have come the conclusion that square target are the most hit friendly. Sweeping left or right if the novice shooter shoots high or low there is still steel they hit. (And I see a lot of low shots). If it is a circle or a diamond I see more misses and fewer happy shooters. At this point I tend to think a 2 ft. square is the most optimal "hit friendly" target. Tombstones are pretty good too. Stars not so much. What are your thoughts on targets size and shape and placement to help more people have a good time? And "car hoods at 5 yards" is not a fair reply. thank you. TJD

You ask a tough question. Wooly awards come from the Wild Bunch. I am unaware of their judging criteria. An awesome range, a spectacular annual shoot, great growth, all come to mind. And marketing.......