The Last Stand - questions

[Dang It Dan 13202]

Howdy,

 

After every Last Stand, the Committee gets together and we talk about what was right, and what could be improved for the next year's match. We have received a bunch of positive opinions, which of course we love to hear, but we also need to hear the things that shooters didn't like or would like to see changed or added.

 

If you actually shot the match, we would like to hear about anything you would like to see, or not see. For example, we had two stages with moving targets. Some folk had never shot anything that moved so it kinda scared them a bit. Also, we had some props you had to manage, not a big deal in our minds, but it may have been over the top to some. At any rate, we would like to hear from those who shot it in the hopes of contiued improvement.

 

Thanks,

 

Dang It Dan

[Chuckaroo #13080 Regulator]

Dan and committee,

 

Even though I crashed and burned twice, I still feel it was one of the best set of stages I have ever shot. I will be stealing a few for use locally.

 

If there was anything I would change, it would have been the swinging target on stage ten. They were a little close to the top of the berm and some folks were more afraid of going over the berm than shooting the moving target. I'd lower them so the up stroke was not as close to the top of the berm. And I still feel that this is a nick pick.

 

At first I thought I would not like the split shifts (resistance to change) but, I now think it was a good idea.

 

Great job as always.

 

Roo

[Cypress Sun]

Dan............Burn the box.

 

Chuck, I looked at the WS on 10, I didn't think it was a problem.

 

Dan...........BURN THE BOX.

[Coldin Callous]

First off I would like to give huge props to all of the hard working RO's and commitee members on a great match. In response to Chuckaroo and the swinging target on stage 10. It looks as though it may not be an issue next year. As of sometime last week the swinger showed up on stage 1 in Fort White Florida. If I were to have to make any comment at all about the match, I would have to say I didn't really care too much for " The Box ". Although I didn't have too much trouble with it, I did see a few otherwise good shooters fumble around with it. Otherwise an absolutely awesome match!

[Deadlee Headlee SASS 54317 L]

Dan and the committee,

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire match, even with a busted wing on day 2

 

I feel that as Chuck said that the stages taken as a whole were probably the best 10 in a single event that I have ever shot. I have memorable stages from lots of matches that I have attended but The Last Stand did something that I thought that I might never see. I didn't have a complaint, I can think of nothing that I would change, Great job to all!

 

Oh and the split shifts this year... WONDERFUL!

 

It made the match less stressful, I didn't feel as worn out by the last day, and I had much more time to see my friends and the Vendors.

 

Let's try to get the RO classes moved to Wednesday next year though if possible, Thursday was a VERY long day!

 

-Deadlee

[Wyatt]

Dan and the committee,

 

First off I had a great time!

 

I thought all the stages were great. The use of the mission was the best setup I have ever seen. The box was no problem for an out of the box thinker I'm glad stage 7 was not a track meet. I liked the use of the moving targets this year. The swinger is much easier to hit with a rifle. All the movement, which I liked a lot, was well thought out with options and not excessive for those with limited foot speed.

 

I'm not sure how I feel about the split times. I'm a morning person. I did like the pace of shooting with the smaller posses. I didn't get to spend time with some folks this year. I did walk around while not shooting and did get to see most folks.

 

The tent setup in the middle of the venders made it feel like a town, very cool! All the props where neat, showed a lot of hard work, and added to the event

 

In case ya'll didn't hear, ask Brewster about a conversation we had, no biggie

 

WHAT ARE YA'LL GONNA DO NEXT YEAR!

 

Wyatt

[McKenzie River Drifter, #74138]

I felt it was a wonderful match and Fast Eddie and I will definitely be back next year.

 

Improvements for me

1. Burn the box. I do not care for gimicks on the clock. Do that kind of thing before the beep.

 

2. Turning 70 this year and with a rescent knee replacement a couple of the stages had a few to many miles to travel. Stage 5 as example. The distance between tables could have been reduced by simply moving them toward the center of the berm. In other word compress the stage. Stage 9 had 6 shooting positions, but each move was short. Please keep in mind that 1/2 or more of your shooters are Senior or older. We enjoy the action in CAS if it is not to long a distance.

 

3. I really enjoyed the moving targets and the new to me sweeps. Dangit Dan and the 6-5-4-3-2 sweep were a good chalenge without being P traps.

 

Just the view from my rocking horse.

 

McKenzie--had a ball--River Drifter

[Arcadia Outlaw, SASS 71385]

One thing comes to mind is bleachers for shoot off there was alot of folks who want to watch but could not,the concept of having some seating for target setters was great that way they were not blocking view of everybody else but some sort of bleachers I think would help keep spectators interested.

 

The shoot off was well organized & for as many shooters ran thru went very fast,Thanks Wiggly

 

The split shifts were great , one of the reasons I decided to berm marshal was I did not like 30person posses,figures they change it when I decided to BM LOL.

 

 

Usually I can pick on things & find things that I would of done differently but the match was excellent !

 

One of things I really use to bust thier chops about in previous years was options especially left to right & right to left movement,well they fixed that too.

 

What I said to folks was if you did not like this match you didn't like cowboy shootin. LOL

 

 

So Dan I'll just say bleachers or seating for shoot off.

 

 

see ya AO

[Dang It Dan 13202]

Bleachers were discussed - $1,500.00 for one event is a bit much, so we talked about some hay bails for next year. The Box is not my favorite, so it may go away, or it may come back as something else.

 

 

The now famous Wowwie-Zowwie (stage 10) is gone forever. It has been done, redone, and now overdone. Fort White has kewl new prop.

 

Thanks for all the comments, please feel free to add to this. The committee meets at the end of this month.

 

Respectfully,

 

Dan

[Korupt Karl]

Dan; From a different view as an RO. The smaller posse worked well and we had time to repaint the targets between groups which gave everyone a clean slate to start from.

 

The box was fun for us as we did see some major trainwrecks. I think the boxes are good for monthly matches but at a state level should be used before the beep.

 

I enjoyed all of the stages and still managed to miss a couple of the targets even though they were very generous is size and distance.

 

The match was one of the best organized I've attended. Everyone on the committee knew their job and did it well. Events started on time and I never felt rushed.

 

The split shift is great as it allows more time with the vendors and to visit friends.

 

A big pat on the back for everyone.....JOB WELL DONE.

[Guest Chance Ramsay, SASS#18962]

Mr Beal,

As a shooter it was a great match. Can't even complain about the box. Now as a vendor how about turning the tent so it is in front of the pond length wise. That way all the vendors would be visible at the same time. Had several people walking around the tent trying to find the different vendors. This is not a complaint just an observation. Great job by you, Stan and the whole committee. Can't wait to shoot next year.

Chance & Chancey Lady

P.S. Chancey Lady says to forget the rope on stage 10. (

[Annabelle Bransford]

First of all -- SUPER SHOOT! And PERFECT WEATHER! Having the big tent in the middle of town was a great idea. All ten stages were well thought out and probably the best 10 stages we've ever shot at the Last Stand -- and we've shot it a lot. The props were great! Loved the movement in the stages, as well as doing the things like pushing over the dummy and kicking down the door, all of which put the "action" back in Cowboy ACTION Shooting. As far as the moving targets were concerned, we felt that they were fine and not hard to hit. We see nothing wrong with taking a box from point A to point B, but having to draw the shotgun shells from it was somewhat an element of luck. Prop manipulation on the clock is fine as long as it isn't a skilled thing or a luck thing (such as throwing a stick of dynamite into a bucket, shooting an arrow, etc.). We liked the split days -- more relaxed, more time for vendors and "visiting". All the ROs did a great job on their stages, explaining them well. The options given on how to shoot the stages made them fair for all (ex. left-handed vs right-handed). For the shootoff at the NY State Championship, we put hay bales out for one row of spectators to sit on with a second row standing behind them to watch. This works well for us. We know how much work it is to put on a major shoot like this, and we commend everyone involved on a job well done. Already looking forward to next year.

 

Annabelle & Rowdy Bill

[Guest Yahoo Delirious]

Dan,

 

I just got back into CAS after a bit of a hiatus. So I noticed big differences between TLS 1998 and TLS 2011. The most obvious thing was the big and close targets. They are of course much easier to hit now which was great for me because I kept both eyes open for the first time and point shot the whole match!!

 

Times have obviously changed and now CAS is more speed than anything. Maybe there is no place for a precision shot anymore in CAS but it is rewarding to make a difficult shot maybe as a bonus or something.

 

Moving targets are great! Keep them comming!

 

The hay bales is a great idea. There were so many people heading over to the shoot off that I figured I couldn't see it anyway, so I packed up.

 

I liked every stage but the 6,5,4,3,2 shot one. If you do that one again, I'll remember to drink coffee just before that stage.

 

It was a great shoot and I can't wait for next year!

 

Y-D

[Chickamauga Charlie, SASS #47963]

ok i wasnt there and i know folks who travel all the way from so cal to florida from this match and highly praise it but can i ask if 130+ Ps isnt excessive? i dont know the caliber of the average shooter but they seem to be spread out pretty wide.

[Marshal Dan Troop 70448]

All in all, everything was set up perfect, scenarios and stages. The split morning/afternoon was great and moved things along fast without to much waiting to shoot. The way the vendors were set up this year was excellent. Oh, the "BOX" was great, bring it back, only make it bigger, heavier.

Only 2 things, stage 10 swinging target, many were worried about possibilty of shooting over the berm, especially shorter shooters.

Stage 7, most of our posse, including me, had the sun shining directly into our eyes, early morning, were targets were lost, some completely in early sunlight glare. I couldn't even see the last 2 shotgun targets. Kickin the door down, the middle target was gone, I just guessed were it was. (good guess, shot match clean).

Overall, all the hard work to put this match on for us, showed. There wasn't a dull stage to be found. Nor were the targets to close, nor to big, otherwise the Colonel would still be making out clean match certificates. MT

 

How you going to top this one????

[Kid Ziggy SASS 76870]

This was my first LS and hopefully the first of several more to come. I enjoyed the entire match and thought the stages were interesting for the most part with the targets being great. I do have a few nit-picky suggestions for the committee's consideration even though I may be the only one with this perspective:

 

1. I found the light blue difficult to spot for. Might just be me, but I had trouble seeing the hits. I prefer a color that contrasts more with splats.

2. The rifle string directions (town/knock-down door stage) were a little vague. To me the way it was written allowed for a double tap on 5 & 6. The BM clarified it was 2 sweeps from the same side but the directions could have been more specific.

3. As a gunfighter, day 2 (6-10) had 3 split pistol stages while day 1 did not have any. I prefer matches where these are spread out so each day only has one or two.

[Santa Fe River Stan,36999L]

ok i wasnt there and i know folks who travel all the way from so cal to florida from this match and highly praise it but can i ask if 130+ Ps isnt excessive? i dont know the caliber of the average shooter but they seem to be spread out pretty wide.

 

Higher then I would want to see......on the other hand there were 53 clean shooters....close to 20% which is higher then expected as well.

 

IMO there were not any P traps.....but.....you had to shoot within yourself which can be difficult when the targets are big and close. Self imposed speeding tickets are a definite side effect to big and close.

 

Caliber of Shooter - A World Champion all the way to brand new (1 or 2 matches under their belt)

 

Stan

[Black Diamond Doug]

Excellent match. Hats off to your stage writing Stan! I was bit surprised the round count on the rifle never changed, but it was not a problem. Clearly many folks think these were the BEST stages they've ever seen at match. Can't get any better review than that ! I added a few P's ( 3 ) to the total, but that was me being a bit rusty from not having shot more than 1 match during the 12 months before this one and sorta rushing through all 10 stages as we did a shoot through on Sat. morning. Starting cold, without really getting see a few shooters run through the stage nor taking the usual time I do to focaus on the stage worked against me. There was nothing intentionally tricky or difficult. I loved the moving targets and I'm sorry to hear the Wowie Zowie has now been banished to Ft. White.

 

Heard from several vendors they were not real pleased with the way the Big Tent was set up, thinking it may have blcoked them from view. of shooters and shoppers. Chance's suggestion in tent placement should resolve that issue.

 

Things were very smooth, split starting times worked out well, good food, nice awards and smooth presentation. Might want to make a brief annoucement at the beginning of the ceremonyabout EVERYONE having on their glasses, if they ventured out of the tent, to avoid that issue when the winner were swiftly directed OUTSIDE the tent for a photo. More than one lucky winner, was the unlucky recepient ofa tongue lashing for voilating that rule , when they stepped back inside. They were caught flat footed in the excitment of getting their award, not expecting they would be wisked outisde the tent. I know we always stressed the eye protection thing MANY times, but some folks always seem to forget.

 

All things considered, GREAT JOB !!!!!!

 

Black Diamond.

[Marshal Dan Troop 70448]

Higher then I would want to see......on the other hand there were 53 clean shooters....close to 20% which is higher then expected as well.

 

IMO there were not any P traps.....but.....you had to shoot within yourself which can be difficult when the targets are big and close. Self imposed speeding tickets are a definite side effect to big and close.

 

Caliber of Shooter - A World Champion all the way to brand new (1 or 2 matches under their belt)

 

Stan

I could add, there were no built in "P" traps, the ones that shooters got on our posse were brain fades, forgetting the sequence, or not moving to next position. "P"s were self imposed by the shooter.

Actually, I thought the match was similiar to that written as a monthly, very easy to understand, then made easier by the ROs instructions which were clearly stated. Having the same ROs at each stage also made sure each stage was run similiar to previous runs. MT

[Goliath, SASS #41359]

This was my first Last Stand - but no my last!

Everything was better than expected, and when I barely kept my last rifle shot on that moving target on stage 6 - to keep my clean match, I was almost beside myself!

 

The RO's were great - especially the Pirates! AARRG!

 

Now if I could just keep my SG shells oriented the same way in the BOX!

 

Great job, committee!

[Colonel Dan, SASS #24025]

RE: the post mentioning 130+"Ps"

 

It will probably come as no surprise to most that are familiar with the SBSS, but I’ve been focused on “clean” for over 10 years now and have carefully studied the general circumstances that facilitate or impede shooting clean. While there are many factors that affect the goal of clean, on the match design side of the question it generally, and I emphasize “generally” boils down to a few variables: Scenario complexity, target size and range.

 

When targets are small and/or at extended ranges, it’s comes as no surprise that you will have an inordinate number of “stealth bullets” aka misses for the match. When the scenarios or engagement sequences are generally complex you end up with “P” traps.

 

Conversely, when the targets are big and close with simple scenarios, the result is NORMALLY a higher number of clean shooters.

 

When there is an inordinate number of both clean shooters AND “Ps” it very clearly tells me the shooters lost focus and tried to exceed their personal speed limit. As in, “these targets are so big and close, there’s no way I can miss therefore I can let ‘er rip.” Result: the Stealth Bullet ambushes you somewhere during the match.

 

Again, if the scenarios are simple, many who do come away with “P’s” do so because they have put their brain on auto-pilot and crash or have the all too recognizable “brain fade” aka senior moment. “This is so simple, I don’t even have to think about it!”

 

From my saddle, the Last Stand was definitely a match in the big, close and simple category—Why do I say this? 130 P’s coupled with 53 clean shooters (20% cleaned it at TLS when the average for a large match is normally 7-10%).

 

Targets were big and close with very straight forward scenarios that created no “P” traps whatsoever. If you kept within your capability where speed was concerned and kept your mind on the business at hand, this match was easily “cleanable.” If however you thought there was no way in he** you could miss such big targets that close and that the stages were so simple you could just cruise on through….guess what jumped up and ambushed you somewhere along the trail?

 

I applaud TLS committee on a great match and would just console those who didn’t clean it that you’ll have yet another great shot at the clean match award next year. Rest assured, the philosophy at TLS of big, close and simple will not change!

 

Just the view from the saddle of SBSS HQs… See Y'all next year!

[Isom Dart, SASS#8096]

Dan,

I don't know about everyone else,,,but I had a ball. The only problem was that I hade to slow down so the timers could keep up with me,,,,,I didn't want to tire them out,,,,LOL. All in all, it was an excellent match. Really didn't mind the movement ,,,,I'm only going to move so fast anyway. I liked the moving targets. First time I did the split shift,,,not bad at all. Overall,,,,a "10"

Isom Dart

[Wyatt]

3. As a gunfighter, day 2 (6-10) had 3 split pistol stages while day 1 did not have any. I prefer matches where these are spread out so each day only has one or two.

 

I shot all 10 stages GF. The only one that was iffy was stage 8.........but I signed up GF and there was a table to place yer pistols while chutin yer rifle.

 

Wyatt

[Cheyenne Culpepper 32827]

I contributed to the P total, forgot to move on stage 6.

 

Shot 9 out of 10 stages pure GF! cool

 

Loved the box, one of my best stages, the 6 5 4 3 2 was totally COOL!

 

Loved the amount of movement.

 

ROs were the best yu've evur had. A few still need improvement

 

I really dislike the $25 for all day side matches. I just can't bring myself to pay that much extra. Some shoots have gone to an all inclusive match fee. only git yur wallet out for vendors and such.

 

Other than that i can't think of anything else that needs improvement.

 

thanks again!

 

Cheyenne

[McCandless]

It was one heckuva match! The split shifts and smaller posses was a great idea. The movement and the box were a throwback to the earlier years of SASS,and personally, (even though I'm gimpy and often need a cane), I enjoyed the challange.

 

This was a great set of stages, and even I was able to shoot it clean! A rare event.

My only request would be to have a table available facing a berm, where us cap n' ball shooters could recharge our cylinders. Sometimes the loading tables were jammed and the unloading table was small, so I was in the way.

 

Thanks for all the hard work!

Duc McC

[Chickamauga Charlie, SASS #47963]

Higher then I would want to see......on the other hand there were 53 clean shooters....close to 20% which is higher then expected as well.

 

Stan

 

thanks for the response Stan. like i said the match is highly praised by some i know out here and traveling 3k miles for a match is really saying something to me. i was just wondering about it.

hope to make it out there someday.

CC

[Wigley Down Yonder #67002]

For a State Match I would expect the following…

Remarks Varied on the following Match Evaluation based on a ranking scale (RC), 5 being the highest, and 1 being the lowest:

Survived Subjects varied on a physical scale, age, and shooter skill level. All three shooters were of male gender. Category: 49er, Cowboy and Buckaroo.

 

Shooter Application: RC-5, well organized and accessible, I liked the fact that the safety questionnaire was already taken care of when I picked up my shooter packet.

Theme Story Book: RC-5, Outstanding job. It was obvious that the author put a great deal of time and research into the story guide. Strongly recommend continuing this idea.

Shooters Handbook: RC-5, Filled with everything a State Match should have. Who ever put it together excellent job. Excellent advertisements, this is one book I’ll keep.

Vender Coordinator: RC-5, he met me as soon as I rolled through the gates and directed me exactly where I could park my trailer. Made sure I had everything I needed.

Venders: Be thankful…Some people are never happy

Posse Schedule: RC-5, the small Split Posses kept things moving, everyone had to help. Big improvement on Posse’s moving along after last year. This also gave us more time for the Venders and socializing.

Opening Ceremony: Who Cares? I came to shoot and have fun.

Side Matches: RC-5, a full schedule, something for everyone. Speed anything, Wild bunch, and Black Powder. I just did not have enough hours in the day.

Host Hotel: RC-5; I strongly recommend keeping the Embassy Suites as the host hotel. Breakfast was excellent; service was outstanding, excellent area for socializing.

Stage Design: RC-5, excellent job on placing the targets in a different order, height, size layout and the variety of engagement.

Target Size Selection: RC-5; you could whale away as Ricky-Bobby did and come up clean or you could get over confident.

Varity of targets types: RC-5; never the same thing, you kept thing varied based on distance and size. Outstanding job! I loved the moving targets and your ingenious ways of starting them.

Movement: RC-5, both the boys and I found that the movement was well within their ability as young men and mine as an aging cowboy with arthritis. I believe you were able to satisfy both ends of the spectrum. Zombie Land Rule Number 1 Cardio. Some of the props were a little bit too far apart for the older shooters.

Degree of Difficulty: RC-4; here is where the three different Survived Subjects strongly disagreed. But we all agreed that you were right on rack when it comes to this being a state match.

RO’s: RC-5; all were more than qualified, helpful, and courteous even to the belligerent shooter who was at fault. From what I was told they saved numerous shooters, and I would like to add they did an outstanding job with my Buckaroo who no longer needs Dad always watching. He now trusts your RO’s, Thanks Cowboys for watching out for my youngen.

Awards Ceremony: RC-2 (safety); Way too many people were walking out of the tent to have their pictures taken without eye protection.

The Man Behind the scene: Broken Barrel RC-10, I saw him doing everything that we as the shooters took for granted. No the trash just didn’t magically disappear overnight. Props did not fix them self’s. Thanks Broken Barrel!

Saturday Night Dinner: RC-1, No provocative dancing during the dinner, dancing, and costume Contest. Children and families are present.

Sole Survivor Shoot-off: RC-3, we need bleachers. Dan I’m going to see if I can find some using the military DRMO. I’ll get back with you. Wigley

[Deadlee Headlee SASS 54317 L]

2 more comments regarding possible improvements to The Last Stand

 

#1. Procedural vs Clean stats.

 

I am sure that you have stats on which stages these events occurred on.

 

After thinking about it carefully I think that the bucket stage was a procedural trap in just a small way. The requirement of not drawing until the bucket was knocked over goes against the training and practice that we all do. Therefore it required a significant conscious effort to achieve, sadly I did not successfully negotiate this first with my own brain bucket. I drew as soon as I turned downrange, tried to stop but cleared leather, paused, re holstered, then went ahead and knocked the bucket over and shot the stage. I then realized that all I had to do was stop and request a restart, sadly I did not do this. Thus I earned the P as well as a few seconds extra before I knocked the bucket over of thinkin' about it with the whole draw re holster issue. My bad, my fault entirely. However this weekend I had 2 other shooters mention that they had the same issue.

 

I assume that pert of the reason for the no draw until bucket bashing was to ensure no 170 violations as we had an up range starting position.

 

The question is could you have just said do not draw until safe as there is already penalties to cover a violation. And the second question is did not drawing add anything to the stage in and of itself...

 

#2. Did we use the widest and deepest berm for the shoot off? I know the bleacher idea has been mentioned and it is great. As a shooter, and then a spectator...what comes after 8 Shoulda...? I felt a bit crowded in the bay. Maybe bay 9 or 20 would supply more room overall for the shoot off.

 

I know that this is nit picking but you asked for it. After doing such a great job with the match these are the only things that I could think of.

 

Thanks again for a GREAT SHOOT!

 

-Deadlee

[Santa Fe River Stan,36999L]

2 more comments regarding possible improvements to The Last Stand

 

#1. Procedural vs Clean stats.

 

I am sure that you have stats on which stages these events occurred on.

 

After thinking about it carefully I think that the bucket stage was a procedural trap in just a small way. The requirement of not drawing until the bucket was knocked over goes against the training and practice that we all do. Therefore it required a significant conscious effort to achieve, sadly I did not successfully negotiate this first with my own brain bucket. I drew as soon as I turned downrange, tried to stop but cleared leather, paused, re holstered, then went ahead and knocked the bucket over and shot the stage. I then realized that all I had to do was stop and request a restart, sadly I did not do this. Thus I earned the P as well as a few seconds extra before I knocked the bucket over of thinkin' about it with the whole draw re holster issue. My bad, my fault entirely. However this weekend I had 2 other shooters mention that they had the same issue.

 

I assume that pert of the reason for the no draw until bucket bashing was to ensure no 170 violations as we had an up range starting position.

 

The question is could you have just said do not draw until safe as there is already penalties to cover a violation. And the second question is did not drawing add anything to the stage in and of itself...

 

#2. Did we use the widest and deepest berm for the shoot off? I know the bleacher idea has been mentioned and it is great. As a shooter, and then a spectator...what comes after 8 Shoulda...? I felt a bit crowded in the bay. Maybe bay 9 or 20 would supply more room overall for the shoot off.

 

I know that this is nit picking but you asked for it. After doing such a great job with the match these are the only things that I could think of.

 

Thanks again for a GREAT SHOOT!

 

-Deadlee

 

Reasons for the lunch pail.....

Help the shooters to NOT break the 170 since they were starting facing uprange and had to turn towards the firing line.

Make sure the shooters reached a specific spot and covered a certain amount of ground during the stage.

Adjust the overall amount of time to complete the stage so it evened out with the other 4 stages on that flight.

Historically that stage has been much faster because it is very small. The result was a back up on stage 2 which we really did not see this year.

Every time we draw our pistols it should be only when it's safe to do so.....so I really don't see reason to add that verbiage to a stage description. Not drawing your pistol until you complete a specific task is not difficult BUT as you said, it goes against our normal shooting style.

 

As far as the shootoff goes.....it was at stage 5 because that USED to be the widest berm we have and to be honest I never gave any thought to having it on a different berm. Old Habits can be tough.....Definitely something to ponder.

 

Stan

[JamesSamuelPike]

To the entire crew that put on “The Last Stand 2011” WOW you all did a tremendous job. This was my third time shooting The Last Stand and found it to be the best Last Stand I attended so far. The attention to detail and how smooth everything ran was impeccable.

 

Had just a few observations about the match

1. Morning/Afternoon posse was great. Posse sizes were just right giving everyone enough time to work shoot without being rushed. Free /downtime allowed to visit vendor/socialize or enjoy watching other shooters shoot.

2. Stages were well written with lots of choices in targets acquisition, starting position, which firearm first. Movement was just right on every stage. No marathons to run nor was there any boring stand and deliver stages. Prop were placed strategically requiring the shooter to get to or past a prop in order to see /shoot the required targets. These stages put the “ACTION” in Cowboy shooting.

3. Ironman warm up stage. This was shot side match day. Shooting order was pistol +1 reload, second pistol +1 reload, Rifle (10) + 5 reload then two banks of 4 shotgun (totaling 8). I loved this stage. It was a blast to shoot. I did notice that most of the same folks shot this and many watched. I think the reloads and 8 shotgun might of scared some folks off. A suggestion would be to run a dual stage in that berm, Iron man/Mini stage. Iron man would be shot just like we did with reloads and 8 shotgun. For the Mini stage just eliminate the reloads in the pistols and rifle and only shoot 4 of the 8 shotgun knockdowns. I think this would appeal to the shooters that were not comfortable with either so many reloads of 8 shotgun.

4. The “BOX”… Keep the box its fun to have to carry stuff from point “A” to “B” just like we did on stage 5. Only change to the BOX stage would be to have the shooter load from there body. I really liked the options for the 6-5-4-3-2 order. It was a fun stage.

5. Moving targets, keep them they increase the level of difficulty to a stage for all shooting levels. I don’t want to make it sound like these movers were not hittable, they were, they were big targets and were not moving all that fast.

6. Shootoff was just as good as the previous years. I believe it was more enjoyable for the spectators to watch being that they could see all the action since it was in one bay instead of three. KEEP IT. Congratulations to Delta Glen for some fine shooting.

 

Again, Great Job to all involved.…. James Samuel Pike

[Cypress Sun]

If TLS can acquire bleacher type seating, ya might think about using bay 8 as it is deeper, just a thought.

 

JSP, congrats on the overall pard. I watched you shoot the ironman, right after I did. Me Volkswagon, you Ferrarri..........helleva run.

[Dang It Dan 13202]

JSP, congrats on the overall pard. I watched you shoot the ironman, right after I did. Me Volkswagon, you Ferrarri..........helleva run.

 

Yeah, Volkswagon. Always breaking down and expensive to fix.

[Dang It Dan 13202]

As far as the shootoff goes.....it was at stage 5 because that USED to be the widest berm we have and to be honest I never gave any thought to having it on a different berm. Old Habits can be tough.....Definitely something to ponder.

 

Stan

 

Good idea!!

 

New shoot-off, but never gave the berm a second thought. Stage 8. I like it.

 

Thanks for all the comments. We will be looking at all of these.

 

Dang It Dan

[macinaw]

For shooters that don't want to shoot unlimited side match on Thursday for $20.

 

Have it be available to purchase single side match tickets?

 

Mad Man and I didn't want to shoot alot of side matches. To shoot just one or two would have been a perfect warm up.

 

Thank You! Macinaw

[Frederick Jackson Turner]

I spent a good part of the day talking with Lefty Longridge and Lusty Lil; they were saying it was the best match they have shot in a long, long time. You must be on the right track!

 

Now, about that box....

 

Cheers,

FJT