10 Total Guns Entered
Score
1 Lady-Carrie Morton 24
5 Open, Class won by Jay Schoonmaker 45
2nd Open - Hal Hansen 40
3rd Open - David Lee 37
5 Limited, Class won by Chuck Treat 44
2nd Limited - Mark (OJ) Kimura 38
3rd Limited - Jeff Morton 28
Howdy, Clays Match Fans. Welcome back to Gig Harbor Sportsmans Club. It's Sunday afternoon and we all know what that means. We're going to have a Clays Match. We have 10 guns turned out to compete today, and our Arrays Impressario, Chuck Treat has brought us A STARBURST MATCH. Many thanks to our Match Director, Chuck Nicodemus, our Scorekeeper & DJ Doug McLean along with our Arrays Arrays Impressario Chuck Treat for presenting the match for us today. As mentioned above, it's The Great Equalizer Series, THE STARBURST today. This is an entirely new format for clays matches, and one that bears repeating, A Lot. For the entire history of the clays matches, the arrays have been known in advance. The benefits of this plan are debatable, but at least the shooter knew what he/she was going to be facing before they ever got to the club. Not so today. Round 1 started off as usual for page 2 of The Great Equalizer Series. The top row presented with 4 orange micros. The bottom row presented with 4 Green Standards. If you are entered in Open Class you engage the orange micros. If entered in the Limited Class, you engage the Green Standards. Having successfully broken your 4 primaries, you move to the center and engage the black micro in the middle. The respective colors & sizes of the clay targets, my friends & faithful readers, constitute the extent of the traditional format for today's match.
For the next 4 Rounds, the arrays were designed by Chuck Nicodemus, Chuck Treat, and the rest of the shooters entered in this contest. The arrays on one side of the screen were almost always different from the arrays on the other side of the screen. They could be described at squares, circles, smiles, frowns, the result of someone flicking a wet paint brush. The variety of the arrays was limited only by the imagination of the Ad Hoc arrays designer. On any one side there may be as many as 8 orange micros, and 6 Green Standards. The final constant the shooters all saw today, was that after picking out their 4 primaries, they went to the center of the screen and engaged the black micro in the middle. To any potential Clays Shooters out there: "THIS YOU HAVE TO SEE!"
The Ladies Class was represented today by Carrie Morton, shooting her Glock 19.
Carrie negotiated this extemporaneous match very well today, shooting a score of 24.
In the Open Class, Jay Schoonmaker ended this reporter's win streak at 6. Jay's winning score of 45 rather forcefully nudged this reporter into 2nd Place today, with a score of 40. Jay & Hal never dueled today, so this reporter can truly say that Jay didn't beat me, Chuck Treat's impromptu series of targets didn't beat me. The only one who beat Hal today was Hal. Congratulations to Jay Schoonmaker. One more quick note from this reporter:
"Having gone down to defeat at Jay's hands today, my wife, Sandy, can rejoice because now I can put my lucky T-Shirt in the laundry. Many thanks to Jay Schoonmaker.
In the Limited Class, our Arrays Impressario, Chuck Treat proved once again that he can shoot as well as he can design. Chuck and his revolver turned in a score of 44 today.
He was followed by Mark (OJ) Kimura who shot a score of 38. In 3rd Place in the Limited Class was Jeff Morton with a score of 28.
I can't say if this type of format will become the norm in the future, but I, for one, hope so.
Seldom indeed, in any practical application of handguns, will the shooter know the array or position of the targets, and part of a shooter's job is to think quickly when faced with a scenario. The type of competition faced today will go far toward imprinting this on a competitor's mind, and that is a good thing. The format is fair for all, and while both sides of the screen are usually different for each relay, parity is accomplished when the shooters change sides and shoot at what their competition just engaged. Chuck Treat, You Have A Winner Here. Well Done!!
This type of match accomplishes one other thing too. Now, instead of having set arrays to plan and practice for, a shooter can put about anything up to practice at. Who knows, you may well be facing exactly that array next Sunday. So, practice a lot of variety.
Imprint the basics in your mind's eye and prepare for anything. Because anything is what you are liable to be facing in the very near future. We'll see you at the range, but until then always remember:
"SHOOT FAST! SHOOT ACCURATELY!! BUT MOST OF ALL, SHOOT SAFELY!!!"
Hal
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