I'm Back - WOW a long time! Because of Covid shutting down most all of the big matches, I haven't been competing for several years! The name Mr. Completely however, became active and remains active still today, but in a totally different way. Many years ago I used to play in a rock band, and I never really quit playing the guitar, but mostly for my own amusement. A little over two years ago I was offered a spot playing a solo gig with my 12 string electric guitar in a local Brewery tap room. I took the gig, and it went well. They asked me to play every other Friday for the rest of the year! This year I haven't been playing quite so many gigs, but I'm still at it!

Mr. Completely September e-Postal Results

The results are in, and Billl showed us all the way. Great shootin' Bill!

NAME	CLASS	GUN	Cal.	SCORE
Billl	1	Ruger Mk. I	.22LR	11
Mr. Completely	1	High Standard/OKO Dot	.22LR	10
Mrs True Blue Sam	1	Ruger 22/45 Lite	.22LR	8
Merle	1	SSS	.22LR	6
True Blue Sam	1	Ruger Mk. III Target	.22LR	4
True Blue Sam	1	Bearcat Shopkeeper	.22LR	3
True Blue Sam	1	Ruger Single 10	.22LR	2
True Blue Sam	1	Ruger 22/45 Hunter	.22LR	1
Merle	2	TC .22LR	.22LR	4
Merle	3	CZ-82	9mm MAK	3
Merle	4	TC 9mm.	9mm.	7
Merle	5	Enfield	.38/200	7
Merle	5	M625	.45ACP	5

Flyswatter v2.0 Mr. Completely e-postal match

How about a little nostalgia with what was possibly the most frustrating e-postal match we ever ran, "Flyswatter" ? This was our very first Mr. Completely e-postal match, back in July, 2005. I have updated the rules a bit and added more classes, but it's still just as hard as it was back in 2005! Don't be disappointed if you don't hit as many as you thought you could, as this one is a difficult challenge.

Below is the edited version of the original Mr. Completely e-postal match from 2005:

---

A portion of the actual target

---

I decided to start out the handgun e-Postal series on sort of a fun note, with a novelty target. The next e-Postal Handgun Match, however, will be far more conventional.

Target: Download it here:

http://www.targetz.com/fun01.htm It's target number 20015

This target will print out perfectly on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. You may need Adobe Acrobat reader to view and print the target.

Distance: 25 feet or ten yards, depending on what your range will allow.

Firearm Type: Any handgun or rifle. See CLASSES below.

Shooting Position: Standing, un-supported.

Sights: Any type of sight.

Caliber: Any caliber.

Procedure: You get twenty shots per target. Shoot the match as many times as you like, then send in pics of your single best target in each class you enter.

Scoring: Hitting any part of the fly counts as a hit and counts as one point. Hitting the same fly twice only counts as one point. A perfect score would be one shot per fly for twenty points. Ties will be posted as ties.


CLASS ONE: Any rimfire handgun with no more than a 12" barrel, iron sights or un-magnified optics (like red dots sights).

CLASS TWO: Any rimfire handgun with no more than a 12" barrel, magnified optic sights (scopes).

CLASS THREE: Any centerfire (non-revolver) handgun with no more than a 12" barrel, iron sights or un-magnified optics (like red dots sights).

CLASS FOUR: Any centerfire (non-revolver) handgun with no more than a 12" barrel,  magnified optic sights (scopes).

CLASS FIVE: Any revolver with no more than a 12" barrel, iron sights or un-magnified optics (like red dots sights).

CLASS SIX: Any revolver with no more than a 12" barrel,  magnified optic sights (scopes).

CLASS SEVEN: Any handgun with more than a 12" barrel, or any rifle, any sights, scopes, laser, whatever.
 
CLASS EIGHT: Anything interesting to shoot that doesn't fit into the above classes, go ahead and enter anyway. 


Multiple entries: You can enter more than once, in fact, it is encouraged. The only restriction is that you can only enter once for any given caliber of semi-auto, or any given caliber of revolver. Different calibers in the same gun count as one caliber. For example, .38SPL and .357MAG are considered as one, as would be .44SPL and .44MAG.

Prizes: Nope! Just bragging rights.

Submitting your entry: Take a digital photo of, (or scan) your target, and email the picture, your score, type of handgun used, type of sights, and caliber, to blog@whidbey.com. Be sure to include your email address, and what name or nickname you want used when we post the results.

All entries must be received by Midnight Monday, October 2nd. and results will be posted within seven days, or less.

If you have any questions, leave the question in the comments to this post, or send me an email, or both. Check every so often for updates and clarifications to the rules, if any.

Even though this is a novelty target, this is not all that easy. I can just about promise that you will score much lower than you were expecting. Send in your entries, even though you think your score is really low. There are a lot of flies, but they are small, and there is a lot of space between them. Don't get discouraged! Send 'em in!!!!!

Gun Blogger Rendezvous Check to HAVA

Just got back from the check presentation at the HAVA  booth here at the shot show, and we took some pictures while we were there. This year the Gun Blogger Rendezvous was able to give them a check for over $2700.  Good job, gun bloggers!  hopefully next year we will do even better. Oh wait, it already is next year! What I meant to say is that we will hopefully raise lots of money for them in September in Reno at this year's gun blogger rendezvous.

Honored American Veterans Check Presentation

well, today is the third and last day, at least for me, of the shot show for this year. It was less expensive to skip the last day and fly home one day earlier, so that's the way I set it up.
 today will be an interesting day, as today is the day that the gun blogger rendezvous will be publicly awarding  a check to HAVA, the Honored American Veterans Afield charity. Anthony from lucky gunner and I will be making the presentation.the presentation will be made at 3:30 PM at the HAVA  booth. If you are here at the shot show it is on the ground floor, I guess they call that level I, and the booth number is 2517.
 I am going to wrap this up for now, as I am going to meet this morning with the head of the NSSF  first shots program.  If you are not familiar with the NSSF first shots program, it is an excellent way to get new shooters involved in shooting at your local club and range. If you go to the NSSF website, you can find much more information on the program.
 That's it for now..........

SHOT Show Eric Grauffel + Old Guy

Eric Grauffel and some old guy who wandered into the picture.....

I was in the Tanfoglio booth when I ran into Eric Grauffel, Tanfoglio shooter and possibly the best IPSC shooter in the world. Eric has been a lot of help in suggesting how to get the most out of my Tanfoglio Gold Custom 9mm race gun. Eric should know, since he was involved in it's development!

2016 SHOT Show Report

well, I made it to be shot show, and all things considered, the trip was fairly on eventful. The traffic in Las Vegas was very heavy, and it took over an hour and a half for the bus to get from the airport to the hotel. This year I am staying at the circus circus hotel, and considering that it was the least expensive of the available hotels during the shot show I was not expecting too much as to the condition of the hotel. I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised!
 I am dictating this from the press room on Tuesday morning using my netbook and Dragon naturally speaking. Even though it sometimes does not capitalize some words, it really does do a fairly amazing job allowing terrible typists to get their words onto paper.
 In approximately one hour I will be meeting with the nice folks  from Lucky Gunner  to  work on the initial planning work on the initial planning  for next September's  gun blogger  rendezvous.  I will be having more information this year's probably in a later post.
 It is now time to put the computer away and get the day underway.
......... More later.

My Favorite Christmas carol

Blogging Help in Louisville, KY?

Is there a blogger in Louisville who is familiar with and regularly using Blogger who would be willing to give another Louisville (Soon-to-be) gun blogger a hand with the basics of how to use Blogger to post stuff?As you know, it's pretty easy to use, but if you are not familiar with it, you can have a bit of trouble in the beginning.

I am a member of the High Standard Collectors' Association, and I am in the process of setting up a public Blogger blog primarily for HSCA members, but available for reading by anyone interested in High Standards. Jon, our President, could use a hand getting started. Anyone in the area that can help?

THANKS!

Indiana State Steel Championships

Last Wednesday KeeWee and I caught a pair of "Red-Eye" flights out of Seattle, stopping in LA for a plane change, and then on to Indianapolis. We got into Indy at 5:47am. It was a long night!

We picked up our rental car and met fellow high Standard Pistol collector Tom at a local restaurant for breakfast. We hung out at Tom's place for a couple of hours, then headed North and East for Kokomo, about two hours drive from Tom's place.

Once we got to Kokomo, we checked in to the Motel 6, and took a nap! After the nap we got something to eat, and conked out again! Friday morning we slept in, and tried to get as "Un-Tired" as possible.

Friday afternoon we headed to the Atlanta Conservation Club's  range and helped Eric and the guys get the match set up. We stopped by the Kokomo Texas Roadhouse restaurant for ribs (MMMMM!) and then back to the motel for more sleep.

Saturday morning we were at the range bright and early for biscuits and gravy with the other RO's and match staff. After breakfast we broke up into squads and shot the match. After shooting the match we headed back to the clubhouse for pulled pork sandwiches. Then we were all assigned a stage to run. We ran all the squads (six squads?) through, and wrapped up the match. KeeWee scored, and Jeff and I ran the timer and kept it all safe! After all the rest of the shooters had finished the match, we broke down the stages and put everything back into storage.

Once it was all put away, we headed back to the clubhouse for the results. I don't think either of us shot as well as we could have, had we been a bit more rested and not so jet-lagged, but we still did OK.

KeeWee
3rd Super Senior
4th Lady
11th overall in Rimfire Open

Me:
1st Super Senior
5th Rimfire Open overall
2nd Centerfire Open

After the awards, we headed out for some food, then back to the motel for sleep. We were totally exhausted.

We had a leisurely breakfast on Sunday, then checked out a local mansion, a small museum and mansion, and finally we went to the Kokomo Automobile Museum. All were interesting, but the Kokomo Automobile Museum is worth going well out of your way to visit. It was awesome! I took a lot of pictures, and will try to get them posted so you can see what I mean!

Monday morning we drove back South and West to Indianapolis, and checked in to the Days Inn near the airport. Monday afternoon we drove back out to Tom's place and hung out with Tom until his wife got home from work, then we all headed out for dinner. After dinner we turned in for the night, as our flights home left on Tuesday. Our first leg, to Minneapolis, was late departing, so we only had about 12 minutes to get from the arrival gate to the gate for our flight back to Seattle, and the gates were a long ways apart. We commandeered a Delta "Golf Cart" and driver, and she rushed us across the airport to our gate. We scurried on to the airplane, and they closed the door a couple of minutes after that! The flight back to Seattle was boring, but that's OK, I much prefer boring to exciting! Once in Seattle we had an hour and a half layover ,then a two hour shuttle ride back to Whidbey Island. Finally got back to the house around 11pm. Totally worn out, but we definitely had a lot of fun getting ourselves into that condition!!

Mr. C. on TV In Great Falls, Montana

Just got back from the High Standard Collectors Associations annul convention that was held in conjunction with the Great Falls Gun Show, which is a pretty good sized show of approximately 600 tables. The local TV stations were there, and I ended up in some of their video, since I had a display table showing how High Standards make good competition guns in speed events as well as accuracy contests.  I only show up for a few seconds, but what the heck! Great Falls TV today, the cover of Rolling Stone tomorrow!!

It was a fun show!

Here's a link to the video:

http://www.kpax.com/story/30127243/high-standard-collectors-association-new-vendor-featured-at-great-falls-gun-show

NSSF Northwest Rimfire Challenge Championships 2015

 The trophy is bigger than it looks in the picture. It is laser engraved on steel and it's fairly heavy. In addition to the logos of some of the match sponsors, it says "2nd. Senior" and NSSF Northwest Rimfire Championship"

Thursday morning I drove about four hours to Selah, Washington to my friend Larry's place, and we went out to the range in Moxee to do a little shooting. In particular, i wanted to put some rounds through my super radical custom Ruger 10-22 rifle to see if it still worked, and to sight it in a bit. The last time I had it out of the safe was almost exactly a year ago! Was I a bit rusty with it? That would be a very kind description! I got it sighted in, and also put some rounds down range with my High Standard Victor race gun.

After shooting a bit, Larry and I swung by Cabela's to pick up some ammo, and then we grabbed a truly outstanding burger at Miner's Diner in Union Gap. If you are ever anywhere close to Yakima, WA. and are looking  for a good meal, go find Miner's! It's worth going out of your way, it's that good.

After dinner we grabbed some sleep, as we were heading out early Friday morning for the National Shooting Sports Foundation's Northwest Rimfire Challenge Championships being held in Parma, Idaho on Saturday and Sunday. 

We got an early start Friday morning, and it took us about six hours to get to Parma. We checked it at the motel, then headed over to the range to have a look. The stages were set up, but no pre-match practicing was allowed, so we looked and tried to figure out the best way to shoot each stage. There were 14 stages, and 7 plates per stage, and some were VERY small to shoot in a hurry! We would be shooting each stage 5 times, and our slowest time would be discarded. The other for would be totaled, and that was your score for that stage. 7 of the stages were to be shot with a rimfire rifle, and 7 of the stages were to be shot with a rimfire pistol. That's a lot of shooting over two days!

On Saturday we put in a long and at times hot day, and completed 10 of the 14 stages. On Sunday we shot the remaining 4 stages. I knew I would be slow with the rifle since I never practice with it, so the plan was to try to be as accurate as I could, and not worry much about speed. With the pistol I figured I would try to push a bit harder for speed and try to make up a little for the slow rifle. Although there were a few bobbles, it went pretty much according to plan. By the end of the second day I was actually starting to feel comfortable with the rifle! I'm glad we didn't have to shoot any more stages on Sunday than four, as that was plenty, and I was getting tired.

You couldn't ask for a better bunch to shoot with!

After the shooting was over, we all gathered for the Trophy ceremony. Our squad did really well! Aimee was Top Lady, Ron won Open Overall, Larry won Senior Division, and I managed to end up right behind Larry in Senior division 2nd. place. Bill was 4th in Senior Division. Larry, Aimee, Bill, and Ron shoot their rimfire rifles almost every week in matches and/or practice, so finishing as well as I did was quite a surprise, considering I only shoot a rifle once a year!

After the match a bunch of us got some dinner, then got to bed early, as Monday was going to be a long day. Larry and I were back on the road before dawn Monday morning, and by late afternoon I finally reached home, totally exhausted! It was a fun weekend!!

2015 Montana State Steel Championships

It was barely a week ago when I found out that there was going to be a Montana state steel championships held in Boulder Montana this last weekend. Boulder is located in the Boulder River Valley half way between Helena and Butte Montana. I checked Google maps and from Whidbey Island to Boulder Montana was only about 11 1/2 hours each way. That is, if traffic isn't too bad! Fortunately, my beat up old Honda civic is in pretty good shape and I had just put new front tires on it, and it gets an honest 33 to 35 miles per gallon. I made a few phone calls to some of the guys in Montana to get more details about the upcoming match. I located an economical motel in Boulder that was very basic but clean and had everything I needed, including a bed that is what that was much better than what I had expected at that price.

I got my entry forms entered through practicscore, loaded some 9 mm ammunition for myTanfoglio, and got set to hit the road early last Thursday morning. I caught the 4:40 AM ferry and was on the road bright and early and before most of the heavy traffic plugged everything up. Through Eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and across Montana it was miserably hot driving, since the air-conditioning no longer works on my Honda. All that it really needs is to be recharged, but the refrigerant that it uses is no longer permitted so to get the air-conditioning to work again it costs 3 or $400 dollars. God save that ozone you know!

I arrived without incident in Boulder about 5:30 Thursday afternoon and got checked in to the motel. Fortunately, the air-conditioning in the motel room worked just fine so I cranked it up and crashed! Friday morning I went out to the range and helped the gang with match set up. After set up, I headed back to the motel, grabbed a hamburger at the burger joint next door, and hit the sack early, as I was still pretty worn out!

Friday evening the temperature dropped a bunch, and it even clouded up and rained. Saturday morning it was partly cloudy and much cooler.

Looking towards the freeway from downtown Boulder Montana.

The O-Z Motel  in Boulder Montana. that's my little Honda Civic parked in front of my room.

Looking  the other way in downtown Boulder.

The match itself was a good one, very well run, and a bunch of fun to shoot! My first 2 stages were a bit ragged, as I think I was still in something of a sleep deprived mode. Fortunately, once some adrenaline kicked in, I started to shoot a bit more normally, and I finished the day with 4 good stages. halfway through the match, we broke for lunch, and it was one of the best match lunches I have ever had! Granted, I saved it and ate my lunch after the match was over, but it was still very tasty. I am not quite sure what you call it, but it was perhaps a flat piece of deep-fried bread with sort of a taco chili meat sauce, lettuce, tomatoes,cheese, salsa, and sour cream on top. It was prepared by volunteers from the Semper FI Fund auxiliary.

1st Place in rimfire!

Centerfire, 7th place overall.

Just as the match was winding down and we were finishing up our last stage it clouded up even more and a thunder shower came over us dropping some rain. fortunately it was a fairly small cell, and it blew over quickly, so the rain was not much of a problem. It did, however, cool things off a bit, and the temperature, at least for me, was quite pleasant.

After the last stages had been shot we all pitched in and broke the stages down so the stands steel and so forth could all be put back into storage for next time.

Since most of the people at this match I had never met before nor had I shot with them before, so I had no idea how my scores would stack up overall. There were definitely some very good shooters here and the final results bore that out for sure!

After everything was put away we gathered in the picnic lunch area for the awards ceremony. To my surprise, I had come in 1st overall in the rimfire, posting the fastest overall time for the entire match. For the super senior division, trophy-wise, it was decided entirely amongst the center fire divisions, but even so, I was the 2nd super senior overall, not far behind Frank Cook, an old friend who I had not seen in years, who lives in nearby Butte, Montana. Any time I can finish within shouting distance of Frank in open I consider it a good day! That did still put me as the fastest rimfire super senior. They did award centerfire trophies for 1st through 10th place overall, and the new Briley barrel that I put in the Tanfoglio allowed me to shoot well enough to come in 7th overall in centerfire.

After the match was over, I headed back to Boulder, where I had some ice cream, and then hit the sack. Sunday was going to be a very long day!

Sunday morning I was on the road by 5:30 AM, and stopped only for gas on the way back. I picked up a sandwich at a truck stop and ate that as I was on the road. I was really tired, and I wanted to get back home as quickly as possible so I could get some sleep. I'm writing this on Monday morning, and I am still pretty tired! I have a suspicion that there is a nap or so coming up in the very near future!

It was a long drive, everything was put together at the last minute, and at times it got a bit frantic trying to make it all happen, but it was well worth the trip, and I had a great time at the match. The match was very well run, and the Montana guys are some of the nicest shooters ( sometimes funniest, too!) that you could hope to meet! I plan to do my best to come back for next year. It was a blast, except for the driving part, of course!

Mr. C's Yakima Classic Steel Match 2015 Report

Those guys at Yakima Rifle & Pistol Assn. get an A+ for creativity on the trophy plaques!

Boy, what a day! It was nearly hot enough to make the Phoenix summertime shooters feel right at home. I haven't heard exactly how hot it was, but the forecast was calling for 98 or 99. It might have been a couple of degrees under that, but not by much. We started shooting just after 8am, but still by the last stage I was starting to fade out badly! Even with a wet towel, drinking lots of water and electrolytes, and trying to stay in the shade, the heat still got to me. I'm glad there weren't any more stages than the eight, or I would have been really miserable.

The match was really well run, with Larry Davis (AKA both "Selah Kid" and "Dammit, Larry....") serving as match director and organizer. The Yakima Classic has always been a good match, but Larry clearly took it to the next level. There were ice chests with iced down cold water on every stage, and a pop up tent for shade. Even the pizza for lunch was good.

Starting the match earlier allowed us to beat some of the heat, but it still got plenty hot. The stages were all originals, and every one was a challenge, had a trap in it, and was not too difficult, provided you took your time, but of course, no one did that! No one was allowed to shoot any of the stages the day before the match, so they were all new to everyone. Our squad was a fun bunch to shoot with, and in two weeks most of us will be shooting together again at the International Steel Shooting Association Washington State Championships in Ephrata, Wa.

I shot both my new High Standard Victor Open Class .22 pistol and my 9mm. Tanfoglio Open Class pistol. I tried to follow my game plan as much as possible, but with the heat it wasn't always possible. Fortunately, I think the heat caused just about everyone some grief, too!

By the end of the day I knew I hadn't done as well as I would have done in normal (for me) 50 degree weather with light rain!  Even so, a score for 8 stages of a little over 82 seconds wasn't too bad! At the Trophy Presentation Ceremony in the YRPA clubhouse, when they called the winner overall of Rimfire Pistol Open and my name was called, I was totally surprised! I had shot the fastest pistol time of the match! That also got me into first place for Super Senior Rimfire pistol. In Centerfire Open division Istruggled with the gun all day, as I still haven't found the right ammo combination that gives me accuracy, reliability, and doesn't leave my wrist hurting by the end of the day. I did manage to win the Super Senior Centerfire Open division, but not by much, I bet! Hopefully this week I can do some more work on load development for the Tanfoglio and it will work better in Ephrata.

It was a great match, well run, and I'll bet next year is even better!

South Whidbey Record on Mr. C.!

Justin Burnett, the editor of our local newspaper, the South Whidbey Record, did a very nice article about me, and you might enjoy it too.

Photo Credit: Justin Burnett/South Whidbey Record

Here's the link: http://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/community/306341991.html

It's always nice to come across a journalist who understands the difference between news and editorials, and who just tells the story in  an entertaining way, rather than using it as a soapbox for their personal views. Great job, Justin!

European Steel Challenge 2015 Mr. C. Strikes Gold!

Well, it was a hectic trip spanning just barely 7 days, but it was certainly well worth it! of the 7 days I spent 2 1/2 days traveling by planes, shuttle buses, hotel airporter buses, trains, and cars. 3 days were spent at the match in Winterswijk, Holland, and a day and a half spent in De Lutte, Holland hanging out and visiting with Hans and Jolanda Wigger, the owners of Dutch Firearms Trading.

the European Steel Challenge Championships are unusual in that the entire match is shot at an indoor shooting range which happens to be under the clubhouse, bar, offices, and lounge. this stage is resemble the traditional steel challenge stages but are narrower and in some cases farther out to the plates. With the exception of outer limits, all of the stages are very very fast.

On Friday morning I shot my Tanfoglio 9mm. Open Division gun, but unfortunately I had to use the ammunition that I was able to purchase in Holland due to the limitations on the amount of ammunition that you can carry on the airplane. We sighted in the Tanfoglio the afternoon before the match with ammunition that we thought was identical to what I would be using in the match. It turns out it wasn't even close and the gun wasn't shooting groups, it was shooting patterns! It was almost 16 inches high compared to what it had been cited in with. On the close in stages I could keep them on the plates and ran some very acceptable times, but on the 35 meter stages it was nearly impossible to hit anything! Even so, I did well enough on the close stages that I was still at least in the middle of the pack at the end. Nonetheless, it was pretty much a disaster!

Later that afternoon I shot my Taurus  8 shot open division revolver for the 1st time in a big match. I had only been shooting revolver for a few weeks prior to the match, so I wasn't expecting any great scores, as I was shooting the revolver primarily as a learning experience. Of course, it was fun too! My main goal with the revolver was to not embarrass myself or the dead last, and I manage to accomplish just that.

The next morning at 8:30 AM I was scheduled to shoot my new High Standard Victor .22 pistol. I had only received the new High Standard a few weeks before the match, and I had been very busy incorporating all of the little changes and tweaks that I have developed over the years to make a very good pistol even better for speed shooting competition. The High Standard ran beautifully for the entire match.

On a steel match that is only 6 stages long, one bad stage can damage your score so badly that the remaining 5 stages cannot make up for the damage. For that reason you need to shoot every stage slightly on the conservative side but not too much, or your overall time will end up to slow. That was my game plan, and I stuck to it through the entire match, and it went exactly as I had planned. I had no missed plate penalties all day.

after I had finished shooting open rimfire, I was through shooting for the day and for the match. I could then spend the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday watching the other shooters show me how it should be done! At this match we had approximately 250 entries and shooters from 13 different countries entered. There were a lot of very good shooters there to watch!

On Sunday afternoon all the shooting was completed, the scores were added up, and the trophy ceremony began.

At the start of the ceremony I was invited up to the stage and was given a special award that was a custom-made wooden shoe that was in appreciation for the help and support that I have given to the match over the years. It was very cool!

I won't go through all of the results except to mention that KC Eusebio was the top guy overall, and Tori Nonaka was the top lady. I was surprised to find that I was the top Rimfire Senior for the match! in the rimfire team event team "The Other Guys", comprised of me, Andre Hartelman of Holland, and Hubert Scheper from Germany has managed to come in third for a bronze medal. What makes that especially cool is that we are all 3 seniors!

All of the results can be found here:


http://www.ipscmatch.de/index.pl?match=2015_European_Steel_Challenge

The gold and the bronze medals

Receiving the Wooden Shoe Trophy

Hans Wigger, me, and Andre Hartelman, 2nd, 1st., and 3rd. rimfire senior division.

Think we're having fun? Darn right!

Being awarded a medal.

The Rimfire Teams. Yes, that's KC Eusebio in the front.

After dinner several of us went to a steakhouse for dinner. I If you like Dutch apple pie, you should try 'Dutch' Dutch apple pie! Yummm!

It was a very long flight in an uncomfortable seat and a crowded airplane to get there and to return, but in spite of that, it was well worth it.I hope that by next year we will have the ammunition figured out for the Tanfoglio, and I will have had the time to put in some practice hours with my open revolver too. Of course, I also need to keep practicing with my high standard Victor and hopefully have a good result next year too! I can hardly wait until next year's European Steel Championships!

Note: Thanks to Tilmann Keith for the pictures (Except the apple pie!)

Mr. Completely Now Sponsored By High Standard Firearms

As many of you know, I have been competing with High Standard pistols for many years, and with good results. High Standard has now decided to help out a few shooters using their products, and I get to be one of them! My new Techwearusa jerseys have now arrived, and I am really happy with how great they look.

Even neater than the cool jerseys is the fact that I will be getting one of the new all stainless steel High Standard pistols with which to compete. I can hardly wait to get my hands on it!

High Standard pistols have always been very good, but over the last fifty years or so the company have been in and out of financial trouble, and at times I suspect that quality control may have suffered a bit. Low quality after market magazines that would never feed reliably didn't help. The basic design, however, is outstanding, and the triggers are second to none. High Standard barrels are also extremely accurate.

Now that High Standards are being manufactured in Texas on modern CNC machines, the fit and quality is the best ever.

I consider it an honor to be shooting for such a high quality company with such a fine product!

Free Ammo at The Gun Blogger Rendezvous?

A hypothetical question:

If registration for the Gun Blogger Rendezvous costs $35, and if you are a blogger you get $150 worth of free ammo delivered to Reno for your use in the shooting activities at the Rendezvous, would the free ammo make you more likely to attend?

Just askin.........

"e-Postal Match "Scattergun" Results

Note: I missed entering one email's scores, but this time I've got everything in there, I think!

As just about every e-Postal match turns out, this one was way harder than it looks, since you could actually score negative scores by hitting a line. Kind of like hunting. You want either a well placed shot for a clean kill, or you would rather miss completely. This match punished you for only wounding a circle, and not getting a clean kill!

According to Billl,  this target is "One of the evilest pieces of  paper I've seen that didn't have a lawyers signature on the bottom of it. "  !!

To be fair, most matches with scoring for accuracy start with a score of zero, and each good hit increases your score from there. In this match, the worst score you could get is minus 140, so even a bit below zero isn't too bad at all.

NAME	CLASS	GUN	Cal.	SCORE
Billl	1	Ruger Mk. I	.22LR	25
Mike B	1	S&W 617	.22LR	25
True Blue Sam	1	Ruger MK. III	.22LR	15
Pat B	1	S&W 617	.22LR	10
Mr. Completely	2	High Standard	.22LR	90
True Blue Sam	2	Ruger 22/45	.22LR	35
Mrs True Blue Sam	2	Ruger 22/45	.22LR	-15
Pattie Ann	2	Ruger 22/45	.22LR	-20
Pat B	5	Colt Det. Spl	.38SPL	10
Billl	5	Rossi 971	.357Mag	10
Billl	7	Marlin 795 Rifle/scope	.22LR	60

Thanks to all for braving the sometimes crummy weather and getting out to the range to shoot the match. 

Closing Date for e-Postal Match Extended

There aren't too many entries in for the March e-Postal match "Scatter Gun" , so I am going to hold it open until next Monday night so more of you can get a chance to shoot some entries. Take some targets out to the range and shoot 'em up this weekend!


Please note that this match is MUCH harder than it looks, so don't be discouraged by what you think is a very low score. Shoot the match as many times as you like, then send in your best targets. Only one entry per gun/class, though!!

Rufus Thomas - Walkin' The Dog

(for some unknown reason Blogger dropped the video from the post. Here it is again.)

Mondays are always tough to get going, so here's a little help. Lots of bands have covered this song, but here's the guy who wrote it, Rufus Thomas.




Fun!

ISSA Falling Plate Shoot-Off Championship in Germany

As many of you know, I have been working for several years to bring the International Steel Shooting Association to the world. The new association was officially announced two years ago at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous.  Since I don't have tons of money to spend on publicizing the new association, the growth has been slow but steady, but not earth shaking. We have now had championship matches in Idaho, Washington, and a Falling Plate Championship in Langenau, Germany. We have now also had a club match in France. This is just the start, though, and as people catch on it's going to grow all over the world.

Tilmann Keith, our ISSA Representative, along with Michael Kluge, the Match Director, put on a well-received Falling Plate "Shoot-Off" championship  match a few weeks ago in Germany. It was covered by local German television, and posted to YouTube. (I even get mentioned around 2:30!)
 


Tilmann and the gang in Langenau did an excellent job, and I hope I can be there in person next year! Next year's match planning is already underway!

(yeah, I know, they are all speaking German, but watch and listen anyway, you'll get the drift......)

e-Postal Match "SCATTERGUN" Now Underway!

WOO HOO!! It's time for the 2015 monthly Mr. Completely's e-Postal matches to get underway, so here we go! We're starting out the series with a brand new target, and it should be challenging, but not too challenging. Remember, every e-Postal match always turns out harder than it looks, so even if you shoot what you think is a very low score, send it in anyway, you might just be surprised at how well you actually did!

This month we have seven classes, so there's a place for just about everything. It's time to drag out all those handguns that have been unused all Winter and limber 'em up!

TARGET: The same target is used in all classes. The target can be downloaded from here:

"SCATTERGUN" Target

It is an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

CLASS ONE: Any rimfire handgun with no more than a 12" barrel, iron sights.

CLASS TWO: Any rimfire handgun with no more than a 12" barrel, optic sights, no magnification.

CLASS THREE: Any centerfire (non-revolver) handgun with no more than a 12" barrel, iron sights.

CLASS FOUR: Any centerfire (non-revolver) handgun with no more than a 12" barrel, optic sights, no magnification.

CLASS FIVE: Any revolver with no more than a 12" barrel, iron sights.

CLASS SIX: Any revolver with no more than a 12" barrel, optic sights, no magnification.

CLASS SEVEN: Any handgun with more than a 12' barrel, or any rifle, any sights, scopes, laser, whatever.

If you have something interesting to shoot that doesn't quite fit into the above classes, go ahead and enter anyway.

DISTANCE : 25 feet, or Ten yards, which ever is available at your range.

SHOOTING POSITION: Standing, un-supported, off-hand, one or two hands on gun permitted.

SCORING: You are allowed 20 shots at the target. Each circle can only be counted once, regardless of how many times you hit it. Only clean hits count as a positive number value. If you hit the black ring, or even just graze the black, the score for that circle gets a minus sign in front of it! Only clean kills, or be penalized! If you have a clean hit fully inside the black, and you hit the black of that circle with a later shot, the score for that circle now goes negative. Once an individual circle goes negative, you cannot change it back to positive for that circle. The target has a perfect score of 140.

Ties will be decided solely on the basis of  whoever sends the largest amount of cash (in un-marked bills) to Mr. Completely.... (Rimfire ammo will also be accepted!)


Mark your score and details on each target with a legible pen, along with the class and type of gun used. Don't write your name on the target, only the name you want to appear in the results, as your target may get posted on Mr. Completely.

STRATEGY: Are you better off to risk trying for the high score smaller circles first, or should you play it safe and be sure to get the easier ones of lower value?

MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS: Sure, shoot it as many times as you like, and send in the best one!


MULTIPLE ENTRIES: You can enter more than once, in fact, it is encouraged. Shoot everything you own, and everything you can borrow! Take a buddy to the range, get him entered, then borrow his gun and enter that! The only restriction is that you can only enter once for any given gun, in any individual Class. You can shoot the target as many times as you like, and send in the best one.

Different calibers in the same gun count as one gun. For example, .38SPL and .357MAG are considered as one, as would be .44SPL and .44MAG. Different guns of the same caliber and barrel length can be entered.

PRIZES: Nope, it's just for the fun of it and the bragging rights!

SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY: Take a digital photo of, (or scan) your targets, and email the picture, along with:

1. Your score.

2. The name you want used when we post the results.

3. Gun description - Brand, model, semi-auto, revolver, black powder, caliber, barrel length, and type of sights

4. Class: Class One, Two, Three, four, five, six, or seven.

5. Anything interesting or unique about your entry that other shooters might enjoy hearing about.

Email it all to b l o g (at) w h i d b e y (dot) c o m

If you can't scan or send target pictures, send everything else to me in an email, and we'll arrange for either fax or snail mail for the targets.

True, that......

(Don't know if Steven Wright came up with all of these, but there's a lot of "True" in here!) 

If you're not familiar with the work of Steven Wright, he's the famous Erudite (comic) scientist who once said: "I woke up one morning, and all of my stuff had been stolen and replaced by exact duplicates."

His mind sees things differently than most of us do. Here are some of his gems.

1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
2 - Borrow money from pessimists –  they don't expect it back.
3 - Half the people you know are below average.
4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
7 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
8 - If you want the rainbow, you have got to put up with the rain.
9 - All those who believe in psycho kinesis, raise my hand.
10 - The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
11 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend ... but she left me before we met.
12 - OK, so what's the speed of dark?
13 - How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
14 - If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
15 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
16 - When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
17 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
18 - Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.
19 - I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
20 - If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
21 - Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
22 - What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
23 - My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
24 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
25 - If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
26 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
27 - Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
28 - The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
29 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
30 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
31 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
32 - The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
33 - Everyone has a photographic memory;  some just don't have film.
34 - If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

And the all-time favorite:

35 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?

Global Climate Stagnation - You Heard it Here First!

I remember when there was talk about "Global  Cooling" of the climate and the doom and gloom was plentiful. We were about to enter a new ice age, and it was going to be really bad. Automobile and factory emissions and cans of spray paint were the cause, we were told. Neither of the Bushs had been elected president yet, so it wasn't blamed on them. I don't remember exactly who it was blamed on, probably fat cat rich industrialists, or something like that.

Much to some folks dismay, the climate wasn't cooling, and instead, it might even have been warming a bit. The same folks changed their tune and got all spun  up over "Global Warming" of the climate. The ice was going to melt, it was never going to snow on the East Coast, and the oceans would rise, flooding the lower areas of the continents. Again, Automobile and factory emissions, and cans of spray paint were the cause, we were told. This time it was blamed on the Bushs.

Unfortunately for those folks, the ice didn't melt, although it melted in some places, and increased in other places. None of the lower elevation places flooded. Some parts of the world were warmer, and some were colder.

Again those folks re-grouped, and re-labeled it as "Global Climate Change", since it didn't seem to be really getting warmer everywhere or colder everywhere either. They couldn't prove it was going either way, so they just called it change, and then they were covered either way. Once again, Automobile and factory emissions, and cans of spray paint were the cause, and it was still Bush's fault somehow.

The reality seems to be that it isn't really changing much at all, although it seems to vary from year to year, one way or the other, and one location or another. Actually, that's what weather and the climate seems to do all the time anyway. Probably always have, I'll bet.

So, where are these folks going next? "Global Climate Stagnation" ! Yep, you heard it here first!

I think it's safe to assume that Automobile and factory emissions, and cans of spray paint are the cause, and somehow it's still Bush's fault.

Gun Blogger Rendezvous - GREAT NEWS - More News Coming

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to be meeting with some folks at the SHOT Show regarding the Gun Blogger Rendezvous. I won't go into  the details right now, pending their own press release. Here's what I can tell you so far:

1. There WILL be a Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno this year at the Silver Legacy.

2. The dates have been moved up by a few weeks to August 20th through the 23rd.

3. The basic layout and activities will be similar to last year. At least, that's the plan so far. Some new things are being discussed.

4. Our corporate sponsor has been a sponsor of the GBR in previous years, and they have been there in person.

5. We are working on some possible additional incentives for attendees. (No more hints!!)

SHOT Show - From Hotel to the Show - Part 3

After leaving the escalator, it was a short walk to this fancy area (a 'Rotunda') with columns and even fancier marble floor work.

You then pass through the rotunda into the start of the gaming areas. They are touchy about taking pictures in the gaming areas, so I didn't take many.

Carpets in the gaming areas, with more marble to walk on. From my experience, walking on marble and walking on concrete is equally painful if you do it enough!

All along the path to the show they had guides holding staffs with SHOT Show emblems to help those who get lost. An excellent idea.

The guides had bright orange vests with reflective panels that lit up like crazy when you hit them with a camera flash!

Finally through all of the gaming areas, and now more long hallways to get to the show. Lots of restaurants, bars, and shops along this section of the route. Perhaps another five minutes or so from here and you arrived at the show itself!

Up another escalator to the third level and you were at the Press room, Member's Lounge, and a few booths in the hallways themselves. Big thanks to Nissan for sponsoring the Press Room. We had good WiFi, sometimes a few breakfast rolls, and free coffee. *Definitely * Needed * Coffee* , especially after the morning hike!

SHOT Show - From Hotel to The Show - Part 2

Leaving the elevator, we now begin the long hike to the show.  Notice the shiny polished marble floors with all sorts of fancy inlays and stuff. I don't think these floors came from Home Depot......

Down another long hallway. Check out the floors, ceilings, fancy walls, etc. Pretty spectacular!

Once you reach the end of the last hallway you make almost a 180 degree turn and take an escalator down one floor.

Yep! Looks just like an escalator. By now you expect it to be gold plated or something!

Down we go! Again, spectacular marble floors on the next level.

(That maxes out the number of pictures for this post, so more tomorrow.)

SHOT Show - From the Hotel to the Show Part 1

Allen Forkner, whom many of you know from previous Gun Blogger Rendezvous', put on a pedometer to see haw many miles he actually walked at the SHOT show. I understand Allen was there all day, every day, but still, over sixty miles is pretty impressive.

They only list three of four hotel/casinos as being within walking distance of the Sands Convention Center, which is connected to the Palazzo and the Venetian hotels. Not too far from those two is Harrah's, and then a short walk from Harrah's is the LINQ, where I stayed, which used to be called the Imperial Palace, and then The Quad, before getting its latest name.

The easiest way to get from the LINQ to the Convention Center is to walk out the front of the LINQ to the Las Vegas Strip, then turn right and walk a fair ways to the front of the Palazzio and the Venetian. Then you have to walk the full depth of the two hotels to get to the very back where it convention center is located. Even following that longest route, it was very easy to get turned around and get lost! Those are BIG buildings!!

However, there are shortcuts, if you can figure them out and remember all the tricks. These pictures cover the first part of the short cut to the show.

(You can click the pics to see them bigger. Really? Yep! fer shure? Trust me.......)

 You can walk out one side exit of the LINQ and take this covered breezeway to a side door into Harrah's. You then take a right down a short hallway to the elevators that take you down to Harrah's parking garage level. You walk past the Harrah's bus arrival and departure depot, and then through their parking garage.

When you get to the side of Harrah's parking garage, you can then cross the street tothe Venetian/Palazzo parking garage.

Once into the parking garage, you follow the cross walk deep into the garage.

Fortunately, at least for the SHOT Show, they have some signs along the way that help quite a bit, but getting lost was still an option often exercised. Back in the parking garage you take an elevator up into the Venetian/Palazzo. (It's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, so I refer to them together.

Once you get out of the elevator, the walk starts getting spectacular!

(That's all the pictures Blogger will allow in one post, so  that's the end of part one. More tomorrow.)

SHOT Show - Report #3 maybe

well, we are just about to the end of the shot show, and I'm just about worn out to, so with a little luck it should come out just about even! I forgot to load some image processing software onto my netbook that I need to edit photos that I take here at the show so that they are cropped properly and of a reasonable size, and in some cases that I can do groups of pictures and modify them all at the same time. I will have to get all of my shot show pictures posted probably next week, once I get home and have access to my main computers.

 Yesterday was a very busy day, and I kind of ran out of gas before getting a second post posted. My feet were killing me so right after the show I went to the first shots reception, and right after that went back to the hotel took and ibuprofen, and propped my feet up, shortly thereafter I fell asleep!

 Yesterday at the show some of the highlights included visiting with the folks at the high standard pistol booth, saying hi to Charles Brown at MKS supply ( MKS supply was one of the original sponsors of the gun blogger rendezvous, and every year they donate  a Hi-Point carbine). at the Ruger booth I took a good look at the new Ruger LCR  revolver with the exposed hammer, super light frame, and 3 inch barrel. The trigger action is amazingly good and they have redesigned the grip so it is very comfortable. It also has an adjustable rear sight. Not only is it small and light you may actually be able to hit something with it!

I stopped at the Chiappa  Booth and took a look at their three barrel shotgun. They now have a short barrel version of it that looks Like it would be absolutely terrifying to a bad guy!! I have no reason to own one myself, but it is so cool looking that I want one anyway!

 at the CCI booth I ran into Todd Jarrett  and we talked a bit about rimfire ammunition availability.  He says that nationwide rimfire ammunition availability is improving but still has a long ways to go.

 Yesterday I stopped for a bit at the tactical solutions booth and visited with all of the gang. We are considering what it would take to modify a tactical solutions barrel so that it could be mounted onto my high standard match pistol. I think that if we start with a partially machined barrel for the Ruger takedown 22/45,  it can be shortened up and finish machined so it would fit a high standard. That could be a fun project that would result in a really nice barrel.  In another booth I spoke to a fellow who manufactures extremely high accuracy 22 caliber barrel blanks.  That may be a good way to go for the high standard too,  and that may even result in something that I could manufacture in my own shop for resale.

 Today the show and is at 4 PM, and at 530 there is a post-show gathering put on by Michael Bane  to which I have been invited. Unfortunately, it is several miles from my hotel, and there is no easy and inexpensive transportation available to get there and back. I may be able to hitch a ride, but nothing for certain yet. I'm sure it would be a very fun get-together as I probably know just about everyone who will be there. However, I do have two leave the hotel rather early tomorrow morning to get back to the airport to fly home, so if I am unable to attend the reception/gathering/whatever  that may not necessarily be entirely a bad thing, although I really would like to be there!

 that's about it for now, and my next project to find a place where my phone works so I can arrange the shuttle pickup tomorrow morning to get to the airport. Once that is done, then I am off to the show floor for the rest of the day.

 More later maybe...........