All AZ Riflemen:
The NRA Arizona State Championships are happening at Ben Avery on November 25-27. The 25th is optional, it is a 600 yard prone event. The 26/27th is the main match, with CMP "leg points" available on the 27th.
http://desertsharpshooters.com/content/index.php?module=webpage&id=1&page=3
I'll be there.
I'd love to see some AZ 'Seeders there. We have the skills, for sure.
Also, the CMP Arizona State Championships are happening at Rio Salado on December 11th. One day only.
http://www.members.cox.net/riohighpower/cmpmatch.htm
I'll be at that one, too.
A personal note:
AZOpie is our best-scoring HP shooter right now. He tends to score about 91% on any given HP match. Prior to some significant practice on my part, the best I've been able to put together is about an 85% score. I used to think he was untouchable when it comes to score. :bow:
News flash: He's not untouchable. :pop:
I just shot an 89.5% a couple weeks ago. I'll admit that I hadn't shot all summer.... I went to 3 HP matches as practice recently. First match was a pretty sad 77%. Second match was an okay 81.5%. Third match was an 86%. But, the last string of the 3rd match was an 89.5%. And something "clicked" part-way through. I'm ready to shoot 90% scores consistently. I've been practicing this weekend, and I can do it at personal practice... I just need to do it under competitive pressure.
This is not intended to diminish AZOpie's marksmanship skills. He's awesome. And still better than me. But the 6% barrier he used to have, is now eroded to 2%. And shrinking. :--- But, it shrunk because I practiced, and I applied analysis straight from "Fred's Guide to Becoming a Rifleman" to my own shooting technique. 6 steps. SHF's. NPOA.
That's all.
6 steps. SHF's. NPOA. Rinse and repeat.
6 steps. SHF's. NPOA.
6 steps. SHF's. NPOA.
Folks: A RIFLEMAN has the skills to refine his shooting technique to dominate High Power. A RIFLEMAN has the knowledge to continue to move inwards on the bull from the 7 ring, to the 9 ring, to the X ring. A RIFLEMAN, with the opportunity to simply learn how the HP game is played, can become a contender in his circuit with some fast and content-focused practice.
If we want to obtain some degree of "ownership" or claim over the Ben Avery full distance range... we have to show that our skills are on par with the Expert/Master/High Master ranked High Power shooters.
Come with me to the NRA State AZ Championships, and the CMP State AZ Championships. Help me show them that AZ Appleseeders are pillars of rifle marksmanship instruction (and we truly are, since 99% of HP competitors never contribute back to the novice shooting community or to the "soft war" we seek to win). But, bring your "A" game when you come. Practice at 500/600 yards. Practice at 200 yards. The AQT is wonderful for SA/SP/RP/4a/4b/ST/CS, along with SHF's and NPOA... but it isn't a replacement for knowing your come-ups and wind adjustments for known distance.
(A challenge to AZOpie:)
Come on, man... make me eat crow. **) Show me (and everyone here) a 95% like you're capable of, and put me in the dust again. :pop: And make AZ Appleseed look awesome! ~~:) I'll take over your old stomping grounds in the 91% rankings. :)
Be sure to wear your Appleseed shirts so everyone knows how awesome our instruction is ^:)^ ^:)^ ^:)^
The Texas Cadre represented RWVA quite well at CMP Camp Swift earlier this month.
Best of luck to ya there in the Great State of Arizona.
And, do wear those shirts and hats.
POP
Thanx for the reminder --- " wear those AS shirts.
We were clanging steel at 600 --- thank's to Appleseed !
SS had the lady seed shirt and 7th stepped lots of ladies!
Best of luck Arizona ---- will enjoy seeing AS instructors dominating HP competition.
I do want to caveat any expectations that non-AZ folks may have for AZ performance at this event...
Arizona is a "snowbird" attracting State. We get all these retired folks that come here, either for the winter, or for the entire year.
A lot of these "snowbirds" are retired USMC and US Army folks with a solid shooting pedigree, and enjoy the pursuit of shooting accomplishments. Other folks are simply "well seasoned" High Power competitors that continue their competitive goals down here.
I think it's fair to say, that AZ is a more challenging State than just about anywhere to actually win an HP competition. We are gun-friendly, weather-friendly, and snowbird-friendly. Lots of "Master" class NRA shooters wind up here, skewing competitive results for the fall/winter/spring.
Add to that, AZ takes the summer off HP... and the local competition starts in the fall and builds to the spring. We invert the summer with most of the country's winter season.
That being said... we'll put our best foot forward and do our best to represent the program.
The premier range in the PHX area is Ben Avery, and the "Desert Sharpshooters" still have claim on just about every weekend all 52 weeks per year, of the KD range at Avery. To get claim on the KD range... we have to prove our mettle so that the muckity-mucks of Desert Sharpshooters will yield a weekend here and there for AZ Appleseed to get a foot-hold on the KD range.