July USPSA Match

The Fredericksburg monthly USPSA match was held on Sunday, July 3. This match also marked one year since my first USPSA match, also at Fredericksburg. One hundred and seven shooting enthusiasts turned out for a fun and challenging day. While the morning started out overcast with a light rain, by the time we started shooting the sun was out and shining brightly. By mid-day the temperature reached 97°, which added to the challenge, but didn't detract from the fun. The match consisted of 7 stages with an interesting variety of layouts. There were fast "run and gun" stages, as well as stages with some long shots that required careful aiming.

Stage 1, which was the last stage our squad shot, was a "simple" setup with just 5 targets spread in a wide arc across the bay. Unfortunately that was my worst stage of the day, proving that the deceptively simple stages are not always so. I was pretty tired and worn out from the heat by that point, which may have contributed to my poor performance.

Stage 2, the first stage we shot, was a typical run and shoot stage. Likewise with Stage 3, which also included some steel poppers in addition to the paper targets. The stages require several reloads and quick movement between shooting positions. I had my best results on these two stages, placing 12th and 15th out of 41 shooters in the Division, respectively.

Stage 4 was the classifier. I was pretty confident going into this one as I've been practicing strong hand only shooting, and the stage required 6 SHO shots. I ended up pegging a No Shoot nonetheless. Stages 5 and 6 were two more fun field stages with lots of movement, shooting through ports and around walls. Stage 7 required the shooter to stand on a suspended platform and shoot at steel and paper about 20 yards downrange.

Besides a great day of shooting, the match was also a fund raiser for the Wounded Warrior Project. Shooters donated a little extra with their entry fee, and the Fredericksburg club matched the shooters' contributions. The Black Creek Steel Shooting Club also donated $500, bringing the total raised to around $1850. Fun times and a worthy cause.

The match was a great way to celebrate the Independence Day holiday. I posted a video from the match here for your entertainment.

Stage 5