Cedar Mountain Pistol Practice

The past couple weeks my plans for shooting have gotten waylaid by last minute work obligations, so I was happy that I was finally able to get in some practice at Saturday's practice match at the Cedar Mountain Youths Range. Last month's Cedar Mountain event was cancelled due to extremely heavy rain, which was disappointing as I had a couple new shooters lined up to go. Unfortunately those folks were unable to attend this month. However, some of the folks I introduced to practical pistol shooting previously at this match were able to return this month.

Six stages were set up for the match, all based on USPSA classifier stages, although they don't count for USPSA classification. I would have enjoyed some scenario stages to practice on, but these still provided good practice for a wide range of shooting skills. There was no movement required in any of the stages, but we shot around barricades, through small openings, at near and far targets, as well as head shot only and other reduced area targets. There were even stages with falling steel, which everyone enjoys shooting.

There were about 15 of us enjoying the match. The weather was very pleasant, actually quite exceptional for an August day in Virginia, with temps in the upper 70's and a slight breeze. After the match, there was the chance to shoot any of the stages over just for practice for anyone who desired more trigger time. It was a fun morning of shooting and camaraderie. I was so enjoying the time on the range that I neglected to even take any photos of the stages.

It's gratifying when I'm able to get new folks hooked on the fun of practical pistol shooting. It's also somewhat selfish as I also gain companions for the car ride to and from the events. I don't mind supplying the ammo for the first match, or even cleaning a loaner gun afterwards. The folks that returned today I think we can put in the "hooked" column, and I look forward to bringing more new folks out in the future.