It was a clear, cold day with a light breeze.  I don't know what kept the rest away, but only four shooters showed up to join me for the first bowling pin match of the year.  There were a total of sixteen guns, and this time I brought two revolvers.  That plan didn't work out so well.

First rounds went downrange about 8:20 on schedule, and we were finished before 11:00.  I managed a come-from-behind win for Major over Jim Burnett.  John Higgins won Minor against his only competitor, Jim, and then proceeded to beat me to be overall semi-auto champ.  Jim redeemed himself by winning the revolver competition with his S&W .41 Magnum.  (Note to self:  practice hitting the pins.)  Travis Higgins took the .22 class handily.  The only competitor not to win a class was Rick Lavaty, but he won the random drawing and at least got his entry fee back plus a dollar, so everyone was a winner today.

Next month's match is February 12.  Hope to see you there!

Kevin Baker

It was a chilly morning, but at least this time it wasn't raining.  Ten people showed up, four of us with revolvers, all but one with .22's.  A bunch of regulars didn't make it, but several new shooters did, and one couple, the lovely and talented Capitalist Pig and his wife Mz. VRWC drove down from Phoenix to make the match.  Once again, EUropellet shooters outnumbered those of us who prefer God's Pistol Caliber as designed by John Moses Browning (PBUH).  And, once again, we had a variety of winners.

John Higgins once again took Minor with his EAA Witness.  His son Travis took Revolver with his Python and unerring aim.  (I have to work on the "unerring aim" part.  Eight shots don't help if four of them are misses.)  I took .22 rimfire again with my MkII Target, and Jim Burnett with his Clark Custom 1911 pin gun took Major and then beat John Higgins with his Witness to be overall match winner.  9mm is not always faster!

The match started on time at 0820, and we were all finished by 1100.  I think it's safe to say that everyone had a good time.  A big thanks to everyone who helped to set pins and tear down after the match.


Kevin Baker

Today was a challenging match due to gusting winds and cowardly trigger fingers ! Although sunny, the wind never quit blowing and all who braved the weather to compete had to screw their hats on and buckle down to hit anything besides the dirt bank.

Or:  Eight people can have a lot of fun in the rain.

Turnout was light Sunday due to the weather (and the NASCAR race in Phoenix).  Bill and Elaine Tab rejoined us from the soon-to-be-frozen North, and Joe Lancaster rejoined us from his latest tour of the Sandbox.  It drizzled on us off and on, and we had a downpour for a few minutes in the middle of the match, but eight of us in total showed up with nineteen guns.  First rounds went downrange about 8:30, and we were finished by 11.  The competition was pretty fierce, with several ties and several sets going four or more rounds.   

The winner in Major was Jim Burnett with his Clark Custom 1911 pin gun.  Minor and overall pistol champ was John Higgins with his EAA Witness 9mm.  (In the eternal argument between .45 and 9mm, 9mm can be faster in pin shooting.)  Revolver had only four competitors this month, and Jim won that one as well with his S&W .41 Magnum, squeaking by John and his Python.  I learned firsthand that you should not try to reload your revolver with an EMPTY speed loader.  It will cost you the round.  I took the .22 rimfire class with my MkII Target.  I had a couple of really good runs with it.

The next match is December 11.  Hope to see you there!

Kevin

What a beautiful day for a match!  And what a change from two months ago.  Including me, there were a total of ten shooters and twenty-five handguns.  For once, .22 is not the most popular class with seven entries, compared to Major caliber pistol with eight.  Minor caliber pistol only had four entries, and Revolver class had five.  I'd planned on bringing my Smith Model 25 Mountain Gun, but discovered last night that I only had 26 loaded rounds.  I was sure I had a box of 100 somewhere, but no.

We got started a little late, about 8:20, and finished right about noon.  No one overall winner this time - Travis Higgins won .22, Cliff Reed won Revolver, John Higgins won Minor Caliber, I won Major, and I beat John for bragging rights in the last match, Major against Minor.  There was some very close competition, a few malfunctions, a bunch of reloads, a couple of ties, and a lot of fun.

The next match is November 13.  Start time will again be about 8:15.  Hope to see you there!

Well, this was the lightest turnout since I started running this match, only four shooters showed up.  A year ago there were fourteen shooters besides myself.  Hmmm....

Still, the five of us had a great time!  This was the first month for a specific revolver class, and there were four of us with revolvers:  Don M. came with a Ruger Super Redhawk with "bunny-fart" loads (though a couple of them sounded suspiciously loud), I brought my S&W Model 25 Mountain Gun in .45LC, Travis Higgins brought a beautiful 6" Colt Python (shooting .38s), and Cliff Reed brought a Taurus 65 (also shooting .38s).  Four of us also had automatics, two 1911's, a Browning Hi Power, and a Sig 229, and four of us brought .22's - three Mk IIs and one MkIII.

Since there were so few of us, we competed in pairs until one shooter was eliminated, then finished the match with the top three contenders vying for the overall win.  Travis won the inaugural revolver competition, and I took .22 and the auto classes. Travis had to beat me four times to win with his Python, and did so with relative ease.  I need more wheel-gun practice.  (Or a lighter .45LC load.  That thing THUMPS.)

There will be no match in September - I will be at the sixth annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno, Nevada that weekend.  The next match will be in the fall - hopefully a cooler and less humid October 9.  We will have a revolver class again - that was fun!

Hope to see you there!

Turnout today was, to put it mildly, light. That's too bad, because while the humidity was up, the temperature just wasn't that bad. Five people showed up to join me, and between us we had thirteen guns - six of them .22 pistols.

Last month's centerfire winner John Higgins took it all this month, going undefeated with his Mk II and his 9mm Witness. Cliff Reed was the Major caliber winner with his Norinco 1911, but he couldn't outshoot John, and lost the final match, two to one.

At the urging of the few who did attend, next month we'll have a separate revolver class - .38 Special (or .357's shooting .38's) will be Minor caliber. .357 and larger will be considered Major. I'll be bringing my Model 25 Mountain Gun in .45 Long Colt. Hopefully there will be at least three other shooters with wheelguns.

The next match is August 14. Signup at about 8:00 AM, first rounds downrange by 8:20. See you there!

Kevin Baker

After a two-month hiatus due to the berm improvements on the Action range, we once again held our Second Sunday Bowling Pin match, June 12.  Turnout was down, in part I think due to the last two matches being canceled and in part because of the fact that summer is here.  It was warm at 7:30, and it got warmer - and windier - as the day went on.

Nine people including myself showed up to shoot the match, and between us we brought 17 guns.  There were no new shooters. 

Once again John Higgins went into the final rounds for centerfire and rimfire undefeated, but I managed to squeak a victory past him in the rimfire class, winning a particularly ugly final round.  John took centerfire with his 9mm EAA Witness, beating all other minor and major caliber shooters, undefeated with that gun. 

I need to get FASTER.

We finished up before 11:00AM, but even then we had winds enough to knock some pins down.

The next match is Sunday, July 10 - sign-in starting at about 7:45, first rounds downrange by 8:15 or so.  See you there!

Kevin Baker