On Memorial Day I shot the Pistol Steel Challenge match at the Creekside Firing Range in Taylorsville, Georgia. This was part of a series of matches that weekend to raise money for the local family of a fallen warrior. In addition to the pistol match, there was a shotgun match, a service rifle match, and a tactical rifle match.
In the pistol match there were 35 shooters, and they had expected about 15, like the match earlier in the month. So, this made the 5 stage match last till about 2 PM, when they expected to be done by noon. I had plenty of other things planned for the day, so I didn't stay around through the auction to find out the results.
Well, I just downloaded the results and found that I finished 12th out of the 35 shooters. Not bad considering I left steel standing after the par time expired on 2 stages. But so did most of the shooters - it was not an easy match.
Looking at the results of all the matches, I took away some interesting facts:
* In the shotgun match, overall was won by a pump gun.
* In the the tactical rifle match, overall was won by a shooter using iron sights, versus optics. In fact, all the iron sights shooters finished in the top half overall.
The lesson, of course, is that an auto shotgun or optics on your rifle do not necessarily make you a better shooter. Training and practice make you a better shooter. If you add optics to your rifle, trying to compensate for poor technique, all you have done is ensure you will shoot poorly with more expensive equipment.
By the way, that's why I shoot Production in USPSA. If I'm going to shoot poorly I want to do it cheaply, too.