We were visiting in Blacksburg this weekend, which happened to be the same weekend of Christiansburg Izaak Walton League’s monthly Action Pistol Match. Since I would be missing the monthly IDPA match at Rivanna, I decided to check out the Christiansburg match.

The Christiansburg Action Pistol matches use IDPA targets and scoring, and in general, follow IDPA rules. However the matches aren’t official IDPA matches, so there are some liberties taken to add some interesting challenges.

The first stage shot by the squad that I was on was a classic IDPA stage. There were two partial targets on either side of some barrels to be shot while stationary. Then while moving forward towards cover, two more partial targets were engaged. The final four targets were engaged from cover. It was a fun stage, though I didn’t shoot it as well as I would have liked, or frankly, expected. Well, maybe the morning kinks are worked out.

The second stage was an all steel stage. A variety of steel was set up; a Texas Star, square plates, animal targets, a swinging hostage target, and a very, very small steel IDPA target  — 17 in all. All steel was shot while stationary. It’s been a number of years since I shot a Texas Star, so that was fun. Hitting the steel “hostage” would be a hit on a non-threat adding to the challenge of the small red swinger. I didn’t hit the non-threat, but used all 31 one of my rounds, and left the tiniest target standing.

Arrow marks the little guy

The stage “Sucker Punch” offered another unique shooting challenge. The scenario was that you’ve been hit in the eye and knocked to the ground, losing the use of your strong-side eye. We had to use a bit of paper towel behind our glasses to block our vision in the eye, forcing us to aim with the weak side eye. The six open targets were engaged while laying on the ground on our strong side. This certainly was new challenge for me, but I was pleasantly surprised to do pretty well.

Next up was a standards stage with three targets with non-threats in between. The stage consisted of three six shot strings. The first shot freestyle from about 15 yards, followed by strong and weak hand strings shot while backing up, starting at about 7 yards.

A stage labeled “What a Drag” had us again shooting strong hand only, this time while dragging a “body.” Three targets were engaged strong hand only, while dragging the body to behind cover. At that position there were three more targets to shoot after dropping the dummy. We then moved to another wall where we hit a stomp plate which activated a drop turner, before hitting the last stationary target. Interestingly, this was my best stage of the match, placing 3rd of 19 in SSP.

Our last challenge, “Who’s You Daddy?” had us shooting from a seated position. We faced six targets arranged in stacked pairs. There was a target stand directly in front of us that we knocked over at the start. Once we were seated with that target blocking our view, one of the six targets was randomly marked as a non-threat by hanging a man’s tie on the target.

This was a very enjoyable and challenging match in a beautiful mountain setting. The other shooters I met were exceptionally friendly too. I didn’t shoot as well as I had hoped, but had a great time nonetheless. My finish was 19th of 55 overall and 4th out of 19 in SSP. I’ll be sure to check the club calendar whenever I’m visiting Blacksburg to see if I can make future matches.

A few more pictures from the match are here.

Each morning as I leave for work, I pass by my stack of “range stuff” in the garage. It makes me wish I was going to the range, instead of the office.One of these days, I’m going to be “too sick” to work.
[ This content originated at Musings Over a Pin…

I often remark that one of my favorite aspects of the shooting sports is the joy of hanging out with like-minded folks. A common trait seen among this crowd is an unabashed love of our country. I witnessed a moving example of this patriotism last weeke…

It’s almost a cliche regarding safety equipment that if you don’t have it when you need it, you likely won’t need it again. I recently ran across this quote from Tom Givens that sums it up quite succinctly.

“You don’t choose when you’ll need your gun; someone else does. And they will typically only inform you at the last moment.”

Carry your gun.

See the review of training we took from Tom Givens here.

This weekend’s IDPA match at the Fairfax Rod & Gun club had four stages offering some interesting and enjoyable shooting challenges. It was also quite a pleasant day weather wise, especially considering we’re in the middle of July.

The first stage our squad shot started with us facing a non-threat target, with two very close targets to our right. We turned to shoot the two close targets from retention, before engaging two more distant targets while backing up. To finish the course of fire there were four more targets shot from cover, two of which were head shot only targets. It was fast but fun stage. A lot of folks had never shot from retention prior to this, so they had a new experience here. I finished -0 on the stage.

The next stage was a standards stage with three strings — shot freestyle, strong hand only, and weak hand only. Shots were limited to one per target each string, and fired on the move at six reduced scoring zone targets. I do try to practice one hand shooting regularly, and feel fairly confident while standing still, but I have no opportunity to do it while moving, unless it’s in match. I know I had a couple misses, and a bunch of -1 shots, giving me a big 15 down for the stage.

As we were making our way to our third stage, we could hear ringing steel coming from the bay. Then I caught a glance of a swinging target and knew what was up next. We started this stage behind a barricade holding a “cell phone” in front of our face. Dropping the phone, we engaged a fallen popper to activate a swinging target, which we shot while on the move across the bay towards cover. From cover we shot 4 paper targets and another falling popper. It was another -0 stage for me.

The last stage of the match consisted of just three targets, set between 25 and 35 yards. There was a lone non-threat place about center view down range as well. This was going to be the toughest challenge of the day. I’ve done very little long range shooting of late, and have been less than satisfied with the results. However, I had fortuitously worked on 20 yards shots during the range trip on Friday, and the success that day did help boost my confidence here.

This stage was on a mostly shaded bay, and there was a cloud cover at the time. Though I never thought I’d say it, I lamented not having the bright sun in the afternoon at a match. To my eyes the targets were quit faint in the distance.

Way. Out. There.

Four hits were required on each target. My shooting plan for the stage included a few extra shots on each increasingly distant target; 5 shots, 6 shots, reload, 7 shots. While shooting, it seemed to me that the front of the pistol was dancing all over the place in relation to the target, though I did feel confident in my sight alignment. With great anticipation I walked down range to hear the scores called out. “Down 0. Down 1. Down 2. Non-threat clean.” To say I was pleased with the -3 was an understatement.

In general I was happy with how I shot. I need to work more on strong hand and weak hand shooting, but otherwise it was a good day. Overall I ended up 10th out of 75 shooters, and 3rd of 9 in SSP Sharpshooter. Not bad for a guy “that old.”

This match is becoming more popular and the club is working to accommodate an increasing number of shooters, though the large crowd makes for a long day. The four stage match took five hours to complete, but it was a most enjoyable way to spend time. Shooting well always raises the fun level up a notch or two, and this month’s match was especially fun I thought.

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Friday afternoon my son and I took a chance on finding an opening at the range after work. To our delight, not only was the weather relatively pleasant, there was an free bay. He was shooting the SIG P226, a gun he’s grown quite fond of, while I wanted…

Last Monday when heading out for an early dinner, Colleen, “Checkered Flag,” and I decided to check out Strangeways Brewing. The brewery’s new Fredericksburg location has only been open for a couple weeks, and we’d been looking forward to visiting.We w…

A truly American holiday made possible by a well-armed citizenry.There’s plenty of room on the calendar for another holiday. Pray we won’t need it. 
[ This content originated at Musings Over a Pint ]

Late Saturday afternoon we decided to stop by Red Dragon Brewery in Fredericksburg to try out some of their new beers. Red Dragon is constantly updating their taps with new releases, and we haven’t visited in a while, so there was plenty to try.Red Dra…