Southern Chester USPSA: Stage 1

I am one of those people that loves movies from my childhood, so much so that when I stumble onto one I can’t help but watch it, regardless of what else is on. When I stepped onto the 100 yard range and saw the target orientation of Double Trouble, a scene from Labyrinth came to mind. I thought, those targets look kind of like those creatures from the riddle scene, with two heads sticking out of thier torso.

The Plan:

The mental hurdle on this stage was the target orientation. Ordinarily target stands mean two shots but in this case they meant four. While not a big problem, it took me 3-4 walkthroughs before I got my reload plan sorted out.

A large field stage like this offers shooters a wide variety of options. I decided to treat it like a large circle and work clockwise. The only part of my plan that I wasn’t absolutely sold on was how I would engage the last target. My plan would have me doubling back to pick it up, but I would be right on top of it and have easy A’s. My other option was to engage that target first and shoot it at distance, saving me a few steps later.

After The Buzzer:

When the buzzer sounded, I drew my gun and began moving towards my left. I engaged the first two targets and followed the boundary line as I moved from target to target. At the time this seemed like a good plan but now I think that I should have tried to work the stage from several feet away from the boundary.

This would have forced me to shoot targets from a little further away (Maybe another 8 to 12 feet) and would have saved me several steps along the way. Saved steps translates into a potential time savings. In the video below, you can see Steve Lockwood keeping himself away from the fault lines.

Steve Lockwood Shooting Limited Division

I opted to back track to pick up the last target, costing me a few extra steps. In doing so, I found myself in a position where I was compelled to make sure the Range Officer was behind me. A quick look over my should only cost me a second but it caught the attention of the RO. After the stage was complete, he explained to me that while he appreciated my making sure he was clear, I shouldn’t worry about him, as it was his responsibility to be in a safe position.

The Results:

While I feel my time could have been a little better, I did well on this stage and placed 2nd in Production Division. My shots landed me 24 A’s, 7 C’s, and 1 D, earning me 142 out of a possible 160 points. My time was 26.66 seconds with a Hit Factor of 5.3263 and an accuracy percentage of 89%