I am on my way back from the South African Championships, round 3, which was held this past weekend in Pietersburg, the venue of the upcoming world championships. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend this match as well as the previous round 2 championships held 2 months ago. I believe that knowing the range and the type of shooting that can be expected at the world shoot will serve me well in my preparation, and thus it was well worth the effort of another long trip. Of course I have the generosity of my sponsors to thank for this advantage, and in particular I wish to thank Cathy and Franco Resca for once again making me feel so welcome. The previous Nationals in SA was a good match, but this one was even better. From a stage design point of view, it was as good as any match I've shot. The match did not run with the 3:2:1 format (3 small, 2 medium and 1 big course), but rather most stages were 16 rounds or more. I believe there were no more than 3 nine round stages. Personally, I think this is the way to go, as too many small stages take the fun out of the match. World Champion Eric Graufel was there too, to learn the range and find out what to expect at world shoot. He shot a very good match, and would not be denied another win. I had to settle for 2nd place, followed by the members of the South African National team: Elardus De Land, and Hunbert Montgomery. I was happy with my performance on most stages, and felt a lot better than did in my previous visit to SA. However a couple of bad and costly errors prevented me from challenging Eric in this match. We will meet again in 2 weeks time in Norway, and I will have another chance. Stage 1, a big 28 round "Jungle Run" stage was truly an "African Experience": the stage started with the competitor lying in a tent, with the magazines and gun unloaded in a bag. The shooter had to retrieve his gun - and magazines before starting the stage, Since the stage required 2 mags, the trick became getting the gun and both mags out efficiently. This wasn't easy, as the bag was a flexible sports bag, which would not stay open unless held open. So, one had to reach in, remove the gun, remove a first mag and place it in your mag pouch on your belt, then remove a second mag, load and shoot. That's a lot of things to do after the beep, and many a shooter got tied up in fiddling with their gear. After that tricky start, one had to run down a lane, for a total movement of about 50m, and shoot targets which were literally hidden in the bushes. The brown and dense African bush provides good cover for the brown IPSC targets, and the whole stage had a "hunting" feel to it. I felt like I was on a hunting safari, looking for the targets in the bushes....:) As seems to be the SA way, the targets were not close either, some out at 35m. This stage should have been my chance to make up some serious points on Eric, as he did not have a goon run. I had a great start retrieving my gun and mags very cleanly, unfortunately a feeding jam from my long mag cost me precious time, and prevented me from winning the points I should have. That was my only malfunction, and I am sure it was due to a weak mag spring in my long mag As always I have my sponsors to thank for their generous support: The Makoff-Reifman Foundation Rescomp Handgun Technologies Aimpoint
Bul Transmark Ltd My next big match is the Scandinavian championships in Norway in two weeks, so I have time to do some serious training to prepare for that. Until then I wish you all safe and enjoyable shooting. Movie clip: Stage 10 |
