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I am now on route back home to Holland after the 2003 US Open Nationals.

The US Nationals is like no other competition in that it brings together almost all the top shooters in the world. Almost like a World shoot, and some would say even more so. The top 15-20 shooters in the USPSA are certainly amongst the top 30 in the world, and you don't get to compete with them all at a WS. So this match is certainly a must for those who want to see IPSC shooting at its highest professionalism. Not only are the competitors of the highest level, but the match organizers and RO's as well.

Last year we shot the match in a "full day" schedule, which made the squads very big and progress very slow. We shot only 5 or so stages per day, and were on the range all day long. This year, they went to a "half day schedule" which made the squads much smaller, and the the shooting faster. We shot each day either in the morning or afternoon, and were done with our 5 stages in as many hours. Much preferred by all the competitors there, I believe. I certainly found it an advantage.

 This years match was without a doubt one of the more difficult matches in recent memory. There were hardly any open full targets - as most were covered by N/S targets or hard cover. In fact I don't think there were more than 5 or 6 full size targets - or full size steel for that matter. All mini-poppers and a few plates. An aiming match for sure. If you did come accross an open full size target - chances are it was a bobber, or a 1 second gravity turner. There was nothing easy about this years Nationals. It was not a "hoser" match by any means.

 I felt sure that this kind of match would suite me fine, as I like the tough shots and believe in my ability to shoot accurately on demand, but this week it was not too be. My match never really "took off" and I was not able to pull out of this rut and shoot better. I did shoot well enough to finish 12^th overall, and it is always considered a success to finish in the top 16 of the US Open, but following my 2^nd place finish of last year, I was of course disappointed. Not all of it was my own fault, as I did have an accuracy problem with my gun, who's barrel decided to give out on me at the last possible moment, when I had no time to do anything about it anymore. Of course, when you fly to a match, you cannot take with you too much ammunition, so I really had only what I needed for the match, and none to spare. So I could not mess around with trying to resolve whatever problem there was with that barrel.

In the end, the top 16 at this years US Nationals were:

 As well as competing this year, I was also playing "movie producer" as Double-Alpha Academy will be producing a movie of this match "The Super-Squad of the 2003 US Nationals". With the help of Mike Tilley as head camera man, we had 2 cameras on most stages, filming all the top shooters on the Super Squad. All the top shooters were happy to appear, so you can expect to see the likes of Eric Grauffel, Todd Jarret, Rob Leatham, Max Michel, JJ Racaza, Chris Tilley and all the other top US shooters  in this production, which should be available from Double-Alpha Academy by the end of November.

As always, I have my sponsors to thank for their support:
Drummen Custom Guns
Competitive Edge Dynamics (CED)
Mpro-7
Arredondo accessories
Rescomp Handgun Technologies
Nobel Sport
Aimpoint
BUL Transmark
 

Until the next time, I wish you all excellent shooting

Sincerely Yours

Saul Kirsch

Movies:

These great movies of the US National stages are courtesy of Mr. Nolan Smyth. Visit him at www.hosercam.com


Stage 11: 3.1m

Stage 14: 2.7m

Stage 3: 3.1m

Stage 16: 3.2m

Pictures:

The legend Robi Leatahm. Shooting the Open Nationals after a fantastic win in the Limited Match. How many US tittles does he have now ?!

Shooting in the US Open on the super squad is something special. Count the cameras in this picture. And these are only the ones in the front of the stage. There were a dozen more in back

Henning Wallgren's Porsche. Check out the number plate! only in America! :)

A first peek at what is to come! This is the cover of the movie we are making about the Super Squad of the US Open Nationals. It should be available for sale by the end of November.