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Ken's Journal
Daytrips
Winter Range 2010 - February 24-28, 2010 |
I've just finished shooting a national Cowboy Action competition - http://www.winterrange.com/ - although the competition is only 4 days, I'm also involved as an Arizona Territorial Ranger and work the whole event too - for a total of 11 brutal 10-12 hour days including setup and teardown of all the stages in addition to practice and competing for a total of 4 days. This year there were 665 shooters and an additional 60 mounted shooters. I finished somewhere about 538 out of the 665 regular shooters. I really need some practice with my pistols - all my errors and misses were with my pistols.
Anyhow, here are some pictures and descriptions of the shooting scenarios for the 12 competition stages.
First off - the targets we use are all steel (except for flyers - more on that later) and are anywhere from 6 yards to 14 yards from the shooter. Pistol and shotgun targets are closer and rifle targets are further away. Most shotgun targets are knockdowns - you have to knock them down. Shotgun targets are smaller and pistol and rifle targets are perhaps 18" to 24" square or round - with lots of exceptions. All ammunition is lead - lead bullets for the revolvers and rifle, lead shot for the shotgun. All loads are light loads because the targets are close. The targets are angled so the lead splatter is down and away from the shooters. Splatter is unpredictable so there may be splatter that comes back at the shooters so protective eyewear is mandatory. Because of the lead bullets and light loads, the velocity of any splatter is pretty low and not dangerous.
Think the targets are pretty big and close - maybe easy to hit? Yes, they are - until you're put on a timer and you have to hit them as fast as you can in a certain sequence!! Misses are scored as plus 5 seconds each and a procedural error, essentially an out of sequence shot, is scored as a plus 10 seconds.
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West of Stage One is the Cemetery - adds a little atmosphere to the whole western/cowboy theme. |
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For each of the stages I'll explain the position in which you start and how your revolvers, rifle and shotgun are loaded. Then I'll give you the sequence in which you engage the targets on the stage. Then perhaps an explanation of the explanation.
Stage One, the Barn. At either the hay bales on the left or the window on the right, standing upright with hands at high surrender. Stage may be engaged right to left or left to right, your choice. That means you can start with your revolvers on the right window or with your shotgun at the straw bales on the left. Two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered; rifle loaded with 10 rounds staged at the center doorway; open, empty shotgun staged at the straw bale on the left.
From the straw bale on the left, with shotgun engage the four shotgun targets, make the shotgun safe.
From the doorway, with rifle engage the three rifle targets with a double tapping Nevada Sweep, starting at either end, make rifle safe. From the window on the right, with revolvers engage the three revolver targets in a continuous double tapping Nevada Sweep starting on either end.
Got that? A Nevada Sweep is this - suppose I have three rifle targets, R1, R2 and R3. To execute a Nevada Sweep for say, 10 shots, I would shoot R1, R2, R3, R2, R1, R2, R3, R2, R1 and then R2, in that order, one shot each time. To do a double tap for say, 10 shots, I would shoot R1, R1, R2, R2, R3, R3, R2, R2, R1 and R1 again. So I shoot each target twice in the sweep. If I were to do 10 shots with my pistols, a double tapping Nevada Sweep, I would do this - shoot R1, R1, R2, R2, R3, then draw my second pistol and shoot R3, R2, R2, R1 and R1 again. Easy right? Now I'll time you for speed.
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Stage Two, the Mine. On the left, behind the rock with open, empty shotgun in hand; rifle loaded with 9 rounds and staged on the ore car in the middle; two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered.
With shotgun, engage the four shotgun targets, make shotgun safe on the center ore car. From the center ore car, with rifle engage the three rifle targets with a Pea Patch sweep in either direction starting on the center target. Make rifle safe. Move to the mine shaft entrance on the right and through the opening with first revolver engage the three revolver targets with a Pea Patch sweep starting on the center target in either direction. Repeat the same pattern with the second revolver.
A Pea Patch sweep is a variation of a Nevada Sweep - you don't start on the end target but the sweep is the same. In this case you have three targets for the rifle - R1, R2 and R3. To execute a Pea Patch sweep starting on R2, you'd do this - shoot R2, R3, R2, R1, R2, R3, R2, R1, R2 and R3 in that order. I've also seen this one called a Black Jack sweep. I've also seen an interlocking Black Jack sweep where five targets are used with the first five round going to R1, R2 and R3; then the second five rounds going to R3, R4 and R5 starting on R2 and R4 respectively - or P1 through P5 for revolvers.
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Stage Three, Philthy Phils, a Dance Hall. There are three positions for this stage, left, center and right at the bar through the wide door. On the left or right standing upright, hands at your sides. Two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered; rifle loaded with 10 rounds and open, empty shotgun staged anywhere safely. (Based on the shooting sequence, most would stage their shotgun on the left and their rifle in the middle.)
From the left side, engage the four shotgun targets and make the shotgun safe. From the center, with rifle engage the left and right rifle targets alternating for 5 rounds and then engage the two middle targets, tall and short, alternating for 5 rounds and make rifle safe. From the right side with revolvers, continuously alternate between the two pistol targets for 10 rounds.
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Stage Four, the Wagon. At the horse on the right, rifle in hand loaded with 10 rounds; open, empty shotgun staged on the horse at the right; two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered. With rifle, engage the four rifle targets in a progressive sweep in either direction, make rifle safe. With shotgun, engage the two shotgun targets from the same position. Move to the horse on the left and engage the two shotgun targets there and make shotgun safe. With revolvers, engage the four pistol targets in a progressive sweep in either direction. Progressive sweep? If I have four rifle targets, R1 through R4, that would be done like this - One round in R1, two in R2, three in R3 and four in R4. For revolvers, the same sequence would be executed, except when you've shot the fifth round in your first pistol, which would be the second round in R3, you'd switch to your second pistol, place one more round in R3 and then the remaining four in R4. Got that? So what's a horse? See below.
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This is a horse - stylized of course and you're looking at the hind end. The notches in the hips are used to stage long guns - rifles or shotguns. On this stage, both the rifle and shotgun were staged on the horse on the right and after moving to the left with the shotgun, it was made safe and staged on this horse.
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Stage Five, Fort McDowell. Inside the fort tower, rifle in hand loaded with 6 rounds; two revolvers loaded with 5 round each, holstered. Open, empty shotgun staged anywhere inside the tower. With rifle engage the six rifle targets through the fort tower window once each for 6 rounds, make rifle safe vertically. With shotgun engage both aerial shotgun targets - two actuators and two flyers through tower window. Taking shotgun with you, move to either right or left straw bale. You may make up misses on the flyers by engaging the stationary shotgun target one round for each missed flyer (I missed both flyers). Make shotgun safe. With revolvers alternate between the two right pistol targets for 5 rounds and then between the left two pistol targets for 5 rounds (there are three pistol targets). Make rifle safe vertically? Yes. The rifle is made safe with the muzzle pointing vertically because you are going to be moving down range in front of the rifle. In other cases, the rifle is made safe by clearing it and placing it on a shelf, table, horse or straw bale horizontally pointing down range. To make a rifle safe, it is cleared of all shells, live or otherwise, and the actionis left open. Flyers? Actuators? These are pretty sophisticated shotgun targets. Your first shot hits a plate that falls and actuates a catapult that throws a second target into the air - in this case the second target was a 7oz can of soda. Other flyers I've seen are charcoal briquettes or clay birds. The cans of soda are pretty neat - if you shake them up before you put them in the catapult, they go off pretty good when hit!!
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Stage Six, the Jail. At either the right or left window rifle in hand loaded with 9 rounds; open and empty shotgun staged at the same window; two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered. With rifle, engage the three rifle targets with a triple tapping sweep from either direction for 9 rounds. Make rifle safe vertically (because you will be moving down range of your rifle). Retrieve shotgun and move into the hallway (in the center of this picture) towards the window at the end of the hallway. Along the way, engage at least four shotgun targets through any two of the four doors in the hallway (each doorway has two targets available). Make shotgun safe in the window at the end. From the window, with revolvers double tap the five pistol targets in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction starting with the target at the top for 10 rounds.
There's another one of those horses to the right - just for decoration.
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Stage Seven, the Depot. At the center window standing upright, hands flat on the window shelf. Rifle loaded with 10 rounds staged at the center window; two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered; open, empty shotgun staged at either the left or right barrel. With rifle engage both plate racks (5 targets on each rack - you can see four of each through the left and center windows), these are knockdowns. Any knockdowns left standing at the end of the rifle string may be re-engaged with the rifle. Reload and re-engage. Make the rifle safe. At the center window, with revolvers engage the two pistol targets (low to the gorund and hidden by the depot) with 5 rounds each. Move to either barrel and with shotgun engage the four shotgun targets (those are the gray tombstone looking things on stands - most of the shotgun targets in this event are like this - they fall down when you hit them).
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Stage Eight, the Grand Canyon Railway. The Grand Canyon Railway is a major sponsor of the event and as such, get one of the most elaborate stages. The Grand Canyon Railway runs between Williams AZ and the Grand Canyon. Also, I have to have at least one panorama in each of my daytrips - this one is a composite of seven images. This set is really an intricate piece of work!!
Anyhow, at the back of the engine, standing upright with your hands at your sides. Two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered; rifle loaded with 10 rounds staged at the back end of the tender and open, empty shotgun staged at the end of the cattle car. With revolver engage the five pistol targets in an outside, outside, inside, inside, center sweep for each revolver, no double taps. Move to the back of the tender and with rifle engage the five rifle targets in the same sequence, no double taps. Make rifle safe. Move to the end of the cattle car and with the shotgun engage the four shotgun targets.
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Stage Nine, the Brighton Belle. At either the bow or stern of the riverboat, two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered; rifle loaded with 9 rounds and open, empty shotgun both staged at either the right or left window. With revolvers, engage the three pistol targets with a continuous Nevada Sweep starting from either end for 10 rounds. Move to either the right or left window and with rifle engage the three rifle targets with a continuous Nevada Sweep starting from either end for 9 rounds. Make rifle safe. With shotgun engage two shotgun targets, then move to the center window and engage the two remaining shotgun targets. Yes, there is a trailer behind this stage - it won't be there when the competition starts as we use real bullets. This is the venue for the Evil Roy Shooting School - run by one of the top competitors, Evil Roy, his wife, Wicked Felina, and his daughter, Holy Terror (all certified NRA instructors).
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Stage Ten, the Bank. Rifle staged at the doorway (vertically) loaded with 10 rounds; two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered; open, empty shotgun staged at the right window. With rifle engage the four rifle targets in a 3, 2, 3, 2 sweep in either direction. Make rifle safe. Move to either the right or left window. At the left window with revolvers engage the 4 pistol targets in a 3, 2, 3, 2 sweep in either direction. (That means you tap the first target 3 times, the second 2 times, the third 3 times and the fourth 2 times.) At the right window engage the six shotgun targets in any order. Make shotgun safe.
At this stage, you do the rifle first from the center doorway. Then you have a choice - move to the right and do the shotgun then the left and do the revolvers, or vice versa.
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Stage Eleven, Fort Sinclair. This is one of the two permanent stages. In 2009, the management of the range - Ben Avery, a public range managed by the Arizona Fish and Game Commission - agreed to let the Arizona Territorial Rangers (organizers of Winter Range) build two permanent structures. The structures are used by a number of shooting groups, not just Winter Range. Anyhow, inside either fort tower, at the window, two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered; rifle loaded with 10 rounds and open, empty shotgun both staged on window shelf in front of the shooter. With shotgun engage the two shotgun targets.. Make shotgun safe. With rifle engage the 5 rifle targets with two sweeps starting from either end - no double taps. Make rifle safe. Move to either the right or left window and with your first revolver engage the large target five times. Move to the fort gate and with your second revolver sweep the 5 pistol targets starting from either end.
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The pistol targets as shown are in the "Hostage" configuration. That is, the red part of the target is a swinger that when hit, swings to the other 'shoulder' of the main target. The red swinger represents a hostage taker hiding behind a hostage. These targets are usually used for competitions such as IDPA ( International Defensive Pistol Association) which simulate self defense scenarios for training. In our case, the hostage configuration was used for the "Wild Bunch" side match - which is a whole 'nother story and too much to explain here, but if you've seen the movie The Wild Bunch, you'll have some understanding of the scenarios used. For the main match, the hostage taker was removed (I was disappointed) and only the main target was used.
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Stage Twelve, Coosie's General Store. The second of the permanent structures. In front of either fence at the end of the store. Rifle in hand loaded with 10 rounds; two revolvers loaded with 5 rounds each, holstered; open, empty shotgun staged at either outside window. With rifle engage the two rifle targets in an alternating double tap starting on either target for 10 rounds. Make rifle safe vertically. Move to either the left or right window and through the outside window (and inside doorway) with your revolvers engage the two pistol targets in a continuous alternating double tap starting on either target for 10 rounds. Retrieve shotgun and move through the outside doorway to the inside window and engage four shotgun targets. And that's the end of the 12 competitive stages.
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The Posse Shoot. The shooters are divided up into groups each called a Posse. Our 665 shooters were divided into some 36 Posses of 18-21 shooters each. Each Posse was led by a Posse Marshal. Shown is the "Posse Shoot." This picture was taken from a row of straw bales. Your Posse lines up behind the bales, loads their rifle and pistols and on a signal, shoots down all the small targets - some 100 of 'em. The signal starts a clock and to stop the clock, after all the small targets are down, a rifleman has to hit the target out at 200 yards. Can't see it? See below for an enlargement.
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Center top is the 200 yard target - it's a metal target about 24" x 36" - you can hear it ring when you hit it. |
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Stage Thirteen, the Practice Stage. This is set up for practice only. Pay your $5 and shoot the stage any way you want. This is not to be confused with the Warm Up Stages, which were stages 1 through 4 - you paid your $10 and shot the four Warm Up stages on Wednesday before the main match - the sequences were different than for those shot during the main match.
And that's all folks . . !!
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