Scroll to the bottom for 3-Gun
Saturday January 4th, Talon Range will host the Tallahassee Practical Shooters' monthly USPSA match. Here are the match particulars. E-mail me with any questions.
When: Saturday, January 4th. Stage set up begins at 7:30. Sign up starts at 8:30. Shooters meeting at 9:30, with start of match immediately following. If it looks like we will have heavy / dangerous weather, I will make the go / no-go call as early as possible. We will have access to the range Friday night(s) before the match, and I will be out there around 5:30 setting up stages. If you'd like to come out and help, and it would be appreciated, or want to check out the range, come out and see me!
Where: Talon Range. We are located at the interchange of Interstate 10 and US 90 in Midway, FL at the 192 exit (technically the North East corner).
- From I-10, exit at 192 onto US 90 West. If you are coming from the West on I-10, you will make a left turn onto US 90 and proceed under the interstate to a stop light. If you are coming from the East on I-10, you will immediately come to a stoplight. To the West (left) you will see a Flying J truck stop (cheapest gas in the area, BTW), and to the East (right) will be a service road called Commerce Blvd that winds back towards the interstate. Turn onto Commerce Blvd. and drive .5 miles. Talon Range will be on your right hand side. For those of you with GPS, the coordinates are: N 30* 29.425' by W 84* 25.278'. Our address is 550 Commerce Blvd Midway, FL 32343 (Note the city is Midway FL, not Tallahassee). The road leading into our range is nicely maintained, so for all of you Ferrari owners out there, have no fear of making it down to the range.
What: 6 stage USPSA match. Match entry fee will be $20 ($15 for those under 18). Cash or check are fine—no cards. Our match will consist of 6 challenging courses of fire--five field courses plus one USPSA classifier stage. Total round count will be less than 150 rounds. Our range was designed for competitive shooting, so expect a real USPSA match--179* ranges, steel--everything you ever wanted in a USPSA match!
Instructions: Talon is a COLD RANGE. No bagging or un-bagging of firearms in the parking lot. Safe areas will be provided and clearly marked. Once you make it onto the range property, there will be signs designating parking and the registration / sign up area. For those who have already been shooting USPSA at Tallahassee Rifle and Pistol Club, we are going to keep sign up as similar as possible. One thing that will change, however; EVERYONE must fill out a Talon Range liability waiver. You can find the waiver here: http://www.talontraininggroup.com/Ta...ship-Agreement It's a little lengthy, but it's thorough, and you only have to do it once...ever (unless we revise it). I will have copies at registration, but I encourage you to print it off and complete it beforehand to speed up the registration process. For Talon Range members who have already completed the waiver and have it on file, you will not need to fill out another one (but it has to be THIS waiver, which was revised 06/17/2013). Eye and ear protection are mandatory for both competitors and spectators. Spectators are welcome. We will even have an air conditioned lounge with TV to get your 'spectator' out of the sun for a while.
Our pro shop is fully stocked with ammo (no limits on 9mm), snacks, drinks, sunscreen, etc.
We will have a shooters meeting / safety briefing before the start of the match.
New Shooters: If you have never competed in an organized shooting event--what are you waiting for!? We welcome new shooters, and will do everything we can to accommodate you. USPSA is a safe, fun, family friendly sport open to folks of all ages and skill levels (if you have a child younger than 12 that is interested, please contact me before hand so we can chat). You don't need a whole lot of equipment to start off--a safe and functional handgun in 9mm or larger caliber, a safe holster that covers the trigger guard and attaches to the belt, at least 3 functional magazines (more is better) and magazine holders to carry them, eye and ear protection, and a desire to have fun. Note: You will spend the morning and early afternoon outside, so dress appropriately and use plenty of sunscreen.
If you would like a bit of instruction before competing in your first match, I encourage you to visit the Talon Training web page and check out our 'Introduction to USPSA Shooting' class http://www.talontraininggroup.com/. It will more than adequately prepare you for jumping right into a match. If you are a new shooter and plan on attending the match, please come out early so one of our experienced shooters can fill you in on how everything works.
Thanks, and I hope to see you on the range!
John Rasmussen
Director Of Competitive Marksmanship
3-GUN
I have completed all of the stages, and have the final round count for our first 3-gun match to be held on Sunday January 5th.
Rifle: 50
Handgun: 25
Birdshot: 56
Now, keep in mind that this is the MINIMUM round count. Each paper target needs only 1 A hit to neutralize, so that is what my round count reflects. Most people, however, shoot two rounds per target, so your round count will be higher. Also note that some of the targets (steel plates, specifically) can often be engaged with either shotgun or handgun (check the written stage briefing) so you may end up shooting more handgun, and less shotgun than the above round count indicates.
I decided to keep the first match a little basic, since this will be the first time many of us have shot 3-gun, so there will be no slugs or buckshot required. Keep your birdshot 7 1/2 or smaller (numerically larger).
Just in case you are not able to make it one of my '3-gun rules and procedures' clinics, I wanted to briefly cover some of the things you probably want to know before your first match.
Safety: Safety rules are just like USPSA, so all of the same things apply--180, ADs etc.
ABSOLUTELY NO AP, ARMOR PIERCING, PENETRATOR, M855, GREEN TIP, BLACK TIP OR STEEL CORE RIFLE AMMO!! If your bullet attracts a magnet, leave it at home. Shooting any of the above mentioned ammo during the match is a match disqualification.
Ditching of weapons: There are two conditions you can ditch your weapons in.
1) Completely empty--nothing in the magazine, nothing in the chamber, nothing in the magazine tube--empty. In this condition, the position of the safety does not matter.
2) Safety engaged. With the safety engaged, you are allowed to ditch weapons with or without ammo in the gun.
Striker fired, or safe action pistols such as GLOCKs, M&Ps, and XDs are considered 'safe' simply by ditching them--nothing further is needed. If you have a pistol with a de-cocker, simply de-cocking the pistol renders it safe for ditching. Single action guns such as a 1911 must be ditched either completely empty, or safety engaged.
Score-keepers and target pasters will not be allowed to proceed downrange past a ditched firearm, until the shooter and / or RO comes back and safely clears the weapon.
Open Bolt Indicators: OBIs are REQUIRED to transport a long gun around the range. A spent shotgun shell, stick etc. are not acceptable. OBIs are cheap, and I'll have some at the match that I will sell for my cost, if you don't have one already. Once you have an OBI inserted into your completely unloaded long gun, you can transport it around the range un-cased.
Pre-loading of shotguns: On any stage where the shotgun is utilized, competitors will be asked to pre-load their shotguns. There will be a table set up next to a berm for this process. When pre-loading a shotgun, the competitor is allowed to fill the magazine tube to their division capacity, and ground it on the table (magazine tube ONLY, NOT loading a round into the chamber on onto the carrier / lifter) with the safety on and OBI inserted. Once your shotgun is pre-loaded, you are prohibited from handling it again until it is your turn to shoot.
Written Stage Briefing: Pay close attention to the WSB. It's very common for 3-gun matches to have unusual gun-ready conditions, that will change from stage to stage. Empty gun starts, or empty chamber starts are just as common as loaded gun / chamber starts.
Divisions: I won't go into a great deal of depth covering all of the equipment rules for the different divisions, as they are available at: http://uspsa.org/RifleShotgunMultigu...-2013final.pdf
But I will cover some basic stuff.
-Shotgun capacity: Except for Open (which has no limit) all divisions are limited to 9 rounds in the gun AT THE START SIGNAL. Which means 8 in the tube, and one in the chamber for 9 total, unless otherwise specified. If you so desire, you can add more rounds to your gun after the start signal.
-Optics: Having an optical sight of any kind on your shotgun or handgun automatically puts you in Open Division. Having more than 1 optic on your rifle also puts you in Open Division. For Limited Division, you are allowed 1 non-magnified optic (red dot sight) and / or iron sights on your rifle. For Tactical Division, you are allowed to have 1 magnified optic on your rifle, as well as iron sights.
-Magazine length restrictions: Open handgun-170mm. All other divisions, 140mm. No magazine restrictions for rifles (except for my Law Enforcement Division).
-Slings are only allowed in Open Division.
Scoring: We will be using 'time-plus' scoring, which means your time is your score--any penalties or misses are counted as time added to your score. So if you complete a course of fire and have no penalties or misses, that's your score for that stage.
Target scoring: Targets are not scored like a USPSA match. A paper target requires 1 A hit (the A zone, or anywhere in the head) OR 2 hits anywhere on the target to neutralize. So 1 A, or 2 D hits are the same thing. Steel must fall to score.
See the rules linked above for a complete rules breakdown.
If you have any questions, or are on the fence about shooting the match, contact me for more information (and I'll do my best to push you over the edge).
See you on the range!
John Rasmussen
Director Of Competitive Marksmanship, Talon Range
