2006 Louisiana State IDPA Match
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Match Director: Gary W. Burris A01202

The 2 nd annual Louisiana State IDPA Match was held on 18 March 2006 at the Miculek IDPA Club. The club holds a monthly IDPA match on the 2 nd Sunday of the month at Jerry and Kay Miculek’s range located near interstate 20, exit 33, just east of Bossier City, LA.

Lou Wagner, president of the Miculek IDPA Club, contacted me to see if I would be willing to give them a hand putting on the match again this year. I said, “Sure, always glad to give fellow IDPA shooters a hand.” I didn’t realize until later that he was asking me to be the Match Director again. Lou and his staff did a wonderful job of setting the match up. The only thing they couldn’t control was the weather.

The staff shot the match on Friday the day before the match. Weather was perfect, sunny with temperatures in the mid to high 70’s and a light breeze. The match consisted of twelve stages and 134 shots (minimum). There are eight shooting bays and there was plenty of room to have a lot more stages. But we decided to limit the number of stages and shots fired in order to keep the match fun for both the competitors and staff. I took the staff through the scenarios explaining the intent of each stage. We looked for and resolved different safety issues including location of muzzle safe points. We did final tweaking of the target locations and then shot the stages. I had a short meeting with my safety officers and then we were off to enjoy the rest of the day.

Match day started early for me. I awoke about 2am to the sound of thunder and rain. The staff began to arrive at the range around 7 am and started putting up targets with clear plastic bags on them.

At the shooters meeting I welcomed everyone to the Louisiana State IDPA Match and mud wrestling championship. I truly believe the shooters all had a great time shooting in the rain.

I must give a huge THANK YOU to all the safety officers and scorekeepers who performed so well under the conditions we endured at this match. While the competitors could get in out of the rain between scenarios, the staff had to stay on station and perform their appointed duties.

Lunch was provided starting about 11:30 and I have to say they were some of the best grilled hamburgers I’ve had in a long time. Shooters were free to break whenever they wanted to partake of lunch due to the open squad concept we used for the match.

Training with Gabe
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Gary W. Burris

This past weekend I completed the Rifle Gun Fighting / Urban Carbine class given by Gabe Suarez who says, “ Our training courses are described as REALITY-BASED, STUDENT-FOCUSED, CONCEPTS-DRIVEN, and COMBAT-PROVEN.” This was the first time I’ve taken a class from Gabe and my experience in the class indicates that what he says is right on the mark. There were a number of students with law enforcement or military backgrounds in the class and a few other gun nuts like me. I went into this class just as I do others with the idea that I would listen and learn as much as I could. My preconceived notion that the training would be tilted heavily toward law enforcement and paramilitary groups was wrong. Sure those professionals can benefit from the training, but in my opinion the common everyday Joe Citizen like me received the greatest benefit.

My reason for taking this class was to learn how to operate my after the assault weapons ban sunset Bushmaster AR-15 with collapsible stock, pistol grip, bayonet lug, 16” barrel including the 5 ½ inch flash suppressor. This was the first formal rifle training I’ve taken other than what was required to become an NRA Certified Rifle instructor. I can’t say that I’ve mastered the rifle techniques that Gabe showed us. But I’ve got an idea about what I need to work on. The class was not designed for competitive shooters but it would be a great class for 3-gun competitors to take in order to learn how to use their rifles in that shooting venue.

I learned much more than just how to handle the rifle in a close quarters combat situation. I’ve taken a number of pistol classes including those given at the Chapman Academy and Thunder Ranch. While the instruction given at those training facilities are quite valuable and highly recommended, this course seemed to bring all the combat training into focus and make clear what one needs to do to survive a lethal encounter.

A couple of equipment issues became evident as the training progressed that are worth mentioning here. First my stock out of the box Bushmaster with iron sites worked flawlessly. In fact, I did not clean the gun after the first day just to see if it would make it through the class without failure. I’d say that there were at least two dozen failures during the two day training session. Problems included things like failure to extract and double feeds plus a few mental errors. There were a number of guns that went out of service at the most inopportune times. We formed two man shooting teams and shot a couple of scenarios. Both times my partner’s gun malfunctioned and I had to continue cover fire until he got back into the fight. The lesson learned here is not to pick a cop from Baton Rouge as a partner. Just kidding, I think his problem was using department issued weaponry.

I did not keep track of what brand of guns had the most problems. But those shooting Wolf ammunition seemed to have the most failures. The only gun I have that I use Wolf ammunition in is my SKS. Seems to work fine in that gun but I guess the lesson learned here is to use good quality brass ammunition in my Bushmaster. I’ll need to get a longer sling as advised by Gabe. Also, I want to look for a different pistol grip as I believe the stock grip with finger groves does not fit my hand.

If you have the opportunity to train with Gabe Suarez then do it. You can see when, where and what courses of instruction are available at the Suarez International web site, http://www.suarezinternational.com/ or go to the Tactical Shooters Club web site at http://www.tacticalshooters.com and look under Training on the links page

Back in the Saddle
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Gary W. Burris

The Tactical Shooters Club got started shooting Tuesday evenings again on April 18 th.

Bob Wolff showed up with 10 new target stands and all new target stakes. I brought a box of targets and put together a tool box with stapler, staples and tape. Also, there is a pouch with score sheets, etc. that will be used for future matches. All this stuff is stored at the range for IDPA match use.

While the kick-off match was not too well attended, it did afford those of us who showed up the opportunity of shooting 10+ scenarios and over 100 rounds. So it was some great trigger time.

Three shooters with no previous IDPA experience joined in the fun for about the first hour and seemed to have a really good time. They promised to join the IDPA and return for more fun.

We have adopted a new format for the Tuesday matches. On the first and third Tuesdays of the month we will have a short training session at the beginning of the evening that will highlight some particular aspect of shooting. Scenarios that follow will incorporate that aspect. We plan to spend only 10 or 15 minutes training and it will be presented by different experienced IDPA shooters each time.

On the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month we will shoot a normal IDPA match. These matches will typically be around 50 rounds but might be as many as 100 rounds depending on how many shooters show up and how many scenarios we can squeeze into the evening.

In months that have a fifth Tuesday, we will have a fun shoot. These matches will not necessarily be completely IDPA legal. Things like man-on-man competitions, speed shoots, balloon shoots and whatever else we can think of to do to have fun.

The Memorial Oaks Shooting Club and the new owners are a lot different than when it was known as the Texas Shooters Range. No more putting your gun in a plastic bag or strip searching shooters. Okay, if you insist on being strip searched, Bob Wolff will take the gentlemen shooters and I’ll handle the ladies.

The facility is now being renovated and eventually the main entrance will be on the south side of the building where there is a lot more parking available. We have the capability of doing low light or no light shooting and there are flashing lights we can use to simulate a police car.

Come and be a part of the new Tactical Shooters Club

Shooting Clay Birds
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Gary W. Burris

I grew up on the prairies of Kansas and in my youth I hunted birds with a passion. I can’t even guess how many quail, dove, prairie chicken, duck and pheasant I’ve bagged over the years. Let me just say that in the Fall I kept my whole neighborhood well stocked with game birds for their tables. Summer time was fishing.

I had the opportunity to shoot sporting clays a couple of weeks ago. My friend Ray invited me to try something a little different than defensive pistol shooting.

This trip to the American Shooting Center in west Houston was only my second time to ever shoot sporting clays. So I dug my old 12 gauge pump out of the gun safe, dusted it off and put a little gun oil on it, and headed off to kill clay birds.

We didn’t try to keep score because our reason for going was to have fun and brush up on shotgun skills. We would shoot a clay bird and then shoot one of the pieces that flew off. This way we get twice the trigger time for the price. I think I performed fairly well judging by the way some of the other shooters did. And I’m sure that with more practice I could be competitive.

Question is, do I want to devote the time required to compete in yet another shooting venue? The short answer is no. Yet I need to spend some time to keep what skills I currently enjoy sharp.

Many of my fellow handgun competitors go bird hunting during the season. And I know at least three fellow shooters who shoot shotguns on a regular basis. I didn’t know that there are a number of fellow workers at my office that play with shotguns. I ran into three of my co-workers at the range. Perhaps I can find enough shotgun enthusiasts here at the office that we can put together a shotgun shooting team.