AH1356

The North Tennessee Pracitcal Shooters will host our March match on the 8th & 9th of March in Dickson.  Setup will be Saturday 3/1 at 8:30ish.  Anyone who helps with setup is welcome to stay and practice afterwards with NTPS Board members present.  We are planning to have a chrono set up to check loads in case anyone is interested.   Stages will be posted when they are ready.  More information is here:   http://ntps.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1799   DVC, Aaron

Thanks - great match!

  This is an oversimplification and I am a participant not an organizer, but it is basically "USPSA-light" rules with IDPA targets and time-plus scoring.  No IDPA rules about cover or tactical anything.  Load mags to division capacity (USPSA divisions, so basically Open if you have a dot and a comp, limited for iron sights with mags full, production with 10 rounds).  Reload however, wherever, whenever you want with no restrictions on dropping partially loaded mags.  As fas as I know there is no "Official Zombie Outlaw Rulebook" so if you have a specific question at the bay it's better to ask.   I'm sure I missed something but hopefully others will add what I missed.

The North Tennessee Practical Shooters will host our monthly USPSA match this weekend in Dickson.   Stages here, other info here.   See you at the range!      

  This is my not my first IonBond gun, and I am very happy with it.  The finish is very hard, stands up to kydex well, seems to make the gun a bit slicker, and is very thin, so it can be applied to a very tight gun with no issues.  It has the interesting feature of turning a darker, splotchy grayish when dry, but a little oil restores the uniform, inky matte black.  I had some mags done as well, and it looks great on that smooth polished stainless steel as well.    If you want a black finish, then in my opinion IonBond is very tough to beat. 

Here is my Calhoun Custom SIngle Stack race gun fresh back from IonBond. We blacked out everything, including the barrel.

Tim keeps letting me push the envelope with crazy designs, so I keep letting him build them. :pleased: This one is a 6-inch barrel on a 4.5-inch slide. The front sight does not reciprocate. The barrel is much lighter than a sight-tracker would be, and the slide is lighter and stronger than a lightened 5-inch slide. Sort of a "shorty forty limited gun." Just got back from IonBond. Grip stippled by yours truly. Tim Calhoun is an outstanding gunsmith. You could spend twice as much and wait a year or more for another smith - but in my opinion you won't get a better gun. www.calhouncustomfirearms.com

Looks like the temps will be more normal by the weekend.  Come out & join us.   Cheers, Aaron

Happy New Year from the North Tennessee Practical Shooters!   We will host our first match of 2014 this coming weekend in Dickson.  6 stages and 140 rounds of fun.  We shoot Saturday and Sunday with registration opening at 8:00 and first shots 9:00ish.  Likely second gun run in the afternoons.   Stage diagrams are here:   http://ntps.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1788   Cheers, Aaron

The North Tennessee Practical Shooters will host out December match this Saturday & Sunday in Dickson.    Stage descriptions & more info here:  http://ntps.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1783   DVC, Aaron

It's up to you of course, but you might like it better if your grip safety is DIS-engaged and pinned. I'll defer to Tim though. He's the expert ;-)

Good times.  Sure wish I had that mike back...  Oh well - see you next time.   Aaron

Fun match. I don't know how I can run stage 3 faster than stage 1. Oh well. See you all next time. Aaron

Weekend weather looks awesome.  Come out & play.

NTPS will host our monthly USPSA match 14 & 15 September in Dickson. 6 stages, 160 rounds. Great tune-up for TN state. Registration starts at 8:00, first shots 9:00. More here: www.ntps.org/clubinfo.htm

I have an unfair advantage too.  With my 6-inch Calhoun Custom gun I'm that much closer to all the targets.  :cool:   See you next time, Aaron

The North Tennessee Practical Shooters will host our monthly USPSA match next weekend, 10 & 11 August in Dickson. Info on the club & range is http://ntps.org/clubinfo.htm. We have 6 stages including a classifier (CM99-57) for a total of 157 rounds. Stages for August:

Give Chandler a call at Black Bullets.  He makes a great product - they load clean, don't smoke, and my guns love them.  I've loaded and shot several thousand without issue.  They are good to go for practice or matches.   https://www.blackbulletsinternational.com/

Looks like the weather is going to cooperate this weekend. 

The North Tennessee Practical Shooters will host our July match next weekend, 13 & 14 July, in Dickson.  We have 5 stages plus a classifier, for a total of 112 rounds.  This will be a good mix of short & long courses, close and long shots, movement and stand & shoot speed stages - something for everyone.  The classifier is "Fluffy's Revenge 2."   Registration opens at 8:00 both days, with first shots at 9:00.  More info at www.ntps.org   Cheers, Aaron

"Page six of the rules says all competitors must be members... " Robert's explanation above is correct. You only quoted the first half of the relevant sentence in the rulebook. The second half reads "... for level 2 matches and above." Level 2 and above matches are the state, area, and national championship matches that I said are exceptions. Cub matches are generally level 1, where no membership is required. These are multifunction rules, but the handgun rules have the same requirement for level 2 and above.

  The match fee is not itemized, so you could argue that we collect the classifier fee for non-members.  The accounting and intellectual property issues are, in my opinion, less relevant than the central points I was trying to make:    1) USPSA has no rule requiring membership to shoot club matches.    2) I don't see how USPSA or IDPA can be hurt by non-members shooting matches.   I am not now nor do I anticipate becoming an IDPA member, so I don't really have a dog in this fight.  In my opinion, if we want our sports to grow then a policy of "no second date without a ring" seems counterproductive, petty, and unwelcoming.

   ^^ Incorrect.    USPSA allows all legal gun owners to shoot any club match if they can do so safely with equipment consistent our rules.  State/Area/National Championships and similar large sanctioned events are the exceptions.  The only thing we don't do for non-members is send their classifier scores to USPSA, which would be pointless since non-members have no USPSA number to associate with the scores anyway.    Come shoot a match - membership not required.  Our next match in Dickson is Saturday the 15th.  www.NTPS.org

  I do not know how IDPA works.  But I have been responsible for posting club scores in USPSA for years, so I do know how USPSA works:   In USPSA, dues to the national organization pay for, among other things, the maintenance of members' classifications.  Non-menbers who shoot USPSA matches are welcome at every USPSA match I have ever shot.  The only exceptions are major championships.  Non-members see their scores relative to other shooters in their divisions and overall.  This is paid for by match fees, it is common courtesy, and it is a good way to encourage new shooters.  Non-USPSA-members do not have their classifier scores sent to the national organization, because there is no member number to associate with the scores.  At a club match, this is the only difference between members and non-members.  It would never occur to me to accept someone's money for a match fee, allow them to shoot a club match, then refuse to send them their scores because they did not join an organization headquartered several states away.   As for getting "all competitive about it," IDPA is a game.  If you don't want to "get all competitive about it" then put away the timer.  If you are keeping score, then you're in a competition.  And if you are in a competition, what harm can possibly be done by seeing the scores of ALL competitors? 

^^^ what Tim said. +100