I have been away from the shooting sports quite a bit this year due to a little turmoil in my job which led to some turmoil in my family life. Those two things take priority over the shooting sports for me. The short-term changes started in January and I was able to settle back into a rhythm in mid-May. I have been shooting matches regularly this summer and am just now getting around to writing about them. I also have some new firearms and attended a pistol focused class this summer. All of that will be coming as I have more time to get some writing done. I am working up in Dahlonega, GA which is about 3 hours from my home and family. I work a lot on weekends which means I do not get to shoot many of the matches I want to shoot, but I get to shoot a lot.
River Bend Gun Club is the closest private range to Dahlonega. It has just about every type of competition you can ask for from all the action shooting disciplines to the old school Silhouette shooting and even a Buffalo Gun match. Their PRS style match leaves a little to be desired but is a good introductory match. Currently, on the 3rd weekend of the month, Paul and Jeremy put on an Action Pistol Match on Saturday, followed by a PCSL 2 gun match on Sunday. If one is willing, you can stay on Saturday afternoon to help reset the ranges for the PCSL match and shoot it. I did this on the 17th which made for a long day but fit my work schedule.
The Match
The Action Pistol match is unique but a great style of match for those wanting to get into the action shooting sports or just wanting to have fun and socialize with others who enjoy firearms. Think of it as a watered down USPSA or IDPA match. This match consists of 3 stages, is usually less than 100 rounds if you shoot it clean, and has fixed firing positions shooters are required to move to during the course of fire. They use USPSA targets with everything scored as major power factor. They allow 22lr and up for pistols. I have not seen a PCC there, but I bet they would let you shoot. There is no sign up on Practiscore, just show up, pay your $20 and shoot. After the match, there is a lunch provided and a raffle for prizes that will get you your $20 back in merchandise.
The crowd at this range is quite diverse. You have serious shooters just wanting to get out and shoot. These folks are usually trying out a new gun or want to work on something specific. There is an older crowd who maybe used to shoot USPSA or IDPA but do not want as competitive of an atmosphere. You will also see entire families with mom, dad, and teenagers who are just getting out. Often it appears that dad is the shooter but has convinced everyone to take their static, flat range skills to the next level. I would also say that this match has the highest percentage of women compared to any others I have attended. I think the option for 22lr and the lack of focus on speed is a draw for many of them. With that said I have not shot Steel Challenge which has a large 22lr population.
The only down side of this match is that you never know how many people are going to show. I shot the match in June and August this year. The June match had squads over 30 people while this most recent had squads around 20. With no timing out on stages, it can take quite a while get through a stage. I was the first shooter on the first stage and then the last shooter on the second stage. I had quite a break between stages.
Stages
The first stage was an all-steel stage. This bay has two permanent plate racks but the club changes out what is on the racks. Currently one is set with six-inch circles while the other is set with half size bowling pins. The stage called for shooting from four positions, using the center position twice. At the outer positions, the shooter engaged two static steel, cleared the rack, then returned to the static steel for one more hit on each, ten rounds clean. The outer sides were the same while the shooter picked which side to shoot from. The center position had five hanging gongs: four, six-inch and one, eight-inch. The center position would be the shooter’s second and last position. I was cold on this stage so I took it easy and confirmed my dot a little more than required. I finished the stage in 31.37, the 5th fastest time/best hit factor of the day.
The second stage was a paper and steel mix. Three positions, all required ten hits, two on all steel and paper. The first two positions each had three paper with a steel circle on each end while the final position had five steel. All engagements were about ten yards to keep the steel safe. I shot this stage fairly clean with only one or two steel make up shots. The start position was on slick concrete, so I did slip a bit coming out of that position. The slip caused me to drop the magazine I was reloading which was a good drill for me to move to the next magazine. I planned to change between each position anyway to have extra rounds and practice a reload moving each direction. I had the 7th place hit factor on this stage and a video can be found here.
The third and final stage of the day was an all-paper stage. All stages were 30 rounds so it was 15 paper targets with some no shoots on the first array. This stage had four firing positions with two targets at the first, five at the second and fourth and three at the third position. The fourth position made the shooter cover about an 80-degree arc while shooting those five targets. I think these were all closer to five yards, so it was a very fast paced stage. I decided to let it rip on this one and it paid off. My footwork and reloads were clean, I only threw five C’s which I was happy with. I ended with the second highest hit factor on this stage. I was a second behind the two who finished ahead of me in the match, but I had more A’s.
All in all, it was a fun match. The match comes with lunch included and they often have five to ten items to raffle off. The process for lunch and raffle takes a little more than 30 minutes. This is a great starter match for anyone looking to get into USPSA or any other sport that requires moving and shooting. It is also a good event for families or the less mobile people out there.