2018: My Competitive Shooting Year In Review

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”  Charles Dicken’s famous quote seems particularly appropriate as I look back at my 2018 year in competitive shooting.  There were many highs, and several lows – I want to learn and build upon each as I prepare for the 2019 shooting season.

The first match of the year for me was the 2018 US Steel Shoot on March 27th.  The US Steel Shoot is a level III Steel Challenge event which is 2nd only to the World Speed Shoot in the pecking order of Steel Challenge major matches.  Not the ideal choice for the 1st match after a long Ohio Winter of inactivity.  This would also be only my 2nd time shooting all eight Steel Challenge stages.  Predictably, my placements in this prestigious event were somewhat disappointing.  In Carry Optics, I managed 4th place in B Class, and 14th out of 20 in the Division.  I had hoped to at least make top 3 in my class.  My PCCO score was even worse.  The match is held in Covington, GA, and I made this mistake of taking a sleep aid the night before the match – I felt sluggish all the next day.  Still, it was a great match and great experience too.

Barely a week after the US Steel Shoot, I shot a local USPSA Classifier Match at Pickaway County (PCSI) on April 7th.  I ended up coming in 1st Place out of 54 shooters shooting PCC, and 20th in Carry Optics (2nd in the Division).  This was the validation of my winter training regime I was looking for.  Things seemed to be off to a much better start.

Two weeks later I returned to PCSI to shoot a Level I Steel Challenge match, and once again fortune smiled.  Overall, I finished 7th out of 89, shooting PCCO (2nd in the Division).  In the Main Match, I finished 8th out of 54 shooting Carry Optics (1st in the Division).  89 was a pretty large Level I match so again I felt like I was on the right patch with my dry and live fire training for the matches ahead of me.

The next weekend (April 22nd) would be a match which I had looked forward to for months – the first ever JP Enterprises PCC Championship.  The Friday before the match I got up and went to my local range and fired about 200 practice rounds, then drove 3 hours to the match in Indiana.  I then walked stages for a good 3 hours.  The following morning I got to the match, and stepped up to the line of my first stage.  After firing exactly six shots, my beloved SIG MPX went “single shot” and would not cycle properly – a problem I would later learn after sending the rifle back to the factory was in the piston.  I imagine the gun had about 7000 rounds through it at that point, so I suppose it was due.  I stayed the rest of the day and helped paste and reset stages for my squad as any good competitor should, but I was of course extraordinarily disappointed.  It was also this weekend that I started noticing an unusual twinge in my back.

On May 12th, The Greene County Fish & Game Steel Challenge League started for the 2018 season – the league ran through September.  Shooting Carry Optics, I came in 1st place out of 33 shooters.  The match was an “outlaw” steel match, so none of the stages were uploaded to SCSA, but it was a fun match that happened twice a month providing a great opportunity for practice.  The morning of the match, my back was really starting to hurt so I took some ibuprofen.  By the time I got home from the match, I could barely walk.  I was in an incredible amount of pain with back spasms in my lower back.  My doctor sent me to physical therapy, and after 2 steroid packs and several sessions, the pain began to subside and mobility started returning – I missed 2 weeks of matches and practice, including the 2018 USPSA Ohio State Championship (Buckeye Blast) on May 25th, and the Michigan State Steel Challenge Championship on June 1st.

July and August were relatively pain-free months for me.  I continued to shoot, as well as dry and live fire practice, but I was cautioned against doing the things I usually do to keep in shape including running (treadmill) and lifting weights.  Two of my best majors for the year came during this time including the Indiana Steel Challenge State Championship on July 7th (Level II), and the Area 5 Steel Challenge Championship on July 27th.  I shot my best ever (to date) time for 8 stages in Carry Optics with a 142.25, but placed just 3rd in B Class and my Division.  I shot a 106.27 in PCCO which was good for 17th out of 25 in PCCO.  I trained very hard for this match, and thought it would take at least a 140  to win the division.  So I was very, very close to my goal and only made a couple of errors during the entire match.

Two weeks later I returned to the same Indiana range near Terra Haute for the Area 5 match – a Level III event.  I shot significantly worse at the match than I had two weeks prior, with a 147.16, but this time I managed 2nd in B Class, and 5th in the Divison which is significantly better than US Steel Shoot from March (where I shot a 152.13).  I also shot a career-best time of 100.58 in PCC (I REALLY wanted to break 100 seconds) but that score was still only good for 38th out 67 competitors in the Division and 5th in A Class  – it was difficult to conceive how such a good time finished so far down the list, but I was happy.

I didn’t shoot any Majors in August but did shoot the September 1st Kentucky State Steel Challenge Championship.  This match was BRUTALLY hot – I ended up shooting on Friday with the RO’s and learned a valuable lesson…don’t shoot on Friday with the RO’s.  I shot a reasonably OK 145.77 in Carry Optics, which was good for 1st in B Class and 3rd in the Division – virtually the same placements I had the year prior when they held the inaugural Kentucky State Steel Challenge Championship with a score of 150.53.  In PCCO I shot a miserable 109.55 – a full 4 seconds slower than the year prior.  I blame it on the incredible heat and humidity of that match.

Shortly after this match, my back issues began to resurface – this time with shooting pains down the back of my right leg (whereas they had been on the left leg during the previous back episode).  This was hugely disappointing to me and extremely frustrating.  I hadn’t really been able to take part in any matches this year where there was a significant amount of running.  I had also put on about 20 lbs due to the inability to work out.  I went ahead and got x-rays, and found out I had significant arthritis in my lower back.  Being just 48 years old, I was initially shocked, but also relieved it wasn’t a more debilitating problem.

October 13th, GCF&G  held their Steel Challenge League year-end celebration – I ended up taking 3rd in the League.  I would have finished higher were not for having to miss matches due to my back issues.  During the celebration, we shot a Pro Am style match, where I came in 2nd place (winning $40.00) shooting PCC – I got 23 of 24 targets in 30 seconds.  We also shot a shotgun side stage where I took 1st place hitting 15 targets in 14 seconds and change.  Very fun event!

On October 20th, I shot my last Steel Challenge major for 2018 – the Tennessee “Dead Zero” Steel Challenge State Championship.  I decided to shoot in four different divisions – my usual Carry Optics Open and PCC as well as Production and Rimfire Rifle Open.  It was a great match for me – the best of the 2018 shooting season (you can read about it here) and a great capstone for the year.

WHAT AM I PLANNING FOR 2019?

I plan to take off the rest of November and some of December – no dry fire.  I’ll probably shoot the Sim-Trainer Tuesday night match, but I’ll switch to my CCW set up.  Any weekend live fire I do will be purely for fun.  I definitely need to recharge the batteries, particularly after all the dry fire practice I did leading up to competing in four different divisions at the Tennessee State Steel Challenge Championship.  In December or January I believe a local indoor range will start up an indoor USPSA match.

The most significant match I plan to shoot in 2019, and perhaps the most significant match of my shooting career will be the 2019 World Speed Shooting Championship in May of 2019 (15th-19th).  I will also likely return to the Area 5 Steel Challenge Championship which will be June 28th-30th.  I’d like to shoot the Michigan Steel Challenge Championship (not yet announced) and the Kentucky State Championship is too close to me not to attend.  Beyond that, Greene County Fish & Game will be holding legitimate Steel Challenge matches in 2019, and hopes to one day host an Ohio State Steel Challenge Championship.  Given how early in the year it is, I doubt I’ll be shooting the US Steel Shoot/Nationals in 2019, which is a shame because it is a fun match with a strong celebrity shooter presence.

In terms of USPSA Majors, I will again register for, and hopefully shoot the Buckeye Blast at Briar Rabbit currently scheduled for May 31st – June 2nd (thank goodness it’s now the weekend AFTER Memorial Day weekend).  The USPSA Area 5 match will be also be held at Briar Rabbit the weekend after Labor Day, September 5th-8th.  USPSA will also be returning to Miamisburg Sportsman’s Club for 2019 so I should be able to shoot all the monthly matches.  The Oxford match is also very good so I’m hoping to make a majority of those matches as well.  That way I can shoot Carry Optics at one match, and PCC at the other.  All of this, of course, is greatly dependent upon my back.  I’m hoping some changes I can make in the off-season will make a big difference – right now, hard running is painful.

Most of the majors I’ll shoot next year (with the exception of the World Speed Shoot) will be only a 2-3 hour drive.  The only other major match I know I want to travel to and attend for 2019 will be the Pro-Am in Covington Georgia.  No firm dates have yet to be announced (as of this writing), but I look for it to be in August again (even though August in North Georgia sounds all kinds of miserable).  Anyone and Everyone I’ve ever spoken to absolutely loves this match.  And SIG Sauer is the premier sponsor – what’s not to like?

In terms of 3-Gun, The Southington Hunt Club in Garrettsville, OH will be taking over for the 2019 Ohio State Multi-Gun match, and the match is currently scheduled for May 3-5th.  Garrettsville is up near Cleveland, about 3.5 hours from me.  Very little is known about the match at this point but I’m hoping it will be a match I want to shoot, though with it being so close to the World Speed Shooting Championship, it’s doubtful I’ll be able to make it.

Southwest Ohio used to have a vibrant and active 3-Gun community.  Much has happened to the detriment of SW Ohio 3-Gun over the past 1-2 years, not the least of which is the near-total implosion of 3-GUN NATION.  I know of at least 3 different local matches which have either gone away altogether or become completely irrelevant.  Back in 2016, there was a good local match to shoot nearly every weekend.  So it’s really disappointing that Southwest Ohio 3-Gun has atrophied to such an extent.  Hopefully, 2019 will be a rebuilding year.

Nearly every year I try to do some sort of training in firearms.  I’m already planning on taking a USPSA Range Officer training course, with the Steel Challenge endorsement.  I have almost no desire whatsoever to RO USPSA matches – I don’t mind running a timer, but I HATE scoring.  But, I would like to get a better handle on the rules, so becoming a Certified RO is a good way to do that.  I’d also like to be able to help RO local Level I Steel Challenge matches.  It’s something I’ve done this past year informally, and I do enjoy it.  I’m certified as an RO in 3-GUN NATION and I’ve nearly always enjoyed ROing local 3-Gun matches.  Who knows?  Maybe after I take the class, I won’t mind scoring in USPSA.

In the next installment of this series, I’ll try to identify some specific issues/problems that I need to fix in my shooting and identify steps to address those shortcomings.  I’ll also be taking a look at my gear – what worked, and what didn’t for 2018, and what changes I will make in 2019.