As I write this, it’s been over four months since the match was held, so I decided to print a copy of the match booklet to refresh my memory. Flipping open the cover, I’m reminded by the first page of the great match staff that was assembled. Talented and experienced people at every position, from the Assistant MD, to Range Master, stats, and an additional seventeen certified SOs. As MD, this was "my match", but there’s no way it would have come off successfully without this great bunch of guys (and gals, as my twin girls again served as stats runners). Over the years that our club, the North West Practical Pistol Association (NWPPA), has hosted the Washington State IDPA Championship (WASIDPAC), I think we’ve developed a reputation for two things; at least one big "circus stage", with lots of movement, various forms of mechanical and electrical activators of targets and port covers, etc., and The Long Range Stage. We have access to the Pistol Range with its 50-yard berm, next to the action bays at Renton Fish & Game Club, and always put it to arguably good use. For the ’08 match, I consciously tried to go in a somewhat different direction, and focus on short, quick-and-dirty stages, while still providing variety and that Long Range Stage.

Welcoming Committee, was an 8-round Vickers scenario, that started with the competitor seated in a car. I would have liked a holstered start, as the scenario involved an ambush/home invasion, developing as the car is being parked in the garage, but in-car draws create safety issues so we did a "ready" start. With no cover at the open-door start position, the first two threats are engaged in Tactical Sequence, exit the car for the cover of the garage, then engage two more. The last two targets were close, and spaced fairly far apart, so a very obvious pieing was required; a lot of people were caught out, and either set up too deep and got cover calls, or set-up too shallow, and had to make a dramatic reposition to get the last target. After a retention reload was performed, the competitor moved to stage two, set up in the same shooting bay.

Left, Right, or Center, was the first of the "choice" stages. Generally, NWPPA matches feature stages with very specific procedures, designated reloading areas, engagement sequences, etc., and they can be shot only one way. This is both a matter of equity, and one of safety, as the SO should be able to anticipate the actions of the shooter. For WASIDPAC08, we had a number of stages that gave the shooter a choice or choices. Left, Right, or Center was a 6-round, mini-mart hold-up stage, the main prop being a long counter with a low, wide port above it. As the name implies, the competitor could shoot everything through that central port, or go to either or both ends of the counter. The array consisted of three targets, about ten yards downrange in a roughly El Presidente-style arrangement. A short wall was set up about halfway between the counter and two of the targets. If engaged through the port, only head shots were available. By going to the sides of the counter, the change in perspective exposed the targets entirely; take the head shots, or take the time to reposition for easier shots? Those confident in their ability to make the head shots fired everything through the port. As a shooter, competing in ESR, I didn’t want to risk reload-inducing make-up shots, but didn’t want to have to go to both ends of an 8’ counter, either. Being a southpaw, I ducked left on the draw, engaged the completely-exposed T1 around the end of the counter, then rose up slightly, engaged the head of T2 and the full T3 through the central port, and got my hits.

Stage three was contributed by our neighbors at the North Whidbey Sportsmen’s Association. This stage was a fairly complex home-invasion scenario. The competitor started in a seated position, and then had to negotiate some window treatments (we used to call ‘em curtains) to engage the first array, then open and move through a door, engage a swinging target activated by the door, then a Pepper Popper that activated a clamshell, then a bit of movement to get to the last array.

Little Red Corvette was another stage that offered choices. Two walls provided cover. The competitor could engage everything from the first wall, including a 15 yd. head shot, or they could maneuver downrange, cutting the head shots, and those on a target covered by a non-threat, to seven yards. I spent a half-hour painting a red and white, two-dimensional ‘57 Corvette in which the last two targets were "seated". Since most of the stages were very simple, we spent a lot of energy on the presentation, with construction and window-dressing to enhance the realism. It sort of bit me on the next stage, Refueling.

The scenario, set when gasoline prices were creeping toward $5.00/gallon in the Seattle area, involved some Bad Men trying to steal gas from a motorist filling-up at the station. A club member contributed some large boxes that represented a gas pump, dressed with a donated nozzle and hose, and an ATM complete with keypad. Viewing pictures of the match, a friend asked why we’d use a gas pump as cover in a shoot-out? In retrospect, I should have swapped the two props, but since I didn’t think of the implications in the weeks leading up to the match, would I think of it if such a scenario were to play-out on the street?

Car Impound Carnage: Dope dealers have traced their stolen car, and the junk that’s in the trunk, to the impound yard. They’re not going to let a security guard and attendant prevent them from recovering their illicit property. This stage was set up in the only permanent structure in any of the bays, "Fort Runamuck". Three narrow windows in one wall served as ports, and the deep table set underneath prevented competitors from being able to pie any one port to engage all targets. Following a retention reload, it was on to Pipe Dream.

Stage seven came courtesy of the 2008 Nevada State IDPA Championship. I had asked fellow club members for stage ideas, and got a hold of the match booklet from the Nevada match as a result. Oh, boy, another "choices" stage! This was shot through a barrel, open on both ends, set at waist height. Three targets were arrayed El Prez-style, and the distance proved very important, as the choice presented was, either engage the bodies of the targets with two-each, or the heads with one-each. I ran this by a number of shooting buddies, inquiring as to the tipping point; when would they take the head shots? Seven yards? Three? One surprised me by saying he’d take the body shots, no matter the distance. Finally, I think the targets were set at about six yards. Being something of a dabbler in the revolver arts myself, I decided to take the three head shots as I usually take extreme care with every shot; three vs. six was a no-brainer. Others hosed the six body shots, and plenty of those folks beat me.

Convenience Store Holdup was the most elaborate stage, if not quite equaling the complexity of some stages at past matches. This one not only featured the toughest shooting challenges, but some truly beautiful stage dressing. The scenario has the disarmed competitor hostage in the back room of the convenience store, with one of the imaginary hold-up men wiring the safe with explosives. A locksmith/staff member provided a floor safe (available for purchase during the match) for the start position. Getting the drop on the safecracker started the action, then opening a door activated a swinger mounted with two targets. Moving through the door revealed the store’s "aisles", in this case walls decorated with dozens of food packages, carefully hot-glued in place. Moving past the soy milk and Tofurkey to the first port, the competitor was presented with a popper that activated a "flopper" (similar to the clamshell, except the pop-up target does not stop at vertical, but continues through 180 degrees). This stage required three-each per target, and even getting-off three aimed shots at the flopper was more than some shooters could manage. Ask me how I know. This was followed, past the frozen foods, by a popper-activated drop-turner that featured an awful lot of painted-on hard cover. As I made my rounds on match day, I’d often stop to watch this stage, and there was usually much exulting when there were three scoring hits on both flopper and turner.

At the Park featured soft cover provided by a large camo net. The bay in which this stage was set is surround by trees, and there are more in the bay itself, so as the sun moved across the sky, it provided varying amounts of light and shadow, and with the addition of a bit of gun smoke, the targets could be hard to find through the cover.

Next came Sgt. York. I’ve wanted to do this stage for years. If realism is a goal in our scenarios, then there’s nothing more real than an actual historical event. Look up the story of Alvin C. York’s exploits, if they’re not familiar. The procedure required that seven targets, at distances from three to fifteen yards, be engaged one-each in REVERSE Tactical Priority. A club member provided a non-functional M1903 Springfield rifle as a prop, and another delivered some sandbags to further the Great War ambience. Luckily, the Tennessee sharpshooter was a better marksman than I.

Barbershop Troubles utilized an actual barber chair as a prop. There was a "High Plains Drifter" ambience to this stage, with the sheet-draped competitor seated in the chair for the start. Retrieve gun from the coat stand, then use the cover of the chair to engage the bad guys. This stage initially consisted only of chair, coat stand, and three targets. Looking more like Barber Chair on the Prairie than a barber shop, I added a low table, chairs, and some wall sections to make it look more like the inside of a room. The last two targets were engaged strong-hand only, simulating a wound from incoming fire.

While everyone loves to shoot scenarios, we’ve always included a couple of skills drills, to keep people honest. One side of our Pistol Range has the aforementioned 50-yard berm, while the other is close, about fifteen yards. We usually use the latter for a strong/weak/reload stage of some sort. This year, it consisted of three targets in line, at distances of six, nine, and twelve yards. Start with gun downloaded to six rounds. Engage T1 with six, slidelock reload; engage T2 with six, strong-hand, retention reload; engage T3 with six, weak-hand. Fun.

Occasional Targets Out to 35 Yards was last. While the intent of the annual long-range stage is to provide the Master class shooters a chance to show their prowess, it’s always the case that a Marksman comes through to push them for the stage win. For the staff, there’s also the fear that a shooter will "game" this stage. Vickers scoring is at its best on stages in which the vast majority of the time is spent shooting, but when there’s lots of movement, slow splits, or perhaps, lots of extra shots, anomalies are introduced. The stage consisted of three Pepper Poppers at 35 yards, and two IDPA targets, engaged four-each, at 30 yards. The best shooters were doing this stage in about twenty seconds. It was possible to finish mid-pack by shooting the minimum number of rounds - 11 - as quickly as possible and getting only a couple of hits, or having a "gun problem" that would result in application of alternate DNF scoring method. Even though we’ve had concerns every year, there’s never been a shooter who didn’t make a legitimate attempt to get all the hits, even if it meant their score would suffer. Hmmm; maybe every stage involves choices?

WASIDPAC also featured great weather, a good lunch catered by a local BBQ, and a healthy prize table. A few weeks later, the match staff got together for a little celebration of another successful championship. Acquaintances were renewed, stories told, and discussions of a 2009 match were begun. It’s on the calendar now.