2022 South Carolina Regional Tournament Match Report

[H_T_Davis]

Hi All,
It’s been a couple of weeks since the 2022 South Carolina Match Pistol Regional, and after a mini-vacation, we’re ready to take a look back at it.

Thursday, we had practice. Everything seemed fine. You’d think that you’d notice if something major was astray, but NOOOooooo, it was all just ducky ( and ask any nearby Marine just what kind of “ducky” it was to gauge my position).

Friday – Short Course Day. No, strike that, 2 Back-To-Back Short Course 2700s Day. Absolutely not a moment of slack from 8:00am to 6:00pm. Slow Fire went swimmingly, I thought. A lot of shooters HATE that Reduced Slow Fire target, but it’s SO CLOSE, people, JUST SHOOT IN THE MIDDLE! With that safely navigated, it was on to the Short Line and NMC Timed Fire. The targets faced just fine, and half the targets edged just fine after 20 seconds. Now, the OTHER half, well there’s the problem. I sure wish this had happened on Thursday, when we could have made time to fix it. Luckily, Eric Lawrence and several other freelance Pneumatics Enthusiasts leapt into gear and started a-workin’. Roughly 45 minutes later, things were about as good as they were going to be – not perfect, but workable. As the temperatures rose, things worked better, but let’s just say that no one was wearing sunglasses on those last Rapid Fire targets of the day. At least it was the Short Course and not the Main Event. Onward to Saturday.

It has been the tradition, of late, to have the reigning South Carolina State Champion fire the opening shot at that year’s Regional. Unfortunately, this year’s champion, Expert Mack Williams, was unavailable. Now, we could have invoked the “Miss America Rule,” whereby the runner-up Grayson Palmer would have donned the tiara. Instead, we opted to invite all Double-Distinguished (Service PISTOL and Service RIFLE) shooters to fire the opening shot simultaneously. That certain shooters elected to fire a .22 was beyond my control.

The .22 900 was a closely contested affair, seeing nearly 1 in 5 shooters break 870. Dan Kupar set the mark, firing a match high 886-46x, with the AMU’s Jason Gregoire (880-46x) and (tiara-less) Grayson Palmer (880-37x) rounding out the 880-Club. Shane Murphy was the high Master (874-34x), Amira Sleem was the high Expert (871-26x), and V. Lenss was the high Sharpshooter/Marksman (824-17x).

We squeezed in the.22 Rimfire match just before the break, placing 25 shooters on the line. Jason Gregoire won the thing overall with a loose 296-15x (flyers all over the place), but he’s already distinguished. Seoul Brother+ Shelly Liu (279-6x) came in 2nd, and needing the points, should take an 8 point leg, and Al Mosley (277-6x) may well pick up a 6-point leg himself.

After an outstanding lunch of freshly grilled Sirloin Steak Sandwiches, Pasta Salad and Fresh Fruit, and perhaps nursing a mild case of postprandial somnolence, we met back up for a little Centerfire action. Dan followed up his outstanding .22 performance with solid 870-37x, while Shane kept chugging along, gaining momentum, this time taking the Centerfire match with an 873-39x. No other shooters topped 870, but Shelly Liu fired an Expert-class best 858-16x, while V. held onto the title for Sharpshooter/ Marksman with an 808-17x.

Unfortunately, with daylight in short supply, we had to choose between the two remaining events left on Saturday’s schedule. The Center-Shootout was scrubbed and a relay of Service Revolver/Pistol was run to accommodate shooters with time demands on Sunday.

Dinner. What can I say? No real surprises here for the old hands – Pulled-Pork BBQ brought in from the other side of Atlanta (an 8+ hour roundtrip from Orangeburg), home-made Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans and Cole Slaw, and nearly all the pickle spears Heim can eat. And Karen’s wonderful Pecan Pies. And of course, a surprise after all- Home-made Blackberry Cobbler, made with fresh blackberries. Ask Ed Grove if it was edible.

It was a bit cool all three days, but with the finish line in sight, we all shook it off and toed the line. Grayson was Mr. Consistent with his trusty .45, allowing him to take the High Master’s .45 match with an 878-41x. Jason and Seoul Brother+ Jordan Kramp were hot on his heels with 875-44x and 874-35x, respectively. The problem for these guys, though, was that Shane caught fire and took the Master class with a mighty 884-39x - the only 880+ shot outside of the .22 match. Seoul Brother+ Joe Chang topped the Expert class with an 856-39x, and V. again won Sharpshooter/Marksman (830-16x), completing his sweep.

While the Stat Office compiled the results, and the Craft Services staff fed everyone (Spaghetti with home-made Meat Sauce, Mandarin Orange & Almond Salad, fresh Italian Bread and Karen’s Rum Cake – you know, the usual match fare), we ran a couple of Service Pistol and Service Revolver matches. Just to get it over with - Yes, Jason won all 3 of the EIC-type matches. He shot a 370-9x in the Service Revolver match and 289-11x with Service Pistol. He won the .22 Rimfire match on Saturday, giving him his sweep. In the Service Pistol match, there were 22 competitors, but only one leg is likely, with the AMU’s Dan Byrd (278-7x) in position to collect it. On the Service Revolver side, we only had 15 shooters, and no one had their badge yet, so Jason should get a 6-pointer here. By the way, congrats to Jason on his newborn daughter, Hazel Leigh.

So, with all firing done, it was just a matter of announcing the winners, giving out all of our remaining cash and wrapping this baby up. At the end of the day, Shane Murphy took 1st Place overall with a splendid 2631-12x. Grayson Palmer claimed 2nd Place, just behind with a 2626-117x, and Dan Kupar demonstrated the advantages of vacationing with your bullseye gear, bringing in 3rd overall with a 2624-118x. Just off the Podium, Jordan Kramp finished 4th with a 2620-97x.

Jordan Kramp landed atop the High Master Class, Neil Roberts won Master with 2588-95x, Toby Cox claimed top Expert with 2556-76x, and naturally, V Lenss won Sharpshooter with a 2462-50x, with Jack Hagan finishing atop the Marksman class.

The main reason for the small Marksman class in the Main Event was that we had 6 Marksfolk shooting .22 Only. Throw in Expert Steve Huff and Sharpshooter Cheryl Rhiel, and we fielded an 8 shooter .22 Only match. Steve took 1st Overall in the match with a 2491-62x, in spite of tweaking his back the first dang day. Cheryl came in 2nd with a 2331-24x.

The AMU’s Mate Standard was named the winner of the Trianchi Cup side match. No archeologist in history has ever dug up a more arcane and indecipherable set of runes than those generated in association with the scoring of this match. Nonetheless, this in no way diminishes Mate’s victory, winning him the coveted Tri-Yankee Candle (Co.) of Marksmanship. This year’s scent? Home Sweet Home! Good Shooting Smells Good! And he got the cash, too.

And with that, another year is in the books. This year, more than ever, we benefitted by the generous nature of the participants. There is no way we could have pulled it off without their help. I know that by naming folks to Thank in particular, you run the risk of leaving someone out, but I really do need to mention a few. Special notes of Thanks go out to

Eric Lawrence, Mack Shealy and Nathan Rehm for nursing the pneumatic system through the match,
Betty McCaskill for being there ONCE AGAIN for the Shooters, in the Kitchen and elsewhere,
Cathy Gill, Donna Hollingshead, Donna’s Sister Dale for helping Karen and Betty make the Kitchen work,
The SC National Guard, for all of your Range Officer work, and all of the other things you did that I never
even knew about,
Steve Huff and Accuracy-X, for your generous contributions to the Prize Pool
Odie Hitt, for starting each of our days and meals with a prayer,
Linda Newcomer for the Peanut Brittle (all fillings survived, against all odds),
Roger Smith, for making the best of the situation you were thrown into with the Side Games,
Melinda Lowery, for the Stickers, or rather for MOST of the Stickers,
Lily Park, who spent her valuable time working our stats when she had other obligations. We are so
excited that you’ve offered to help us,
Karen, who does everything, does it well and does it without complaining, and
Of Course, The Shooters – We’re the Event, You’re the Match

Match Winners
1st Shane Murphy ($600)
2nd Grayson Palmer ($300)
3rd Dan Kupar ($150)
Class Winners
HM Jordan Kramp
MA Neil Roberts ($100), Eric Lawrence ($50)
EX Toby Cox ($100), Joe Chang ($50), Amira Sleem ($25)
SS V. Lenss ($100), Jim Fleming ($50), Russ Gill ($25)
MK Jack Hagan

Pools
.22 Rimfire Paul Bertrand ($125)
Service Pistol Paul Bertrand ($110)
Service Revolver Jason Gregoire ($75)


Other
Bounties Jim Fleming, Russ Gill (each got $25 and a Pecan Pie)
Dinner Drawings Two Shooters won $100 each
Cash For Cleans 10 Shooters won $20 each, 1 won $50 and 1 won $100
Trianchi Cup Mate Standard ($25 and the Tri-Yankee Candle (Co.) of Marksmanship)


Category Winners
Civilian Shane Murphy Military Jason Gregoire
Woman Amira Sleem Nat’l Guard Eric Lawrence
Senior Dan Kupar Police Shane Murphy
Grand Senior Ed Grove