WATCH: 2010 USPSA Area 6 Championships
It was a whirlwind of a weekend! Area 6 was my first major match of the year. With only a week and a half of shooting since the IDPA Nationals last September, my goal at this match was to shake off the cobwebs. Let me tell you there were a lot of them! I got in Thursday evening, shot all day Friday and departed bright and early on Saturday. I knew I was going to be tired and it would be a long day of shooting, but it was all worth it to experience challenging courses of fire, warm weather and to see old friends.
Area 6 doesn’t disappoint. Hosted by the South River Gun Club, one of the clubs I have had the pleasure to call home, it was wonderful to come back to smiling faces and experience that renowned southern hospitality. Honestly, this match could be a national. There are certainly enough competitors. A whopping 380+ shot the event!
The stages are always complex at Area 6 with plenty of props, steel and moving targets. This is a difficult match to just show up to – exactly what I did! For a competition of this caliber, I try to arrive a day early to scope out the stages. Just a quick trip down to Georgia, that wasn’t possible for me this time. The intricate stages, with targets that could be seen from multiple positions and moving targets with critical activators, were definitely a challenge. The match tested my ability to figure out a plan for almost every stage. Fortunately, I was in a wonderful squad with my Smith & Wesson teammate Gordon Carrell as well as champion shooters Dave Sevigny and Randi Rogers. It was a group effort. What a great squad!
My new Smith & Wesson Pro Series 9mm 1911 and mags have not been major match tested. I still can’t believe how great this gun feels and as a result I had some really good stages – Top 3 on three stages and eight Top 10 finishes. The courses of fire tested so many skills! I have a good to-do list of things to work on before the USPSA Single Stack Nationals that are just around the corner.
Guns & Gear:
Pete Single Custom Smith & Wesson Pro Series 9mm 1911
w/ Warren Tactical Sights, Stan Chen Magwell, VZ Grips, & Ionbond finish
I was back home by Saturday evening. Then it was just a matter of waiting for the match to conclude on Sunday for the results. I was the Single Stack Ladies Champion and to my surprise, I placed 5th Overall in the division! I am already looking forward to the upcoming nationals and competing against the best Single Stack shooters in the world.
Congratulations to all the winners! As always, a huge thank you to Smith & Wesson and my sponsors. Thanks also go out to Match Director Cindy Noyes, Area 6 Director Charles Bond and the hard-working range officers for a fantastic Area 6 Championships.
