This week on the podcast, I discuss some aspects of both the 2024 Area 6 and Carolina Classic matches: staff reset and cash-only sponsorship, as well as the video coverage of the recent USPSA Handgun Nationals. To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL. #uspsa #ipscshooting #ncsection #area6
#130: Alabama Section (2024)
This week I discuss my trip to the Alabama Section match, and my larger project of trying to visit matches and interact with members from Area 6, as well as give some general updates on the progress of the USPSA board. To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL.
#117: Stepping Stone Matches
This week on the podcast, I discuss the differences between level one matches that are run as a stepping stone to shooting bigger matches as compared to ones that are the destination. To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL.
#116: Sponsorships
This week on the podcast, I make some observations on the current structure of match sponsorships and discuss why the prevailing arrangement at most major matches leaves something to be desired. Links: To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL.
#111: Chrono at the Carolina Classic (2023)
This week on the podcast, I talk about how things went running chrono at the 2023 Carolina Classic. To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL.
#110: Carolina Classic (2023), Part 1
This week on the podcast, I talk about things that went well and lessons learned from this year’s Carolina Clasic match. To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL.
#107: Training Cycles
This week on the podcast, I talk about how I break down my training for each major match into early, middle, and late cycle training and what types of drills I work on to progress through each phase of the cycle. To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL.
#102: Locap Recap, Part 2
This week on the podcast, I finish my stage-by-stage coverage of the 2023 Blue Grass Locap Classic, finishing with stages 7-11. To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL. Links:– Blue Grass Locap match video
#101: Locap Recap, Part 1
This week on the podcast I talk through my strategy and lessons learned from stages 1 through 5 of the Blue Grass Locap match, with a brief USPSA board update at the end. To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL. Links:– Blue Grass Locap match video– Candidate Bio and Q&A
#100: Blue Grass Locap (2023)
This week on the podcast, I talk about the excellent Blue Grass Locap Classic, and talk about all the features that made it an outstanding match. Links:– My Blue Grass Locap Classic video – Scott Arnburg on the Paracast
#96: South Carolina Section (2023)
The week on the podcast, I talk through my thoughts and impressions of how the 2023 South Carolina Section Championship match went. (Spoiler: it was really good.) To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL.
#88: Major Match Schedule
This week on the podcast, I talk through the five major matches I’m planning to shoot this year, why I’m interested in them, and why I won’t be shooting USPSA Nationals until things improve.
#80: Chrono at the Carolina Classic 2022
This week on the podcast, I talk about things that went well and lessons learned from running chrono and equipment check at the Carolina Classic this past year. For the email exchange I mention during the episode about random sampling of competitors and cheating, see this blog post. To subscribe the podcast, just search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL.
#79: Carolina Classic 2022 Lessons Learned
This week on the podcast, I go over how I shot the 2022 Carolina Classic, as well as review things that went well and lessons learned from how the match was run.
Match Video: 2022 Carolina Classic
As usual, I shot this match on staff day (Friday) and worked Saturday and Sunday. (This year, I was working chrono, which will be the topic of future posts and podcasts, but we’ll leave that for another day.) Coming into this match, I wasn’t feeling particularly trained up. I’d only shot about 5,000 rounds all year, and had no consistent dry fire schedule. To be honest, it was hard to summon the motivation to work hard at a sport that I saw as going so badly off the rails as the year went on. Since announcing my run for Area … Read More
SC Section 2022 Wrapup
Going into this match, my expectations were pretty low. Despite the weather turning nice recently, I had been sidelined from practicing or dry firing by a hand injury until about two weeks before the match. That said, in retrospect, I had the advantage of not having really changed my gear setup in years, so everything was very familiar. Boring does occasionally have its upsides. Going into the match, I was particularly worried about fumbling mags on reloads from further back on the belt, but that ended up being a non-issue. The one new piece of gear for this match was … Read More
Carolina Classic 2021 Wrapup
The North Carolina Section match is over, and once again it went as well as it could. All the usual stuff like walking the prize table, staff reset, and five minute walkthroughs made this one of the best matches of the year for competitors. This is the third year that Steph has been the Section Coordinator and the process of planning and executing the match gets smoother every year. Setup Thursday was the build day, and it was mostly uneventful. When I was helping with setting up Stage 4, which was my design, the setup we’d used at a club … Read More
Chrono: Trust, but verify
This is post 5 of 5 in the series “2020 Carolina Classic” A series about things that went well in the 2020 Carolina Classic Match Format & Stage Inspection Walking the Prize Table Five Minute Walkthroughs Staff Reset Chrono: Trust, but verify The way that most major matches run chrono, including Nationals in my experience, would be trivially easy to cheat if you wanted to. Just keep a box or mag of full-power chrono ammo in your bag and take it with you when you walk up to chrono, and you can use whatever else you want for the rest … Read More
Staff Reset
This is post 4 of 5 in the series “2020 Carolina Classic” A series about things that went well in the 2020 Carolina Classic Match Format & Stage Inspection Walking the Prize Table Five Minute Walkthroughs Staff Reset Chrono: Trust, but verify When you pay your match fee for a Level 2 or above match, what are you actually buying? Debugged stages? Consistent staff for every stage? More competition? Trophies? I submit that it is also entirely reasonable for big matches to have staff do all the pasting and reset for you, leaving you to just worry about refilling your … Read More
Five Minute Walkthroughs
This is post 3 of 5 in the series “2020 Carolina Classic” A series about things that went well in the 2020 Carolina Classic Match Format & Stage Inspection Walking the Prize Table Five Minute Walkthroughs Staff Reset Chrono: Trust, but verify It’s become somewhat common at matches to cut walkthroughs down to 4 or even 3 minutes in an effort, misguided in my opinion, to save time and get more shooters through the match. First, this is bad for competitors. On any given stage, one of two things will be true. Either the stage will have a small shooting … Read More