"In what was probably the hardest course of fire in some time, I was able to win the Production Category at the USPSA Nationals in Tulsa.  It was a tough battle and no one in the running finished without a penalty.  Second overall was Arizona's own British import, Angus Hobdell, with Dave Sevigny coming in third.  Angus shot some of the best stages I've ever seen him shoot.  All in all, he was impressive and fun to watch.  Dave also ran some amazing stages, as was expected.

It was a back and fourth seesaw all four days with Matt Mink, Angus and Dave taking turns setting the fastest times on most of the stages.  I just tried to be steady and screw up as little as possible, hoping consistency would win the day.  It did.  In the end, I had 2 no-shoots, 2 misses, and only managed to win 3 of the 18 stages, but I had won!  As I said, it was a hard match!

Coming into the last day, I was told by various sources that I had a 20, 30, and then a 40-point lead.  I had not checked scores myself, so I just shot conservatively on the first of our last three stages.  Dave put in a run that was nearly identical to mine.  I was very nervous and up first on the penultimate stage.  I shot a no-shoot in a doorway about 3 feet away.  It was not a miss that caused it, I just mistakenly shot the first thing I saw!  Pretty stupid stuff, huh?  I recovered with a good time (even after an unplanned but necessary reload), but had tossed away a few points.  On the final stage, I was up last in the squad.  Matt Mink was first and shot an order from the last position that we all thought would work, but turned out to be impossible.  That, unfortunately, cost him a lot of points, and maybe a position or two.  The good news was that the rest of the squad now knew how NOT to do it.  Sorry Matt!  I went through the stage smoothly with all my hits in a good time.  I was being very deliberate, (I didn't want to repeat my last stage antics at the Limited Nationals) and held my lead.  It was a very satisfying win for me, as I knew Dave would be very hard to beat in production.  I guess it's kind of strange that we each won categories this year that the other probably should have won ... Just goes to show that anything can happen at a match

Thanks to Squad 24, I had a great time.  Travis remember, rotate the wrists forward.  Someone take Taran's throat reamer away from him, and Phil, try to get out and practice at least one tenth as often as Zoolander! ;-)

The USSA facility is going to be one of if not the finest shooting complexes in the world when completed.  The enthusiasm and capability of the management staff is unlike anything I have ever seen at a public facility.  Shooters, you owe it to yourself to get there in the future!  Tom Fee, Kelly, Phil, Mike, Kevin and James - Congratulations on a match well run.  To hold a USPSA Nationals at a brand new facility and only encounter one problem (poppers) is a major feat!  Your hard work and long hours were evident.  You have made amazing progress in a very short time.  I'm looking forward to competing again at USSA very soon ... and on a regular basis."  Rob