Now, it hasn’t gone viral like a Jenna Marbles video, but for Rob it’s pretty exciting.

In the interview, Rob talks about Springfield’s newest pistol, the XDS. Check it out here and then send it to a friend!  ~Kip

I’m also trying something new this year.  In addition to my “Day Of Steel” and “Skills & Drills” classes, I am holding classes specifically for 1911 Single  Stacks ONLY and XDs ONLY.  Hoping to have good response from these two classes and am really looking forward to the training.  Should be a blast – no pun intended – and good prep for both the USPSA Single Stack and Production Nationals.

Check my TRAINING Page for all of the specifics.  Rob

2012 CLASSES TO-DATE:

• SS Competition CLASS March 16, 2012
• SS Competition CLASS March 17, 2012
• SS Competition CLASS March 18, 2012
• Day of Steel CLASS April 3, 2012
• Skills & Drills CLASS April 29, 2012
• XD / XDM Competition CLASS September 21, 2012
• XD / XDM Competition CLASS September 22, 2012
• XD / XDM Competition CLASS September 23, 2012

Look around …

If you’re a shooter, I’m glad you’re here and hope to see you at a match, the range, or a demo sometime.  Please come by and introduce yourself.

If you’re not a shooter, then I’m REALLY glad you’re here.  I hope you’ll find something that will spark your interest to:

• Visit your local shooting range
• Take a firearms lesson
• Join the NRA
• Attend an action pistol match or shooting competition
• Buy a gun and then do all of the above

Be warned though, the shooting sport events and guns are highly ADDICTIVE!  Nobody can shoot just one …

Be SAFE first, foremost and always.   Rob

Now, having said that, is there a place for a segment of our sport to use the advantages of the rimfire, (the lower cost of both ammo and guns, light recoil and less noise)? You bet. I use .22 pistols and rifles constantly in my training now, both for myself and others. But I simply can’t imagine why we would want to incorporate them into the matches we now run?

Incorporating a rimfire division would require events to be designed so differently that what we now call Practical Pistol would be unrecognizable. Matches are supposed to provide a platform for the development, training and testing of techniques and equipment that are suitable for PRACTICAL USE.  Now I’m sure that others will have a different view, but I feel we have already reduced the VIS part of the DVC equation enough. Factory rounds are now too hot to use in a match because they kick too much. Now we add .22?  I honestly feel it would really hurt the sport!

History Note:  DVC, the Latin motto Diligentia, Vis, & Celeritas, meaning accuracy, power, and speed, are recognized as the quintessential elements of IPSC, used in balance, and they are the foundation of the sport.

Our club in Mesa Az., the Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club, is Mecca for practical shooting and we have an excellent .22 match every fourth Sunday of the month that caters to the new and inexperienced shooters. It is fantastic. It exists in hopes of getting the newbie some experience with match pressure and the process of competing. This separate type of event is the natural place for the rimfire and I recommend it to everyone who wants to get into this sport.

At some point we should recognize that USPSA already has a division for everyone who wants to shoot this sport. I don’t think we need or  want to add another division just to make a home for an unsuitable category of guns. I don’t want to watch snails race, or ostrich flying contests or who can hold their breath the longest either. And in USPSA matches, I want to shoot large caliber service type pistols in courses of fire that reflect the practical use of such guns.

BTW, I love .22s!  Have lots of them and take them to the range all the time.  I just don’t want to shoot practical pistol with them. Maybe what USPSA needs is an organized type of introduction / training program for our sport. I would certainly recommend the rimfire for that!

Rob

I’m going to work up minor caliber loads for Production Division and will start by seeing how the lighter 155 grain bullets shoot. I’ll modify the gun to the same specs as my 5.25 9mm guns. I will not make any permanent mods that would make it illegal for production class, but I am going to try mag wells and extra heavy guide rods, to aid in limited class.

For Limited Division, I will explore changes to make it more competitive against the $2,500.00 dollar high-cap guns we now use. I’m guessing this will be no tough task, if my experience with the 9mm 5.25 is any indication.

My first range session was just to zero the 5.25 and while the gun functioned fine with the two factory loads I had on hand, both are way too hot for a serious competition load. All the proper speed .40 ammo I have is loaded too long to fit in the XDM magazine. This is necessary to get Single Stack and high cap 1911′s to work properly. I’ll just crank down the powder charge, go to a standard overall length and work up from there.

Recoil when compared to a 43 oz.  Single Stack Division 1911 was a little sharper, as you would expect since the gun only weighs 34.5 ounces, when weighed with empty loaded magazine. Even with that CC Tungsten guide rod installed that’s 1/2 a pound less!! When I get more weight on that frame with a big mag well, I’m going to be able to make a better comparison. As far as being able to shoot it fast, I had no trouble hitting the IDPA target’s 0-zone at 25 yards at a medium to fast pace. I will do more performance tests when I have the proper load worked up.

Here’s what I really think. For someone who loves the polymer pistols and wants a .40 for competition, this is going to be a no-brainer. You get for the price, an accurate, reliable, durable piece of equipment. Going to be interesting to see where this goes…

Rob

October 9th, 2011 in Rhodes, Greece:

Rob and Jerry Miculek were honored by the International Practical Shooting Confederation with IPSC Lifetime Achievement Awards.  The two were presented with the beautiful glass awards at the IPSC World Shoot XVI Closing Ceremonies and Banquet.

IPSC Lifetime Achievement Award Definition- from the President’s Corner of IPSCWorld Digital Magazine:

“The IPSC Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed upon individuals who, through their passionate and enduring dedication as an outstanding competitor, official or administrator, have made a significant contribution to the furtherance of IPSC excellence.”

Have been practicing for the Steel Challenge and am doing pretty well on a couple of the stages that have caused me problems over the years. I’m shooting the 5.25 much more consistently than my XDM 4.5 and I’m actually about as fast as I am with my Custom Shop 1911 longslide 9 mm. I still draw better with the 1911, but all the rest is pretty equal.

Compared to the 4.5, I am shooting Outer Limits much better with the 5.25. How much of it is the gun? How much is my new knees? I don’t know. I can tell you shots that would be “iffy” with the shorter gun are usually hits with the 5.25. There is no doubt the longer sighting radius and the excellent sights that are easily and precisely adjustable are helping. I’ve used fixed sights for so long in Production Division that I forgot what it is like to actually get the gun perfectly zeroed! With fixed, I can usually get it close with a little work, but have to have a few extra sights and a file to get it perfect. Not any more.

Speed Option is about the same as are the easy close stages, but 5-To-Go and Accelerator are noticeably faster for me with the 5.25. Hope I can carry that into the match!

I’m moving the best I have in many years. Thanks Dr. Tarlow and Chad Reilly. My new knees allow this to be fun again, instead of an exercise in pain control! I am looking forward to the rest of the shooting season. Exciting!

Rob

Post Steel Challenge Update:  Rob went on to win IDPA ESP Division at the Steel Challenge and he placed second in USPSA Production Division by just .46 seconds – with his new XDM 5.25.   Congratulations to Mike Seeklander for taking the Production Title.

Here is Rob shooting Smoke & Hope in Production Division at the Steel Challenge.

Now it’s  time for you “guys” to get to work on my new gun.  Scott Springer, Daniel Batchelor,  Rich Dettelhouser and anyone else in the biz, here is the challenge:

• Drop in parts only
• Total reliability with standard primers
• Lightened trigger pull
• No stoning or tuning allowed, only bending springs
• Reliability again – it’s got to work all the time, even whilst totally ignoring a sane cleaning and maintenance schedule. Not fair but that’s the last request!

I know where we can get with tweaking and tuning and black magic, but there is a legit market out there for someone who will only want to do parts swapping. Also you must include the prices of the pieces used, and no prototypes, unless you’re gonna make them available to us all.

I’m guessing springs only will get us around five pound triggers, with parts changing maybe about four pounds.

Trigger pull feel needs to be a factor also, to include takeup, reset distance, over travel and actual sear release. The next test will be which, if any of these changes help a person shoot better.

I think we can find out what the best bang for the buck mods are. I’ll be glad to do the testing and comparison to stock, and I will try to measure an average of all these things on the four unmodified 5.25′s I have here before I send them back to the Custom Shop.  Let the games begin!

Interesting note – At the demo on Saturday I had 15 of my Action Target steel plates and silhouettes lined up next to each other at 10 yards (that’s 30 feet on Top Shot), and this was the “game”:

Gun loaded on table, hands on table not touching gun, on buzzer, grab gun and HIT all 15 targets. One of them, btw, was a tiny 5 inch disk that swings back and forth behind the head of an ABC zone silhouette.

Now, here’s the interesting part … My best run was NOT with my 3 lb. customized trigger XDM! It was with the totally stock XDM BiTone 5.25 pistol, shooting GI ball 124-grain 9 mm ammo.  Total time:  5.67 seconds.  Made me go “hmm” too.

Rob

When I am shooting well, I can shoot fast with no problems. When I shoot terrible, it is not always because I shot too fast. More often than not it is because I shot poorly and the speed may not have been a factor. Let me explain.

Accuracy is a product of precision and not speed. If you can do something well faster than slower, then slowing down will not improve your precision. If your precision is hampered because you are unable to perform a given skill quickly, then going quickly will cause you to be imprecise. We do not all operate at the same speed for every skill. The thing I work on most, other than increasing my skill level, is knowing what I can and cannot do. To be precise, I want to know how to use whatever time is necessary but no more than needed, to allow me to perform the necessary procedure that will cause me to be precise enough. This is a long way of saying you must use the time you need. This does not mean go slow, since fast and slow are relative terms.

In the game of practical shooting, if you are too slow it will not matter how accurate you are. To be competitive you must operate at the upper limits of your speed potential. There is a balance that must be found of what accuracy you can muster at a certain speed. The way Comstock scoring works is to divide the points you accumulate on an event by your time (how long it took you to complete the COF). Let’s use “El Presidente” for a scoring example, and assume that we’re shooting major. The drill requires 12 shots on 3 targets with a turn, draw and reload (2-2-2 reload 2-2-2). If you shoot this drill in 10 seconds and get all points (As) possible (12 X 5 = 60) you earn a comstock factor of 6.00 (60 / 10.00). The higher the number the better. If you shoot that same drill in 5.00 seconds and every shot you fire hits the target in the C-zone (48 points ) you earn a factor of 9.60. If every shot you fire (in 5.00 seconds) just barely hits the target (in the D-zone) you would have 24 points and still score a 4.80!

There is an old adage that you can’t miss fast enough to win, but depending on the course of fire, at any given match, that is not really true. I can shoot that same El Pres in about 4.5-5.0 seconds regularly. I will score somewhere between 50 and 60 points when doing so. That means I am likely to score a factor of 11.00 or above. Were I to slow down and shoot it clean with 60 points, I have to do it in 5.45 seconds to get that 11 factor. It is unlikely when shooting that fast that I will shoot clean, but barring a disaster, I can always shoot it in 5 seconds. Therefore it is always better for me to go for speed on this drill than perfect accuracy. Not all drills are like this, but the same factoring still applies. Some events/stages have such high factors that misses are preferable to slow times! I don’t like that at all, but it is a fact of life.

So the trick is learning to operate at the upper levels of your speed capabilities, but not so far that accuracy is affected negatively enough to cause you to score poorly. Here is the challenge: “What is too fast?”. I think it is when you are shooting at a speed that causes error to happen. Not when you can’t catch the problem, but when you cause the problem. This then is merely a lack of skill and is simple to identify although not easy to correct. Most of my practice is trying to learn to do something I am not sure I am capable of, and some of my practice is spent operating at a pace I can repeat easily to give me confidence. I spend more time on the former than the latter, but realize I am more apt to shoot a score in a match that is on the lower side of my skill range than the higher.

In summary, shooting fast is when you find the balance between speed and accuracy – where you shoot to the highest level of your ability, with expected results. ~Rob

Check out this YouTube video for some fast shooting at one of my DrillMaster Shooting Club Matches:

Dave Reese – “At the time I began action shooting, the weapon of choice was the Colt 1911 .45 ACP. My, how times have changed. Like all shooters at the time, I was buying and modifying those 1911s for practical use. One year at the Bianchi Cup, I approached a vendor who had a display of 1911 pistols that I had never seen before. It was Dave Reese and the company was Springfield Armory, famous for their M1-A rifles. I asked Dave if they would be interested in having someone like me shoot their pistols. After a moment, he said, “yes”, and that began an everlasting relationship that runs to this day. I don’t know where I would be now had Dave not accepted my offer.

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Tom Reese – Tom started the famed “Team Springfield” shooting program that showed everyone in the industry how it should be done. His foresight and innovation created a standard for professional shooting teams. We had the largest, most-recognized, and most-successful team of professional and semi-professional shooters in the world. You wouldn’t believe all the greats who were on the team. It was an honor to be a part of that legacy! Over the years, Tom like his brothers, became more to me than just my boss. We rode motorcycles together, and he can haul ass. I don’t think he has ever forgiven me for dragging him down to the Imperial sand dunes once, ’cause he spent more time on the ground than on the bike. We had some great times. He has been such a supporter for me over the years that I could never repay him. One of the best guys of all time and one who definitely made things happen for me.”

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Denny Reese – I am now pleased to work closely with Dennis Reese (the three are brothers) in the promotion and marketing side of the company. First time we ever had contact was when I broke my rifle 3 days before the S.O.F. Match sometime in the early/mid 80′s. Sight unseen, he sent me a new one the next day. He didn’t know me from Adam, but still took care of me. I will never forget that. This guy can travel day in and day out and still look fresh. I get cranky after being away for a week, but he just keeps on going. One talent that I greatly envy him for is his ability to remember things. He can meet someone once and remember them a year later. I forget my kids names after a week. Also an amazing dirt-biker, Denny was on U.S. National Enduro teams. I know he went to what was then Czechoslovakia, as he has a liberated street sign in his office. Denny has recently developed the Springfield Armory Action Pistol Challenge, which has turned out to be both fun and successful. When one of these matches comes to your area, do not miss it (check the Springfield website for more info). Denny is energetic and so creative, just being around him inspires me to work harder at everything I do. We should all have such mentors.”

Our 1911s are now the best in the world and we offer production guns that would shame the modified guns I used in the early days. I like to think I had something to do with that and am very proud to be associated with the Reese brothers and their extremely successful company. Reese brothers, you have allowed me to pursue and live my dreams. Thank you, again, for everything!”

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Carol and Nyle Leatham – “My parents are, of course, the reason I became interested in shooting in the first place. I cannot say enough to thank them for the unconditional love and support throughout my lifetime. My mother , in particular, came to almost all sporting events I participated in, from track and field and basketball in junior high and high school, to the most recent World Shoot in South Africa. She still bribes me to excel with chocolate malted milk shakes. My dad also made great sacrifices to get me the equipment I needed to compete. I would love to have back some of the guns he had to trade to obtain my ‘next generation’ of competitive guns. Without my parents’ support I would never have had the opportunity to be a champion. Plus Dad made the best fudge in the world. Thank you, Mom & Dad. I love you both!”

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Dave Williams – “Springfield Custom Shop Guru and good friend. Dave and his crew have been responsible for the guns that have taken me to victory for so many years. He has the ability to produce a truly superior pistol, one that is accurate and reliable. Amazingly, he often has to knock them out in quick order. Most gunsmiths can’t do this, but to Dave, it’s just another day at the office. Winning takes a lot of things, one of them is confidence in your equipment. Dave gives me that confidence. When you’re hot you can win throwing rocks. When you’re not, the little things make the difference. That gun is the one little thing.”

“And Congratulations to you, Dave, on the selection by the American Pistol Smith Guild as the 2006 Pistol Smith of the Year! I am extremely proud of you! You certainly deserve the award! Your excellent workmanship has always been number one in my book!”
Springfield Armory Custom Shop Director named Pistol Smith of the year by national organization:
March 21st, 2006 - David Williams of Geneseo was recently named Pistol Smith Of The Year by the American Pistol Smith’s guild at its annual awards dinner in Las Vegas. He is only the 21st person to receive this honor, which is the most prestigious in the profession.

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Dubi Pikielny – “Dubi is the driving force behind our XD pistol. I have known him for quite a few years through Springfield, but just recently had the pleasure of working with him. The hardest working person I know, Dubi sees the clock as an adversary and lives by the adage, “I can rest when I’m dead.” Dubi, like my friend Arnt, spends a great amount of time traveling the world bouncing through time zones, and appears to be impervious to their effects. I hope someday to have a fraction of Dubi’s energy and thank him for everything he has done for me.”

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Brian Enos – “What can I say about Big Daddy? Most in this sport know our history somewhat, about us going out to practice in the desert and attending shoots together, but what you don’t know is how much he carried me in those early years. He helped me in so many ways. Many times I would be working odd shifts and leave work early on the mornings we were going to practice. I would be late loading ammo and he would have to wait for me. Many times, he just gave me the rounds to get us going. This was in the days of single-line presses that were very slow to load the large amounts of ammo we were consuming. Brian, more than anyone, was my motivation and I could never have trained as hard without him. I greatly miss shooting with Brian and hope someday, when our lives slow down, we can shoot together again, like the good old days. Except this time, I will bring my ammo.”

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Mike Dillon – “Mike made shooting large amounts of ammo possible for me. He took the shooting fraternity from loading 200 rounds an hour to 500+. What you may not know is he was my earliest sponsor. He would give Brian and me bullets, primers, powder and loading machines, allowing us to practice enough to improve. After that, things grew to the point where he was paying our expenses to the big shoots. This is what allowed me to achieve national and international recognition. Action shooting, as a whole, benefits from Mike’s inventions and there are very few serious shooters out there who do not use Dillon products or services in some way.”

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Frank Glenn – “Frank was inspirational in my quest for accuracy. A national level PPC shooter, he has forgotten more about how to pull the trigger than I will ever know. He built the revolvers I shot at the Bianchi Cup before I changed to the auto. I should have won that match many times as I always had the best revolvers on the line. His company, Accuracy Unlimited, builds the finest revolvers you can get, and a whole bunch of other neat stuff. I consider Frank a long time friend and am proud to know him.”

Arnt Myhre – “The best shooter who never practices that I’ve ever met. That Arnt can travel all over the world for months on end, then show up at the range and kick my butt with a duty rig still astonishes me. I wonder if he would be better if he had time to train, but I think I’ll just count myself lucky he doesn’t. One of the most intelligent people I know, Arnt speaks about a thousand languages. He can carry on a couple of conversations in different languages without missing a beat. And he can shoot. Only Scott Carnahan can draw as fast out of a retention rig.”

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Scott Carnahan – “Scotty knows more about holsters than the rest of the world combined. He is my man at Safariland, designing and building the rigs that permit me to go fast. An IPSC National Champion, scratch golfer, shifter kart racer, motocross crasher, and slalom water skier, Scotty can do about anything he tries very well. On top of that, he is just a nice guy. Makes the rest of us look bad, but I still like him.”

Karl Kohnke – “Karl loaded the world’s best ammo for Brian and me in the early days. He also inspired me to learn how to shoot a shotgun. I won quite a few national championships with rounds perfectly loaded and developed by Karl. If there were a picture in the dictionary of perfectionist or detail-oriented, it would be of Karl. I never thanked him enough for what he did, so better late than never, Thanks Karl!”

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Tommy Dahl – “Tommy has loaded ammo for me for the last few years. Another one of those perfectionist types, Tommy is unique among my friends in that he has absolutely no fear in tearing apart my motorcycles right in front of me! A multi-talented mechanic type, he has loaded championship ammo, and built for me marvelously fast super bike motors. I consider him one of my inner circle of friends and want to thank him for all he does for me.”

Don Golembieski – “Another national level gunsmith, Don’s talents as a machinist are probably wasted on the gun industry since he could be building a Mars lander or space telescope or something. Able to fix anything I do to my guns, he has been a savior to me when I go through a “day before I leave” gun modification moment. Thanks, Donnie. Don also has a stunner of a woman who caters to his every whim. Lucky guy! Thanks, Tracey Martin for fixing my grammar and spelling and making me sound better than I could ever hope to be!”

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Vickie Lawrence – “A long-time employee of Springfield, Vickie was always there telling me how great I was. Even when I wasn’t. When she was in charge of advertising at Springfield, she had to cover for me for a long time. I miss her and want her to know how much she kept me going when times were hard. No one can win them all, but Vick always made me feel I had.”

Clyde Helquist – “Owner of the Pistol Parlour Gun Shop, where I hung out in my early days, Clyde actually bought the plane ticket for me to my first national in 1981. He also taught me how to play cards. I suck at cards and put all the blame on Clyde. He always supported me when I could barely afford to shoot and probably wouldn’t have continued competing if he had not been taking care of me. A genuinely nice guy, Clyde rates high up the list of people who made it happen for me.”

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Bob Kruft – “My golfing and shotgun buddy, Bicycle Bob has become the person with whom I take a break from the world. As neither one of us is much good at golf or sporting clays, we make a pretty good match. We both have all the best equipment and no skills. Bob keeps it all in perspective for me and is greatly responsible for any semblance of stability I may have. Neither of us sweats the big stuff, as we know it’s all in the details.”

Kippi Leatham – “My wife, the love of my life and the developer of this website. When you are going through these pages you are seeing Kippi. I have no clue how all this works, she just tells me where to type. My inspiration for so many years, Kippi is not only a wonderful mother but a great shot herself. Four times a USPSA National Champion, Kip still has the highest overall Nationals finish by a woman in IPSC /USPSA history. Too busy for her own good, Kippi needs to pick up a hobby to let her relax. How about motorcycles and guns, Baby?”

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Rob, Tom and Pati Leatham – “Monsters each and every one, my three children keep me on my toes. Not a day goes by that I don’t relearn something about life from one of these kids. They all have their own special talents and value, and I enjoy nothing more than being in their company. I am lucky to have ended up with such characters and can’t wait to see what they do next. You each make my life worth living.”

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Guy Hammond – “Built my first pin gun and got me to a lot of matches in those early days. Until I started using guns from other gunsmiths, Guy was the man. He built the gun I won my first IPSC National with. He never charged me, which was great since I was broke. Another one of the good guys that kept me on the road. I have not seen him in years, but have never forgotten all he has done.”

Deb Williams – “Deb, you are my savior! Not a day goes by that I’m not asking Deb to do something for me. She is one of the many invaluable, irreplaceable employees of Springfield. I couldn’t imagine having to get through the year without her. Your daily efforts are appreciated, Deb, more than you can ever imagine.”

Steve Horsman & Dave Paasch – “Thanks, guys, for all the work you two did for me and my DrillMaster Shooting Club™!  Now, I would appreciate it if you would come back out to the range and shoot.

In Loving Memory of Rondy Neill – Rondy passed from us in 1997 from Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS).  Among other things, Rondy taught me the true art of swearing.  His use of the “F” word was absolute poetry.  A childhood friend of Brian’s, Rondy became my friend shortly after I met Big Daddy.  Rondy came out of Ohio to start a business with Brian, and that they did, quite successfully.

Rondy had the most wicked sense of humor I have ever known and seldom does time go by that something does not remind me of him.  Rondy showed me that there is humor in all things, no matter how bad it seemed.  I could make a mistake at a shoot and lose a National Championship and Rondy would see how funny that was, as it wasn’t really that important anyway.  It was all just a game to him, probably something I should keep in mind more often.

I truly loved the guy and miss him dearly

In Loving Memory of Sandra Lou Thenhaus – Kip’s mom left us in February of 2001.  Born in Iowa City, Iowa, she lived the first half of her life in Cedar Rapids.  The second half of her life was spent in Arizona.  Her favorite and most important thing, next to gambling, was her family and friends.  She was fortunate enough to be surrounded by both her entire life.  She had been ill for a very long time, so it was hard to watch her suffer, and though we were prepared for it, it was even more sad to see her pass.

Now, she’s in a brighter, better place, watching over us all, wishing I wasn’t yelling at her granddaughter so much and wondering why it took her daughter, Kip, so long to get this website done!  I know Kip misses her friendship, love and daily phone calls, and I miss her humor, straight forwardness and magnetic presence.

In Loving Memory of Alan Leatham – Big Al, my older brother, who passed away unexpectedly in 2002, was probably the best person I ever knew. Grounded in what was important to him, his family was his life. He, more than anyone I knew, made me see the folly of it all. Al was happiest when we were at a family cookout, or on a hunting trip. Al got more out of his shortened life than I could ever hope to out of mine. He gave all he had every day and never quit. I miss him constantly.

We all could learn a great deal from Al’s love of the simple things. Whether I won or lost, Al always made me see how lucky I was just to be there. I wish you were here now, Al. My life is not the same without you. I do love the fact that I get to spend a lot more time with your youngest sons, Paul and Daniel. They are awesome individuals and they get all the love I still have for you … and then some!

In Honorable Memory of William Carlson – Our friend William Carlson, also known as “Chief”, died defending our country in Afghanistan on October 25th, 2003. Chief, and all who gave their lives to protect the freedoms that we cherish, should be remembered in our thoughts and prayers. God bless Chief and his family.

In Loving Memory of Floyd Wine - Dear friend and fellow shooter Floyd Wine passed away on a Thursday night, November 4, 2004, at his home in Missouri. Most of us shooters probably remember Floyd as one of the major influences / match directors of the Coors/Springfield Armory Challenge in Durango, Colorado. Boy, that was always a great match!

We used to look forward to The Challenge all year-long. Durango is a beautiful place to have to go to shoot a match, especially in July! And, the best part was, we were always surrounded by friendly and fun-loving shooters, Floyd being one of them. Floyd and Carol (and all of their dogs) lived in Durango for many years where Floyd also owned a gunsmithing business. They had recently moved to Columbia, Missouri where Floyd went to work for Midway USA. Floyd was just getting back into both IPSC and 3-gun shooting. He will undoubtedly be missed by all who knew him. Floyd was the definition of “good people”. He was a good friend and husband, kind, fun and he had a good heart.

In Loving Memory of Dad … Nyle Leatham – This one has been extra tough on me.  Dad passed on November 23, 2007.  Miss him constantly – but not as much as Mom does.  I vow to update this soon … 1/16/2012