I want to start the ball rolling and get the "Official" GAP GRIND THANK YOU Thread going:
This was "The" Event of the season, it was a success on so many levels it's gonna be hard to put it all together so I hope I can get a few people to help me out.
I was totally behind George when decided to turn the GRIND into a PRO/AM Event and pledged my support immediately. I think it went beyond his wildest dreams, which par for the course when it comes to all those involved. He managed to bring in a 160 Pro & Amateur shooters together for an awesome weekend of shooting. In one event he expanded the Precision Rifle Competition Base 3 fold.
K&M again put on a helluva event, even with Shannon preparing for deployment. How they can successfully manage 160 shooters in such a small place is a testament to their vision when they (Shannon & Bryan) built the facility. It a ton of work to put on any match, let alone the biggest match ever. My hat is off to all involved, Shannon, Bryan, the wives and family that help, as well as anyone else who had a hand in behind the scenes. Thanks again to Bryan for being one the most hospitable people I have ever met.
To all the Range Officers, a sincere thanks for putting on a great match. ROs can make or break an event and you guys did a great job managing the Event. With a mix of new shooters who might be a bit intimidated to the Pros looking to game every stage, you guys remained professional. I have a few special call outs when it comes to the Range Officer:
Don A, you can stop RO'ing now and shoot a match.
Dan From GAP, here is a joke for you,
Remember it is Ok smile
Josh Lapin of Copper Creek, your ammo kicks ass and you're still a jinx, please do not RO any more matches I am shooting.
Tom Manners, Best Spotter Ever !
John Huber, A Tripod is Legal if it is holding my hands up LOL
To all the Match Sponsors, thanks for supporting a great event, it really made an impact. I hope everyone who reads this will personally thank you even if you didn't attend the match. Once the list is added, I highly recommend an email to these companies to maximize their return on investment. These are the ones worth supporting ! To those sponsors who not only provided a prize but who also had themselves and their employees there, big time THANK YOU ! That is huge to not only support the event with a mailed in prize but send guys down to RO or support the match in person. That is the kind of dedication this community is about.
To Tracy Bartlein and Bartlein Barrels, Food was awesome ! Thanks for not only provided us lunch everyday but for also stacking barrels on the prize table.
There is a lot more, every stage was sponsored by a company, so please use the list and email them when it comes out.
To my fellow competitors,
Had a blast ! Squad 5 rocked, it was the perfect mix of people and we really enjoyed each others company all weekend long. It was great seeing everyone again, it's not as often I would like and hopefully in 2015 we can fix that.
Now for the Super Special Note of Interest to those reading this:
Over the weekend it was arranged that Rich Emmons and I get together and work towards mending fences between SH and the PRS. Through Bryan Morgan, George Gardner, Tom Fuller, Shannon Kay, Joe Walls and many others the opportunity was put forward to settle any issues we once had. So, with that in mind on Friday Night Rich and I met out in Crestview and spent the night sorting through the past. I am happy say we have closed that book and are now ready to move forward on a shared journey towards growing the Precision Rifle Community both here and through the PRS. The common ground was much deeper than I think people realize and the differences were so small it was silly to continue moving forward with any of the animosity. I truly thank Rich for meeting up so we could clear the air. So, not only was this PRO/AM the biggest match ever, a truly mentoring event, it is also responsible for rebuilding the bridge between SH and the PRS...
For those who want to check out the official Photos Michael Cage is started posting them on FB in the K&M Album.
https://www.facebook.com/michael.ca...0202997874969371.1073741852.1279334282&type=1
Visit Michael Cage's Facebook and thank him for taking a ton of awesome pictures !
Once again, thanks to everyone who attended, who sponsored and support and most of all to George, Shannon, Bryan and Co for putting on the event of the season.
I want to add, and wasn't sure i was gonna put it in here, but what the hey,
To Mike L (lash) on SH for being my partner during this event. He was awesome to hang with and we a ton of fun laughing at our mistakes throughout the weekend. He started out shaking when he finished the first event and by the end of the match was a shot short of cleaning the stages. It was awesome seeing him climb in the stats from day to day. Each time the score were posted he was climbing his way up the list. Thanks for the request to shoot with Mike I really enjoyed it.
This was "The" Event of the season, it was a success on so many levels it's gonna be hard to put it all together so I hope I can get a few people to help me out.
I was totally behind George when decided to turn the GRIND into a PRO/AM Event and pledged my support immediately. I think it went beyond his wildest dreams, which par for the course when it comes to all those involved. He managed to bring in a 160 Pro & Amateur shooters together for an awesome weekend of shooting. In one event he expanded the Precision Rifle Competition Base 3 fold.
K&M again put on a helluva event, even with Shannon preparing for deployment. How they can successfully manage 160 shooters in such a small place is a testament to their vision when they (Shannon & Bryan) built the facility. It a ton of work to put on any match, let alone the biggest match ever. My hat is off to all involved, Shannon, Bryan, the wives and family that help, as well as anyone else who had a hand in behind the scenes. Thanks again to Bryan for being one the most hospitable people I have ever met.
To all the Range Officers, a sincere thanks for putting on a great match. ROs can make or break an event and you guys did a great job managing the Event. With a mix of new shooters who might be a bit intimidated to the Pros looking to game every stage, you guys remained professional. I have a few special call outs when it comes to the Range Officer:
Don A, you can stop RO'ing now and shoot a match.
Dan From GAP, here is a joke for you,
Remember it is Ok smile
Josh Lapin of Copper Creek, your ammo kicks ass and you're still a jinx, please do not RO any more matches I am shooting.
Tom Manners, Best Spotter Ever !
John Huber, A Tripod is Legal if it is holding my hands up LOL
To all the Match Sponsors, thanks for supporting a great event, it really made an impact. I hope everyone who reads this will personally thank you even if you didn't attend the match. Once the list is added, I highly recommend an email to these companies to maximize their return on investment. These are the ones worth supporting ! To those sponsors who not only provided a prize but who also had themselves and their employees there, big time THANK YOU ! That is huge to not only support the event with a mailed in prize but send guys down to RO or support the match in person. That is the kind of dedication this community is about.
To Tracy Bartlein and Bartlein Barrels, Food was awesome ! Thanks for not only provided us lunch everyday but for also stacking barrels on the prize table.
There is a lot more, every stage was sponsored by a company, so please use the list and email them when it comes out.
To my fellow competitors,
Had a blast ! Squad 5 rocked, it was the perfect mix of people and we really enjoyed each others company all weekend long. It was great seeing everyone again, it's not as often I would like and hopefully in 2015 we can fix that.
Now for the Super Special Note of Interest to those reading this:
Over the weekend it was arranged that Rich Emmons and I get together and work towards mending fences between SH and the PRS. Through Bryan Morgan, George Gardner, Tom Fuller, Shannon Kay, Joe Walls and many others the opportunity was put forward to settle any issues we once had. So, with that in mind on Friday Night Rich and I met out in Crestview and spent the night sorting through the past. I am happy say we have closed that book and are now ready to move forward on a shared journey towards growing the Precision Rifle Community both here and through the PRS. The common ground was much deeper than I think people realize and the differences were so small it was silly to continue moving forward with any of the animosity. I truly thank Rich for meeting up so we could clear the air. So, not only was this PRO/AM the biggest match ever, a truly mentoring event, it is also responsible for rebuilding the bridge between SH and the PRS...
For those who want to check out the official Photos Michael Cage is started posting them on FB in the K&M Album.
https://www.facebook.com/michael.ca...0202997874969371.1073741852.1279334282&type=1
Visit Michael Cage's Facebook and thank him for taking a ton of awesome pictures !
Once again, thanks to everyone who attended, who sponsored and support and most of all to George, Shannon, Bryan and Co for putting on the event of the season.
I want to add, and wasn't sure i was gonna put it in here, but what the hey,
To Mike L (lash) on SH for being my partner during this event. He was awesome to hang with and we a ton of fun laughing at our mistakes throughout the weekend. He started out shaking when he finished the first event and by the end of the match was a shot short of cleaning the stages. It was awesome seeing him climb in the stats from day to day. Each time the score were posted he was climbing his way up the list. Thanks for the request to shoot with Mike I really enjoyed it.