PTS Championship Team Match

Shooters,
Thank you for coming out and supporting PTS, displaying solid professionalism and shooting a safe match. All the prep work, e-mails and planning the match felt a lot like work, but when we get to see you guys after the match telling stories and looking worn out makes it all worthwhile. The practical rifle competitors are unique for sure and some of the best people on the planet.
Sponsors,
Thank you for your donations! We can’t thank you enough. I hope that the match represented your values and the values of the sport. I know you guys get hammered for requests all the time. We try to keep our footprint manageable. I think the demo day portion on Friday went well and we are going to expand that activity next match.
John Paul,
Thank you for the continued support and for giving the R/Os $100 in JP Rifles store credit. That is an incredible gesture that speaks volumes of your dedication to the sport and values of JP Enterprises.
Rob,
Thank you for the rifle donation and inspiring Ryan and I to donate the rifle in a manner that reflected the care and dedication that went into building it. I am sure that rifle found a happy home.
R/Os,
You guys ROCK!
Tom, Ryan,
Awesome Job guys, it was a tough course of fire that required both shooters to bring their “A” game work together as a team.
Mike and Erika Luke,
Thank you so much! I’ll see yo’uns in a few days.
Ryan and I take the AAR comments to heart and we are already working on tweaking the course of fire, targets and stage design.
Shooters we will post scores and picture when we get home. You may have to squat and hold for a few. I drove all night just to go to work and Ryan is still on the road.
 
Well guys I have pondered all day long trying to come up with words that would truly express how grateful I am, but I will have to admit, there are absolutely no speakable words that can ever possibly describe the way I feel. I truly am at a loss for words. But here goes my attempt anyway:

I want to thank Mr. Snyder of RW Snyder Guns and Gunsmithing for the UNBELIEVABLY GENEROUS gift of such an amazing piece of work. I can promise you sir, that gun won't spend any undue time alone. I'm going to shoot the daylights out of that sweet rig believe you me sir!!!! Your generosity is something that I will never live long enough to forget. To have someone hand me a rifle like that and tell me to enjoy it expecting nothing in return is staggering. Your kindness is something that would make the world an amazing place if everyone possessed it. I cannot wait to work up a load for this rifle and email you a pic of the small group I know this badboy can print.
Again sir, from the bottom of my heart, "THANK YOU". To say I appreciate it would be a gross understatement.

I want to thank Ryan and Scott for another awesome match. You guys are masters at making a challenging, yet crazy fun match, and you are top-notch gentlemen and it is a pleasure to know you. As much as that fine rifle means to me, the utterly flattering words you guys said about me means just as much. Thank you guys again for being the fine gentlemen you are.

To the ROs, you guys absolutely rock!! I wish I could call you all by name to recognize you, but since I can't I'm not going to call any one individual by name, but believe me, I appreciate you all. To think that one of you guys would have considered me as a recipient of that rifle is absolutely humbling and such an honor that I will never forget. You guys are THE BEST!!!

To Mike and family, thank you again so much for allowing us to shoot on your beautiful property. Without your contribution to the sport, I may have never gotten into competition shooting. Ladd's (my shooting partner) inlaws live close by and that's one reason we decided to make last fall's Cookeville match our first attempt at competing since we had a place to stay close by. Thank you again sir for letting us all enjoy your property.

Thanks to my shooting buddy Ladd for being a heck of a good friend and an excellent shooting buddy to boot. Maybe next match I can carry my own weight!!

Someone asked earlier what the deal was with the bipod, so here's what happened with that one: I was shooting the fifth stage of the weekend off of the trailer. I had the bipod resting on the steel frame of the trailer and after about halfway through the stage my bipod rolled right off after taking a shot. At the end of the stage I picked it up just figuring that it had gotten loose. When I went to put the bipod back on I found that the swivel had sheared right off. The bipod was still holding on to the stud. So, for the rest of the match I was just trying to make do with the bags, which needless to say, wasn't exactly ideal.

This community of ladies and gentlemen is an incredible thing to be a part of. I bet I had no less than two dozen ladies and gentlemen approach me after the match to congratulate me and it was a pleasure to speak with each one of you. It was a great time shooting with the folks in squad two and nice to meet some great people.

Again, simply thanks to all for a weekend that I WILL NEVER FORGET!!!! I am looking forward to seeing you all again soon and letting anyone who wants to take some shots with this new rifle!!

With the greatest respect for you all,

Steve Norman
 
This was my first long range rifle match and I have to say it will be hard to top! Robert and I had an awesome time (even though my scope shit the bed) and really appreciate all of the work you guys did to put this match together. It was great meeting everyone and finally putting faces with screen names as well.
 
Steve, next time you have an issue like a bipod failure or something similar ask around...I had a spare atlas v8 you could have borrowed. I ended up using my Harris with dloc and left the v8 in my trunk. I'm betting I'm not the only one who had a spare you could have borrowed. We are a fairly tight knit group.
 
I have to go with Ryan. I usually have a spare rifle, scope, ammo, and bipod sitting in the truck just for the simple fact things break and equipment fails. If anyone is around and needs to borrow an item such as these please feel free to ask. I will be more than glad to lend a hand.
 
Ok, back at work today, man what a weekend!!! Special thanks goes to Scott, Ryan, and the land owner Mike for putting on such an awesome match! Scott I got to say a special thanks to you buddy, without you convincing me to come out to shoot your match a couple of years ago and Team up with Chad I would probably still just be shooting local farm matches! Your match along with K&M matches have given me something to strive for and work towards, thanks! Huge thanks to the RO's awesome job running the stages and keeping things safe! To my partner Chad, you da man!! Awesome shooting buddy, I'm just glad I get to be the 30% to your 80%!!

Great to see everyone again and meet some new people, the Jilliland's, Ryan, Tom, the Sir's (you and your boss), John and Sydney, Clark (I still hate you), JP, and ton's of others (horrible with names). I would like to thank the active duty Army guys who came out that shot in our squad and thank you for your service, you guys shot well had great communication and team work!! Keep up the good work and pass along your skills to others!!

Can't wait for the PRS match!!

Ok and another vid
PTS Championship Team match 2013 - YouTube
 
Steve, next time you have an issue like a bipod failure or something similar ask around...I had a spare atlas v8 you could have borrowed. I ended up using my Harris with dloc and left the v8 in my trunk. I'm betting I'm not the only one who had a spare you could have borrowed. We are a fairly tight knit group.

I have to go with Ryan. I usually have a spare rifle, scope, ammo, and bipod sitting in the truck just for the simple fact things break and equipment fails. If anyone is around and needs to borrow an item such as these please feel free to ask. I will be more than glad to lend a hand.





Thanks guys. I didn't want to go around bugging people, so I just sucked it up and made the best of it with the encouragement of Ladd (ToKeepAndBear on here). Next time I will definitely ask around. Thank you guys for the offer.
 
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I know it’s already been said a hundred times but…What an awesome Match!!

Super organized, reasonable targets, reasonable time restraints, well put together and thought out stages, it’s easy to tell this wasn’t just thrown together, but was thought out well in advance. I know Scott and Ryan were the guys everyone points to for the success of this match and to a huge amount I’m sure that was the case, but the RO’s seemed just as concerned that their individual stages ran with the same seamless flow as the overall match did.
Lots of opportunities to take chances on small targets and score big (or to miss big) plus good size targets right next to them for a more conservative strategy, you got to pick and decide your own fate. Perfect mix of prone and positional shooting and every target was hittable and positions were realistic and fun for a change.

Not sure what you guys will do to top this match, but can’t wait to find out. Far and away the most fun I’ve had at a match and will NOT miss the opportunity to shoot this again.

Robert (RWS guns and gun-smithing) really enjoyed shooting with you and Adam B in squad 1, what you did by donating that beautiful rifle and what you all did (PTS) by giving it to the person most deserving was simply a display of CLASS and caring. (There were some studs in our squad right?)

John Paul – Honestly I’ve never been much of an AR guy, that changed after shooting a couple of your rifles, without a doubt you build some of the nicest rifles I’ve ever shot AR’s, bolt guns everything included. I really appreciated you taking the time to talk with me and show me your product; your pride and enthusiasm about your rifles show, my next rifle will come from JP Enterprises.
 
Ok, back at work today, man what a weekend!!! Special thanks goes to Scott, Ryan, and the land owner Mike for putting on such an awesome match! Scott I got to say a special thanks to you buddy, without you convincing me to come out to shoot your match a couple of years ago and Team up with Chad I would probably still just be shooting local farm matches! Your match along with K&M matches have given me something to strive for and work towards, thanks! Huge thanks to the RO's awesome job running the stages and keeping things safe! To my partner Chad, you da man!! Awesome shooting buddy, I'm just glad I get to be the 30% to your 80%!!

Great to see everyone again and meet some new people, the Jilliland's, Ryan, Tom, the Sir's (you and your boss), John and Sydney, Clark (I still hate you), JP, and ton's of others (horrible with names). I would like to thank the active duty Army guys who came out that shot in our squad and thank you for your service, you guys shot well had great communication and team work!! Keep up the good work and pass along your skills to others!!

Can't wait for the PRS match!!

Ok and another vid
PTS Championship Team match 2013 - YouTube

Great videos, but I counted 23 rounds fired for your team. BUSTED!! Next match we are going to have to retro-actively give you minus 3 points to start the match with. ;-)
 
actually, what i noticed in the video was his habit of racking the bolt quickly after firing, then having the presence of mind to open the bolt before moving to another position (twice). i would have been cussing over wasting the live rounds
 
Thanks to Ryan and Scott for putting on the match.... Thanks to the shooters for putting up with the RO's.... This was my first time out there, and hopefully not my last! I'm happy that things went well for everyone.... Congrats to Steve and all his hard work... you earned it!
 
At this point I know I am just adding to what has already been stated multiple times, but I would like to thank each and everyone who had a part in pulling this off. Ryan and Scott, I can't imagine the amount of time it must take to put this together. Sponsors, Thank you for your efforts to support these matches, it is your support that keeps the industry growing. Also, the RO's deserve a huge thank you. They had a huge part in running the weekend and I can't thank you enough.

On to the actual match. Each match Ryan and Scott host just gets better and better. This match the pistol addition was awesome, I would love to see a bit more of that in future matches so long as it remains a small points value. I love the barricades, the more barricades we shot, the more fun I had. I really enjoyed the mixture this match between barricade positional stuff and prone accuracy shots. Each stage this weekend had some type of practical application that really highlighted areas I need to practice. Keep up the good work, I'm already planning on making plans to attend the prs match and fall team match.
 
...Scott I got to say a special thanks to you buddy, without you convincing me to come out to shoot your match a couple of years ago and Team up with Chad I would probably still just be shooting local farm matches!...

Definitely +1 on that! [MENTION=42609]ssatt68[/MENTION], I think I've thanked you before for setting me up with this character. I've had an absolute blast shooting with Sean and have learned a ton from him.

...To my partner Chad, you da man!! Awesome shooting buddy, I'm just glad I get to be the 30% to your 80%!!...

Pshhh. I don't think so, bro. You were making some great hits, especially rockin the ol' 308. You totally carried my butt on more than a few stages. I can't wait until I've got a fresh barrel and you've got your 7mm dialed in. As always, I had tons of fun shooting with you again. Sorry I about split your head open with that little bastard and then made you believe I had gone to Firehouse without you. I'll run the can on the next partner assisted :)

Again, many thanks to Ryan and Scott for all your hard work setting this up, to all the excellent ROs who came out and worked, to Mike and his family for hosting us (and showing us how "Ring of Fire" should be run!), we'd have no fun without you all! And also to all the competitors who showed up with great attitudes and were a pleasure to hang out with and be around, and who kept everything safe. I learned a lot from everyone and always appreciate the company of such fine folks!
 
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It's incredible how close some of those positions were in points. Just goes to show that one blown stage can take you back 4-5 positions or more.

By the end of day one, I thought we were doing so bad I went into day two not even really wanting to waste the ammo. Then I saw the score sheet and realized that some of those stages were kicking everyone's butt....not just ours.

It's good to have that degree of difficulty thrown in there......it separates the best from the rest.

Gives me some goals to work on as well.
 
just want to take a minute and thank everyone for a great time and all the laughs. thanks for showing me how to do it and some fine examples of what not to do. thanks Ryan for the patience on putting up with a new RO. Scott want to thank you for all the insight and patience and knowledge you bestowed on me. I think I learned more than if I would have shot the match. RTO and Wonder boy (K.O.) are now speaking again and the frost bite I got on the ride home is almost healed up. pretty sure Ko will not forget mags for pistol again and will be very careful with packing in the dark in the future.
plan on seeing you all at future matches. if ever really desperate and willing to scrape bottom for an RO let me know and will turn KO loose by himself.
 
Mike, thanks again for letting all of us into your life and running all over your land. if ever need a partner let me know. not that I could keep up with the one you had, but would be worth trying for the laughs.
 
Had a great time meeting a lot of you and finally putting faces with names/voices/emails.

I also want to thank those of you who sent emails/pms thanking me for sponsoring this match. It means a lot

7magsavage/Steve, you are more than welcome. Clearly you were the right choice for that rifle, use her well.