Category: General

Kneeling blast
Starting on your knees (on carpeting) changed your point of view!

With 65 shooters plus staff, family, and friends, the 2016 “ASI Hand Sized Handgun Championship” broke records in Washington. “You guys are doing a great thing here,” said Russ Bates. “I had a great time, and I’ll be back.”

As a senior with physical limitations ASI’s relaxed, enjoyable style fits Bates perfectly. Others, like overall match winner Malcolm McIver and Match Director Rick Breneman got a chance to shoot their pocket pistols in a serious way.

Breneman designed the match with a 5-shot pistol in mind, and several people brought them. Brian Hallaq (who runs the ASI program at Norpoint Indoor Range) brought a modern 5-shot, .38 Special snubbie. “It’s rough shooting that double-action trigger, especially one-handed,” he laughed. His skills and the moon clips on his late-model S&W made quick work of required reloads.

Stage after stage showed Breneman’s ideas – ideas that often “just can’t be done” in other sports.

Brian Hallaq moving
Brian Hallaq moving into position with his .38 snubbie.

On one stage, shooters fired two rounds from a supplied AR-15 in 9mm before switching to their pistol. Later they shot stationary steel targets (Steel Challenge style). Props were common – everything from plastic guns, to poker tables, to shooting from inside a real car!

As we said earlier, Malcolm McIver won the overall title in the “Non-ASI” group. Washington’s Regional Coordinator Marcin Pawlina topped the ASI competitors, with Blake Gruger topping the group for Non-Conforming Handguns.

Amid smiles and laughter as shooters waited for their scores, a prize raffle gave away two $50 Taylor Freelance, LLC gift certificates, along with ASI memberships, T-shirts, and more.

Breneman tells us the ASI Hand Sized Handgun Championship will return to Renton Fish & Game club July 29, 2017.

Scores are available on the forum now.

ASI’s Robin Taylor and Sandy Wylie sit down with the Power Factor Show’s Rick Brenneman to talk about ASI. The Power Factor Show caters to competitive shooters, so the interview includes a lot of the thinking and history behind ASI, along with discussions of how it differs from existing shooting sports.

renton patch_MG_1145Check out our photo area to see what our first outdoor match at Renton Fish and Game Club looked like! We had a great time despite less-than-perfect weather.  Mark your calendar for the next one — every second Saturday through the end of the year. (May 9, June 13, July 11. . .)

renton patchJoin us April 11 to kick-off the ASI program at Renton Fish and Game Club.

ASI’s own Sandy Wylie will serve as match director, putting forward what we expect will be a “showcase” outdoor program.  If you can’t make it April 11, mark your calendar for the next one — matches will be held every second Saturday through the end of the year. (May 9, June 13, July 11. . .)

Renton offers a beautiful wooded range, with multiple shooting pits. All shooting will happen outdoors, so bring an appropriate coat or jacket.

High Demand Expected — Shooters at Renton have embraced the ASI concept, so we expect to have a pleasant mix of “regulars” and “new people.” If you’d like to know more, send us e-mail through the contact form and we’ll get the particulars out to you.

We expect to start the first group at 10:00 sharp, so please arrive by at least 9:30 for registration and the safety briefing.

IR003 Alley Madness
Initial art for “Alley Madness” — featuring a retreat to a barricade, and a mandatory reload

ASI recently started compiling its various stage designs, rules, and other instructional content into a “Shooter Logbook” for members. Every member will receive a copy of the logbook when it’s complete, giving them a way to plan, to practice — and to track their improving skills.

ASI’s Robin Taylor told us “We have a long way to go, but we’re hoping to have something so show in the first part of 2015.”

lady muzzle flash_MG_0470Looking for an ASI match near you? If you’re in Seattle, we heartily recommend the new bi-weekly league at Bellevue Indoor Range, Inc. Bellevue Indoor Range shares space with the famous Wade’s Eastside Guns. The two complement each other, with a complete pro shop on one side of the aisle, and a full-service range (complete with rental firearms) on the other.

Anna Tyler runs the ASI match here runs every other Thursday night, 7-9 P.M. The match sells out regularly, so call the range directly to reserve a slot. (425) 649-5995.

When you come, expect to receive a full briefing in the upstairs classroom, orienting you to the basics of ASI competition. To participate, you’ll need to be authorized by the range staff (call for details). The range has a separate safety check process for shooters wishing to draw their guns from holster.

Wade’s is one of the first ranges to adopt the ASI program, and has had great success with it. Many of the ASI stages were developed here, including most of the standard  exercises, and many of the fun move-and-shoot stages that will be featured in the “Shooter Logbook.”

 

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The pro staff at Wade’s Eastside have done a great job taking to ASI’s “customer oriented” approach, and we thought these moments from the Dec. 5 match deserved special mention.RO demo_MG_0422

At right you’ll see one of Wade’s Eastside’s range officers demonstrating “Alley Madness” for an incoming group of shooters. The inert “blue gun” he brought lets everyone relax and stand where ever they like  in order to hear/see what will be expected of them. Unlike a “real gun” shooters could quickly pick up the “blue gun” and use it as a prop to walk through their questions — now that’s helpful!

 

poster walkthrough 2_MG_0409At left you’ll see another Wade’s innovation — the poster-size stage diagram. Someone at Wade’s took the time to draw out the stages on that bay, super-size, allowing that bay’s Chief Range Officer (Greg) to point out different aspects of the stages easily. The particular bay Greg was working in tends to be noisy, so the extra-large art helped cut down on the number of questions in an area where it’s sometimes difficult to make one’s self understood. Good idea!

 

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