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The weather also proved to be perfect in Czech, with the
morning being a bit chilly, but the sun shining overhead
quickly warmed competitors and kept them comfortable
all day. The great weather helped and Rob performed much
closer to the level he normally shoots at, even with the knee
injury. While Rob was happy with his performance and gave
glowing reports about how much better the Czech stages
were than Greece, the day ended on a tragic note when a
fellow shooter from Poland collapsed from a heart attack on
Stage 6. Despite herculean efforts at CPR by fellow shooters
with First Responder training on-site, the unfortunate
patient expired on the way to hospital. His loss served to put
something of a damper on things, but life must go on.
Rob and his teammates decided to stay in Znojmo for a few
extra days after the match, as they somehow managed to
secure an invite to the CZ factory. No pictures were allowed
in the factory due to security concerns, but Rob and the others
did get to see everything from the lost wax castings being
made to hammer-forged barrels being manufactured, frames
and slides being machined, and all the little parts in between.
According to Rob, the CZ factory is a great example of the
old world meeting the new, with brand new multi-head CNC
milling machines sitting beside 100 year-old lathes, and
specialized machines. The group capped the day off at the
factory firing range, where they got to shoot a few hundred
rounds through a new model CZ Scorpion, in full auto! The
test Scorpion was apparently a very controllable sub gun in
9mm, and quite popular with testers. If all goes well, Rob
says, we may see a Canada-legal semi-auto version on our
shores soon.
After the Czech match, and some additional R&R, Rob
headed to Germany for the last leg of his European shooting
tour. The Hessen Cup was held at a three-bay, indoor range
in Huesenstam, just outside of Frankfurt. Thomas Schilling
was the match director, and from all reports put on a heckuva’
great match. Each bay at the range contained two stages. In
the morning competitors shot each one individually, then
after lunch, with a few minor changes, they were combined
into one large stage on each bay. There were nine stages
total, in a space that would have fit onto one of the medium
stages in either Greece or Czech!
Describing the match, Rob noted that tight little hallways,
small ports and other challenging positions were the
highlight of this match. But as was normal for Rob by now,
some minor bad luck was fated to make an appearance.
Thankfully, unlike in the previous legs of the tour, no one
got hurt or suffered cardiac arrest. Instead, thanks to a rather
simple range officer mistake on some score sheets, Stage 9
was removed from the match. Rob, in turn, delivered a solid
performance and took 6th place overall. Match Director
Thomas Schilling proved to have a great sense of humor,
and awarded Rob with a “special” Top Canadian medal and
certificate for his top ten finish. One of the highlights of his
trip, Rob saw the good-natured ribbing as just more proof of
the fantastic camaraderie to be found within the international
The 9mm CZ 75 SP-01 is
favoured by many top
USPSA Production
Division competitors,
including TEAM
NFA member
Rob Engh.
IPSC community, and for him, remains one of the most
rewarding parts of the sport.
Since his return to Canada, Rob has participated in a number
of smaller regional matches and started hosting his popular
“skills & drills” nights at his local club once again. Rob also
attended a small match in Montreal in December, winning
Production Division by 5%. At present, he is registered for
the CZ Extreme Euro Open in June that will take place in the
Czech Republic. Rob also hopes to attend at least one other
match while over there, possibly in Austria or Norway.
With winter finally having arrived, Rob’s season is ended,
which means practice, practice, practice. Practice for Rob
means daily dry fire drills, including draw and “click” using
his shot timer (CED 7000Pro). In Rob’s opinion, the use of a
shot timer in dry practice is invaluable. Using the Par setting,
(Par is when you set a maximum time on the timer for an
end beep, e.g., Rob sets his it to 2.50 seconds when doing
reload drills. That’s draw on the start beep, dry fire, dump
the empty mag, insert the fresh mag, get back on target and
press the trigger again, before the end beep at 2.50 seconds)
Rob can drill himself on reloads, draw and fire, table pickups,
target transitions, transfer to his weak hand, or pretty
much anything requiring muscle memory. A firm proponent
of firearms safety, Rob cautions readers to always make sure
to do any dry fire practice in a room with no live ammo,
no live guns, and that you check your gun and magazines
multiple times before starting. He also urges readers to make
sure they are pointing their dry gun in a safe direction at all
times. In order to stave off any potential marital discord, Rob
also recommends that readers select an isolated room or area
where their spouse can’t hear the timer’s beep. Apparently it
can get pretty annoying really quick if you’re not the shooter.
Editor’s Note: Due to space limitations, look for Matt
& Megan’s updates in the May-June issue of Canadian
Firearms Journal.
www.nfa.ca March - April 23