FRONT SIGHT - uspsa

, ' •The 1998 USPSA Junior Camp Shootout participants. Kneeling. L to R: MikeTilley, Chris Little, Jake Dwyer. 2nd row: Dustin Stapp. Seth Clay, JeilennGerlach. Matthew Labreche, Clint Lanthrum. Amy Hinsley. 3rd row: BlakejBy Kay Clark-Miculek, L-1133erry Miculek and I were honoredto host the first USPSAJunior Shooting Camp, dubbedCamp Shootout, at our rangefacilities in Princeton, La., August4 through 8. The camp was attendedby 14 USPSA junior membersranging from unclassified to Aclass. A minimum age limit of 12was set for Camp Shootout. This agewas not arrived at because Idoubted the abilities of youngerchildren to handle handguns competently;it was arrived at because Ifelt children 12 and up would bebetter able to handle the extendedabsence from home and parents.All Camp Shootout participantswere housed and fed at the ShootoutRange facilities. The Bunkhouse accommodatedthe 12 boys in attendance,along with "dorm dad" Jerry.The girls stayed with me at ourhome, which is also located on therange property. Jerry and I have alarge playroom that we transformedinto the dining hall for the week,and classroom instruction took placein a portable building adjacent to themain practical pistol bay.Throughout the week, campers'free time was filled with ping-pong,1998 USPSA Junior CampMiguez, Brian Haas, Joshua Blazek. Gene Gerlach, Reed Quinn.basketball, and video games. Althoughthe majority of their shootingwas limited to practical pistol,campers also had the opportunity totry a variety of shooting disciplinesincluding bowling pin shooting, actionshotgun, and action rifle.A Full WeekCampers began arriving Mondayafternoon, August 3. The day before,northeast Louisiana had posted a 65-year high temperature of 108 degrees.Jerry and I were concernedwith the possibility of heat-relatedillnesses, but by scheduling classroomsessions and free time in theafternoons, we were able to avoidthe hottest parts of the day. By midweekthe temperatures dropped intothe tolerable high 90's.Camp Shootout officially beganin the classroom on Tuesday morning.Subjects covered included firearmssafety, basic shooting princi-pies, a review of the USPSA rulebook, and the parts and function ofhandguns. We then moved outsideto cover the mechanics of the drawand have an hour of dry-fire practice.Students were becoming impatientby noon when they still had notfired a live round, and I was constantlyhearing, "When do we get toshoot?" But with safety our first andforemost consideration, Jerry and Iused this time to ensure that all ofour students were capable of handlingtheir handguns safely and responsibly.Lunch was served at noon, followedby instruction on the disassembly,assembly, and maintenanceof 1911-style handguns. Tools andcleaning equipment donated byBrowneIls and Pro-Shot Productsensured that all campers had thenecessary equipment for this part oftheir classroom instruction.After a short break, the camperswere back on the range Tuesdayevening when they finally had theopportunity to fire their first liverounds doing one-shot draws. WhileJerry and I observed and offeredsuggestions to students, the line wascarefully monitored by NRA-certifiedinstructors Gary and BarbaraThibodaux. As designated "safetyofficers," Gary and Barbara helpedmonitored live-fire training sessionsfor the first three days of camp untilwe were sure that all campers understoodand followed all appropriatesafety rules.Campers were on the firing lineby 8:00 a.m. Wednesday warmingup with 30 minutes of dry firing.This was followed by instructionand practice of "bill drills," stronghandand weak-hand shooting, andspeed reloads. When the thermometerapproached 104 degrees, weheaded back to the classroom for areloading seminar. In the late afternoonwhen things began to cooldown, we went back to the range.By this time blisters and sorehands began appearing. Sharpedges on thumb safeties were theculprit in several cases, a problemthat was quickly remedied with avisit to Clark Custom Guns, but forthe most part, sore hands occurredsimply from two days of intense12 FRONT SIGHT • November/December 1998