Bracket Matches
I have shot in 7 bracket matches this year, 3 at titled events, 1 at the Camp and 3 at Shady Mountain. Brackets definitely have some advantages over other side matches.
One shooter's perspective: Lil' James absolutely loved the bracket match he got to shoot in at South Dakota. He has shot in about 10 title matches and he is not thrilled with shooting the 2nd chance shoots where he is normally eliminated early. At South Dakota he was in a 17 shooter bracket where he was as quick as any of the shooters. He finished 4th having lost to the top three in 2-2 matches by a less than 10 milliseconds. Great fun and competition.
Only CFDA Bracket. The only CFDA bracket match shot in Arizona in the last 7 years, (except title matches, Shady Mtn, and Rio's two magnificent shoots) was the bracket match shot at the Camp in May. We had 18 shooters and I think it was really enjoyed by all except there was some grumbling about the size of the targets. I think the consensus was that it was fun to shoot against others about the same quickness.
Title Events: Texas, Colorado, and South Dakota had bracket events. South Dakota's event was a big money event with 6 brackets each paying out $600 for a total of $3,600. I am sure there were others, those are the ones I shot in or was present for.
At Nationals the bracket matches were shot as a 2nd Chance shoot. I and the boys, Lil' James and Dismal, were very disappointed that we did not get to shoot in the bracket matches. The reason they were shot as a 2nd Chance shoot was to shorten up the event because Cal complained greatly the previous year that the event was too long on the final day.
One of my gripes has always been shooting brackets in the middle of the main event which is customary. In 2016 at Texas. Powder Keg won the Master Gunfighter and I won the Gunfighter bracket. We both said that was a lot of work for a piece of wood. In 2016, it did result in my failure to make the magnificent shoot-off at Texas State. In 2019 at Colorado the fiasco in the Master Gunfighter bracket caused me to drill the next two shooters in the main event (I was a little angry before the powers read the rules).
Arizona State: My proposal is that we complete the main match down to the shoot off number ( 5, 7 or 10) on Saturday thereby eliminating any adverse or positive influence on the main match.
I also propose that it be a 2nd chance shoot. I do this not to save range time as they did at Nationals, but to spread the prize money around. By making it a 2nd chance shoot we can spread the prize money among 32 winners. The top twenty shooters split $3,000, Bracket winners split $2,000. I think that is better for the sport. However, if you want to load up the pot for the top gunslinger, put em all in.
Administrative Ease: I have run bracket events and will tell you it is relatively easy to do. I have never done categories but think they are run the same on the 19.5 program. The big difference would be that you are running 14 separate events with categories whereas you are running only 4 separate events with brackets.
Brackets are very efficiency in the use of range time. Because the field is divided into four parts there normally is no down time to draw rounds. For example, if you were using two ranges you could put two brackets on each range, MG and Deputy on A, Gunfighter and Sheriff on B. If you start with MG, Deputy is already drawn and on the table when you start. While Deputy is being shot, MG is entered and the next round drawn. MG will be on the table before Deputy is done. Likewise for range B.
If we advertise 2X Bracket, Nevada 8, we will have plenty of range time. We will be done with brackets by 11.
If we have three ranges up, we can do as Cal does at World. Range A and B will be used for brackets Sunday morning with Range C being available for Magnificent shooters to warm up on. Also, if we want to be considerate of travel we could schedule Youth shoot offs at 11:00 a.m. on Range C and start Magnificent Ladies at 12:00.
Next Post: Enough for this morning. I am going to write another post on how to figure out how much range time you need for a shoot. I will also make a proposal for a club CFDA bracket shoot in my next post.
One shooter's perspective: Lil' James absolutely loved the bracket match he got to shoot in at South Dakota. He has shot in about 10 title matches and he is not thrilled with shooting the 2nd chance shoots where he is normally eliminated early. At South Dakota he was in a 17 shooter bracket where he was as quick as any of the shooters. He finished 4th having lost to the top three in 2-2 matches by a less than 10 milliseconds. Great fun and competition.
Only CFDA Bracket. The only CFDA bracket match shot in Arizona in the last 7 years, (except title matches, Shady Mtn, and Rio's two magnificent shoots) was the bracket match shot at the Camp in May. We had 18 shooters and I think it was really enjoyed by all except there was some grumbling about the size of the targets. I think the consensus was that it was fun to shoot against others about the same quickness.
Title Events: Texas, Colorado, and South Dakota had bracket events. South Dakota's event was a big money event with 6 brackets each paying out $600 for a total of $3,600. I am sure there were others, those are the ones I shot in or was present for.
At Nationals the bracket matches were shot as a 2nd Chance shoot. I and the boys, Lil' James and Dismal, were very disappointed that we did not get to shoot in the bracket matches. The reason they were shot as a 2nd Chance shoot was to shorten up the event because Cal complained greatly the previous year that the event was too long on the final day.
One of my gripes has always been shooting brackets in the middle of the main event which is customary. In 2016 at Texas. Powder Keg won the Master Gunfighter and I won the Gunfighter bracket. We both said that was a lot of work for a piece of wood. In 2016, it did result in my failure to make the magnificent shoot-off at Texas State. In 2019 at Colorado the fiasco in the Master Gunfighter bracket caused me to drill the next two shooters in the main event (I was a little angry before the powers read the rules).
Arizona State: My proposal is that we complete the main match down to the shoot off number ( 5, 7 or 10) on Saturday thereby eliminating any adverse or positive influence on the main match.
I also propose that it be a 2nd chance shoot. I do this not to save range time as they did at Nationals, but to spread the prize money around. By making it a 2nd chance shoot we can spread the prize money among 32 winners. The top twenty shooters split $3,000, Bracket winners split $2,000. I think that is better for the sport. However, if you want to load up the pot for the top gunslinger, put em all in.
Administrative Ease: I have run bracket events and will tell you it is relatively easy to do. I have never done categories but think they are run the same on the 19.5 program. The big difference would be that you are running 14 separate events with categories whereas you are running only 4 separate events with brackets.
Brackets are very efficiency in the use of range time. Because the field is divided into four parts there normally is no down time to draw rounds. For example, if you were using two ranges you could put two brackets on each range, MG and Deputy on A, Gunfighter and Sheriff on B. If you start with MG, Deputy is already drawn and on the table when you start. While Deputy is being shot, MG is entered and the next round drawn. MG will be on the table before Deputy is done. Likewise for range B.
If we advertise 2X Bracket, Nevada 8, we will have plenty of range time. We will be done with brackets by 11.
If we have three ranges up, we can do as Cal does at World. Range A and B will be used for brackets Sunday morning with Range C being available for Magnificent shooters to warm up on. Also, if we want to be considerate of travel we could schedule Youth shoot offs at 11:00 a.m. on Range C and start Magnificent Ladies at 12:00.
Next Post: Enough for this morning. I am going to write another post on how to figure out how much range time you need for a shoot. I will also make a proposal for a club CFDA bracket shoot in my next post.
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