Yes, the scope is missing off my gun and I have magazines wrapped endlessly around my waist!  I’m counting in groups of 10, and could not tell you how many rounds a stage is, but could tell you how many reloads I have to do!  I’m back to try iron sites again. 

Never, ever having shot iron sites, strictly an Open class shooter for 16 years, in 2008 I thought I would try something new – a 185 Power Factor non-compensated firearm that left my hands cut and bandaged by the end of the competition. 

Hmmmmm…. I think those Lady “Limited” shooters pulled a fast one on me.  They make it look so easy! 

Being stubborn and not always the brightest crayon in the box, I talked myself into it again this year.  I may never become proficient with iron sites, but I told myself I was going to learn and understand how to effectively shoot them.  Plus, it was time to try something different in this sport!  This time, I chose to shoot minor which I felt would allow me learn how the sites function vs. how to hang on to my firearm.

Thanks to Joe Rini, who so generously lent me his “baby” 9mm M2I, and believe me, it IS his baby.  Joe called me after every match I shot to make sure she was running top notch for me and to make sure I wasn’t having any problems, which I’m happy to report, I had absolutely no malfunctions.  So, I must thank him for being so kind.

I woke up the morning of the match and honestly, did not want to shoot.  It had been a tough few months leading up to the match, listening to the many jokes that I probably shouldn’t shoot iron sites, that some people are just meant to shoot Open only, and to stick with what I know.  The last thing I felt like doing was proving them right!  But, the stubbornness, with the assistance of my husband’s foot, booted me out the door and off we went. I was going to shoot it and prove them wrong!  

Steve Horsman, Kyle Schmidt, and their staff put on an excellent match, as one would expect from the Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club.  Again, we were fortunate to have a wonderful squad with fantastic shooters from New Mexico, California, Alaska, my partner in crime, Doni, and my ever-so-patient husband, Russell … what do I line up WHERE??!!

The challenges presented to us were pesky plates that were way too far for iron site shooting, partial targets, drop turners, a partial bobber, clam shells, the Texas Star and the Rio swingers, slightly tuned down, thankfully.  The stages were for the most part physical, very little standing around, and creatively set up for both the major caliber shooters and the minor caliber shooters to come up with a plan that works for them.

We had 11 challenging courses of fire, 260+ rounds and beautiful weather.  It couldn’t have been more perfect.  The WSSSC grew by approximately 40 shooters from the last time I shot it, and I suspect will become more and more difficult to get into, so mark your calendars for 2011. 

Moral of the story, Ladies, if it doesn’t work the first time, try another way, and never listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t.  We have many, many World-Class Lady shooters in our sport – ask them for help.  I’m certain you’ll quite easily find it.  

Congratulations to Sara Dunivin who finished an impressive 31^st Overall, with Kippi Leatham close behind at 39^th.  I’d say one of these Lady’s would be a great starting point!

To wrap up, I would like to thank Scott Carnahan of Safariland (http://holsters.com).  Safariland does so much for this sport and Scott has been absolutely fantastic.  I love, love, love the gear!  The Safariland equipment worked perfectly for me!  I especially loved the drop down option for the holster.  I’ll be using it again next year! 

Eva Micklethwaite
2009 USPSA Area-2 “Open” Champion : )

Editor’s note:  I’m so happy for (and proud of) Eva for having the perseverance to “prove her nay-sayers wrong”.  She shot an excellent match and was much improved over her 2008 finish!  I watched her shoot Stage 3, and she certainly looked like a SS shooter to me!  I hope that Eva, the other ladies that shot the match, and hopefully a few more gals sign up for next year’s event!  In closing, I extend my congratulations to ALL of the 2010 Western States Single Stack Women shooters:
1 – Sara Dunivin, 2 – Kippi Leatham, 3 – Lisa Munson, 4 – T.D. Roe,
5 – Doni Spencer, 6 – Maggie Reese, 7 – Kandi Blick, 8 – Eva Micklethwaite,
9 – Tabatha Averyt, 10 – Sue Little, 11 – Carol Mar, 12 – Denise Harrington,
13 – Toni Lucero, 14 – Sara Drake, 15 – Gail Drake, 16 – Allison Arnett
Woo Tom – Hope to see you next year, too!
Kippi

June 5-7, 2009 the best revolver shooters in the world met to compete in the 18th Annual Smith & Wesson International Revolver Championships (IRC) in sunny San Luis Obispo, CA.   The match consisted of 12 challenging courses of fire all with wheel guns, of course!

In iron sight revolver divisions, Annette Aysen has been synonymous with Ladies Revolver Champion for years in several shooting sports including ICORE, USPSA, Steel Challenge and American Handgunner. It was no surprise when she once again dominated at this year’s IRC.  Annette placed 21st overall in Limited and 5th place A Class. Her total score of 359.34 seconds was over 11 seconds faster than 2nd Woman, Lisa Farrell – a revolver champion many times over herself.

Rounding out the Top 5 Limited Ladies:

1. Annette Aysen
2. Lisa Farrell
3. Sharon Dickey
4. Tabatha Averyt
5. Molly Smith (Junior)

Making her debut at the IRC, Julie Golob competed in the Open Division.   Shooting a full 25 seconds faster than 2nd Place Lady Beate Sexton, Julie added Women’s Open Revolver Champion to her list of many titles.

Rounding out the Top 5 Ladies in Open:

1. Julie Golob
2. Beate Sexton
3. Rhonda Skelton
4. Janae Sarabia (Junior)
5. Janet Leach

We’d also like to extend congratulations to the upcoming junior ladies talent Janae Sarabia, Rachel Crow and Molly Smith!  Way to go, girls!