30 replies to this topic

[Winder]

OK, so I had a good showing at our sectional and earned a slot to the SS Nationals. I got my paperwork in and am signed up and ready to go. Now that all that excitement is over I'm thinking "hmmmm, I've never been to a USPSA Nationals. I have no idea what I've gotten myself into." Now I'm looking for any ideas, tips that might be good to know.

Squadding, is there anything to know, inside track, etc? I don't think I'll know anyone that I'll want to shoot with.
Is it a good idea to try to stay at the match host hotel?.....Does it matter?
Should I stay for the Banquet/closing cerimony?......Is it worth sticking around for it?

Any insights would be great.

Thanks.

[Flexmoney]

There are threads every year on what to expect at the nationals. You may be able to find some good info with a search.

[pjb45]

Stay the hotel of your choice. SS Nationals traditionally is not like the other Nationals.

Sign in and get a great gift.
I generally stay at the Marriott for other reasons.
Don't eat at the Mexican place across the street from the Marriott.
The place that looks like the castle actually has good $1 tacos. I hate the cheese they put on their pizzas.
There are two great places to eat in town $$$.
Do not speed on the way back to STL. Tickets are $100.
Airlines other than SWA can be a PIA out of STL. Plan accordingly.


The match itself can be shot in a day. Last year I was unprepared and had to buy a long sleeve shirt at Lunch time, hint!
If I was to go again, prepare for cold, windy, wet, dry, sunny weather all in one day.
Recognize you might get your ammo chrono'd during a cold spell, so if you cut it close to the PF major level, you could be shooting minor.

I have not been disappointed on any squad I was on.

SSNat tests more of your shooting skills than stage strategy and generally it is not a track meet. Shoot, four steps, shoot again, four steps shoot again, etc. Make sure you can shoot weak and strong hand. You can pay a pretty hefty price is you are careless or sloppy. If you dry fire, dry fire with no shoots.

If I ever go again, I would leave Quincy and drive back to STL right after the match. I would find a decent place in STL to eat and sleep. In the past I had to leave the first thing Sunday morning, which means a 4 AM wake up and two hours on the road. PIA.

The awards after the match on Saturday are really not worth the trouble. They are probably the worst part of the match. Read the Prize rules. The prize table really does not exist for 98% of the shooters.

Edited by pjb45, 11 December 2011 - 10:06 PM.

[hitman]

Hanible is closer to the range and MO is CCDW friendly but there isnt much to do.

Like said be ready for every kind of weather, last year Friday was shorts weather and Sat was cold and rain.

Shoot your speed & game, you will be shooting with a cross section of shooters some better some worse so dont get sucked into a GMs speed unless your a GM.

Be prepared to walk, go light or use a back pack / range cart and hope your not on top of the hill before and after lunch.

Have fun, for me its like a local match only bigger with more chances of messing up.

Read the rules and make sure your compliant with them, they will kick you to open if you dont.

And one final word Buggins!

[bbbean]

You've got good advice from the others. I like to stay in Hannibal - it's closer to the range and MO is a gun friendly state. On the other hand, if you stay at the match hotel, the lobby and hotel bar/restaurant will be full of shooters you'll recognize every afternoon and evening. The awards ceremony is exciting for the drama at the top, but there is no prize table, so if you're OK with finding out whether anyone beat TGO online, you can easily be in STL for dinner after you shoot.

As others have said, the stages will likely be more of a test of shooting skills than strategy. Plan on seeing lots of speed shoots, at least a couple of stages with mandatory WHO/SHO strings, and work on your 35-45 yard shots. There will also be a few field courses, but if your primary skill is blazing through hosefest track meets, you're going to be eating the dust of guys who spend all their time shooting El Presidente at 30 yds with 2" groups. Basically, if the classifier is typically your best stage at a match, you should do well at the SSN.

Note also that the club is on a huge hill, so while the stages won't test your physical endurance too much, getting to them might, especially if you're at the top of the hill for your first stage in the morning or after lunch. The gnats are tough enough at PASA that some people refer to the match as the Single Stack Gnats, but vanilla on your face and hat will do a good job of keeping them at bay. Many of the ROs will have vanilla body spray on their tables for this very purpose, so if you notice everyone smells like cookies, you'll understand. Mosquitos and flies aren't typically too bad.

Best part of the match is that, like any Nationals, the best of the best are there in droves, and you'll have lots of opportunities to watch them shoot and visit with them. As far as I'm concerned, the SSN is like a class and a match rolled up together - I always walk away a better shooter.

Edited by bbbean, 12 December 2011 - 08:41 AM.

[sperman]

I stayed in Hannibal last year, but will go back to Quincy this year. There are advantages to being in Hannibal, but you have to go to Quincy to register. Plus all of my friends were in Quincy so when it came time for dinner, I made another trek back to Quincy.

[Prov1x]

You've got good advice from the others. I like to stay in Hannibal - it's closer to the range and MO is a gun friendly state. On the other hand, if you stay at the match hotel, the lobby and hotel bar/restaurant will be full of shooters you'll recognize every afternoon and evening. The awards ceremony is exciting for the drama at the top, but there is no prize table, so if you're OK with finding out whether anyone beat TGO online, you can easily be in STL for dinner after you shoot.

There's not a prize table at SSN? So it's a trophy only match or...? I plan on trying to shoot it either way but would like to know what to expect.

[bbbean]

You've got good advice from the others. I like to stay in Hannibal - it's closer to the range and MO is a gun friendly state. On the other hand, if you stay at the match hotel, the lobby and hotel bar/restaurant will be full of shooters you'll recognize every afternoon and evening. The awards ceremony is exciting for the drama at the top, but there is no prize table, so if you're OK with finding out whether anyone beat TGO online, you can easily be in STL for dinner after you shoot.

There's not a prize table at SSN? So it's a trophy only match or...? I plan on trying to shoot it either way but would like to know what to expect.

The top (5, 9, 10??) shooters take home a gun, and there are plaques for each class and category, but there is no prize table per se. There is usually a nice goodie bag when you register - the past three years, I brought home a Fenix Flashlight, a small range bag, and a nice knife. And, of course, you'll bring home enough Springfield Armory stickers, patches, and coozies to hold you for a while.

BB

[OPENB]

I shot it 6 times. When it was just the Single Stack Classic back in the mid 90's, everyone went to the prize table. They had several sponsors that put something for everyone on the table. Springfield is the lone sponsor now, so the same people win the guns, but everyone gets a "thanks for coming" item in the shooters bag. Usually something nice, like a Surefire E2D light, or a CRKT knife. Unless you expect to finish top in your class, I'd suggest skipping the awards & enjoy a good meal somewhere.
Speaking of a good meal, go to the Patio Restaurant. They have a 2" pork chop that is worth the drive alone. The prime rib was top notch also.

[Corey]

I was in hannibal last year. not a bad drive to the range in the morning, but not much to do in the area at night either. The match hotel in Quincy looked really nice when i was there for check-in. Def bring clothes for a variety of weather. it can change drastically from one day to the next.

[BritinUSA]

There are some videos of 2011 SS Nationals on my web-site if you want an idea of what to expect with regard to stage design: BritinUSA.net

[bbbean]

... not much to do in the area at night either. ...

How much do you really WANT to do the night before the SSN? If I have a good meal and some downtime to be sure my gun/rig/head are all working like they should, I'm pretty happy.

[Gary1911A1]

I agree with what others have said, but I'll add if you have a cart of some sort to pull your ammo and bag up the hill you'll be better rested at the match. If you shoot on the first day don't be surprised you'll shoot all the stages in one day instead of 1 1/2 days. Also wear good shoes. By the end of the match I swear I could feel every gravel I was walking on like I was wearing no shoes at all. I didn't go last year due to money problems, but I'm hoping to go this year.

[want2race]

2012 SSN's looks to be a one day format, no matter the day you pick.

[Corey]

... not much to do in the area at night either. ...

How much do you really WANT to do the night before the SSN? If I have a good meal and some downtime to be sure my gun/rig/head are all working like they should, I'm pretty happy.

Haha, not much really. I was very content to eat dinner and watch a movie in my hotel last year. Will probably do the same again this year

[hitman]

Good meal and the hot tub was fine with me.

The Holliday inn is a nice hotel with a good resterant, hot tub and you dont have to worry about youth socker teams packing the hotel.

[Winder]

Thanks guys, a lot of good info here.

[Loose Brass]

You will want to find a body spray of some sort that has vanilla extract in it. Trust me


Looks Like Mr Bean already covered that one. However I will add to the staying in Hannibal contingent.

Edited by Loose Brass, 12 December 2011 - 08:49 PM.

[want2race]

Hotel is reserved for the LexMafia.

[hitman]

Buggins is the stuff you want.

If you cant find that pick up some vanilla extract or some type of body spray.

[Chills1994]

WOW!

I hadn't realized that the buffalo gnats had gotten that bad.

I shot the 2007 IDPA IL State match at Havana. They were horrible then and there too. I guess they migrated. We ended up attaching vanilla scented dryer sheets to our ball caps. That kinda helped, but because I have a sensitive nose, I had a searing headache for the rest of the match. But I still had gnats flying in my mouth, eyes, and ears. Arrgghh.....It was extremely aggravating.

My experience at the 2008 Single Stack Nat's was that it was an accuracy intensive match, not a track meet. If you threw a mike you got hammered with the double whammy of it falling into a no shoot. There weren't any buffalo gnats there in 2008.

There is one all steel stage. In 2008, that all steel stage had you pre-position mags at the shelf located below each port. If you threw a mike at a popper or two during an array, you could end up doing a standing reload right in the middle of the array. That would throw off your reloads for the next array.

The standards stage they had there is (was?) called the six in six challenge. I don't know if they do that every year, but it involved having these air turner targets. At the beep, they would turn towards you, three of them. For the first string you were supposed to go two, two, two, then reload, two, two, and two in under 6 seconds. That was the par time, and the timer was hooked into the air valve for the turning mechanism...so the targets would turn away from you. That was at like at 25 yards or maybe even more. Then the second string was say like at 15 yards, draw, strong hand only two, two, and two. The third and last string was draw, switch to weak hand, two, two, and two from like 7 yards.

I'm sure you did a search on YouTube you would find some videos. Or if there is somebody from your local club who shot it last year who still has the match booklet with the CoF/stage diagrams.

[Gary1911A1]

2012 SSN's looks to be a one day format, no matter the day you pick.

Thanks, Good to know that.

[Wideload]

Got a Saturday slot.
Read about the bugs.
I have shot A5 last year at the PASA range an understand the need to pack "right" and choices on footwear.
I live 2 states to the west (KS) and understand the day to day fluctuations in the weather, esp in Spring.
Still need to book a hotel for Friday night.
Anything else to consider?
Also, will the stages get published in advance?

[BritinUSA]

I would try to get to the range by mid-day on Friday if possible, it will give you a chance to look at the stages while they are being shot and get a good idea of your game plan for the field courses etc. and also to see the timing of swingers/activators.

[shoot]

I wonder who will be desiging the stages this year? Correct me if I'm wrong but Russell is not doing the stage design.

It could be very interesting.

Edited by shoot, 28 January 2012 - 11:11 AM.