Re: Results Odessa FV 200yd F-Class August 7th
OK, here's the positive note I seek.
I don't want to be seeing Scotty being hassled over any aspect of this match. Whether it was clear or not, that was the point I was trying to drive home. I'm too old to be wasting any of my remaining time dwelling on anything negative, but where Scotty is concerned, I like to think I can be his junkyard dog if he feels he needs one. I can sure think like one, and even sound like one, it when things get beyond that, that I tend to fall spectacularly short. So nobody's perfect, none of us.
Scotty's reticence is not surprising. In my experience, he will choose to talk or not talk, and his reason are good enough for me, whether or not he cares to share them with me. STP stands for Scott The Phantom, and that goes a long way toward explaining his reticence. It is his natural state. He does what he does, he does it his way, and explanations really aren't due.
Everything was running smoothly for a couple of years until this scoring question came up. It becomes rather apparent that something odd may have happened in my absence, about which I know nada. Personally, I don't know what he employs to score, I really don't care, and in my opinion, the decisions of the judge are final, whatever they are. I'm leaving it at that, and I'm not interjecting anything further into the situation. I wasn't even there.
Regarding plugs, overlays, bullet holes, and target lines in the pits during LR F Class comp, I have competed at 1Kyd on the Regional and National level as well, and I have never seen these implements being employed in the pits. Yeah, apparently they're on the books; but you could never tell from what I've seen. BTW, we shared those lines and pits with the National Palma Teams contingents. My viewpoint on that is if they aren't used all of the time, they shoudln't be used any of the time.
My experience with running organized, coordinated programs, not inconsiderable, has taught me that perceptions and expectations can and often do differ. This is a club event. We can do anything differently from widely held expectation, should we choose to do so.
IMHO, rules are for people who feel a need to have fairness defined for them. I understand such reasoning, and the comfort it conveys.
I don't try to do that because, honestly, I consider fairness to be an overly cherished myth. Life (and shooting competitions) have on occasion been mighty unfair to me, and I have found myself with little, if any, recourse. I'd rather just say, the decisions of the judges are final, and trust the individual human process, and allow some personal judgement, rather than one which was hammered out by a committee. I trust individual integrity, especially Scotty's, whole orders of magnitudes more than anything that was designed by a rules committee. In my view, the rules are best which are fewest. Less bickering all around. Be advised, this is the context under which our club's FV200 program was devised. We put it out there, warts 'n all, and people still seem to like it.
My reluctance to proceed with any rimfire initiatives, no matter how much time, heart, and effort have already been expended, is because I simply don't think I could handle being in a position of responsibility if a debate similar to what occurred here previously were to be laid at my feet. Seen in such a potential light, I'd rather just chuck the whole thing. I wouldn't favor passing the project on to another because I have my own ideas about how it should be done, especially with regard to the spirit of things. Much of what I've been conveying recently reflects those ideas, and I just don't know if I could trust someone else to safeguard those ideas and stand by them in time of challenge. I do know I couldn't when I retired from the NJ MCL Comp Shooting Chairman's position. The spirit of what I wanted to see continue went by the wayside very early on.
For my own satisfaction, I may pursue some details of the .22RFV idea, I may not. I also have my model airplanes, which have recently become the cement of a strong bond with my Grandson, who rather badly needs some positive adult attention right now.
I'm not upset with anyone or anything. If I were to be it would be with situations, and not personalities. Tom; I enjoy your company and greatly value your contributions to what we all do. Never permit yourself to think I'm disturbed by you or your viewpoints. I know sometimes I'm an odd duck, and I don't find this truth in any way disturbing. I'm stuck being who I am. Ain't we all?
Greg