Ontelaunee IDPA: Wind Gusts and an Earthquake Chair

During the January Ontelaunee IDPA Match there were some issues with wind gusts. On several occasions props had to be pulled out of the mud and re-set so that shoots could continue with the match. With weather forecasts for the February Ontelaunee IDPA Match calling for similar wind conditions, changes had to be made.

Dave Bair, Ontelaunee IDPA Match Director, slashed the round count for the match and opted to shoot six stages instead of the usual eight. All moving targets were eliminated and the chance of wind related prop failure was reduced to practically zero.

When I got word of what was going on, I was a bit skeptical. In the past, I haven’t had the best of luck with low round count stages – typically feeling as though I didn’t get my monies worth. Despite my skepticism, I packed my gear and made the trip on a rather brisk Sunday morning.

Even though the round count was slashed to a little more than sixty rounds, I had an absolute blast. Dave put together a series of stages that were both fun and challenging. The most notable stage contained the Earthquake Chair, which everyone seemed to love. One shooter walked away from the stage yelling “Every stage should have one of those chairs!”

I shot what felt like a very consist match. Each stage was shot in a manner that was comfortable, not too fast (favoring speed) and not too slow (favoring accuracy). I was very surprised to see that the Unofficial Overall Scores had me in 2nd Place.