Mexican nationals

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psteiger
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Mexican nationals

Post by psteiger »

Just got thru shooting the Mexican Nationals here in Saltillo. Wow. The best match ive ever seen. 225 shooters. Yes, 225. Unbelievable facility, wonderful people. Organized perfectly, unbeatable food. Im posting this from my phone in Monterrey. I promise a full report when i get home with pictures. Congratulations to Anjellica Kuess for the aggregate win and to the state of Sonora for winning what is best discribed as the team championship and the right to hold next years match in Hermosillo. Pepe Valdes, the range owner, and Enrique Kuess with Ricardo Salizar put on an amazing event. Special thanks to Chango and Koky for taking such good care of us.
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by acorneau »

Wow, I can't imagine trying to organize that many competitors at one match.

Can't wait for the full report.
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by cedestech »

So much fun! Glad you and E had fun!
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by Bob259 »

Can't wait to hear the report! If we would have know we could have paid Chango to keep you there =)) I'm sure Dustin would have paid a lot for that :))
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by dustinflint »

Bob259 wrote: Mon Aug 14, 2017 7:04 am Can't wait to hear the report! If we would have know we could have paid Chango to keep you there =)) I'm sure Dustin would have paid a lot for that :))
That freakin Mexican cartel cant get anything right. They better send me my money back...

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Re: Mexican nationals

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so that's why I had to find a cab back to the hotel...........
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Re: Mexican nationals

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Mexican Nationals 2017.

First the excuses, I am old and deaf. I don’t speak much Spanish, so if I forget or misspell someone’s name, feel free to correct me. I think I understood all that was explained to me but I might have messed up some points. Thank you very much to all (everybody) who welcomed us as honored guests into their Match. We were deeply touched.
I have traveled a bit in my life, and have shot in Mexico on a couple of occasions, but never at a match. I am comfortable with other cultures and other people and I enjoy trying new things. I also understand the things you see on television are slanted and dramatized. I always felt welcomed, and everywhere we went people were friendly. I look forward to entering more competitions in Mexico, I and want to bring the rest of the family.
Elisabeth and I flew to Monterrey where Jorge Koky Garza picked us up. We enjoyed a scenic ride to Saltillo to shoot the 2017 Mexican Minisiluetas Nationals. Jorge, Gabriel Chango Villereal, and Enrique Kuess generously took care of our entry into the Nationals. Pepe Valdez, the owner of the range, and his mother Señora de Valdez, welcomed us personally. They were extremely excited to host 225 shooters, a record crowd. The match was well organized and they were prepared for all contingencies.
Here in the USA we have a match with some food. In Mexico, it is a fiesta with some shooting. The shooting part is every bit as intense, but the atmosphere is more like the old Winnsboro match, except MORE food, and drink. And Prizes!!!!! Top prize was a High Power rifle. Other matches give gold and silver coins. In Mexico you are allowed to drink during the match. A point we hotly debated Saturday afternoon. I never saw or heard of any safety issues. Other differences, they only shoot Standard rifle. No hunter class at all. Voluntary tech. It is a point of honor to have a legal rifle. One, 40-shot match each day. With resettables, we finished early each afternoon, and the line remained hot until well after dark……YES, they have lights and shoot at night. The range is more like a country club than a shooting range. Most have a grill and a bar, this range even has a wine cellar, a chapel, and a helipad! So don’t think shooting range, think Golf Club. It is groomed and finished like one.
The course of fire is still 10 animals at each distance. The commands are a little different with a preparation period where you can do anything but shoulder and fire, then an 8 second ready, followed by a 2:30 fire. Also they give an aggregate award for the match, and an award for each animal. That means you have a chicken champion, a pig champion, a turkey champion and a ram champion. This format results in lots of shoot-offs. This range had 8 banks of each animal divided into 2 separate 4 bank sides. (just like Winni) If you shot on range 1 Saturday, you shot range 2 on Sunday. For the shoot-offs, they use just one range. If they have more than four shooters, they cycle them thru for one shot each until they get it down to 4 shooters then do either a 5 shot string, or sudden death, with the shooters rotating banks every 5 shots. If it sounds complex, it is. Especially since we learned ALL this as Elisabeth was shooting off against Juan Villareal from Sonora, and Enirique Kuess Jr from Saltillo, for the pig championship. There was a HUGE crowd gathered for this, with everyone cheering or groaning with each win or loss. As we discovered, there are points awarded for the first three places with each animal. When the points are tallied, the state with the most points earns the right to host the next year’s National Match. This was hotly contested because Elisabeth’s second place points for pigs were not eligible in the run for next year’s Mexican nationals. Enrique inherited Elisabeth’s points and there was a 14 shooter contest for that last point. It was ALL very exciting. After the shoot-offs were complete, the awards ceremony began. Ricardo Arellano, the Aguila representative and range master, was also the MC. With pomp and circumstance, Ricardo entertained the crowd and brought the winners to receive their awards. Señora de Valdez presented the trophies. There was a huge emphasis on the junior shooters including a sponsorship program. All the scorekeepers were the local junior shooters. They were an enthusiastic bunch, the girls mobbing Elisabeth after the match to learn about shooting (and life) in the USA. I don’t have a list of the winners, I will get Chango or Koky to send them to me and post them here.
Other stuff. You can bring your rifles, but not ammo. Paperwork and permits are required to bring them in to Mexico. The consensus is that you may not bring ammo, but must purchase it there. The army sells all ammo. We borrowed rifles, and sponged ammo off Koky and Chango. Ammo is approximately 3 times more expensive in Mexico. SK Standard plus was $180 a brick. Yes Adam, Elisabeth shot Lapua ammo! Eley is available as well as Aguila. A quick, informal, equipment survey had 95% of the rifles were Anschutz (54 or 2013 actions) and Leupold scopes. From what I could tell Aguila and Lapua ammo were more common than Eley. I did see bricks of ammo for sale. There was a healthy swap meet going on, with everything from new equipment to used parts, ammo, accessories, and gear. Even new and used rifles. Nearly everyone I spoke to wanted to shoot in the USA and they wanted us to shoot in Mexico. I suspect many more will travel to the USA and I encourage you to get to know them. The Mexicans are gracious hosts and really know how to throw a shooting fiesta.
Last edited by psteiger on Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by Bob259 »

Great write up Pat! On my bucket list!
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Re: Mexican nationals

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World cup coming up. Chango willpost details.
I had photos but need to resize them.
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by ShootingStar »

Pat,
GREAT description of what must have been a WONDERFUL time!!!
That type of match sounds like something to experience. . . and as often as possible.
Fiesta with shooting! Maybe that will get us more shooters if we change how we think about the matches! More fun, therefore more shooting!

Something to look forward to in the future!
I'll add that to my list, just like Iron Man in Montana and CBC in Washington and Nationals in Raton.
Man, all of those are a long way from North Carolina!!!

You never did say how YOU shot!

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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by Evelio Mc Donald »

Pat,
Ola amigo y saludos a Elisabeth. I know you both had a hell of a good time, I am really excited about seeing the results, you mention Angelica Kuess as the winner, was that overall or women's class ?
I remember shooting in Mexico a long time ago when we could take the rifles and ammo. in with no problem, it was always a blast, just like you described more of a big Fiesta than a shoot.
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by Doodaddy »

I remember you talking about this at the Texas State match. It was interesting then and even more so now. Sounds like a blast of a match.
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by chango2013 »

Hi All
here is the score board
it was a very fun match
G.
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by ChuckD »

So is this just a RF match? If yes, do they hold a CF match?

thanks
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Re: Mexican nationals

Post by psteiger »

Absolutely. They shoot everything. They have an opensight smallbore, different hp games as well as a running deer. The world cup next month is 3 different matches .
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