{"id":4829,"date":"2010-07-15T16:06:05","date_gmt":"2010-07-15T21:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/?p=4829"},"modified":"2010-07-16T15:11:24","modified_gmt":"2010-07-16T20:11:24","slug":"5th-at-single-stack-nats-shannon-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/5th-at-single-stack-nats-shannon-smith\/4829\/","title":{"rendered":"5th at Single Stack Nats: Shannon Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is courtesy of our good friends – and awesome shooters – at the Women of USPSA blog<\/a>. They were kind enough to allow DRTV to republish their interview with Shannon Smith who took 5th at this year’s USPSA Single Stack Nationals. This is the first in a series covering the top five from the match<\/a>…damn, I wish I had thought of this.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Interviews from the Top 5 at the 2010 Springfield \/ USPSA Single Stack Nationals \u2013 5th Place, Shannon Smith<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You read correctly.\u00a0 We\u2019re interviewing the Top 5 overall from the Single Stack Nationals.\u00a0 We were hoping that Front Sight would honor \/ highlight the top shooters\u2019 accomplishments, but\u00a0it unfortunately didn\u2019t happen.\u00a0\u00a0We want to congratulate these men on their great shooting\u00a0\u2026 <\/strong>and also get into their heads a bit.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>

Shannon Smith, with his Limited gun, providing instruction to a group of students.<\/p><\/div>\n

Fifth Place \u2013 Shannon Smith<\/strong> (3rd in Standard Division at IPSC World\u00a0Shoot XV in Bali, Indonesia<\/em> )<\/p>\n

WoU: <\/strong>Shannon, congratulations on your Top 5 finish!<\/p>\n

Shannon:<\/strong> Thank you\u2026thank you very much.\u00a0 I feel so honored \u2026 maybe it will finally pay off to have a girl\u2019s name.\u00a0 : )<\/p>\n

WoU: <\/strong>That\u2019s a good way to think about it!\u00a0 : )\u00a0 Now, what was your mindset going into this match?<\/p>\n

Shannon:<\/strong> Be the one to kick Rob\u2019s a** (sorry Kippi). \u00a0I really like the SSN and feel the match suits my shooting style, so I honestly felt\/feel that I had\/have the ability <\/strong>to win the match. \u00a0I don\u2019t think Rob can win the mach forever (though I\u2019m not positive about that) and everyone wants to be the one to beat him.<\/p>\n

WoU:<\/strong> No need to apologize, really.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s not the\u00a0first time I\u2019ve heard that!\u00a0 \u00a0: ) \u00a0Tell us about the gun and your gear.<\/p>\n

Shannon:<\/strong> As much as I appreciate Springfield for sponsoring the match in recent years, my stubborn a** has always wanted to win it with my trusty Kimber .45 that I started USPSA with in 1997.\u00a0 That is what I have been shooting at the match since my first SSN, actually the Single Stack Classic, 6 or 7 years ago.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, last year I made a loading error and shot most of the match with 7 grains of Clays instead of 4 \u2026 though still in mostly one piece, that may have ended the run of the Kimber.\u00a0 I used the opportunity to have a new gun built, using a Springfield that I was lucky enough to win while blowing up my Kimber.\u00a0 I had my friend Derek Janowicz at Millennium Custom<\/a> build a .40, as that seems to be the trend lately\u2026.plus cuts down one caliber I need to load for.\u00a0 I only received the gun a few weeks prior to the match and it performed flawlessly as do all my guns from Millennium.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a plain jane (jack), slab side, Caspian slide on the Springfield frame with Techwear grips and mag well, Dawson front sight and Bomar rear sight.\u00a0 I use a CR speed belt and the same Blade Tech holster and mag pouches I started USPSA with over 10 years ago.\u00a0 Wilson mags.<\/p>\n

WoU:<\/strong> Sounds like a sweet setup. <\/strong>How do you train when preparing for Single Stack?<\/p>\n

Shannon:<\/strong> Nothing really special for the Single Stack Match \u2026. other than using the single stack gun during my normal practice sessions. \u00a0Also it is early in the year and always sandwiched in with Area 6 and sometimes the FL State match, so I train less specifically for the SSN than I would like to.<\/p>\n

WoU: <\/strong>How do you feel you performed?<\/p>\n

Shannon:<\/strong> Pretty good actually. This was probably the most stacked SSN I\u2019ve ever shot in terms of talent.\u00a0 It really felt like a National Championship match with the caliber of shooters in attendance. I made a couple mistakes late on day two which always sucks, but in the grand scheme wouldn\u2019t have made a difference in my overall finish.\u00a0 I finished the match feeling like I shot well which is all one can do. \u00a0I can\u2019t control what my competition is doing, only myself.\u00a0 Obviously I would have rather finished 4th<\/sup>\u2026 or 1st<\/sup>\u2026 but I was happy with the way I shot and with the level of competition, I feel anything in the top ten is pretty decent.\u00a0 Need to pick up the speed next year.<\/p>\n

WoU: <\/strong>Historically at the Single Stack, the Grand Masters are spread out all over the match in different squads. \u00a0This year was no exception. Do you prefer to shoot with a variety of shooters or do you like to be squadded in a Super Squad?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Shannon Smith in action.<\/p><\/div>\n

Shannon:<\/strong> YES to both.\u00a0 I prefer the Super Squad for \u201cnormal\u201d Nationals, Limited or Open.\u00a0 But for some reason the SSN has always had a \u2018big club match\u2019 sort of feel to it and I enjoy shooting with my friends from the local club.\u00a0 Not that the usual suspects on the super squads aren\u2019t friends, but I always enjoy shooting with the local boys.<\/p>\n

WoU: <\/strong>Did you have a standout moment or unique match experience you would like to share?<\/p>\n

Shannon:<\/strong> I felt I performed really well Friday night at the Abbey Steakhouse in Quincy.\u00a0 I went with the Ottobeuren Strip \u2026 a twelve ounce, medium rare work of art with a side of twice baked potatoes and one or two Stella\u2019s.\u00a0 I handled it like a champ and always look forward to a return trip.<\/p>\n

WoU:<\/strong> Now that<\/em> sounds memorable \u2026 You\u2019re too funny!\u00a0 : )\u00a0 What do you like about the Single Stack Division?<\/p>\n

Shannon:<\/strong> I\u2019m not a big fan of it as a division. but love the Single Stack Nationals (Classic).\u00a0 I feel having the multitude of divisions we have dilutes the competition, but I suppose that is a topic for another interview.\u00a0 The greatest thing about the SSN is everybody is shooting essentially the same gear.\u00a0 There is just something cool about 300+ folks at the same match, shooting the same stuff.\u00a0 The match itself sets up the stages for pretty much a shooting challenge \u2026 no roller coasters or can carrying \u2026 just straight up shooting. May the best man or woman win. Unfortunately it wasn\u2019t me.<\/p>\n

WoU:<\/strong> But you\u2019re among the cream of the crop and should be proud!\u00a0 Congrats again Shannon on your 5th overall!<\/p>\n

Shannon: <\/strong>Looking forward to it next year. \u00a0I have a feeling Rob is going down\u2026.finally! (sorry again, Kippi)\u00a0 : )\u00a0 Thanks for all you girls do to promote the sport!\u00a0\u00a0See ya on the range!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is courtesy of our good friends – and awesome shooters – at the Women of USPSA blog. They were kind enough to allow DRTV to republish their interview with Shannon Smith who took 5th at this year’s USPSA Single Stack Nationals. This is the first in a series covering the top five from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9,6],"tags":[516,575,3597,843],"class_list":["post-4829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-paul-erhardt","category-uspsa","tag-shannon-smith","tag-single-stack-nationals","tag-uspsa","tag-women-of-uspsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}