Editor’s Note: Today’s guest feature from is our contributor Greg Moats.
I’ve heard “luck” described as the intersection of where preparation meets opportunity——that makes for a wonderful sound bite, but sometimes luck is just the randomness of being in the right place at the right time. In 1977 I was discharged from the Marine Corps and returned to Kansas City. While stationed at Camp Pendleton I had been an avid participant with the Oceanside Combat Pistol League in the pre-IPSC era and had read with excitement of the Columbia conference held in May of 1976 which inaugurated the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC). When I returned home I immediately started attending monthly matches with the Midwest Practical Pistol League (MPPL) the home club where the conference had been conducted. Little did I know that I was putting myself in the right place at the right time. At my first match I noticed a fellow that looked for all the world like Sonny Bono selling trinkets off of the hood of his Dodge Charger. 42 years later I received an email from that same individual, inviting me to his 8000 acre ranch in Northeast Texas for a reunion. The quintessential American success story, Bill Wilson has come a long ways.
The original e-mail sent by Wilson was titled “Practical Pistol Reunion” and started with a purpose clause: “To get as many of the early IPSC shooters together before too many more of us are underground, reminisce about the old days, get some of our stories recorded for posterity and have a few adult beverages to celebrate the old days.” I don’t know exactly how many of the original participants of the Columbia Conference are still alive, but four of them were in attendance at the reunion; Bob Arganbright, Ken Hackathorn, Jim McClary and David Westerhout (who graced our presence all the way from Zimbabwe).
Bob Arganbright, Massad Ayoob, Tommy Campbell, Jason Cole, Ken Hackathorn, Jim Hewins, Rob Leatham, Jim McClary, Greg Moats, Dan Predovich, Bill Rogers, John Sayle, Jim Walls, Jeff Wassam, David Westerhout and Bill Wilson were the attending certifiable “old farts” that were around from pre-1985. We were joined by Mandy Bachman, a sponsored Wilson Combat shooter, Nick Harvey, one of the owners of Milt Sparks Holsters and Karl Rehn who is writing a book on the history of practical shooting.
Others that were on the list that either could not be located or couldn’t attend were: Jerry Barnhart, Ed Brown, Scott Carnahan, Mike Dalton, Brian Enos, Mike Fitchman, Mickey Fowler, Keith Hamilton, Todd Jarett, John Markwell, Chip McCormick, Rick Miller, Mike Plaxco, Ross Seyfried, John Shaw, Clint Smith, Chuck Taylor and Dennis Tueller.
To add a note of sanctity to the event Michael Bane and his camera crew were also on site filming the event and interviewing the “old farts” for an episode of “The Shooting Gallery.”
To say that this group of geriatric shooters are “competitive” by nature is a gross understatement. Knowing this going in to setting up the event, Wilson and Hackathorn had established a competitive course of fire. We may be gray of hair, dim of vision and deaf as posts, but the adrenaline perhaps combined with a touch of Geritol running through our veins caused all but one of the invitees (due to arthritis) to re-dive into the crucible of competition.
According to the description sent out by Bill, “Ken and I purposely set generous PAR time limits for each string….” and all participants were required to use single stack 1911 pistols of any caliber with iron sights and 5” or less barrels drawn from leather holsters that were available prior to 1985. With no power factor, most shooters opted for 9mm 1911’s, something rarely seen in competition prior to 1985, but none of us were afflicted with arthritic joints prior to 1985 either.
The modified courses of fire was as follows:
Advanced Military Combat Course = 250 pts.
Los Alamitos Pistol Course = 210 pts.
Accuracy Course = 135 pts.
Speed Course = 120 pts.
Total match points available = 715
Nobody was surprised when Rob Leatham shot the match only one point down; however, the cluster of points near the top were a bit of a surprise for those of us who haven’t shot a USPSA match in decades! The results were as follows:
Rob Leatham 714
Jim McClary 713
Massad Ayoob 713
Bill Wilson 710
Ken Hackathorn 703
Greg Moats 701
Jeff Wassom 698
John Sayle 697
Jason Cole 691
Jim Walls 690
Bill Rogers 682
Dave Westerhout 663
Jim Hewins 649
Dan Predovich 639
Bob Arganbright 627
STAFF/GUESTS
Mandy Bachman 710
Karl Rehn 707
Nick Harvey 684
While the shooting was similar to “the good old days” the atmosphere definitely lacked a decorum of resolute focus; Leatham offered me $100 for my pistol in the middle of a shooting string (an offer I was tempted to accept at the moment)! “Fraternal” is probably the best description of the dominating spirit of the event. It was truly a fun experience and an interesting test of one’s ability to deal with pressure in that no one really cared about the outcome of the match, but no one wanted to look inept in front of peers that they held in high esteem.
In our off-time, we were able to watch the recording of numerous episodes of Wilson Combat’s “Gun Guys” for Bill’s You Tube channel. Also Michael Bane conducted sit-down interviews with us “under the lights” for his “Shooting Gallery” TV show. It was as entertaining as it was interesting to hear everyone’s perception of the old days.
Discussions centering on who had the latest rotator cuff surgery, the highest dose of Lipitor or the most accomplished grandchildren were distinctly missing from the event. We laughed at some of the incredibly dangerous events that we had conducted in the old days, some of the massive egos that we had to deal with and many of the truly good folks that are no longer with us. Dave Westhout talked about life in post-Rhodesia Zimbabwe. He gets to shoot 31 cartridges per month, and that is the least of the egregious circumstances he faces on a daily basis. It sounded a foreshadowing of potential life in our country should we not be vigilant politically.
Bill and Joyce Wilson were lavishly hospitable in housing, feeding and organizing the participants. I was fortunate to be able to spend the next week up at Thunder Ranch with Rob Leatham. We both agreed that it had been a unique and marvelous time. Had we thought of it, we should have concluded the event by singing Auld Lang Syne; instead we all agreed to have another reunion in another 40 years. Who knows, with some luck some of us may again be in the right place at the right time!
- - Greg Moats was one of the original IPSC Section Coordinators appointed by Jeff Cooper shortly after its inception at the Columbia Conference. In the early 1980’s, he worked briefly for Bianchi Gunleather and wrote for American Handgunner and Guns. He served as a reserve police officer in a firearms training role and was a Marine Corps Infantry Officer in the mid-1970’s. He claims neither snake-eater nor Serpico status but is a self-proclaimed “training junkie.”