Carry Optics: Division Of Choice At 2024 Buckeye Blast USPSA Ohio Section Match

Jake Martens

at USPSA posted on November 26, 2024

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2024 Ohiobuckeyeblast USPSA 1 — The 2024 Buckeye Blast featured 12 match stages plus the chronograph.

Photo by Jake Martens

At the 2024 USPSA Ohio Section Match, the “Buckeye Blast,” the most popular division was Carry Optics with 143 competitors. Open and Limited Optics were up there with 55 and 53 respectively. Limited had 16 competitors, Pistol-Caliber Carbine division had 28 and 10 were shooting in Production. As for Single Stack, it had five competitors, and one hearty soul was clinging to Revolver.

The Buckeye Blast has always been a fun match to attend here in the Midwest. This was the second year it was at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio. This year, the match was held May 2-5, with Dan Click back as the match director. The match is a team effort between the Ohio North and South Sections, with Scott Beebe and Brad Krumme as the Respective section coordinators. In addition, Paul Hernandez and Khory Katyz were the range masters for this year’s Buckeye Blast.

The most popular division at the 2024 Buckeye Blast was Carry Optics with 143 competitors. (Photo by Jake Martens)

A total of 311 competitors would take on the 12 stages, plus chronograph, requiring 308 rounds over the two-day split schedule. The range has continued to improve since last year's match, as well as being the host of two USPSA Nationals in 2023. Additional props have been added, and the Cardinal Practical Shooting Club has really helped to establish this as a great facility.

The Cardinal Shooting Center bays were divided into two sections using what has become referred to as the wood bays and the new dirt berms. With the added bullet traps to the wood bays, the stages were much more of the traditional style than previously, freeing up the restrictions of shooting just downrange. These were some of the more fun stages of the match, in my opinion.

Stage 1, “I Wanna Be a Cowboy,” was a 31-round stage with 14 USPSA targets and three poppers. The start was outside the shooting area with toes touching the rear fault line, and gave competitors several options on how to tackle the stage. You were going to be using the entire shooting area from the far back left to the far right side, where targets were only available through ports. The front half of the stage was choppy, with targets tucked back at hard angles and the steel only available from certain spots. Colin Maxon took a stage win in Limited with 148 points in 23.49 seconds over Joey Sauerland’s faster time of 22.34 seconds, but with 139 points.

“Whip It” was a 24-round Virginia Count stage with two boxes and two strings. String one was one round each with a required reload and one round each from the uprange box. The second string was also one round each with a required reload but weak hand for the one round each after the load. Payton Garcia took the stage win in Limited Optics with 106 points in 17.33 seconds, and Sammy Nelson ran it in 17.20 with 114 points in Open for a stage win.

Stage 3, “I Want Candy,” was a fast 28-round stage worth 140 points. The shooting area had you transitioning from side to side, ending at a port to pick up the final three targets that were surrounded by no-shoots. Ethan Kaiser shot 130 of the available 140 points in 25.26 seconds, winning the stage in Production.

There were two individuals that ate their Wheaties, apparently—Hunter Kovach and Marc Schulte both shot all 18 rounds with all A hits.

“We’re Not Going to Take It” was a 29-rounder with 14 USPSA targets and one popper. The targets were tucked back behind ports and tight angles, with three low targets in the center downrange position. There was a lot of side-to-side movement while you pushed downrange, ending with three targets spread out in the last position. Brantley Merriam’s 19.68-second run with 141 points was a stage win in Carry Optics for him.

Josh Dawson took the challenge of Stage 5, “Take on Me,” for a stage win in Carry Optics with a 24.26-second run with 138 points and only shooting one C. This was 28 rounds with 13 USPSA targets and two poppers; two of the targets were activated swingers. There was lots of movement from each side of the shooting area with tight shots. The Pistol-Caliber Carbine stage win went to Anthony Zabonik with a 25.47-second run and also only one C hit.

Cardinal has turning targets set up in their bullseye area on the range; these were used during the USPSA Handgun Nationals last year, and the crew had them for the Buckeye Blast. Turning targets are a Fixed Time stage with a visible start, which is when the targets turn. The Fixed Time for this match on the three IPSC was six seconds, then the targets would turn away. “I Ran So Far Away” was two strings with best six hits per target for score. There were two shooting positions, and string one was one round per target with a reload and one round per target after the load. String two moved you uprange and required two rounds per target with a reload and two rounds after the load. The stage was worth 90 points, and your score was how many points you were able to get in the Fixed Time, minus any procedurals. There were two individuals that ate their Wheaties, apparently—Hunter Kovach and Marc Schulte both shot all 18 rounds with all A hits.

The remaining stages were in the new dirt berms. Stage 8, “She Blinded Me With Science,” had three ports, which were barrels in the wall sections; these were on the far right and left sides of the stage, with one downrange. The stage was 20 rounds, with nine IPSC targets and two poppers. The targets through the right and left ports were at tight angles. The Limited Optics stage win went to Stephen Corson with a fast 15.01-second run shooting 90 points, compared to John Vlieger with a 14.75-second run in Open for a stage win.

Stage 9, “The Safety Dance,” was set up with two shooting areas. The uprange area had you starting in the center section with two low targets, then from there you had to hit the far right and left sides. This was a 28-round stage with 13 IPSC targets and two poppers. One of those poppers was only available from the far left side of the uprange shooting area and had to be taken before moving to the downrange shooting area. This shooting area was a moving platform that swung front to back. The shooting area was within the platform, and you had to work it from back to front and both sides. Alex Wendel took the Carry Optics stage win with a 22.74-second run and 130 points.

Stage 10, “Our House,” had the longest shots required in the match, with 20 rounds and 10 IPSC targets, with a center start position. You had to go side to side in the rectangular shooting area with four downrange targets available from different positions. The four side targets on both left and right had hard cover. There were a lot of misses on this one, but Edwin Centofanti won it in Limited division with 90 points shot in 22.35 seconds.

A seated and unloaded start waited for competitors on Stage 11, “Break My Stride,” with 15 IPSC targets and two poppers. The unloaded firearm was on one barrel and required ammunition on the other at the start. The shooting area ended with two tight positions downrange and several options on how to work through this stage. The Single Stack crowd was picking up a lot of mags at the start, but Scott Chapman managed a stage win here in the division.

Shooting from a swinging platform was fun, but how about a raised wood rail?

Shooting from a swinging platform was fun, but how about a raised wood rail? Stage 12, “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades,” had this (actually two of them). The shooting area was a raised 2x6 in the uprange and downrange positions, with 20 rounds on the 10 IPSC targets. Side-to-side transitions and staying on the shooting area before running forward to the downrange rail, the arrays would require you to work side to side to engage the remaining four targets. The Pistol-Caliber Carbine stage win went to Caleb Smith with a 13.42-second run and all A-zone hits.

“Mexican Radio” was the last stage of the match and required strong hand. It was 16 rounds from a centered shooting box with six IPSC targets and four steel, one that activated a swinger. The decision was which array you wanted to shoot first, and then reload and finish the other strong hand. A swinger strong hand or hard cover targets and two mini poppers? Payton Garcia won it in Limited Optics with a 10.90-second run shooting 72 points.

The match was originally 13 stages, plus chronograph, but unfortunately, a stage was removed from the match when it was discovered that a no-shoot target was not put back up during the target change and too many squads had shot it that way. It was one of the more difficult stages in the match. The Buckeye Blast crew, made up of both the USPSA North and South Sections, did an excellent job with the stages, offering challenges and variety. Congratulations to all the staff for a great match and to all the competitors.