The 2024 World Speed Shooting Championship (WSSC) was held at the Talladega Marksmanship Park in Talladega, Alabama, from May 29 through June 2. I’ve attended every WSSC in Alabama, and this one ranked as one of the best. The crew got there on Sunday to get set up for the match; the stages were already on the ground, so some measuring and leveling was all that was needed to ensure the stages were at world-class layout. The crew also had to set up the WiFi network so the score logging capability in PractiScore could be used.
If you haven’t seen or used this, almost immediately after you hit “accept” on the pad, you receive an email with your stage scores. One other benefit is that you can then update PractiScore competitor to see the scores in the app. A new addition to the match was the AMG Labs timer and as the splits happen, you see the LCD display update in real time. At the end, you see the final time for the string. Many spectators as well as competitors were excited to be able to see the string times without having to listen for them.
The match was a little smaller this year, but those who made it to the match had a great time. While it’s the same eight stages shot at local and Level 2 and 3 matches, there’s something about competing in the World Championship match that makes it more exciting. The dedicated staff of returning (and new) Range Officers worked tirelessly throughout the week to run the competitors as efficiently and safely as possible. The bays looked just as good when the last shot of the match was fired as they did when the first shot was fired. Here’s a division-by-division breakdown of the match.
CARRY OPTICS
The 49 competitors in this division help set a new WSSC record for number of guns in this division. The 2023 champion BJ Norris was not able to make it to the match, so a new champion was to be crowned, and that champion was Sal Luna with a time of 83.29 seconds.
IRON SIGHT REVOLVER
This division just made the required 10 guns to award a division champion. Five-time returning champion Michael Poggie defended his title, but was beaten by this year’s champion, Mike Willoughby, with a time of 103.72 seconds.
LIMITED
The Limited division has seen more participation in the past, this year having 17 shooters in the division. Sal Luna was defending his championship from last and again won it this year with a score of 89.06.
OPEN
The Open division has had a consistent number of competitors over the past few years. This year at 51 was slightly higher than the previous four years. Six-time champion KC Eusebio defended his title, winning the division with a score of 76.13.
OPTICAL SIGHT REVOLVER
Optical Sight Revolver had 15 competitors this year and is one of the most dominated division by a single shooter. Michael Poggie hit the stages as the eight-time world champion and captured his ninth in a row with a score of 97.05.
PISTOL-CALIBER CARBINE IRON
This year the Pistol-Caliber Carbine division tied it’s all-time record of shooters with 26 in the division. Returning four-time champion Chris Barrett was not at the match, so a new champion was to be awarded the championship. That honor went to Jesse Misco with a score of 53.49. This time is a new world record, crushing the old record of 57.47.
PISTOL-CALIBER CARBINE OPTICS
Historically one of the bigger divisions in the match, Pistol-Caliber Carbine Optics shooters didn’t disappoint this year, with 118 guns in the division. Last year’s winner, Kenshiro Nagata, was not at the match to defend his title, so your winner this year was Jesse Misco with a time of 52.11 seconds. Misco’s time was also a world record, crushing the old record of 56.66 seconds.
PRODUCTION
The Production division had 11 shooters competing, which means a world title was going to be awarded. Last year’s champion, BJ Norris, was not at the match to defend his title from last year, so the winner and new champion was Sal Luna with a time of 88.15.
RIMFIRE PISTOL IRON
Entries in Rimfire Pistol Iron have been up and down over the years. This year’s match was down a little with 27 entries. The past two champions, Neal Norman and Adam Renno, both competed but were beaten by this year’s champion Lance Bratcher, Jr., with a score of 67.03.
RIMFIRE PISTOL OPEN
Rimfire Pistol Open was third in number of guns by division with 100. Last year’s champion Adam Renno was here to defend his title, but was beaten by Jesse Misco with a time of 59.20 seconds.
RIMFIRE RIFLE IRON
Rimfire Rifle Iron had solid entries with 55, with five of the division records. Last year’s champion Kenshiro Nagata was not at the match to defend his title, so the new champion was Jesse Misco with a time of 55.25 seconds.
RIMFIRE RIFLE OPEN
This division has grown. In its first four years, it maxed at 50 entries; this year, it led the match with 149 entries. Again, last year’s champion Kenshiro Nagata was not able to defend his title after setting a world record last year; Jesse Misco posted a blazing fast 53.44 time to win the title and set a new world record.
SINGLE STACK
Single Stack is another division that is waning in entries, but this year there were 10, allowing a champion to be recognized. Last year’s champion Maximus White was entered to defend his title, and he did with a score of 90.07.
SPECIAL AWARDS
Steel Master: Maximus White
Rimfire Master: Lance Bratcher, Jr.
Rifle Master: Jesse Misco
WORLD RECORDS
Every year I’m blown away at how people are getting faster and faster, and this year was no exception.
NEW DIVISION WORLD RECORDS SET THIS YEAR
RFRO: Jesse Misco, 53.44
PCCO: Jesse Misco, 52.11
PCCI: Jesse Misco, 53.49
Ladies RFRO: Jenna Larsen, 47.93
NEW STAGE WORLD RECORDS SET THIS YEAR
5 to Go RFPI: Lance Bratcher, Jr., 7.68
5 to Go PCCO: Jesse Misco, 6.27
5 to Go RFRI: Jesse Misco, 6.47
5 to Go PCCI: Jesse Misco, 6.6
Showdown PCCI: Jesse Misco, 5.18
Showdown PCCO: Jesse Misco, 5.29
Smoke & Hope RFPI: Lance Bratcher, Jr., 5.38
Outer Limits RFRO: Jesse Misco, 8.71
Outer Limits PCCO: Lance Bratcher, Jr., 7.11
The Pendulum PCCI: Jesse Misco, 6.84
The Pendulum PCCO: Jesse Misco, 6.80
The Pendulum RFRO: Lance Bratcher, Jr., 6.64
Speed Option PCCO: Lance Bratcher, Jr., 7.06
Speed Option OSR: Michael Poggie, 11.26
Speed Option RFRO: Tanner Gibson, 6.67
Roundabout PCCI: Jesse Misco, 5.29
Roundabout RFPI: Lance Bratcher, Jr., 5.56
Roundabout RFRI: Lance Bratcher, Jr., 5.40
Roundabout RFRO: Lance Bratcher, Jr., 4.58
Roundabout RFPO: Nate Gibson, 5.49
Roundabout PCCO: Jesse Misco, 5.03
NEW LADIES STAGE WORLD RECORDS SET
5 to Go RFPO: Jenna Larsen, 7.87
5 to Go RFRO: Jenna Larsen, 6.74
Smoke & Hope RFRI, Jenna Larsen, 5.59
Smoke & Hope SS: Jessie Harrison, 9.39
Outer Limits OSR: Beth Yeager, 17.58
Outer Limits RFRI: Raegan Hearn, 9.73
Outer Limits SS: Jalise Williams, 15.32
Accelerator ISR: Beth Yeager, 14.19
Accelerator RFRI: Jenna Larsen, 7.38
Accelerator RFRO: Jenna Larsen, 6.81
The Pendulum OSR: Beth Yeager, 16.03
The Pendulum RFPI: Jenna Larsen, 9.03
The Pendulum RFRI: Jenna Larsen, 7.65
Speed Option RFPO: Jenna Larsen, 8.60
Speed Option RFRI: Jenna Larsen, 7.65
Roundabout ISR: Beth Yeager, 14.11
Roundabout PCCO: Randall Miller, 5.75
Roundabout RFRO: Raegan Hearn, 5.33
I would love to name everyone else who received an award in either a class or a category, but that would make this article too long. Congratulations to everyone who did receive an award. I want to remind everyone that, with the slot policy in place, there will be more than 100 slots awarded just from this match. If you couldn’t make the match and your area hasn’t had their championships yet (Areas 1,2,6,7 and 8), I would get registered and shoot, and try to earn yourself a slot to next year’s World Speed Shoot. Speaking of which, while no official contract has been signed at the time of the writing of this article, USPSA president Yee-Min reported at the members’ meeting that contract negotiations are in process for next year’s match.
Article from the July/August 2024 issue of USPSA’s magazine. All photos by Trenton Mitsuoka.
