KUWAIT CITY, July 27: Mohammad Al Sadoon is such a good shooter that he has everyone’s attention whenever he takes to the range because he possesses a very steady arm and is also always among the gunmen who are the fastest over all the different courses of fire.
After finishing in second place last week, Al Sadoon went one better this week by winning the “Short Time” course of fire in the weekly Filipino Action Shooting Team (FAST) fun shoot at the Mayadeen Shooting Range in Subhan, Tuesday evening.
While he was upstaged by Eric Ragma – one of the finest Range Officers in the arena – who was shooting out of competition but was at his usual brilliant best, no one could get close to Al Sadoon in the tournament proper except for David Bridges.

This weekly event would not have been a success without the commitment of all the FAST members, led by their President Manny Cornelio and Vice-President Chito Lamigo – guided by Ragma, to ensure safety of all the participants, and backed by all the other FAST office-bearers – with the support of Range Director Gen. Ahmed Al Saleem.
The “Short Time” course of fire was another brainchild of FAST Tournament Director Raja Sulaiman, who set up the scenario with the help of another Director Chris Veitch and Cesar Isidro. The result was another challenge which was a lot of fun while testing the gun skills of all the FAST members and their guests.

“El Presidente” Cornelio started off the evening with a briefing which focused on safety since it is the priority of the organization and the range while FAST Tournament Director Veitch gave detailed instructions on how to go about the course. Richard Swan, another FAST member, meanwhile, gave a demonstration of the run so that all the contenders were aware of the rules of engagement.
The start of the shoot required the gun in Condition 3 – magazines inside the pouch and gun holstered.At the starting position, the shooters had to keep both hands on the wall as they waited for an audible signal to start their run.
On getting the signal, the shooters were required to move slightly to their left to engage the first three targets which had been placed in a triangular position with the nearest one at 7 meters and the furthest at 10 meters.
The competitors were then required to move to their right and open a door which had a charge line, which they could not cross. From the door, four targets – which had been placed in a staggered position – were visible. The gunmen had to engage the farthest two targets from about 10 meters before taking on the other two targets through an adjacent window through the door from about 7 meters.
The last three targets were the most challenging because these kept moving simultaneously towards the shooters and had to be engaged through a window. Besides being accurate, the gunmen were required to be very fast on their feet for a few seconds delay resulted in one of the targets blocking the window in short time.In case this happened the competitors would not be able to engage the other two targets on both the sides. The gunslingers were compelled to back off a bit when the target came close to avoid powder burns.
With all the targets required to be engaged in double tap, the ideal load for the two magazines was 7-13 considering the layout of the course.
An aggregate scoring method was applied to calculate the final score of each competitor with a bullet in Apha earning 5 points, while Bravo and Charlie brought 3 and Delta 1 but they could also earn a lot of penalties as a miss and a procedural error saw a deduction of 10 points each. The total score was divided by the time taken to complete the shoot to arrive at the final average of each competitor.
This course of fire offered such a challenge that every shooter, except for Range Officer Ragma – who continued to shoot out of the competition because his shooting ability knows no bounds and everyone looks up to him for advice, saw at least one bullet disappear into the wilderness.
When the scores were totaled at the end of the evening it was discovered that two of the most admired gunslingers on the range, Mohammad Al Sadoon and David Bridges, had just switched places they had achieved in last week’s “Plank Walk” competition, leaving all the other gunslingers out in the cold, rather in the heat as the temperature outside the range was nearly 48 degrees Centigrade even that late in the evening.
Last week the competition had been won by Bridges while Al Sadoon had placed 2nd. This time Al Sadoon went one better to clinch the “Short Time” crown while Bridges was close on his trail in 2nd place. Both these gunmen were so good that it looked they were competing among themselves as the third-placed gunman was far off in the distance.
Al Sadoon not only took the crown, he was the only gunslinger in the competition to end the day with a hit factor of over three points. Such a result over a challenging course comes only if the gunman has a very steady shooting arm, coupled with a keen eye for the targets while being very fast on his feet.
Al Sadoon proved that he possessed all these qualities when he achieved a 3.0174 hit factor after his bullets found their way to 14 Alpha, 1 Bravo, 2 Charlie and 2 Delta in brilliant time of 23.53 seconds. He was so good that even the single maverick bullet which had found its way into his gun could not spoil the show for him.
The only person who could have spoiled Al Sadoon’s moment of glory Tuesday evening was Bridges but after having already collected six titles this season he could not make it two crowns in a row as he also missed a shot while finishing 0.82 seconds slower than Al Sadoon – in 24.35 seconds.
One has run out of words to describe Bridges’ shooting but it has become the norm for everyone to expect that he will be the best regardless of the challenge the course offers. This week, however, he had to take his hat off to Al Sadoon but the missed shot could not stop him from taking second place after he placed the rest of the bullets in 13 Alpha and 6 Charlie for a 2.9979 hit factor.
While Al Sadoon and Bridges were competing almost among themselves,the achievement of FAST Tournament Director Raja Sulaiman – one of the “Three Musketeers” – almost went unnoticed until the shooters looked at the scoreboard and found that Sulaiman had nearly achieved a rare feat – a course creator stamping his authority on his own “work of art” because every course designer has been hung by his own petard.
Sulaiman was, however, not in a mood to let this happen as he landed in the “Magical 3” and joined the “Magnificent 7” – the men’s lineup – by compiling a 2.3598 hit factor as his accurate shooting brought him 13 Alpha, 4 Charlie and 2 Delta while he had 1 miss. His feet also were ignorant of the load they were carrying as he went on to finish the course in a good time of 29.24 seconds.
Meanwhile, Chris Veitch –another “Musketeer” and FAST Tournament Director – who was missing from the arena last week was back in action Tuesday evening and displayed his customary rock-steady shooting arm by collecting the highest number of Alphas – 15 alongwith 1 Bravo, 1 Charlie and 1 Delta.
Stopping Veitch from getting a much better position were 2 missed shots although he had a much better time then his buddy Sulaiman, who not only are close friends but have also the same build, as he finished the course in 26.68 seconds. He finished his shoot only 0.036 points behind in 4th place to walk home with a 2.3238 hit factor.
Despite the fact that FAST Tournament Director Lambert Bernardo came rushing to the range when the shoot was about to finish due to a call of duty and was almost out of breath because age sometimes does take its toll, he showed that he was wearing his best shoes when he finished the run in 21.15 seconds.
Bernardo’s excellent time was a major factor in him sitting comfortably in the “Tough 5” as he gathered a 1.8440 hit factor after his bullets landed in 10 Alpha, 1 Bravo, 5 Charlie and 1 Delta but he seemed to have sacrificed accuracy for speed as he had 3 misses for a 1.8440 hit factor.
While the FAST members were waiting for Bernardo to turn up at the range, Bill Blumenthal was enjoying himself with another good day. Blumenthal was this week back in the “Men’s lineup” and also again proved that he is the right candidate for the last “Musketeers” slot.
Blumenthal was the 2nd competitor to go over the course and he showed no signs of nerves – customary for those who are among the first few to tackle the scenario – although he missed two shots.
Blumenthal showed that he was determined to prove that he deserved to be counted among the best when the rest of the bullets found their way to 13 Alpha, 3 Charlie and 2 Delta in 30.76 seconds for a 1.8205 hit factor and 6th place in the standings.
Ali Al Kandari, who normally takes part in the “Professional ” category and has collected numerous awards in various tournaments, decided to try his hand in the fun shoot this week and immediately made his mark by winning a place in the “Magnificent 7”.
Al Kandari acquired a 1.7865 hit factor based on 11 Alpha, 2 Bravo, 2 Charlie and 2 Delta but he missed 3 shots in 21.83 seconds but being an excellent shooter he was not satisfied with his shoot for he knew that he was much better.
Al Kandari proved his point by showing all the other competitors his real class with a perfect run in his 2nd attempt.He was so good that he put bullets in 15 Alpha, 3 Charlie and 2 Delta in an amazing time of 19.12 seconds for a 4.4979 hit factor, which was the second best of the evening for only Ragma did better but with the initial attempt being counted towards the competition he could not improve his position.
Meanwhile, “El Presidente” Manny Cornelio, Faruk Mujawar, FAST Assistant Secretary Cesar Isidro and Hamad Al Mansoor lost their way in the heat waves and were replaced in the Magnificent 7” by FAST Tournament Directors Raja Sulaiman, Chris Veitch, Bill Blumenthal and Ali Al Kandari while Mohammad Al Sadoon, David Bridges and FAST Tournament Director Lambert Bernardo could not be dislodged and stayed in the “men’s lineup”.
Hamad Al Mansoor, a very young but exciting shooter who took the top spot in a recent tournament, appeared to be in a hurry this week as he sacrificed accuracy for speed that caused him to drop out of the “Men’s” lineup.
Al Mansoor completed his run in 17.62 seconds, the second fastest of the day, but he missed 3 shots with the rest of the bullets giving him 7 Alpha, 4 Bravo, 4 Charlie and 2 Delta that handed him a 1.7564 hit factor.
Although he knows that second attempts are not counted towards the championship, Al Mansoor took to the course for a 2nd time but he was more keen on having fun as he missed 5 shots while getting 9 Alpha, 4 Charlie and 2 Delta in 21.73 seconds that plunged his hit factor to 0.4142.
While Al Mansoor is coming to the range to have fun, Issam Ibrahim appears to be having a hard time getting back into the “Magnificent 7”. This time it seems that he was not wearing his comfy shoes and completed the run in 35.56 seconds that gave him a 1.6310 hit factor based on 13 Alpha, 4 Charlie, 1 Delta and 2 misses.
Richard Swan, one of the gunslingers who prefers to be called by his first name and has shown an immense improvement in only three weeks of participation in the fun shoots, moved up from 15th place he attained two weeks to 12th last week and this week he jumped up again, to 10th spot.
Richard put in an exceptional performance Tuesday evening for a 1.5086 hit factor after his bullets landed in 11 Alpha, 5 Charlie, 2 Delta and 2 misses although he took his time to safely “walk” through the course –34.47 seconds.
With an improvement with practically every shoot and confidence building up, Richard took to the course again and it did not come as a surprise when he improved his hit factor to 1.8390. He also had a better time of 33.17 seconds plus his accuracy also slightly improved to give him 11 Alpha, 1 Bravo, 3 Charlie, 4 Delta and one miss. He knew that 2nd attempts are not counted towards the competition but it did not matter for all he wanted to do was shoot and enjoy his time on the range. From the way he has started shooting and if he continues along the same road, it won’t be long before Richard joins the “Men’s” lineup but he also needs to find a pair of shoes which get him a better timing as the current ones seem to be slowing him down. While Richard was enjoying himself beating some of the veterans, FAST


Assistant Secretary Cesar Isidro did not have such a good time as he dropped out of the “Magnificent 7” when his shooting arm refused to act on his commands resulting in his trigger finger not putting only that amount needed to release the bullets.
Isidro may not have been happy with his shooting but he was still good enough to collect 6 Alpha, 8 Charlie, 4 Delta and 2 misses for a 1.4017 hit factor in a reasonable time of 27.11 seconds.
“El Presidente” Manny Cornelio seems to have jumped on to the roller coaster that Bridges vacated last week when joined Isidro out of the “Men’s” lineup. After doing so well last week, Cornelio moved down the slope Tuesday.

It took Cornelio quite some time to start shooting as his magazine had not been inserted properly and before he knew it he had taken him 31.78 seconds to complete the course. The magazine problem caused him to misplace his focus – although people say it is quite a normal thing at his age – and he missed 3 shots. Cornelio still found all the alphabets on the targets for 12 Alpha, 1 Bravo, 2 Charlie and 2 Delta that gave him a 1.2901 hit factor.
FAST Adviser Butch Alinea was the best in speed Tuesday evening as he completed the course in only16.87 seconds. Some people were waiting for him to start his run before they realized that he was already at the finish point but in the effort he sacrificed his usual accuracy, missing 4 shots. He was still able to put the rest of the bullets in 5 Alpha, 1 Bravo, 8 Charlie and 2 Delta that saw him walk home with a 0.8299 hit factor.
FAST Tournament Director Willie Santos was the first one to bravely go over the course but the moving targets gave him problems as these started too soon and looked too fast which caused him to have 5 misses.

Since it was a technical error, Santos had the option of a re-shoot but he decided against it so the 0.6925 hit factor which he earned in his first shoot after putting the bullets in 11 Alpha, 1 Bravo and 1 Charlie in 24.55 seconds was the one which was counted towards the competition.
Meanwhile, regardless of how busy Erick Elizondo is in his work he makes certain that he is at the range every week. On Tuesday evening it looked liked Elizondo would not be coming but he turned up at the very the last minute of the fun shoot to take part in his favorite sport.
The lights were already going off at the range when Elizondo started to shoot but that didn’t bother him although he missed 5 shots in 22.73 seconds.He still managed to put the rest of the bullets in 8 Alpha and 7 Charlie for a 0.4839 hit factor.
Not worried about the late hour or half the lights off, Elizondo gave the course another go and did over four times better than his initial run when he achieved a 1.8081 hit factor but he took an extra 6 seconds this time to finish the shoot – 28.76 seconds.More attention to precision gave him 11 hits in Alpha, 5 Charlie, 2 Delta and 2 misses but the 2nd run is not counted towards the competition and brought no dividends.

Faruk Mujawar, who was one of the first few shooters to venture over the course, found the going not to his liking this week because after reaching the pinnacle last week by earning a place in the “Men’s” lineup he had to scrap the bottom of the barrel Tuesday evening.
He reluctantly settled at the bottom of the table this week when his pistol did not appear to like his touch and got jammed just as he started his run which resulted in him consuming 32.94 seconds to complete the course. Mujawar fell short on 5 targets but was still able to hit 8 Alpha, 5 Charlie and 2 Delta for a 0.2125 hit factor.

On the other hand, there were some gunslingers who failed to score any points although newcomer Kyle Thompson– a good buddy of Elizondo – made sure to be at the range and attempt the shoot before he flew back to work in a neighboring country.
Thompson missed 10 shots while taking almost a minute to finish – 57.56 seconds, when he went over the course the first time but he was undeterred by his failure and gave the course another go.He did well the second time around when he gathered a 0.2780 hit factor based on 7 Alpha, 3 Charlie, 6 Delta and 4 misses in 35.97 seconds.

Thompson was accompanied in the “no-score zone” by one of FAST’s loyal members Aniceto Manangan who missed 9 shots and they were joined by Abby Maliglig – the only lady competing – who found the course tough and acquired the highest number of missed shots – 13.
Meanwhile, there are no more adjectives to describe the shooting of Eric Ragma, one of the finest Range Officers in the arena.
Every week, Ragma has put in an excellent display of shooting but what he did this week was really remarkable.
Ragma is always a model of a perfect gunman, a person with a lot of confidence, a very steady shooting arm, backed by speed and accuracy, and this week he again showed these qualities to earn a 4.5059 hit factor, the best of the day.

He also shared the honor of having the highest number of hits in Alpha with Veitch when he got 15, with 1 Bravo, 3 Charlie and 1 Delta in a fascinating time of 19.53 seconds. After such shooting it no wonder that all the gunslingers pay attention to his advice and are all eyes when he takes to the range.
Meanwhile, FAST officials have announced that all newcomers wishing to participate in the weekly shoot must come to the range well ahead of time for a “dry run” over the course. The aim of this dry run is to ensure the newcomers safety as well as that of all those present at the range. Those newcomers who fail to turn up for this dry run will not be allowed to take part in the actual competition.

FAST officials would like to invite everyone on Tuesday evening for their Weekly Fun Shooting Competition held at the Mayadeen Shooting Range in Subhan. The shoots during the holy month of Ramadan will be held from 20:00 to 23:00 hours. For details contact FAST President Manny Cornelio 6673-7298 and FAST Vice-President Chito Lamigo 9958-2781.