Bret Draughn of Peoria, Arizona won the 2008 Single Stack Division Championship at the United States Practical Shooting Association’s (USPSA) Area 1 match held June 26th-29th, in Sherwood, Oregon.
The Single Stack Division, so called because the model 1911 pistols used in competition feature magazines which hold just a single column of ammunition, is growing in popularity as more & more competitors opt to shoot the more traditional model pistol. The 1911 is also one of the most popular firearms sold in America.
“Bret won 6 of the 12 stages & led the field for nearly the entire match on his way to victory. This is particularly impressive as we have seen a doubling in the number of shooters competing in the division this year. I expect we’ll see several more shooters next year looking to take Bret’s title away,” said Bruce Gary, USPSA’s Area 1 Director.
Coming in second & third respectively were USPSA’s Executive Director Dave Thomas of Mt. Vernon, Washington & Kyle Roberson of Burbank, Washington.
Both shooters flirted with the overall lead, with Thomas ahead after the first stage & Roberson leading after stages 4 & 6, but ended up fighting each other to see who would be tops among Area 1 resident shooters. In the back & forth battle Roberson seemed to be in the driver’s seat & ahead until the final stage when Thomas took the lead by just 0.057 match points, a tiny margin but enough to earn the title of Area 1 Champion.
Rounding out the top 5 in fourth & fifth place respectively were 2 more Washington residents, Bruce Blair of Tacoma & Vern Myers of Brush Prairie.
The USPSA Area 1 Championships were held June 26th-29th, at the Tri-County Gun Club in Sherwood, Oregon. A total of 300 top shooters competed in USPSA’s Open, Limited, Limited-10, Production, Revolver & Single Stack divisions. The USPSA Area 1 region includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington & Wyoming but competitors from Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia & British Columbia, Canada attended.