Gunslingers Take Aim at Competition

It was an ideal morning for pistol combat--temperatures in the high 70s, low humidity, a few clouds to screen out the sun.

Close to 20 men took advantage of the opportunity at the Ventura Parks and Recreation Department’s monthly competition Sunday at the Grant Park Pistol Range.

For civilians, it was a unique chance to match skills with the top shooters in the state, since Ventura has the only Police Combat Competition in the country open to the general public, range master Cliff Cox said.

For law enforcement officers, who made up most of the field, it was a warm-up for the California Police Olympics to be held in Sacramento June 25 to July 1.

For all, it was an opportunity to engage in police combat without being shot.

The pistol combat competition consists of five matches combining different distances, time limits and positions from which competitors unload on a human silhouette. Unlike the more popular bull’s-eye competitions, combat is designed to resemble situations officers confront in everyday work.

“It’s much more intense than golf,” said Maurice Portnoy, 62, a defense industry executive.

U.S. Treasury Agent Erik Roberts, 45, said he got interested in the sport when he was shot in 1973. He was working undercover and a drug deal in Ojai came undone, Roberts said.

“The guy came from behind a building and ambushed us. I got shot three times, in the leg, the side and the back. I turned around and returned fire, unloading all six rounds. Hit the guy in the leg once but missed the other five times. That’s when I said to myself, ‘You gotta learn to shoot. . . .’ ”

On Sunday, Roberts tied for second, scoring 1488 out of 1500. He will do better in Sacramento, he promised.

“One time in L.A. there was this guy barricaded and the only cover we had was a bunch of buildings,” recalled Irvine Police Officer Mario Casas, 33. “The barricade position here teaches you how to shoot while taking cover. A lot of guys expose their whole torso when they shoot out of a barricade, but in competition you only expose your hand and the corner of your eye. If you practice enough, it becomes automatic.”

As Casas scored a 1487, his girlfriend, Lenora Berdner, sat behind the range at a picnic table, enjoying the sun and browsing through a magazine. It was her first time at the range and she wasn’t crazy about it.

“I used to hate guns, but now that I’m around Mario there’s more guns lying around and I think I should learn more about them.” But she isn’t quite ready to ask Casas, whom she met six months ago, to teach her how to shoot.

The pistol match “was a good way to spend the morning,” she said. “I like it because it makes Mario a better shooter on the job, and that makes me feel better.”

Some of the civilians who took part for the first time were elated. Portnoy, the defense executive, seemed thrilled with his 1140 score after just a few months of practice.

Portnoy can remember the exact day and time when he decided to switch from driving ranges to pistol ranges: 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 24, 1989. He was retrieving documents from his company’s Boyle Heights warehouse when he saw a group of gang members smearing the walls with graffiti. Portnoy picked up his cellular phone and called police. A gang member picked up a shotgun and blew two holes into his car.

It wasn’t long before Portnoy started taking shooting lessons at a Beverly Hills range. Since then, he said, he has always carried his .38 revolver to work. “I’ve become my own security guard,” he said.

John McKinney, 43, took up the sport again six months ago. For him, it meant a return after 20 years to something he always had enjoyed. As a teen-ager, McKinney said, he liked to hunt for deer and bear. But in 1967 he joined the CIA and did a three-month stint in Vietnam at the height of the war.

When he returned, he didn’t want to hunt. “I couldn’t stand killing again,” he said.

Six months ago he picked up a pistol again, but only for target practice.

“It’s a hobby I can practice for the rest of my life,” he said, adding that in his job, “I don’t carry a gun but sometimes I wish I did.” McKinney is a tax collector for Ventura County.

For Royal Whitfield, 39, a manager of a Montebello lighting company, pistol competitions are ideal family outings. “We have a recreational vehicle, so we take the kids and make a road trip out of it. And when we go camping in the desert I always take the guns to do some plinking.”

Whitfield’s stepson, Justin Williams, 12, watched his dad score an impressive 1488. Justin said he is looking forward to his next trip to a shooting range. “I like it a lot,” he said. “I just like guns.”

Most combatants said they shoot for relaxation, fun and camaraderie, and only a few stayed around to hear Cox announce the winner. Mark E. Peterson, 31, representative of the California Highway Patrol, obliterated the heart of a silhouette for a score of 1489.

Peterson--the defending state Police Pistol Combat champion--said he got involved in the sport last year after a drunk-driving suspect pulled Peterson’s gun out of its holster and shot at himfrom a foot away. He missed.

“It made me realize that there really are people out there who want to kill us police officers, and the best way to survive is to be No. 1.”

The competition, he said, picking up his empty shells, “prepares you for the ultimate--to be in a gun battle and win it.”