First IDPA Shoot last night...

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I originally showed up to the range to be a spectator but the fellas there said that if I had my gear with me that I could participate. Being a spectator is boring apparently.

So I just happened to have my XD 4" Service pistol in the car with a holster and a 2 mag pouch.

They explained the safety rules and the some of the basic IDPA rules. There were other new shooters too so it was a bit unusual. I think it was 7 regular shooters and 4 new shooters including myself.

We only did 4 stages although they had 6 setup. At the first stage, I was the 3rd to last shooter and just as the guy before me got with his stage, a downpour started that lasted a good 30 minutes. Which is why we only did the 4 stages.

First impressions:
I need to practice a lot more with my 4" XD. I don't fire that one regularly as I've been focusing on my carry pistol (XDs 45).

I got emailed the scores this morning, and in my division, SSP-UNC (don't ask me what that means), I was dead last. I'm naturally competitive so I couldn't help thinking of how much I SUCKED BUT I do always go back and think, that was fun!

The scenarios presented in the stages are actually kinda interesting. Sort of real world sight pictures that one might encounter although very unlikely I suppose. The downpour turned the stages into a slippery muddy mess which increased the difficulty. I did NOT want to get my mags dirty so between mag changes I took my time to ensure that I caught the mag. My focus was making sure I didn't get kicked off for a safety violation.

The folks were generally very happy folks and very nice with a relaxed yet, safe attitude.

They are having an competition match this Saturday. I may or may not go.
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Everything is bigger in Texas
Texas LTC Holder
Postal Match Winner: 2017 Q1 Rimfire, 7 Yd Division, Glass, S&W Victory 22

Re: First IDPA Shoot last night...

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atxgunguy wrote:Shooting IDPA for the first time humbles everyone. It's great at showing what you need to work on, especially in terms of shooting and scooting. Fun stuff and yet another pit to sink money into. :)

FYI: SSP-UNC is IDPA lingo that classifies what you shoot and what level you are at doing it:

SSP = Stock Service Pistol Division
UNC = Unclassified

Full rules: http://www.idpa.com/compete/rules
Thanks Atxgunguy!
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Everything is bigger in Texas
Texas LTC Holder
Postal Match Winner: 2017 Q1 Rimfire, 7 Yd Division, Glass, S&W Victory 22

Re: First IDPA Shoot last night...

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IDPA can be great fun. It's what I compete in most. It's not a substitute for defensive handgun training but it's worlds better and more fun than punching paper in a range stall. Sometimes it's useful to approach it non-competitively and just have fun. I used to stress out about not making the top of my division so much that I stopped enjoying it for a while. I've learned to chill out in the past year and like it as much as ever.

Match quality can very greatly depending on the match director and stage design but I've never regretted going to one. Even a crappy one is more fun than most other stuff I do. :)

Re: First IDPA Shoot last night...

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KnightsFan wrote:IDPA really interests me, too. Glad you had a good first experience.
I've watched a few matches while a friend participated and have been absorbing the dos and don'ts along with what gear is most useful. Once the infernal TX summer ends, I'll be jumping on the bandwagon.
LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: First IDPA Shoot last night...

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Welcome to the action shooting community!

I've been shooting mostly IDPA, mixed in with some USPSA and 3-gun, for about a year and a half. I really enjoy it.

You took the right approach, concentrating on safety and rules first. I usually counsel newbies to think safety, then accuracy, and only after that start to increase speed.

Somewhere along the line you start to introduce stage strategy as well -- when to do reloads, etc. That is probably a bigger part of USPSA and 3-gun than IDPA.

As you get more proficient, you start to find your balance between speed and accuracy. When you look at the scores of shooters who score above you, you'll see that some are less accurate but much faster, and some are a bit slower but more accurate. That gives insight that can help guide your practice, e.g., deciding to push your speed more even at the cost of a few more "points down".
"To initiate a war of aggression...is the supreme international crime" - Nuremberg prosecutor Robert Jackson, 1946

Re: First IDPA Shoot last night...

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Just a piece of unsolicited advice, though. If you're worried about getting your mags dirty, get more (or cheaper) mags. :) It's a good way to develop bad habits for real life defense as well as competition. Also, some IDPA MDs will make you do lots of tactical reloads (retaining the ejected mag). This is very stupid, in my opinion, and terrible habit to pick up for realistic self-defense.

Re: First IDPA Shoot last night...

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Catalyst did say it was raining hard, and I wouldn't be keen on dropping my mags into mud puddles either. Dust is bad enough.

You can always bring a mag brush and anything else you need to disassemble and clean magazines. There's usually plenty of down time between stages.

(Another problem with shooting in rain is that the cardboard targets can disintegrate...)
"To initiate a war of aggression...is the supreme international crime" - Nuremberg prosecutor Robert Jackson, 1946

Re: First IDPA Shoot last night...

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Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice.

I shot the official IDPA match this past Saturday! There were 3 squads and I signed up in Squad 2 which had some really good shooters. In fact, one of them was Randi Rogers which apparently is a world-class ladies shooter (http://randirogersshooting.com/)!! So having an opportunity to shoot with her and the rest of the folks was fun and exciting. Some of them were giving me really cool tips. At the last stage, one them actually asked me how many times I've shot a match, I told him this was my first match, he does then says, "well then if this is your first match, you are shooting very well" so I thought that was nice.

I had one procedural because I moved to a different shooting position while my gun was empty. Oh and on stage 1 i completely goofed the pop up targets because I didn't realize that they only stay exposed for a very short amount of time. My excuse: I was the first shooter on this stage which was the more technically difficult one in my opinion of all the stages! I hit the steel which activated them and I just sat there thinking oh how cool!...and then they disappeared! Oh well.

I was most impressed by the revolver folks. They sure do know how to make shooting a revolver FAST!

I had several light primer strikes (or whatever its called when the firearm strikes the primer, but the round doesn't go bang). Could the be ammo since I was using Freedom Munitions Reman stuff. One of the guys gave me a tip by saying, "don't use that stuff. Use the NEW stuff from Freedom Munitions." Probably good advice. I thought the act of clearing my firearm and getting back on target was good practice. No mud problems so I was letting the mags fall which definitely helped my time.

If I get into this sport, I'll probably need to take up reloading. Some folks were using black tip polymer bullets which I thought was pretty interesting.
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Everything is bigger in Texas
Texas LTC Holder
Postal Match Winner: 2017 Q1 Rimfire, 7 Yd Division, Glass, S&W Victory 22

Re: First IDPA Shoot last night...

14
Catalyst wrote:Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice.

I shot the official IDPA match this past Saturday! There were 3 squads and I signed up in Squad 2 which had some really good shooters. In fact, one of them was Randi Rogers which apparently is a world-class ladies shooter (http://randirogersshooting.com/)!! So having an opportunity to shoot with her and the rest of the folks was fun and exciting. Some of them were giving me really cool tips. At the last stage, one them actually asked me how many times I've shot a match, I told him this was my first match, he does then says, "well then if this is your first match, you are shooting very well" so I thought that was nice.

I had one procedural because I moved to a different shooting position while my gun was empty. Oh and on stage 1 i completely goofed the pop up targets because I didn't realize that they only stay exposed for a very short amount of time. My excuse: I was the first shooter on this stage which was the more technically difficult one in my opinion of all the stages! I hit the steel which activated them and I just sat there thinking oh how cool!...and then they disappeared! Oh well.

I was most impressed by the revolver folks. They sure do know how to make shooting a revolver FAST!

I had several light primer strikes (or whatever its called when the firearm strikes the primer, but the round doesn't go bang). Could the be ammo since I was using Freedom Munitions Reman stuff. One of the guys gave me a tip by saying, "don't use that stuff. Use the NEW stuff from Freedom Munitions." Probably good advice. I thought the act of clearing my firearm and getting back on target was good practice. No mud problems so I was letting the mags fall which definitely helped my time.

If I get into this sport, I'll probably need to take up reloading. Some folks were using black tip polymer bullets which I thought was pretty interesting.
Sounds like you did great.

I'm never the first shooter on any stage, purely by coincidence. :whistle:

Light primer strikes are usually caused by the equipment. Make sure your striker channel is clean and firing pin is moving freely. On the other hand, you may just have bad/dud primers on that batch of ammo. I've been using Freedom Munitions reloads and haven't had one failure in 1000 + rounds. But considering the plummeting 9mm ammo prices, it may be as cost-effective and safer to buy CCI Blazers or another mainstream factory loaded ammo instead.

IMO, reloading is not at all a requirement for any action pistol sports if you're mainly shooting 9mm and not competing at the top levels. I suppose the argument gets stronger if you're always shooting bigger calibers.

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