[kwrangln]

My eyes have been opened!(update, tried it)

Attended my first IDPA match this evening, just as a spectator, and just have to day DAMN.

I thought I could shoot, but now know just how much of a FNG I really am after watching them run stages. I've been punching holes in paper off and on for about 20 years now but have never combined moving, using cover, speed, and accuracy like IDPA requires. Even the military practicle pistol course I have to run from time to time does not come close. I have a lot of work to do, but I cant wait for next week to give it a shot and see what happens.

I was really impressed with how universal it was, men/women, young/old, black/white, fat/skinny, tattooed rockers/buisnessmen, it was a huge cross section of the populace all getting along having a good time and making me feel like a bumbling idiot.

A big thanks to TnToy for inviting me and a buddy from my unit to spectate, participate, and opening our eyes to a whole nother level of shooting. I learned a lot watching, identified too many areas that I need work on, and am afraid I've been bitten by the bug. Hell, I even purchased my first holster today, my wife is cringing thinking about what another hobby is going to do to our checking account.:laughing:

 

[TheRedHorseman]

IDPA has too many gay rules(holster list, 10 rounds? seriously wtf over?, crap like that), 3 gun is where it's at.

Fun, but only against their best efforts.

 

[kwrangln]

I'd need to get a shotgun to even contemplate 3 gun. Wanna see a woman go bezerk? Wait till I tell the wifey I want to buy another boom stick. At this point, I think she would go through the roof since I've dumped a couple grand into firearms, ammo, accessories, etc in the last year. I'm lucky I can sneak a box of ammo per week past her accounting magnifying glass.

Baby steps, first I have to get one gun running at some kind of comp level, then maybe I can branch out a bit. Meanwhile the project heep sits languishing in the driveway untouched like it has been for the last couple years.

Ever think you have too many hobbies?

 

[BarfBag]

Meanwhile the project heep sits languishing in the driveway untouched like it has been for the last couple years.

I know how this goes all to well. if i am faced with the choice of work on the jeep for a couple hours or go shooting for a couple of hours, off to the range i go

 

[Keith Strong]

I'd need to get a shotgun to even contemplate 3 gun. Wanna see a woman go bezerk? Wait till I tell the wifey I want to buy another boom stick. At this point, I think she would go through the roof since I've dumped a couple grand into firearms, ammo, accessories, etc in the last year. I'm lucky I can sneak a box of ammo per week past her accounting magnifying glass.

Remember, it is always better to ask for forgiveness than permission :flipoff2:

 

[SilverZuk]

I'd like to give it a try.
I've shot courses but never in competition.
Maybe when I get done with cowboy action, I'll switch over.
I'm already bored with cowboy action, but my cousin is making a run for major championships in 2009. So I'm sure I'll be in it until then.

All shooting sports are fun and have practical applications to every day shooting.

 

[PONY_DRIVER]

Ever think you have too many hobbies?

Every time I walk into the garage.

 

[Johann]

Wanna see a woman go bezerk? Wait till I tell the wifey I want to buy another boom stick.

Tell her you got it on sale:flipoff2:

Prowl the pawn shops. You can usually find a decent Mossberg or Winchester in the $100-200 range.

 

[BigGreenMonster]

IDPA has too many gay rules(holster list, 10 rounds? seriously wtf over?, crap like that), 3 gun is where it's at.

Fun, but only against their best efforts.

what is this 3 gun you speak of?

 

[aloharover]

Remember, it is always better to ask for forgiveness than permission :flipoff2:

You must not be married

 

[aloharover]

what is this 3 gun you speak of?

Think move and shoot using pistol, rifle, and shotgun

http://www.3gunmatch.com/
Our local
coloradomultigun.com
West Point
http://www.usma.edu/dmi/3-gun_match.htm
Rocky Mountain
www.rm3g.com

Also do a google and youtube searches.
Tons of videos and photos out there.

 

[nated0g]

I went to a match that a coworker shot at. also met evan up there as well. it is fun to watch. my friend kept forgetting about 11 rounds at first 10+1 then 10 after that. had points taken off for that and couple small things.
he had not done IDPA in about a year. guess things you have to get back into the swing of.

 

[TNToy]

Attended my first IDPA match this evening, just as a spectator, and just have to day DAMN.

I thought I could shoot, but now know just how much of a FNG I really am after watching them run stages. I've been punching holes in paper off and on for about 20 years now but have never combined moving, using cover, speed, and accuracy like IDPA requires. Even the military practicle pistol course I have to run from time to time does not come close. I have a lot of work to do, but I cant wait for next week to give it a shot and see what happens.

I think the second stage was what really rocked you guys back on your heels, right? At a whopping 5 yards... 18 shots on 9 targets, with a draw and a reload, took about 7 seconds for those of us who are quick. I ran it in about 7.09, with 2 Bs and a C. Billy did it in 7.25 and beat me because he shot it clean.

I was really impressed with how universal it was, men/women, young/old, black/white, fat/skinny, tattooed rockers/buisnessmen, it was a huge cross section of the populace all getting along having a good time and making me feel like a bumbling idiot.

You'll fit in just fine. I've only been doing any form of competitive shooting since Feb 2007. You pick up a lot of speed in 6 months of ANY form of competition. After that it gets harder.

My wife is cringing thinking about what another hobby is going to do to our checking account.:laughing:

Do what I'm gonna do: Part your stalled project rig out to feed the shooting obsession. My wife was ECSTATIC when she learned that eyesore is getting turned into cash.

IDPA has too many gay rules(holster list, 10 rounds? seriously wtf over?, crap like that), 3 gun is where it's at.

10 rounds is nice because the NY, CA, and MD boys can come play, but a high-cap division would sure be nice.

Read the IDPA provisional rules for a multi-gun match? You guessed it: Load that AR with ten rounds. (I can hear your cussing all the way over here.). Oh... and the rifle stages are limited to 18 rounds, just like the pistol ones.

We have a local range who runs on looser rules. You fill the gun over there. So the singe-stackers are penalized with extra reloads versus the 18-rounders like myself. Just like they should be.

Fun, but only against their best efforts.

Agreed. If you're gonna make it tactical, go full on and require stock guns under real-life clothing, etc.

However, I'm not too big into the 3-gun idea. Equipment barrier-to-entry is insanely high. Like, $3-5K if you're gonna be competitive at the upper levels. And 1K of 9mm lasts me roughly a month of matches, at 1-2 matches a week. Since I don't load yet, that would really hurt when it came to rolling through 223.

IPSC production, on the other hand, is where I'll be headed whenever I can be competitive at the top levels of IDPA.

 

[TheRedHorseman]

Eh, screw higher level stuff. I do it for fun(not that I've even made it to a match in months) not for points or rank. I've been known to shoot 3 gun with an AK, a mossberg 500 bird gun with side saddle, and a Glock. You can do it cheap if you stay out of open class.

 

[misterfubar]

Do what I'm gonna do: Part your stalled project rig out to feed the shooting obsession. My wife was ECSTATIC when she learned that eyesore is getting turned into cash.

Glad I'm not the only one who did this. Although I do have my eyes on another project vehicle. :shaking: I'd already have it if the IH in my blood would let me get another J*&P.

 

[Diesel Smoke]

I'd need to get a shotgun to even contemplate 3 gun. Wanna see a woman go bezerk? Wait till I tell the wifey I want to buy another boom stick. At this point, I think she would go through the roof since I've dumped a couple grand into firearms, ammo, accessories, etc in the last year. I'm lucky I can sneak a box of ammo per week past her accounting magnifying glass.

Baby steps, first I have to get one gun running at some kind of comp level, then maybe I can branch out a bit. Meanwhile the project heep sits languishing in the driveway untouched like it has been for the last couple years.

Ever think you have too many hobbies?

You have to follow Patrick McManus' advise. You keep an empty gun case in the car and any time you buy a new rifle/shotgun you use it to bring it into the house. Once in the house the new purchase is put with the other guns were it blends perfectly and the empty case goes back in the car. The man's a GENIUS!!

 

[kwrangln]

Well, I gave it a shot, cant wait to go again next week.

I really didn't have to worry about looking like a fool, I did a perfect job of it without even trying.:emb2:

To prep for this event I purchased a Fobus holster, and an Uncle Mikes mag holder. While I was at the shop I also picked up a Chip Mcormic 8 rd mag for my 1911. The holster took a lil modifying in the form of a hot piece of steel to shape the trigger guard grabby thingies so drawing was easier. I've never used a holster with my 1911, so I drew it just enough times to figure out that mods to the holster were needed, and then to make sure they worked. The only holster experience I have is duty weapons, M9, and Sig 229, both with DA/SA.

So, I step up to the line for my first course, insert the 8 rd mag, rack the slide, engage safety and holster. At this point I'm sweating like a dog shitting tacks, just a wee bit nervous having my first time in front of a crowd. Buzzer goes off, I draw, squeeze trigger, nothing happens. Squeeze trigger a bit more forcefully and still nothing. About now I hear a voice in my head say "take the damn safety off you dumbass". This was where "FAWK" excaped my lips with just a wee bit of volume which brought about snickers from the group (glad they didn't kick me out for it), flicked the safety off, pull the trigger, hammer falls, and nothing continues to happen. Now I'm flustered, rack the slide, and finally the damn thing goes bang. Go through the first 8 rounds, reload, and suddenly I'm lost in a sea of brown targets, completely lost my place, fired a couple rounds and said to hell with it. Horrible score, I didn't even go up to look at the targets to see where I had hit. First important lesson, once you have an idea of how you are going to shoot a course, DO NOT change your mind when you see someone else shoot it a different way. I started out following my plan, but somehow shifted plans at the reload which screwed me. My buddy did a bit better, didn't have quite the comedy of errors that I did, but we ended up with similar scores due to time and points.

Second course I was a bit calmer, remembered to take the safety off and didn't have a first round feeding problem (learned to check after racking the slide, good lesson). Still did badly due to rushing, something about knowing you are being timed. It probably looked slow as dirt, but felt like a microsecond. I was still pretty pissed at myself at this point.

Third and final course. Had some movement to this one, barricades, walls, and a couple damn no shoot targets that I somehow felt the need to off.:shaking: I was finally able to enjoy it and really had fun. Actually might have had a decent score if it wasn't for the no shoots. Only got into one of em by 1/2" or so, dont know about the other.

Something about a timer and everyone watching really messed with my head through the whole deal. Thinking back I have no idea of my sight picture or grip, that just sort of took care of itself. I did hit the targets so I guess that was ok, I think that with some practice I'll be able to keep the details in mind.

Overall I had a blast and cant wait to shoot again. Hopefully next time I can relax a bit, slow down, and forget about the timer. I just have to remember that a couple seconds on the timer is alot better than a bunch of seconds due to points.

Thanks again to TnToy for in invite to IDPA and letting me make a fool of myself.

By the way, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the chick who showed up halfway through comes again. She looked like she stepped right off the front cover of a magazine, smokin hot and likes guns.:smokin:

 

[aloharover]

Nice to hear your trials.
I still have not had time to get into action/practical shooting

 

[TNToy]

So, I step up to the line for my first course, insert the 8 rd mag, rack the slide, engage safety and holster. At this point I'm sweating like a dog ting tacks, just a wee bit nervous having my first time in front of a crowd.

He's not kidding, folks. Beads of sweat rolling off his forehead. I remember the first time I did this crap. Same thing - heart running like you'd just run a marathon.

Buzzer goes off, I draw, squeeze trigger, nothing happens... and... and... finally the damn thing fires

Convincing demonstration against carrying with a dry chamber, isn't it? It's amazing how many ways there are to eff up at "shooter, load and make ready". I want my gun ready to rock when it's needed. If you carry a gun with a safety, fine, but go shoot some form of competition at least once with it. Do SOMETHING stressful to make sure you're consistently disengaging the thing.

If you carry a 1911, practice over & over & over to draw the thing so that your strong hand's thumb rides the safety.

First important lesson, once you have an idea of how you are going to shoot a course, DO NOT change your mind when you see someone else shoot it a different way. I started out following my plan, but somehow shifted plans at the reload which screwed me.

That's a big one. Never change your mind at the firing line. And until you shoot until it's not so panic-inducing... Choose the safe, easy-to-follow way to shoot a stage, not the super-fast one that requires you to skip all over the place and begs for your to forget a target.

This is doubly true in ISPC and 3-Gun matches. NEVER change your mind as the buzzer goes off.

My buddy did a bit better, didn't have quite the comedy of errors that I did, but we ended up with similar scores due to time and points.

You both did what everyone does. You shot too damn fast. If you don't have a sight picture yet, perfect trigger control still gets you a miss. Right? The buzzer causes your mind to yell "PULL THE TRIGGER NOW! SLAP IT! NOW NOW!"... Takes time to learn to be patient.

Third and final course. Had some movement to this one, barricades, walls, and a couple damn no shoot targets that I somehow felt the need to off.:shaking: I was finally able to enjoy it and really had fun. Actually might have had a decent score if it wasn't for the no shoots. Only got into one of em by 1/2" or so, dont know about the other.

I designed that course. I knew people would be tagging the no-shoots. Gotcha.

That was my best one of the night. (Basically, draw and shoot two guys, run around a corner, shoot 3 guys on-the-move, reload, and shoot 3 more using cover around a corner). Took 9.50 seconds. You'll learn that your perception of time (and the speed you're shooting) is just as unreliable as it is during an auto accident or a gunfight. Courses that seem slow (that one felt like it took 20 seconds) can really be going very quickly and smoothly... and ones that seemed to go by super-fast look slow to bystanders, and you miss everything. Unfortunately, when you're first doing this crap it's mostly the latter.

Thinking back I have no idea of my sight picture or grip, that just sort of took care of itself. I did hit the targets so I guess that was ok, I think that with some practice I'll be able to keep the details in mind.

No, you won't. I still can't do it unless I concentrate so hard on that one thing (grip, seeing the magwell on the reload, etc) that I don't hit a damn thing. That's what dryfire is for. You need a range to run a timing drill on, and a little bit of instruction on how to hold the gun. Then you go home, and SLOWLY draw the gun with that grip assumed perfectly. Once that's automatic, you carefully speed up without doing anything improperly over a couple of days, until the correct technique is automatic.

The same goes for reloads, going prone or dropping to a knee, shooting on-the-move, turning around during the draw, etc... The technique is learned during practice, and the match is where you learn if it's working. But you can't do something new at a match. It just doesn't happen, it's not how we're wired.

The guys like myself, Danny, Wayne, etc, who are fairly quick? That's a result of hard work during dry and live-fire practice. Not just shooting a lot of matches. You can get really good, really quickly, if you work hard. If you just shoot recreationally, you'll do OK, but you'll never be as good as you can be. Just like any other sport.

Oh, and that shooting on-the-move stage? You stopped for all 3 targets. I let it slide when I was running you through the stage, since new shooters have enough on their minds. You'd be amazed how common that is. New guys almost always run up to a target, take a half-step pause to fire off 2 rounds at the target, and march on.

 

[kwrangln]

I had no idea I stopped for the first two of the on-the-run targets, it was all a blur. I know I had to stop for the third to reload behind cover (durn single stack 45 kills ya for this kind of thing). Just goes to show how quickly things move in your mind when its all new.

I never expected to have safety trouble, I knew I had to use it, but didn't even think of it. Since I was so nervous I fell back on what little training I had which is carrying a DA/SA pistol that you draw and go bang with. I just shut down and did what I have done in the past. I still dont know what happened with the dry chamber, I couldn't have put the safety on if I hadn't racked the slide, I can only guess some kind of slide over ride with the new mag. I went to the range a few days before the match and practiced double taps and reloads, but never loaded it to capacity before. Spent 100 rds worth of 3 rd mags, double tap a target, shift target, tap, reload, double tap, shift target, tap, reload, etc. Since it didn't happen again I truely have no clue, just one of those things that make you go HMMMMM.

Excuses, excuses, I know, I still had a blast. Fastest (not likely) or slowest (more probable) I'll still have fun and cant help but learn more about myself and shooting in the process.

I'm thinking that over the long weekend I'll do a little draw and dry fire practice, really need to work on sight aqusition (sp) on the draw. Hopefully now that I've popped my cherry the nerves will be a bit more under control for the next time. It goes right along with my public speaking problem though, people watching always messes me up.