-I can shoot fast and I can shoot accurately. Apparently I am not gifted with the combination of both. The principle is that should make the shots at the speed you can because tat the end accuracy counts. Most of the bad shots I had were directly related at trying to go too damn fast for my own good including a hit to a No-Shoot. Hits to No Shoot is the penalty that pisses me off the most and I admit I got pretty angry at myself for a while. This is a good segue to…
-… I do not shoot IDPA as a game. My “problem” is that I go with the mindset that those paper targets can shoot back and I take as much cover as possible moving vewwy vewwy carefully. I cannot recall the last time I got a cover call at any match in years. Being that careful will slow you down at a match.
-Equipment does make a difference, specially if you consider sight radius. A mid-size carry gun will always be more difficult to shoot than a full length “competition” gun. Duplicate results if the shooter sucks to begin with. Same goes for ancillary gear: Kydex is faster than leather holster wise. But I am happy with to know that my everyday stuff will function since I compete with what I carry every day. I still do not understand those who spend hours at the range shooting a Clock 34 with all the latest tactical & approved for IDPA gear and at the end of the match, unburden all that stuff and drop a lint-covered small gun in their pockets. I just switch my competition ammo with the defensive ammo and go home.
– I’ll never work another sanctioned match if I can help it. I did plenty of that before and I will let the youngings do that from now on. I loved just shooting & waiting for the next stage alongside my beloved wife. God Bless and congratulations to the Wyoming Antelope Club for setting and executing a superb match. I know they must be dead tired but really satisfied today. Good Job guys & gals!
-IDPA should eliminate those long range shots from the rule book once and for all. 35 yards in a defensive situation is dumb tactics and the chance of a bullet hitting something that shouldn’t in Real Life is just too great. Plus you will have a tough time convincing a jury your IDPA scores in that particular stage were enough excuse for you to take that shot instead of getting the hell out of the way.
-OK, I give up. I will buy a Glock 34 for hits and giggles. It will be the first gun I will buy for “competition only.” But maybe other than the sights, I am not “tuning” it up or performing magic dremmel work with it. Out of the box and to the range.
That is all, carry on.
This was my first IDPA sanctioned match. I got my first gun in April 2010 and shot my first match in June, so this was a BIG deal to me. Having a gun in the home is new for my family, I never felt like I needed one for protection and was never afraid when I didn’t. I started shooting because I’m an aggresive woman and badly needed an aggressive hobby…I found that with IDPA. I also found some of the coolest people in the world. Being around these people and this game has changed how I think about having a CWL. I am a safe and semi accurate shooter because I have been playing this game, and in the future when I carry my gun on me I will be better able to defend myself and those around me because of what IDPA has taught me. IDPA and those who play the “game” part of it, have shown me that getting my CWL might save my life one day. In a bad situation I would rather have any one of the people I saw or met, standing beside me than someone who has a CWL but only shoots the gun standing in a bay once a month. I see IDPA local and sanctioned matches as the best and least expensive way for a person who carries to learn to handle their gun in simulated situations. I would love to go to and class by Mas or some other self defensive shooting instructor or take a class on competition shooting, but I can afford it. But I can shoot a match or two a month, ask questions and learn from some of the best people in the world.
LOVED THE MATCH AT WAC, love shooting with the Strayers and the whole Live Oak/Pro Arms crew out at gateway. Learned so much from having Gary Cuttitta and Morgan Allan who were in my squad..they not only answered my questions but stepped forward to offer any tips they had for me, in what other sport does one team try to make someone on the other team better. This is what I love about IDPA, and it can only make those that carry daily better shooters. Thanks to everyone I met this weekend…ya’ll were GREAT.
Dessie, I could have not said it better myself. Welcome to the Culture 🙂