It started with a 1911 I built.  I got a Remington R1 Enhanced and proceeded to stone, hone, and polish every mating surface until it ran like a champ and had a trigger pull like breaking glass.  I then up graded it with Wilson Combat Bulletproof oversize slide release and thumb safety, Novak big dot front night sight and U-notch rear, and VZ grips.

It was too nice to just sit in the safe and occasionally get carried.  It had to come out and play.  It was a fightin’ pistol and so I thought I’d get back into IDPA after a number of years off (thanks Chicago).

I got a buddy of mine from work to join me for IDPA, he was a USPSA shooter some years back and then convinced me to shoot that on the following weekends.

Well, a 0.145 inch front night sight and fixed rear is fasts for a defensive sight, not so accurate at distance.  I was limited by my equipment.

What to do?  Build another gun.

Same platform and most of the same upgrades, then I added a Storm Lake match barrel,  Wilson combat oversize mag release, and EGW mainspring housing and mag well.  The sights are different, a Kensight adjustable rear and 0.100 inch fiber optic front.  I spend hours with a stone and a Dremel with a felt pad and some Flitz and made all the critical surfaces shine like a mirror.

If the first one is for fightin’ this one is for fun.  She is built to fit two categories, IDPA CDP and USPSA Single Stack Major.  This still limits me (I have to shoot 45 ACP and still have to fit in the IDPA box) but not as much.

On Saturday, I took her out and got her feet wet.

The gun is way accurate.  I was scoring A zone hits at good distance.

It does help if I hit all the targets.  On one stage, I totally walked by two that were hiding behind a barrel.  Misses AND procedural FTE’s kicked my score right in the balls.

To be honest, between the two, I prefer IDPA.  I’m still going to shoot USPSA, but as practice for IDPA and not because I feel like ranking in USPSA.  I just can’t get over the strategy, or that fact that after four years of grad level calculus I still can’t figure out hit factor scoring.

I keep getting the same bullshit advice: “you don’t need to concentrate on A hits, you can get some B’s and C’s when shooting major.”

Thanks Mike Charlie-Delta.  That still doesn’t sit well with me.  Yes, I shot that stage in 28 seconds and you shot it in 12, but you didn’t hit fuck all and I shot it clean.  I’m not the fastest, and I won’t ever be, but you are just making noise while running.  So excuse me if “don’t worry about accuracy” is not what you should be telling anyone.

IDPA feels more honest, full 45 or small 9mm, points down are points down.  It’s about stopping the fight and an a big bullet to the love handles isn’t as effective as a small bullet to the vitals.

Also, I get that at a USPSA match I’m only competing against other shooters in my division, but usually I’m the only or maybe one of two or three, shooter in my division.  So I’ll shoot a stage and feel good about my 20 second all A time, and then the next guy is shooting PCC with a 40 round mag and clears the stage in 8 seconds, all A’s and no reloads.  In IDPA the guy with the Glock 17 only has 11 in his gun, so no more than two rounds more than me.  On a long stage, we have the same number of reloads.  On a short stage I have have one and he has none, but our times will still be close.

Don’t take what I’m saying to imply I’m not having fun.  I am.  A lot.  Just that IDPA feels driven more by shooting fundamentals while USPSA has a lot more game strategy, and I prefer the former to the latter.

I’m still going to shoot both, and I will keep pushing faster and faster but with my focus on accuracy rather than score.

I’m just tempted to print a shirt that says “IDPA: Because I don’t bring a calculator to a gunfight” and wear it to a USPSA match.

Maybe that’s too much trolling.