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Ever wanted to try USPSA/IPSC Shooting?

Squall said:
Wow! This seems awesome. Wish I saw this thread sooner. Maybe next year...
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Why wait until next year? If you want to take a class, GOAL is having intro to IDPA classes this fall. But you don't have to wait that long - many IDPA and USPSA clubs have open practices. Bring your gear, ammo, and a good attitude to an open practice.
 
M1911 said:
Why wait until next year? If you want to take a class, GOAL is having intro to IDPA classes this fall. But you don't have to wait that long - many IDPA and USPSA clubs have open practices. Bring your gear, ammo, and a good attitude to an open practice.
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Yea... the season is just about to get started!
 
Squall said:
Wow! This seems awesome. Wish I saw this thread sooner. Maybe next year...
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New Bedford is running a one day clinic next month LINK...or like others have said check around with local clubs and see if/when they run practices. at Hopkinton we practice on Weds nights year round....almost time to get back outside!

I'll be a little late to class tomorrow but I should be there in time for the afternoon range session. I'll have my team jersey on that says "Pete" right there on the front so don't forget to say hello so I can put faces to screen names!

Weather looks like it's going to cooperate for the weekend, and we're indoors all day tomorrow, but be ready to bring some boots along on Sunday as there's probably still some mud out in the pistol pits.
 
Gillham said:
Saw this a little late too.. but now I'm really interested.

Is there a thread on what you should be using in terms of trigger pull weight? Is it suppose to mimic a carry weapon? Can you lighten the trigger?
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The short answer for USPSA is, 'whatever you want as long as it's safe'. The only caveat is if you want to compete in the production division, you can't change external parts or disable any safety mechanism.
 
jar said:
The short answer for USPSA is, 'whatever you want as long as it's safe'. The only caveat is if you want to compete in the production division, you can't change external parts or disable any safety mechanism.
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I'm sure there's a rule book I can read - but the forum is too convenient. So swapping springs and trigger bars (in a Glock) to a 2# trigger is acceptable? One might argue it's not safe (for carry) but may be perfect for competition. Didn't know if production division meant, stock or stock parts only; and trigger components are internal.

TIA
 
For Production you cannot make any EXTERNAL modifications except swapping sights for aftermarket of the same type as stock (e.g. you can go from plain irons to iron with a fiber optic rod in the front) and grip tape in certain areas as laid out in the rule book. All safeties must remain functional. In my G22 I have swapped out the connector and springs and polished everything, put better sights on, added grip tape, and put a mag release from a large frame glock. The mag release is ok because it's just longer and doesn't have a larger button.

Grab a holster that fully covers the trigger guard and comes up to the ejection port and some mag carriers and you're good to go.
 
Gillham said:
I'm sure there's a rule book I can read - but the forum is too convenient. So swapping springs and trigger bars (in a Glock) to a 2# trigger is acceptable? One might argue it's not safe (for carry) but may be perfect for competition. Didn't know if production division meant, stock or stock parts only; and trigger components are internal.

TIA
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See appendix D4 for modifications that are allowed. For production division, if it's not explicitly permitted in the rulebook, then it's illegal and you'll get bumped into open division.

http://www.uspsa.org/rules/2010HandgunRulesProof3web.pdf
 
Generally speaking, production does mean stock, double action or double / single action. The pistol must be on the approved production hand gun list (most of the common pistols are on there), must fit into the production box with a magazine inserted, and must be within 2 oz of the listed pistol weight with an empty mag inserted.

As jar said, no external modifications are allowed to the pistol and all factory safeties must be operational. However, there are exceptions for changing the type of iron sights, stippling the grip and / or adding grip tape. The rule book has an appendix for Production division that addresses the specifics in detail. Internal (not visible in any way from the outside of the gun) modifications are permitted to enhance trigger pull and operation. So you are good to go with springs, trigger bars ect... Here is a link to the rule book. You are looking for appendix D4.
http://www.uspsa.org/rules/2010HandgunRulesProof3web.pdf

If you can not make the class, which I highly recommend, then just come to a match and let them know it is your first time when you sign in. They will take care of you from there.

ETA: Bill beat me to it!

There are other divisions for the funny round guns, single action pistols, and pistols with external modifications, extensive performance mods and other general goodness.


Gillham said:
I'm sure there's a rule book I can read - but the forum is too convenient. So swapping springs and trigger bars (in a Glock) to a 2# trigger is acceptable? One might argue it's not safe (for carry) but may be perfect for competition. Didn't know if production division meant, stock or stock parts only; and trigger components are internal.

TIA
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ztargetshooter said:
Is this all indoor? Just want to make sure I dress appropriately.

See ya tomorrow.
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Indoor tomorrow, hopefully outdoor on Sunday. I haven't been out to check the condition of the pistol bays but I'm guessing there'll be some mud involved so boots on Sunday would be a good idea. we'll check it out tomorrow and let everyone know what to wear Sunday before we wrap up for the day.
 
BostonBullit said:
I know that I never really wandered down to the competitive shooting forums here on NES until I stumbled upon this class at my club a couple years back and got hooked on the action shooting sports so I wanted to put a quick post in "General" for those who never venture down the forum list.....the club really doesn't make any dough on this class so hopefully I don't catch the ban-hammer for "spam" [shocked]

Once a year Hopkinton Sportsmans does an Introduction to IPSC/USPSA class at the club. If you've ever thought about trying your hand at "action" pistol competition this class will teach you everything you need to know to be safe and confortable at your first match. It's a two day class on March 23-24 and covers all the range commands, procedures, safety rules, scoring, how to breakdown a stage, etc, and includes a simulated match on the second day that is run just like the real thing. oh, and lunch is included both days in the class fee (short money at $75).

Info on registration can be found HERE, or feel free to PM me with questions.

for those who don't follow the different disciplines USPSA is about "run, gun, and have fun"...you choose how you want to shoot a stage and do it as quickly as you can while still getting your hits (or that's the theory, I forget that last part sometimes). Here's a youtube of some of my (not very good) runs at last years big championship match at Harvard Sportsmans to give you an idea of what to expect....




If USPSA doesn't look like your thing other clubs do classes on IDPA, 3gun, service rifle, and probably everything else so do yourself a favor and check the Competition forums every now and then...it's a lot more fun than standing in one spot poking holes in the same piece of paper 50' away!

BostonBullit
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Hey - that was me following you around! A lot! And yes, I remember when you got 'pissed' at those targets, as noted by the expression on my face lol.

But, everyone, this is NOT just for guys! Trust me. I am 50+ with arthritic fingers and a back that routinely goes in and out. I am about as uncoordinated as you can get and skip rather than run (see video below lol) (and all of you guys afraid to try, shame on you!) This is still a male dominated sport but on the other hand, it is a sport for anyone and everyone. The youngest person at a major match a couple of years ago was about 10 and the oldest was 80. The presence of women is growing but, out of 60+ shooters, we still may have only 5 or so women at a match. Myself and two other women travel to matches together and we are all 50+ with the typical physical ailments that go along with that age. But if I can do it, as Riverside said, anyone can. It's a game and it's about having fun. And trust me, it is fun!

If there are any women on here that are interested in this, or if any of the guys have any women they know that might enjoy this but are nervous about going out in front of a bunch of 'guys', I'd be more than willing to hold a 'ladies only' introduction to USPSA. Let me know.

[video=youtube_share;snPlX5T-4Z4]http://youtu.be/snPlX5T-4Z4[/video]
 
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Just got home & tomorrow's Monday [sad]. [rofl]

Had a great time this weekend; very very informative class. Went from knowing absolutely nothing about USPSA to having a really good understanding of the divisions, equipment, rules, scoring, strategies, caveats... Most importantly I had a lotta fun. I pretty much SUCKED. It was friggin embarrassing the first time I went through the 3 scored stages. I kept forgetting to check my target for misses and that got me. Also, on one of the stages, I killed an innocent No-shoot. Twice. [rofl2][rofl2]!!! The guys at HSA stuck around and let us go through the stages again for fun, even pulled out more targets for us to shoot at outside the pre-planned stages. I did much better the second time I went through them.

I can't say enough about how helpful and nice the Hopkinton Heavy Hitters are! They lent us equipment, answered all our questions graciously and we got through the different parts of the class (lessons, safety, practice, indoor, outdoor, stages, targets) without hiccups. Pete even let me shoot his crazy expensive space gun. That was awesome.

I don't think any of the others are on NES but many thanks go to Pete (BostonBullit), Mike (ipscdrl) & Rob (Rob Boudrie)!!
 
Darn, I wish I skipped the MA Certification at the end, would have loved to shoot more!
I didn't really need it, but figured it would be good to have something that says I have current refresher in case asked.
My license renewal comes up this summer.

+1 on what you said Sam, the class and the instructors were great. Learned a lot and look forward to doing this in the future.

Steve
 
s4mt3k said it very well. The course is well organized and taught by a great bunch of guys. I had a great time and look forward to checking out a practice and some upcoming matches.
 
I had a great time too. I agree that the Hopkinton Heavy Hitter group is a good one. Great communicators and instructors. And it was cool meeting some NES members.

Pete didn't make me feel too much like an idiot when I chambered a round, removed the magazine to fully charge it then promptly put the mag IN MY BACK POCKET. Heard the bell, shot the target, then slide lock. Tap, rack and CLICK. Stared at the mag well then looked at my feet looking to see if I accidentily hit the mag release. BUT NO... it was in my pocket. Total brain-fart.

But overall a great experience. I can't wait to try my first competition. Hopefully my first real match will be free of such egregious mental mistakes.

John
 
doctorbossman said:
I had a great time too. I agree that the Hopkinton Heavy Hitter group is a good one. Great communicators and instructors. And it was cool meeting some NES members.

Pete didn't make me feel too much like an idiot when I chambered a round, removed the magazine to fully charge it then promptly put the mag IN MY BACK POCKET. Heard the bell, shot the target, then slide lock. Tap, rack and CLICK. Stared at the mag well then looked at my feet looking to see if I accidentily hit the mag release. BUT NO... it was in my pocket. Total brain-fart.

But overall a great experience. I can't wait to try my first competition. Hopefully my first real match will be free of such egregious mental mistakes.

John
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Stuff like that happens to all of us John. The best advice I got on preventing that, is to no matter what always do the same routine when making ready. 99% of the time, I put 4 fully loaded mags on my belt, pull the second closest to my back out to chamber a round, put it back on the belt and then pull the hard to reach one and put that into the gun. Even if I'm doing a classifier that's 6 shots, I'll bring 4 fully loaded mags to the line and do the same routine. The one time you don't is when you'll put in an empty mag or forget to rack the slide. And for me at least, it was always happening on classifiers!

I took the HSA class last year and it was a huge help, the mock match was actually one of the most fun matches of the year because the guys really strived to show us all the different types of stages you could encounter. Highly recommend it
 
You're right. Gotta work out a routine. And break all the bad habits I've learned at the range shooting paper bulls eyes. Gonna look at range time in a whole new way.
 
Thanks guys, makes the long weekend worth it when the students both learn the material AND have a good time doing it! it was a great class this year, lots of good questions, safe gun handling, and good shooting.

I do wish we could have made the mock match a little more interesting but the snow last week killed us. once we finish the work on the two new long bays we'll have a lot more options for stages. I heard of a few cases of the buzzer induced amnesia that I warned everyone about; thought I was kidding didn't ya? [rofl].

doctorbossman - If I had caught that you had done that I would have pointed it out; I thought you swapped out mags and was spending my time watching peoples trigger fingers and muzzle directions more than which mag was going in or coming out [wink]. We've all done something similar so there's no shame in it.

People did really well on the texas star we pulled out as a after-match fun shoot....very impressive.

So now that your minds have been opened to the awesome that is USPSA I fully expect to see you all at our matches starting in May! if you're local come on out to a weds night practice or two to keep things fresh in the brain until then[smile]

Hey Sam - dot + comp = cheating doesn't it? [rofl][rofl][rofl]
 
I also want to thank the "heavy hitters" for running this class. I have enjoyed shooting with them on Wed nights as a novice, but the class put everything in persepctive. It was fun learning with all the other new shooters.
And by the way, Mike, thanks for "volunteering me" to be the first thru the courses..........LOL

John, nice meeting you today and thanks for the laugh with your "magazine" issue.

Pete, next time I will only step out of the box once.....twice made me look like an idiot, but at least i did not shoot the second time.
 
What a great time! I'm hooked and will definitely will be back. Thanks also to the HSA guys that took the time to let us hang around and re-shoot the stages (and embarrass myself on the texas star) at the end. If you're interested in getting to USPSA shooting, you can't go wrong with this class.

Ken
 

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