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First IDPA competition!
- Thread starter CosmoKramer
- Start date
![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
Marty McFly
NES Member
Hey man long time no talk. Good advice
Marty McFly
NES Member
Still here. I need some instruction.Thanks
I’ve been known to shoot a match or two
Are you still on the Cape? If you want to give it a go, we’ll hit some matches come the spring.
37 posts and no one has mentioned USPSA yet?
did I miss it somewhere?
OP, just shoot USPSA instead and save yourself the money on a gay vest.
Seriously though, congratulations on actually taking the step to compete! Showing up to your first match will always be the most difficult...every one after that is gravy.
order some scaled down practice targets, put them up in your basement/house and dry fire, dry fire, dry fire! Then do it again. And again!
did I miss it somewhere?
OP, just shoot USPSA instead and save yourself the money on a gay vest.
Seriously though, congratulations on actually taking the step to compete! Showing up to your first match will always be the most difficult...every one after that is gravy.
order some scaled down practice targets, put them up in your basement/house and dry fire, dry fire, dry fire! Then do it again. And again!
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Just wondering, what's you national ranking?
Hit me up in the spring when it gets nice. Cold, raw weather does not make for a good first match.
Maybe we can get a group of NES’rs to a match. I know Roland Deschain will come and kick some ass! I’ll let him try one of my Q5’s.
Grip and Rip it! The rest will come.
EddieZoom
NES Member
OP, forgot to mention...let your SO and guys on your squad know you are new to this...help and advice will flow. Based on some of the replies here...not all of the advice will be useful...but hey at least its free ;-)
D
Deleted member 12999
It was hard to hold back and not suggest this but I figured I’d keep it on topic
I much prefer USPSA but still do enjoy IDPA. The way I look at it, any trigger time is better than nothing. So i shoot both.
Emacs not wrong, just that his advice is not really what needs to be the focus right now. But Speed and accuracy are inseparable. You don't want to balance them, you want the maximum amount of both.
No one has said they shot a stage too fast and actually meant the time was too fast, they mean their accuracy was crap. They did not give the targets the attention needed to be accurate.
I think instead of speed and accuracy it really should be efficiency and attention
kro77
NES Member
For all the UPDA guys, has that been rulled aok these days. I remember reading initially it cause a kerfuffle with some of the regs. I am not throwing any shade here honesly curious as it is an AWESEOME gun so would be great to use.
Thanks for the input..
allen-1
NES Member
It's a game, it has rules. Most of those rules impact your score and you can learn them as you go - but - some of the rules are safety rules, and violating them can get you dq'd. Make sure you understand the safety rules/protocols/procedures so that you can shoot the entire match.
1) IDPA matches are usually cold ranges.
This means that any firearm you have with you must be unloaded until you're the shooter on the line and have been told to load and make ready.
2) Most ranges operate with a "180 rule". If you visualize a line parallel to the backstop, running through your body as you move within the bay, your muzzle must not break that line. IOW, keep your gun pointed downrange at all times while shooting.
3) Firearms may only be handled at a designated safe table or under the direction of your Safety Officer.
4) Ammunition may not be handled at the safe table. Load your mags anywhere else, but not there.
5) When running a stage, keep your finger off of the trigger unless you're shooting. A high index works well because the SO on you can clearly see that your finger's not on the trigger.
If the SO says "STOP" - just stop. Keep your gun pointed downrange and wait for the next instruction. You may have done something unsafe, a prop may have failed, a dog may have just run onto the stage - it doesn't matter what the cause is - just stop.
Tell the SO's in your group that it's your first match. They should bump you down in the shooting order so that you can watch a few others run the stage first.
Google the range commands, so that you understand them before hand. There aren't very many, they're not complex - and they're standardized.
Focus on doing the stages without errors, speed can be developed, but setting bad habits in place to start with is rougher - it's hard to unlearn bad habits.
Don't get hung up on "well that's stupid, I would never do that in real life" - it's a game - it has a lot of rules.
If you're shooting from behind a wall, or a barrier, don't jam yourself up on it, arms length is usually about right.
Listen to the stage briefing. Unless it says otherwise, paper gets two hits, steel must fall, and cover garment is required.
Make sure your gear is adequate. Sturdy belt, decent holster, two mag carriers, eye and ear protection.
Varmint
NES Member
I reload after finding cover, but my experience comes from turn based video games like XCom.
'I' get what he's saying, but he's talking to a beginner. Telling the new guy to throw caution to the wind? Bad juju.
To be 'fast', he's going to have to learn where his trigger reset is. Find that point, then learn to hit that reset without moving the gun. Then, pop the sear again, without moving the gun.
That set of sentences takes years to master.
Besides, the point of competing is to have fun. Compare yourself to yourself, see how you get better. At some point, you start looking outward and going after other people.
Edit..hell, in the 'competition' world, I'd be a beginner. The only thing that allowed me to place top 5 was my fundamentals being fairly solid. I thought I was 'good' (and I am), and then I shot with my pistol team. World of difference between them and me.
Stop putting words in my mouth. Thanks.
And trigger reset is irrelevant in practical shooting. I will shoot 1.75s Bill drills all day with 6 alphas while slapping the trigger.
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I don't think anyone is hitting the reset when shooting fast or trying too.
Eventually you will learn to shoot as fast as you can and still be happy with your accuracy.
I’m definitely not the most accurate, but I am fast and efficient. I usually place near the top of the results.
Every shooter needs to find their own balance of accuracy vs speed.
I’m definitely not the most accurate, but I am fast and efficient. I usually place near the top of the results.
Every shooter needs to find their own balance of accuracy vs speed.
DPR
NES Member
UPDA?
I think when you train to find the balance of speed and accuracy, you stop progressing. You are willing to sacrifice one for the other.
Loss of accuracy isn't speed related, but attention related. See what you need to see to make the shot. No more, no less. When you get it right, it will feel slower, because you are processing more mentally and visually in a shorter time
After you learn the basic rules and finish a few matches safely, forget all this "speed will come later" bullshit you hear from underachievers. When it comes to mopping up your adversaries in the results, speed and accuracy are inseparable, like the Lenny and Carl of practical shooting. One is pointless without the other.
While what you said isn't false. Saying that to a new to competition shooter? Speed comes with repetitions. You say you shoot a 1.x Bill Drill. That's quick shooting. But you didn't start there. I cannot go along with telling someone to shoot fast before they are ready for it. I've dealt with training scars in pretty good fundamental shooters that just had it in their head they 'can't' shoot at X speed at Y distance. It's ingrained in them they just can't do it until I get them on the range and figure what the mental block is.
My point is, if you aren't hitting the targets scoring areas, going faster isn't going to help. When he starts shooting 'perfect' or near perfect courses, then speed absolutely should be upped to the point he starts dropping rounds again. At that pace, maintain until it cleans up again, up the speed/ rinse and repeat.
I haven't shot the Bill Drill in a long time, so I can't compare myself to you. Our comparisons are irrelevant anyway, we are talking a third party.
I've never been called an 'underachiever' before, not sure how to take it.
Fast is fine, accuracy is final. -Google says Wyatt Earp said it.
Edit: Nothing I say is stuff I've made up. I'm not a natural shooter, I started shooting shotgun patterns. I've read, I've had incredible instructors, I've spent hundreds of hours on the range. That's where what I say comes from. Don't listen to me, Listen to Jerry:
15:20 ish.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dOVZ5TRCUw
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allen-1
NES Member
Sounds a lot like Steve Anderson.
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If you have a chance do a steel challenge match, thats a great way to get used to drawing from the holster and shooting on the clock and will give you an idea of where your at as far as speed and accuracy. As someone who prefers uspsa but also enjoys and is newer to Idpa coming from uspsa I found that accuracy is preferable to speed in Idpa. In uspsa a miss can be handled if your fast enough through the course. In Idpa a miss really hurts your score as the time that is added to your run can,t really be made up by going faster through the course. Making up 5 seconds is very hard on a short course and usually leads to more misses. It's best go slow and be safe at first. Idpa, has a lot if rules/procedures that need to be learned as they affect your score.
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