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First USPSA match checklist

A plastic trash bag takes up VERY little space in your range bag but can come in handy for all types of things.
As for a brass bag, hit the laundry isle at the local market and pick up one of those mesh bags for washing your unmentionables. Zip it up and shake, all the dirt falls back on the ground and the cases go in your range bag.
 
Weather keeps fluctuating but it's not looking good. Are matches usually rain or shine, or should I be anticipating a cancellation?
 
daekken said:
Weather keeps fluctuating but it's not looking good. Are matches usually rain or shine, or should I be anticipating a cancellation?
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If the rain is light or moderate, the match will often go on as planned. If it's crazy heavy rain, or if it's accompanied by high winds, it may be cancelled.

It also depends on the club running the match.
 
mlaboss said:
If the rain is light or moderate, the match will often go on as planned. If it's crazy heavy rain, or if it's accompanied by high winds, it may be cancelled.

It also depends on the club running the match.
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Sounds good. I finally found it on practiscore and signed up, didn't choose a squad though, but it looks like one has a good amount of Production shooters, which is what I'll be doing. Might be best just to wait and see what the organizers say.

It's really cool to be able to see the stages ahead of time.
 
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daekken said:
Sounds good. I finally found it on practiscore and signed up, didn't choose a squad though, but it looks like one has a good amount of Production shooters, which is what I'll be doing. Might be best just to wait and see what the organizers say.

It's really cool to be able to see the stages ahead of time.
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You'll probably be in a Squad with more than just Production shooters. It'll be very cool to see others shoot the stages with an Open Gun or even PCC. You'll learn a lot. I've only shot 3 matches and I've been addicted since my first stage at the first match.
 
Eric H said:
You'll probably be in a Squad with more than just Production shooters. It'll be very cool to see others shoot the stages with an Open Gun or even PCC. You'll learn a lot. I've only shot 3 matches and I've been addicted since my first stage at the first match.
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Yeah the squads all had a mix, one of them just had a high percentage of people listed as production.
I'm really excited, just wish I could practice.
 
I'll be there on Sunday weather permitting. This will be my second USPSA event and my 4th overall competitive shoot (2 Steel Challenges). I'm in squad 4 if you want to watch someone make you feel better about yourself.
 
daekken said:
So, although the weather is looking quite iffy, I was hoping to do my first USPSA match this weekend at Chester Rod and Gun on Sunday. To try to prepare/make sure I remember to bring everything, I made myself a checklist of stuff I think I'll need. If anyone has any suggestions on things I should add or remove, I would appreciate it. Also, if there are any suggestions on things to do to otherwise prepare they would be most welcome.

If the weather doesn't cooperate, I'll try to find someplace else to go maybe next weekend, if there's any suggestions on that front as well.
  • pistol
  • 6 mags
  • mag pouches
  • holster
  • belt
  • 250-300 rounds of ball ammo
  • range bag
  • eye protection
  • ear protection
  • match fee
  • water
  • hat
  • sunblock (depending on weather)
Thanks.
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Make sure you let the RO know this is your first match. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. If your not sure about rules come see me I'm the Range Master for this match. I'll be the one running around like a mental patient before the match.
 
foxhound6 said:
I'll be there on Sunday weather permitting. This will be my second USPSA event and my 4th overall competitive shoot (2 Steel Challenges). I'm in squad 4 if you want to watch someone make you feel better about yourself.
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Heh, OK, I joined squad 4 on Practiscore. I don't mind propping up the table in last place. For me it's all about having (safe) fun and getting better. It was nice to see my CMP match scores rise each time, so I am hoping this will provide similar motivation and reward.

Glenn Begley said:
Make sure you let the RO know this is your first match. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. If your not sure about rules come see me I'm the Range Master for this match. I'll be the one running around like a mental patient before the match.
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Thanks, looking forward to it.
 
daekken said:
Weather keeps fluctuating but it's not looking good. Are matches usually rain or shine, or should I be anticipating a cancellation?
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If we cancel we will contact you thru PractiScore. One more thing. Everyone is expected to help at a match. Steel will need to be re-set and targets taped. The RO must score the target before it is taped and the RO is the only person who scores so don't get ahead of the RO when taping. You can wait for the RO by an array of targets but you can't even touch the target until it is scored.
 
Glad the weather held up. Lots of appreciation and gratitude to those who provided tips and advice both here and at the match and for those who planned, setup, and executed the match. The willingness of everyone to offer assistance was very helpful as a newcomer.

I had a blast and can't wait to get back out there.
As I expected, some of my misteps will give me some things to work on, namely making sure I really seat those mags properly and to take my time placing shots.
On the last stage especially, I got caught up trying to go too fast and ended up with some no shoots due to rushing. Just need to focus on taking good shots.

I had read about the Texas Star and having now experienced it in person I see why it gives some people trouble!

As for the checklist, naturally I brought a raincoat and bug spray, and needed neither. Of course, I left the sunblock behind assuming I would not need it, and have a sunburn on my neck and arms for my trouble. Worth it though!
mlaboss said:
And so the addiction begins!
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Yes!
 
cool! glad you enjoyed it, I am hooked I can't wait for the steel challenge this coming Saturday at HolBrook :)
 
daekken said:
As for the checklist, naturally I brought a raincoat and bug spray, and needed neither. Of course, I left the sunblock behind assuming I would not need it, and have a sunburn on my neck and arms for my trouble. Worth it though!
Click to expand...

I also recommend a dorky looking hat with a wide brim to help keep the sun off your face and neck.
 
daekken said:
I had read about the Texas Star and having now experienced it in person I see why it gives some people trouble!
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Yeah, I call it the Death Star and you did great for being your first match! glad you enjoyed yourself and yes get those mags in all the way! if you don't already practice mag changes during dry fire practice.. just make sure those mags are empty it's not 100% the same but you'll get use to hitting that mag in.. remember like we talked about watch where your muzzle goes during loading... it was great to meet you and watch your excitement during the day.. hope to see you back at CRGC...:D
 
Death Star is a good name for it. My original plan was to try to knock off one or two points when I was doing the left side of the stage and give it time to stabilize before finishing it off on the right side. I ended up forgetting I had an entire extra mag in my back pocket. Lessons learned, I had fun and got a feel for it, which is what I wanted to accomplish.

I'll be coming back from travel the Saturday before the next match at CRGC so depending on how tired I may or may not be, I'll let it dictate whether or not I attend, but I am hopeful. If I get my ducks in a row I can do whatever catch up I need and go to bed early and be rested. Nice to see they appear to run through October. It was a pleasant drive.
 
daekken said:
Well, that was awesome.
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RIP your wallet.

It was nice squadding with you on Sunday, glad you had fun. What's great about this neck of the woods is you can shoot every weekend if you want. Between CRGC, Pioneer, Pelham, and Piscataqua SOMEONE is running USPSA, Steel Challenge or IDPA on a weekend. Hope to see you out again soon.
 
foxhound6 said:
RIP your wallet.

It was nice squadding with you on Sunday, glad you had fun. What's great about this neck of the woods is you can shoot every weekend if you want. Between CRGC, Pioneer, Pelham, and Piscataqua SOMEONE is running USPSA, Steel Challenge or IDPA on a weekend. Hope to see you out again soon.
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Yes, it was nice to meet you. I'm looking forward to many more matches. I can see how it can get expensive quickly.

I'll probably run my basic-tier equipment this year while I get used to it all and see what areas I want/need to change or improve. Other than ammo, and match fees, plus joining USPSA which I plan to do this week, I shouldn't need anything else but who knows.
I might be able to talk myself into a 1911 for shooting single stack, with the idea I would do that in MA (whenever my non-res arrives) since I wouldn't need to buy special 10 rounders. I have a couple 10rd P226 mags but I'm not excited at the idea of buying a bunch more. Same thing on the Glock front; I could run that now in NH (would need an OWB holster) but I'd have to invest in a whole extra set of limited mags to do it in MA. With a 1911, the mags are going to be good to go in either state. I'll cross that bridge when it comes to it.

For now, I just want to learn, practice and have fun.
 
M1911 said:
Glock mags are cheap. Not a big deal to buy six 10 round mags.
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On Black Friday I grabbed some of the Magpul G19 mags for $7 each, but they were the 15 rounders. When I traded my Gen2 for my Gen5, the 10rd G19 mags I had went with it and the Gen5 comes with three 15 rounders.

If I can find a deal on the 10 rounders (usually I see about $25/ea for OEM, which puts it at $150 + shipping for 6) I'd consider it, but if I were going to shoot a Glock I'd probably get a full size versus my G19 anyway and need G17 mags or something like that. Just figured some variety could be good. In the meantime I'll keep rolling with the P226.

Either way I'll need some 10 rounders since G19 is my primary carry and when going into MA I will need the 10 rounders anyway.
 
Magpul did start making 10 round pmags for both the 17 and 19. $10 cheaper per mag vs OEM adds up quick.
 
I just found a vendor with the 10 rd magpuls for $12/each. I'll get two and see how they go. I don't really have any plans to use the G19 instead of the P226, but I'll need some 10rders for carrying anyway.
 
No reload snafus today but still plenty to work on. Still hate the Texas Star [angry].

Picked up a procedural on the classifier, too, which I think was my poorest stage. [smile]
 

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