Shooting Gear for the New IDPA shooter
Equipment Overview
To start out at most IDPA matches, all that is needed is a safe handgun, three magazines or four speedloaders, two magazine pouches (or a one double magazine pouch) or three speedloader pouches. Add 100 rounds and some kind of carry bag (a drywall compound bucket is very handy) and you will be in good shape. Safety equipment needed is eye and ear protection: some inexpensive safety glasses and a set of muffs or ear plugs. You can expand on this and get some specialized equipment, but these basics will help you along for your first few matches.
Holsters
I've very fond of Blade Tech equipment for IDPA.
www.blade-tech.com They make an excellent affordable product. For IWB (inside the waist band) type holster I like the Milt Sparks EX holster.
www.miltsparks.com. Wheelgun shooters should look at the Don Hume JIT slide. It is affordable and a great holster.
www.donhume.com I used one at the 2000 IDPA nationals and did very well with it. Revolver shooters should have three speedloader holders or one double and one single holder. The blade tech holders will most likely become the dominant holder for 2001. Check this one out, it is hot!
Good prices on Blade Tech can be found at
www.theshootersedge.com It is a good company to do business with. I am not affiliated with them and am doing this endorsement because I liked their services and pricing.
Remember that there is a maximum of 2 magazines or 3 speedloaders on the belt so do not buy too many magazine pouches unless you plan on shooting USPSA too.
Magazines
There may come a stage like the Classifier or IDPA Quick Skills test, where it will be nice to have four or five spare magazines. It is great to have them preloaded and be able to just grab a third or fourth mag instead of pausing to reload your exhausted mags. The clock is stopped between strings, so there is no time penalty if you need to top off magazines, but I believe that stopping to load magazines can break your focus. Having several magazines will speed up the stage for you and the shooter after you.
Most of the time you are better off buying factory magazines. Glock, S&W, Sigarms are examples where you cannot get better than the factory product. Mec-Gar makes quality magazines, in fact they make many of the "factory" magazines for the manufacturers. Avoid all metal magazines for glocks, as they will destroy the magazine release. A good place to get Glock magazines is Ivanhoe Outlet
For M1911 pattern pistols I would recommend the Wilson-Rogers magazines or the Chip Mc Cormick product. My experience has all been with the Wilson-Rogers 8 round magazines and they have yet to fail on me. I have heard good things about Ed Brown's magazines too.
Magazines to avoid are the Pro-Mag and Triple K. Any of the cheap gun show special magazines are usually jam-o-matics. I have had conversations with several shooters who tell me how dependable and reliable their "brand x" magazines are but in my experience as a shooter and Match Director they usually die at the worst possible time- when firing for record. I am not even going to think about the possibility of a magazine failure on a street. Spend your money wisely and purchase quality magazines, even if you have to make do with fewer magazines in the short term.
Hi capacity magazines are legal for IDPA but you can only load ten rounds. Most shooters do not want to expose their high-capacity magazines to the rigors of a match and I agree with them. Buy 10 rounders for match use.
Ammunition
Purchase target grade (white box) ammunition for matches. The gilt edge accuracy of match or defensive type ammunition is wasted on the kind of shooting done at IDPA matches. Most shooters will shoot jacketed ammunition. It's advantages are reduced smoke and clean up, and sometimes reliability. Reloaded ammunition is allowed, though "chamber check" your cartridges before the match using a removed barrel from your gun. (warning! do not chamber check cartridges by running them through the action. Don't say I didn't warn you- take the barrel out or better yet, buy a chamber checking tool from Dillon Precision)
Shooting Bag
Sometimes I think a drywall bucket cleaned up makes the best match bag, especially if you buy the cushioned seat attachment. It costs hardly anything, and has plenty of room.
But if you do choose to buy a bag there are plenty commercial offfeings. I like the Dillon bag, even though I don't own one. Bagmaster has several nice offerings too. Wal-Mart can be a good place to go but remember, sooner or later you'll have 200-300 rounds of ammo plus equipment in the bag, so pick one that can hold some weight.
I bought my current bag at a gunshow. It is actually a fishing bag but does well. The center section and side pockets are insulated so I can fill it with ice and soft drinks when the need arises. It also floats. I bought it because of it's $10.00 price tag but it is a good bag that has lasted 2 seasons and still looks good. Use your imagination and you will find a nice bag.
Hearing Procection.
It's good to have some extra foam ear plugs and one of those belt hooks that hold your ear muffs. Muffs are good because you don't have to keep pulling out the plug to hear range instructions or to shoot the bull. Even better than that are electronic ear muffs. You can hear all range commands and bull slinging without missing a word. They are great for classes because you will not miss a word the instructor says. Electronic Ear muffs are the best thing to have but they are very expensive. (but worth it!) I have a set of Pro Ears Pro Mag LE. I keep an extra set of batteries in my shooters bag. What a great product for IDPA matches and handgun classes. Use the Pro Ears and you'll hear every range command. Very good product.
www.theshootersedge.com are where I got mine.
Miscellaneous
Don't forget the sun screen, band-aids, medical tape, bug spray, and a bag to hold your brass. You should also have, sunglasses, eyeglass wipes, poncho, and a good hat.
I do not have the bucks for a spare gun so I have a parts kit with a full assortment of springs, pins, and parts that are prone to breakage or loss. I missed a match one day when my Cat jumped up onto the kitchen table where my dissembled M1911 was lying. She swatted the recoil plug off the table and it took a long time for me to find it. (It was under the stereo, the only thing I didn't move out of the room) Now I have three recoil plugs. I stay at campgrounds at some events and I figure that if I have a brain fade and launch the recoil plug into the weeds, I had better have a spare.
Other things that are great to have but not really necessary are a shot timer, chronograph, set of spare leather (I had a galco yaqui slide break at a match) and a spare gun. A timer is a great practice tool useful for live and dry fire practice.
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gotta figure this out.
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