Ok i have my m&p 40 love it. Now i want to start shooting IDPA. I think this would be a great way to become more comfortable and proficient with my pistol. For the purpose of competition should i shoot factory ammo or should i purchase a after market ammo with reduced recoil. Any suggestions or ammo recommendations. Thanks in advance guys. Also have any of you been to the Arkansas combat pistol club in Berryville Arkansas i believe it is the closest place for me to shoot idpa even though it is a two hour drive.

Do not let the fact that other people call it a competition keep you from using the generic full power ammo. IDPA is a great way to become proficient with your new pistol. People who shoot matches regularly get much better at intuitively handling their pistols. Regardless of how "tactical" the match is or is not, the continued practice operating under time stress & scoring will cause you to improve quickly.

From my observations (only been shooting IDPA for about 8 month's now) the folks that do there own reloading will use light loads, the rest of us use straight out the box factory. For me, I'm using whatever the hell I can find on the shelves right now. I think most of the factory target labeled stuff is not very "hot". The UMC brand seems to be regularly ridiculed on the Internet as being very light (to the point of not cycling properly). I've shot 750 rds of the 9mm and it does seem to shoot softer, but hasn't caused a problem in my FS 9.

You'll be hooked after your first match/practice.

Thanks for the reply's guys. I am sure i will be hooked i am going to watch a match tomorrow just to see how things run.

I have been to the Berryville range twice for there Single Stack Championships its a great place with great people
Wilson combat is in berryville so they have quite a few people from there that shoot
I live in central arkansas and there are matchs every weekend within 1 hr or 1.5 hr drive

Thanks mitchww hope to see you there. Now all i have to do is come up with a couple more magazines,i have two need a couple more.