Had a great time - cost for the match + ammo + gas to get there was right at $50. Had 6 Stages, took 6 hours + registration time, so that is less then $10/hr for a fun time.

Used a S&W SD9 in SSP (Stock Service Pistol) Division

Some things I learned that were not in the online videos & posts

Reloads - I had this one messed up in my head. There is a rule which says you can not fire your magazine empty to make a reload tactically advantageous for you the shooter. Example - SSP means 11 in the gun at start - if you have 3 targets each getting 3 shots - that is 9, well now you have 2 in the gun. Before you engage T4 with 3 shots, it would be to your advantage to have reloaded. You would not be allowed to fire 2 extra shots to get to slide lock. As a result I was thinking I had to shoot to slide lock, then reload. That is not in the rules -- it could be in a given stage, however.

When reviewing the stage sheet, you will see where you are allowed to reload and where you have to reload. If you have a spot where you are allowed, you can reload as long as you retain the magazine. If you are at slide lock, you are allowed to drop the magazine to the deck - you do not have to retain it.

This is a big deal of course - It came to us on one stage where at least 3 people got sent home for unsafe gun handling!

Like in my example, they had T4 set at 9 o'clock - really close to 180 line you may be familiar with. Well if you hit slide lock and then do a reload an you already facing 9 - where does your muzzle go during your reload? I have a tendency to kant mine about 11 o'clock. If I am facing 9, and kant 1 clock that is 8 o'clock, which is bad news! But by reloading with retention (or a tactical reload) after T3 where I am not facing the edge of the range, I had no worries about being 'just over' the safe zone. I am grateful to another competitor who suggested that to me.

So while it is against the rules to "Air Gun," you can and should mentally play out the stage and plan where to do your reloads.

Another competitor also suggested that you always retain the mag, rather than dropping it. Do it the same way each time. And as my SD mags run $65 each! I don't really want to drop them anyway.

2nd, Shooting the targets. MOST are Keep The Best of X.
I was thinking that you had to shoot only the number of times allowed, but could keep shooting if you missed. If you needed 2 there better be exactly 2 holes in the target. I was wrong, that cost me some points.

So, typically you get best 2 or best 3. If you want to shoot the target 7 times, that is OK. You are trading time for points* And having enough bullets to finish the stage. There is a rule that you get a penalty if you "Fail to Neutralize" the threat, that is not enough points, er um too many points off.


3rd, we had 30 new shooters at our safety orientation! That is fantastic.

4th. Since we live in a PC time of can't do this, can't do that, I was surprised by how many shooters were lighting up stogies.

Holy **** 10mm are loud. So are XD-M's.

5th - Capacity. This was not clear to me from the rule book, and all I kept hearing was fill to capacity and have a 4th mag to top off and ... fuzzy.

For SSP you fill up your first mag to 11, put it in a pocket, fill up your 2nd & 3rd mags to 10 and put in the pouch. Simple.

For those who shoot with less in the mags, like say a PF-9, a revolver or an 1911, or if you live in The Peoples Republic of X - it sucks to be you. You'll have to ask someone else what is the best practice.

6th - and this is a question - This range, Tri-County in Sherwood OR, does not allow concealed carry - in places other than the shooting bay's. So, you can't be carrying as you drive onto the property. When I am traveling with my weapons, my paranoia creeps upwards and I don't want to going without carrying. (yes I am legal for where I reside)

Stripping down on the side of a highway doesn't make sense - stripping in restaurant / gas station before I get there also doesn't seem like a best practice to me.

Any suggestions?


Oh, and bring a stool, chair or a bucket to sit on.



* In IDPA it is points off - "negative scoring" really --
-0 is good, -1 not bad, -3 is bad, -5 if you miss (and if you have too few of the -1 and -0 you can also get a procedural Failure to Neutralize. You keep the "best" of the shots you make If you need 3 shots and you shoot a -3, a -3 and a -1, you need to shoot at least another -1 to cancel out the worst shot so far.
http://www.pmrpcidpa.com/documents/IDPA_Scoring.pdf

__________________
-Ric
Keep Calm and Carry

Oklahoma has a parking lot law that allows leaving your loaded handgun stored in your vehicle in most any parking lot, so we adopted the same rule for the range. Thus you can drive on, leave your carry gun in the vehicle, and rig up with your unloaded competition gun.
Suggest you talk to the club managers.

__________________
Science plus Art

Got the results ... Woo Hoo I wasn't last! 11th of 12.
Not counting 3 DQs + 1 DNF.
7th in the Points Down.

I am happy with that.

__________________
-Ric
Keep Calm and Carry

Welcome to action pistol sports, I think you'll have a great time with it!

"Reloads - I had this one messed up in my head. There is a rule which says you can not fire your magazine empty to make a reload tactically advantageous for you the shooter. Example - SSP means 11 in the gun at start - if you have 3 targets each getting 3 shots - that is 9, well now you have 2 in the gun. Before you engage T4 with 3 shots, it would be to your advantage to have reloaded. You would not be allowed to fire 2 extra shots to get to slide lock. As a result I was thinking I had to shoot to slide lock, then reload. That is not in the rules -- it could be in a given stage, however."

As per the rules, you could not throw two shots at Target 2 in your example to get to a slide lock reload. You are free to make up shots though. The "round dumping" rule is a controversial aspect of IDPA and there's plenty of discussion on the internet about it.

"For those who shoot with less in the mags, like say a PF-9, a revolver or an 1911, or if you live in The Peoples Republic of X - it sucks to be you. You'll have to ask someone else what is the best practice."

If you have a lower capacity gun that fits in a certain division that allows you to load more, yes, you're SOL. For example, a striker fired pistol chambered in 9mm that has an 8 round magazine being shot for SSP would generally be at a disadvantage. 1911s chambered in .45 have their own division, and so do revolvers, so people are not competing directly against guns that have a higher capacity. One reason for the 10+1 limit is to address the people who live in the People's Republic of Wherever.

As for the 180 rule, IDPA technically does not enforce a 180 rule but many clubs do. Action shooting puts you in some positions you may not be used to so just go slow on the reloading and be aware of where you could possibly end up - make it part of the walk through if you have to. Getting sent home early is no fun.

"So, typically you get best 2 or best 3. If you want to shoot the target 7 times, that is OK. You are trading time for points* And having enough bullets to finish the stage. There is a rule that you get a penalty if you "Fail to Neutralize" the threat, that is not enough points, er um too many points off."

The best shots on target are kept for however many shots you were supposed to take. If the target required 2 shots and there are 4 on paper, the best 2 are kept. A failure to neutralize is when you have no shots in the -0 or -1 zone. You can still incur plenty of penalty points without a FTN! However, there is no FTN on a dissapearing target (a target that presents itself to you for a finite amount of time and cannot be reengaged).

Congratulations again and hope you stay involved.