My first IDPA tomorrow

UncaGrunny · #1 10-17-2014, 11:13 PM

Looking forward to it. Little nervous - don't want to mess up - but mostly excited.

I'll post my story tomorrow evening. In anticipation, all are invited to post their IDPA tales here!

geddylee10002000 · #2 10-18-2014, 02:30 AM

Been there, done that. It's the most fun that you can with your clothes on IMHO. Decided to do the last match of the year with a revolver. My club put together the hardest stages of 2014 for the last event. Not me shooting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQxFmOsasFY Had fun. Very unfriendly revolver. Got 1st in SSR. Beat the other guy by 7.5 seconds. LMAO There was only 2 of us shooting wheel guns out of 54 shooters. Proudest moments I got 2 points down on the 1st stage.

Llando88 · #3 10-18-2014, 04:04 AM

Good luck, and please post how it goes!

I'm going to start next month here in Tampa at a USPSA Steel Challenge Match, also my first as well.

Pizza Bob · #4 10-18-2014, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncaGrunny

Looking forward to it. Little nervous - don't want to mess up - but mostly excited.

I'm sure that you have heard it many times already - go slow, be safe. Speed will come (I'm still waiting - but that's just me). Remember: Slow is smooth, Smooth is fast.

Enjoy. I'm shooting a match tomorrow too.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

Wyatt p. Tato · #5 10-18-2014, 07:42 PM

Looking forward to hearing about it. Something I am thinking of trying.

robertrwalsh · #6 10-18-2014, 08:09 PM

I am confident you will have fun. Be safe, be careful, don't do anything stupid. The rest is gravy. Watch your muzzle, that is the biggie. Shoot slower and more carefully rather than faster. Your scores will be better and you will find the whole thing more gratifying.

Tanners Owner · #7 10-18-2014, 08:18 PM

Good luck & have fun safely. Learn from the other shooters, assist with taping, stage tear down helps understanding the sport & gain friendships at the club. I love Idpa- lots of fun!

UncaGrunny · #8 10-19-2014, 06:24 PM

I have to say, it was a great deal of fun, especially for someone who hasn't shot competitively for 30+ years - - and even that was basic range shooting.

The meet I was invited to by my friend Andrew was put on by Cal-IDPA Shooters at the Prado Shooting Range near Corona, CA.

I had very little to go on before arriving, but things were well-organized & I had no trouble finding out where I was supposed to go, what I was supposed to do & when, etc. Well-run event, but not strict to the point of diminishing enjoyment. Very comfortable environment for a Newb.

I didn't know that this particular shoot had been set up as a "BUG" match until the day before, but they were open to other class gunners as well. My more-experienced friend was tooled up for either, but the only qualified weapon I had to bring was my M&P9-FS, and my brand-new Bladetech holster and mag holder that I'd gotten for my birthday, so I went in SSP.

The entry fee was higher than usual, I'm told, because of it being a BUG match: $45 for the day (normal open range fee is $20) and a free tee shirt and raffle ticket were provided with entry.

That raffle ticket paid off handsomely, though - I won a full 500-rd case of white-box 9mm, and my friend Andrew won a brick of Blazer 22LR!

Great way to start off an event, I think.

The set-up was 10 stages, and there were 72 registered shooters divided into squads. Stages were set up in pairs (two stages per bay) and shooters from two squads alternated through the pair of stages in each bay.

The stages were not as elaborate as those in the video above, but they were still clever enough to be interesting; shots from cover, from inside a "car," while out walking "fluffy" the dog, while pushing a shopping cart, or carrying shopping bags or a gallon of milk inside a c-store. Sitting at a dining table when bad guys try to take over, etc. Some shot from the hip in "retention" posture, including firing out a sally port where your sights were not visible to you.

Because it was a back-up gun setup originally, there were no timed reloads involved and round count was low, five shots per mag mostly, some as small as three.

Overall, I had a great time and I feel I did creditably well.

Out of 72 shooters, I came in 53rd, and had zero procedural, technical, or safety violations. I had only one clean-missed target all day, on one of those retention-posture shots from the weak hand. 19th in the SSP class which had 27 shooters.

The M&P ran flawlessly all day on white box, never a hiccup. I was kind of surprised by the number of misfires others experienced; I never thought they were that common.

Everyone that I was with seemed to be going out of their way to help the meet along - everyone was taping up and taking turns writing scores so the organizers could shoot too, and the RSOs for the squads I was with were both very competent and very friendly. Low-stress & friendly characterized everyone I met.

Come tear-down time, everyone pitched in and the range was cleared in very short order.

Totally a positive experience, start to end. Outside of that one miss, heh.

One happy surprise after all was over and done; when I went to the club's website to see the scores this AM, I was greeted with the photo below of myself, laying the smack down on some zombies that popped up when I went to pay respect to dear aunt Mazie's gravesite. Second stage of the day - didn't even know anyone was taking pix.

TNDave · #9 10-19-2014, 06:50 PM

Sounds like a large time! You didn't come in last so it sounds like you did well. IDPA is a lot of fun and can keep the rust off your gun handling skills.

Bkreutz · #10 10-19-2014, 07:15 PM

Yup, you're hooked now. Welcome to the disease.

geddylee10002000 · #11 10-19-2014, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncaGrunny

I have to say, it was a great deal of fun, especially for someone who hasn't shot competitively for 30+ years - - and even that was basic range shooting.

The meet I was invited to by my friend Andrew was put on by Cal-IDPA Shooters at the Prado Shooting Range near Corona, CA.

I had very little to go on before arriving, but things were well-organized & I had no trouble finding out where I was supposed to go, what I was supposed to do & when, etc. Well-run event, but not strict to the point of diminishing enjoyment. Very comfortable environment for a Newb.

I didn't know that this particular shoot had been set up as a "BUG" match until the day before, but they were open to other class gunners as well. My more-experienced friend was tooled up for either, but the only qualified weapon I had to bring was my M&P9-FS, and my brand-new Bladetech holster and mag holder that I'd gotten for my birthday, so I went in SSP.

The entry fee was higher than usual, I'm told, because of it being a BUG match: $45 for the day (normal open range fee is $20) and a free tee shirt and raffle ticket were provided with entry.

That raffle ticket paid off handsomely, though - I won a full 500-rd case of white-box 9mm, and my friend Andrew won a brick of Blazer 22LR!

Great way to start off an event, I think.

The set-up was 10 stages, and there were 72 registered shooters divided into squads. Stages were set up in pairs (two stages per bay) and shooters from two squads alternated through the pair of stages in each bay.

The stages were not as elaborate as those in the video above, but they were still clever enough to be interesting; shots from cover, from inside a "car," while out walking "fluffy" the dog, while pushing a shopping cart, or carrying shopping bags or a gallon of milk inside a c-store. Sitting at a dining table when bad guys try to take over, etc. Some shot from the hip in "retention" posture, including firing out a sally port where your sights were not visible to you.

Because it was a back-up gun setup originally, there were no timed reloads involved and round count was low, five shots per mag mostly, some as small as three.

Overall, I had a great time and I feel I did creditably well.

Out of 72 shooters, I came in 53rd, and had zero procedural, technical, or safety violations. I had only one clean-missed target all day, on one of those retention-posture shots from the weak hand. 19th in the SSP class which had 27 shooters.

The M&P ran flawlessly all day on white box, never a hiccup. I was kind of surprised by the number of misfires others experienced; I never thought they were that common.

Everyone that I was with seemed to be going out of their way to help the meet along - everyone was taping up and taking turns writing scores so the organizers could shoot too, and the RSOs for the squads I was with were both very competent and very friendly. Low-stress & friendly characterized everyone I met.

Come tear-down time, everyone pitched in and the range was cleared in very short order.

Totally a positive experience, start to end. Outside of that one miss, heh.

One happy surprise after all was over and done; when I went to the club's website to see the scores this AM, I was greeted with the photo below of myself, laying the smack down on some zombies that popped up when I went to pay respect to dear aunt Mazie's gravesite. Second stage of the day - didn't even know anyone was taking pix.

Glad you had fun & positive experience. I'll bet that you will be back the next time. My club hosts the Bianchi Cup. Great club. The IDPA group are devilishly creative. LMAO. Keeps me coming back. BTW everyone does pitch in and makes the day enjoyable.

UncaGrunny · #12 10-19-2014, 08:41 PM

This first outing was definitely enough to get me interested. "Hooked" will be when I sign up for an IDPA number, heh.

I can see how these types of events can really help raise handling comfort & competency in a way normal range practice cannot. Leastwise for the ranges I have access to, as they are necessarily hyper-strict with regard to carry, handling, loading, slow fire, etc. due to close quarters and liability. Sadly, this makes range time not very real-world applicable.

I expect I'll be back to try a standard match soon. After all, I have all that ammo to use up!

Tanners Owner · #13 10-19-2014, 09:04 PM

Congrats on a great day. IDPA is a fun sport you can learn good gun handling and gain some good friends