IDPA/IPSC Newbie needs gun

[walkin' trails]

My take on IDPA when I shot it years ago was that it was for the CCW folks, and even though a long slide pistol may be a benefit in some ways, you're drawing a hog leg when your carry pistol as a compact. Get your feet with with your compact 9. I got my wife to shoot a match years ago with my Glock 17. We spent an afternoon working on the basics of safe gun handling, loading, and reloading with dummies. Next we spent about two afternoons out at a desert range shooting some of the basic drills that you'll see in IDPA. She didn't win the match, but she didn't come in dead last either. I shot my first IDPA qualifier at my first match with a G21 and barely scored sharp shooter. The 21 was my carry gun at the time. I shot the qualifier again months later with my Glock 17 thinking that the lower recoil would make me quicker. I was wrong and slipped to marksman. Bottom line is be familiar with and practice with the piece you're going to compete with. If you're happy with the M&P platform, stay with it.

 

[photoracer]

Thanks for the feedback. That's a fair point about using my 9c and I may end up doing that initially if I don't find/decide what I want right away. The reason I'm pushing to get a full size sooner, rather than later is that I'm signed up to take a formal "action/practical shooting" course and the instructor strongly prefers you use a full sized gun as he believes it makes it easier to focus on learning the fundamentals. I did recently take a different shooting fundamentals type class and although I shot well, I did feel I would have had a better experience with a larger gun, so I can see where he's coming from.

I've been planning to pick up a full-sized gun for range use anyway, so this upcomming course kind of gives me an excuse to add a new gun to the safe ;-)

Well I have been shooting mostly steel for the last couple of years with different guns from .22 to 357 Sig. This year my buddies talked me into both IDPA and USPSA. While I would like to use a good production gun in both also I chose to use the most appropriate gun I have in each. For IPDA I chose the gun I generally carry my HK USP Compact, but rather than shoot it in 357 Sig I opted to get a 9mm barrel to shoot instead, for more capacity if needed and less recoil (and cheaper ammo). Seems to work as I qualified Sharpshooter in my first classifier match. As for USPSA I already had a Bul M-5 IPSC in 9x23mm so that is what I started with. I could have dumbed the gun down to shoot it locally in IDPA ESP but I chose not to because I don't carry it CCW and I prefer to look at IDPA as primarily a carry gun match. As for getting a new gun I chose instead to get an open racegun (STI) in 9x23mm for USPSA Open so I could get classified in both Open and Limited (I ordered it originally for Steel Challenge Open). I shoot my friend's Glocks and M&P in practice and have not decided yet about a possible production gun from between the M&P Pro/9L, XDm 5.25, or Glock 17.

So my opinion is to shoot what you have till you get the fundamentals of IDPA down first. If you get decent with your compact gun you will be instantly better once you get the full size gun.