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.
