Thoughts on my first IDPA Match

[oldafsp]

Well yesterday was the day.

Figured I would pass on my impressions and thoughts. We worked 3 squads of 8 shooters and a RO. My squad were guys between the ages of 45-75 years old! Two of us were shooting wheelguns. The rest in SSP and CDP.

Great bunch of shooters and very helpful in teaching the "new guy" the ropes. 7 stage match of various difficulty. Started at 10am and completed at around 1:30pm.

Of course it being 20 years since shooting any type of competetion, the usual jitters were apparent to me. And I am sure I will do better the next matches I shoot.

I found myself holding up a touch too much front sight most of the day. That cost me points down of course, but not too concerned as that will work it's self out.

The best stage I ran was the draw and 6 shots rapid fire at 7 yds. Got kudos from the RO and the rest of the guys for a 4.99 run! It truly was hysterical to hear the comments from the other shooters..lol. I guess they didn't expect an old guy with a 10-6 to run it like that.

I wish I had the time to get a photo of the target..but they pasted it as soon as it was scored. I went -4. Two slightly askew in the -0, and the other four were 1 inch below -0 in a perfect semi circle...smiley face!!!

Bonuses, No FTN's and 1 PE(shot from the wrong position),no dropped rounds, no HTN's or FTDR penalties.

Too bad I didn't have time to take pics or have some taken of me on the course. Maybe next time.

This is way too much fun in my book....

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Sounds like a very good first match and glad you had fun! Be careful this sort of thing can be addictive!

 

[robertrwalsh]

Keep on with IDPA. Its fun and its useful.

 

[OKFC05]

Welcome to IDPA. The officials are called Safety Officers (SO). RO is a USPSA term.

 

[oldafsp]

Thanks for the reminder.

As a observation, and this is not a critisism by any means, I was shocked at the number of malfunctions with the semi auto pistols during the match.

There were,10 or more issues during the day. Most were failure to feed on a reload from slide lock, a couple of stovepipes. I noticed that it was not limited to any one particular brand of weapon either.

By far the worst one was a CDP 1911 that wouldn't drop it's mag...the poor guy had to take it over to a safe bench and literally pry the mag out of the well... He got a another mag from another shooter and that one did fine the rest of the day.

It was a learning expirence for sure.

 

[garystl]

Glad you had a good time. I've been shooting IDPA for several years and am a SO. We rarely see many gun issues at our club and I'm surprised by your report.

 

[Grjfer]

I really enjoy shooting IDPA. It really challenges you. Glad you had a good shoot.

 

[growr]

My experience with guns malfunctioning at matches is usually due to them being modified.....stock guns seem to run just fine......

Isn't IDPA just a hoot though? I often shoot SSR with my dad's k-38.....shoots like a laser and had a LOT of character and attitude...totally reliable as it has been since 1948 or so...

Welcome to the game!!!

Randy

 

[oldafsp]

Giving some more thought to the number of malfunctions I observed.....

The temps were only in the high 30's and rose to the low 40's.
??? I would hope that would not be a issue with semi autos but a touch too much gun oil somewhere..

I had decided on one of 10-6's as my primary gun for the matches. It's a working gun, so there is nothing for me to hurt there.

I did bring a backup gun, because well, you never know. A Model 15-3. I have a couple of other guns that I want to try after I get my feet on the ground so to speak.

But I am shy on holsters and speed loaders for them, so now I need 3 speed loaders for L frame (681) and two more for my Model 58 that I am going to try in one match when the weather is better.

I am willing to bet the day I shoot the .41 Magnum that will get everyones attention..

 

[garystl]

You'll know you're hooked when you're standing in a snowstorm waiting for the buzzer! I've run squads in snow and rain and the hard part is keeping score on wet paper!

 

[Bkreutz]

My theory on equipment failure is "bad karma". I shoot IDPA once a month, Steel Challenge once a month when the weather is good (too old to stand out in the rain and cold), local range "action pistol" every week, and the occasional USPSA match. Add that to my practice time I shoot over 50K rounds per year (conservative estimate) and have had 2 failures, both of which was factory defective ammo (primers in backwards). I see lots of mechanical issues at every match and have talked to the affected shooters and there doesn't seem to be any pattern of lack of maintenance or lack of experience. The failures seem to happen to both extremes of experience and maintenance. The full on "race guns" seem to be a bit more touchy, but I also see box stock guns fail regularly as well. Can't find a common denominator so it must be karma(or luck, or providence, or ?????)

 

[Bugs Bunny]

IDPA is addictive, wife started 4yrs ago, she tries to hit a match every Sat weather permitting. she shoots a Gold Cup w Wilsons in CDP never an issue, I use a 625 629 686 28 or whatever auto that needs the cobwebs blasted off.

I never use the same weapon week to week to prevent the "competitive addiction" besides it keeps it fun & me decent with all the weapons..

Ruger MKIII is another real favorite I use, I love 22's for practice.

Have Fun

 

[chaparrito]

The nearest active IDPA group is two hours away. To make up for that, I have a buddy who spends summers in Idaho where he is very active with an IDPA group. He winters here in AZ and takes it upon himself to design and build stages for a small group of shooters. We follow regulations as much as we can being a small group, and shoot weekly all winter. We started three years ago and I can honestly say nothing else has improved my pistol accuracy and speed as much. I wish we had an official group with a decent sized membership close by.
I usually shoot my billboard S and W 1911, and once in a while my Sig SP2022 in 9mm.

 

[Bkreutz]

The nearest active IDPA group is two hours away. To make up for that, I have a buddy who spends summers in Idaho where he is very active with an IDPA group. He winters here in AZ and takes it upon himself to design and build stages for a small group of shooters. We follow regulations as much as we can being a small group, and shoot weekly all winter. We started three years ago and I can honestly say nothing else has improved my pistol accuracy and speed as much. I wish we had an official group with a decent sized membership close by.
I usually shoot my billboard S and W 1911, and once in a while my Sig SP2022 in 9mm.

So why not take your small group to the next step and form a club, joint the IDPA, and put on your own matches? Once you get "official" you may even attract more members and your club will grow. That's how just about all the clubs that exist started.