paulg
.375 Atomic
Posts: 2,420
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 10:33:55 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by paulg on Jan 29, 2016 10:33:55 GMT -5
Does anyone here shoot IDPA? Your thoughts on equipment, organization and practical application are appreciated.
|
|
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 13:19:43 GMT -5
Post by bulasteve on Jan 29, 2016 13:19:43 GMT -5
It is good, up to a point. If you want to consider it training, and avoid the gaming, go for it. But at some point, in the interest of ever better scores, things are done that tactically are not in your best interest, training-wise. If you have no option but to shoot at ranges, courses, yes, go for it ! The trigger time, and having other people task you with a scenario to "clear", is worthwhile.
|
|
|
Post by sixshot on Jan 29, 2016 14:15:00 GMT -5
Shot in one match in Bandera, Texas back in 2008 when we were wintering there, that was enough for me. I showed up with my 6 1/2" 40 caliber revolver & my USPSA holster & the guy tells me my gun isn't legal, has to be a 4" barrel, also tells me my holster isn't legal but says since I've never shot before its no problem, they will let me shoot with my gear. Guess bad guys hate 6 1/2" barrels! He's also shooting revolver & is the "head honcho" & every stage I'm beating him & every stage he's getting madder. Half way through I tell him again, I don't need to shoot, you told me to pay up & go ahead & shoot. He says, no, its ok just keep shooting. By then he's having me go first on every stage, trying to make it harder, thats ok when we get to the last stage he refuses to even shoot it, puts his gear away & tells his wife he's going home! I came in second overall, even against the semi auto shooters. I never went back, so many rules & judgement calls that they took all the fun out of the match, not for me, ever!
Dick
|
|
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 16:39:10 GMT -5
Post by bradshaw on Jan 29, 2016 16:39:10 GMT -5
Shot in one match in Bandera, Texas back in 2008 when we were wintering there, that was enough for me. I showed up with my 6 1/2" 40 caliber revolver & my USPSA holster & the guy tells me my gun isn't legal, has to be a 4" barrel, also tells me my holster isn't legal but says since I've never shot before its no problem, they will let me shoot with my gear. Guess bad guys hate 6 1/2" barrels! He's also shooting revolver & is the "head honcho" & every stage I'm beating him & every stage he's getting madder. Half way through I tell him again, I don't need to shoot, you told me to pay up & go ahead & shoot. He says, no, its ok just keep shooting. By then he's having me go first on every stage, trying to make it harder, thats ok when we get to the last stage he refuses to even shoot it, puts his gear away & tells his wife he's going home! I came in second overall, even against the semi auto shooters. I never went back, so many rules & judgement calls that they took all the fun out of the match, not for me, ever! Dick Everyone needs to read Dick Thompson's notes on the chicken spit syndrome that poisons a match when you run into a Big Fish in a Small Pond. You have to ignore 'em to death. Dick, you should have told that punk, "Let's put the stop plate at 80 yards." Best, David Bradshaw
|
|
ProGun
.30 Stingray
Posts: 246
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 17:18:33 GMT -5
Post by ProGun on Jan 29, 2016 17:18:33 GMT -5
That's terrible Dick. I grew up around trap fields. My dad (better know by his sons affectionately as "The Badger") has always been a trap shooter; a dang good one too. Not flashy, not the showboat type, just a butt kicker on the trap field. I saw for years how heated competition can get around the firing line. It would absolutely blow my mind how arrogant some grown men could be. I innocently thought at the time that eventually boys grew out of that stuff, after all- my old man wasn't like that. Nevertheless, time after time, I'd be out late at night at the Rod & Gun club watching my dad "shoot-off" against these types of guys. The pretentious, flashy guys did great in the first 50 rounds, but when they had to go up against this guy covered in sheetrock dust, driving an old beat up Ford, with his snot-nosed boys looking on, boy they'd really lose it. Defeat themselves. Easy enough.
Back to IDPA- While I've never competed and don't know diddly squat on the subject, I read in Dillon's Blue Press last year or so that Jap's were coming over here and kicking our tails in IDPA and nobody knew how. Jap's couldn't practice shooting handguns in Japan... Enter airsoft pistols. These Japanese shooters had been practicing shooting tens of thousands of rounds with airsoft pistols! They taught themselves the fundamentals thoroughly enough with these toys that they were winning matches! If I were going to try IDPA, I would definitely give using airsoft pistols to practice with an honest thought.
|
|
Fowler
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 3,566
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 17:52:02 GMT -5
Post by Fowler on Jan 29, 2016 17:52:02 GMT -5
That's terrible Dick. I grew up around trap fields. My dad (better know by his sons affectionately as "The Badger") has always been a trap shooter; a dang good one too. Not flashy, not the showboat type, just a butt kicker on the trap field. I saw for years how heated competition can get around the firing line. It would absolutely blow my mind how arrogant some grown men could be. I innocently thought at the time that eventually boys grew out of that stuff, after all- my old man wasn't like that. Nevertheless, time after time, I'd be out late at night at the Rod & Gun club watching my dad "shoot-off" against these types of guys. The pretentious, flashy guys did great in the first 50 rounds, but when they had to go up against this guy covered in sheetrock dust, driving an old beat up Ford, with his snot-nosed boys looking on, boy they'd really lose it. Defeat themselves. Easy enough. Back to IDPA- While I've never competed and don't know diddly squat on the subject, I read in Dillon's Blue Press last year or so that Jap's were coming over here and kicking our tails in IDPA and nobody knew how. Jap's couldn't practice shooting handguns in Japan... Enter airsoft pistols. These Japanese shooters had been practicing shooting tens of thousands of rounds with airsoft pistols! They taught themselves the fundamentals thoroughly enough with these toys that they were winning matches! If I were going to try IDPA, I would definitely give using airsoft pistols to practice with an honest thought. That was at the Steel Challenge matches not the IDPA matches, still same thing when the Japanese handed everyones ass to them using borrowed guns because they were not allowed to own real ones.
|
|
ProGun
.30 Stingray
Posts: 246
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 18:04:14 GMT -5
Post by ProGun on Jan 29, 2016 18:04:14 GMT -5
Ahhh... Thanks for the clarification.
|
|
Fowler
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 3,566
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 18:04:30 GMT -5
paulg likes this
Post by Fowler on Jan 29, 2016 18:04:30 GMT -5
I used to shoot USPSA matches, a lot of fun but it got frustrating driving 2 hours, to help set up for 2 hours, to shoot for 20 seconds, to stand around for and hour and shoot for 16 seconds and so on. In the end I would burn a entire day, $100 in entry fee and gas, to shoot for 90 seconds total. That and it didnt seem rules were enforced the same for everyone. I caught one guy cheating at a local club match, running his Limited gun in a Limited 10 match (before they had single stack I shot limited 10 with my 1911s). They have to just load 10 rounds in a mag and stop, fine no issues with that over mi single stack 1911. Well I noticed he ran some 12 and 13 round segments without reloading and when we were policing brass his magazines all still had several rounds in them. I pointed all of this out to the RO who politely told him to kock it off. Only thing is he did it over the next 2 courses as well and I pointed it out each time, nothing was done about it and he was named the match winner for the day. Had to cheat to win a club match that didnt even have prizes for the winners? It was the straw that broke the camels back for me and I quit shooting it. I sometimes think of trying it again but I doubt I will.
I have been tempted to try IDPA but I know they are very strict with their rules and procedurals that they say is about proper form in a gun fight, slicing the pie, not dropping magazines on the ground if your guns not in slidelock (even if the magazine is empty), leaning out too far from a barrier. Might drive me batty but then I guess I might give it a go some day, might like it and at worse I loose a day trying it.
But at the end of the day I will say any shooting competition is shooting under stress, and its not at all like shooting normally is. You learn a lot under stress, good and bad and in the end it is all good training...
|
|
|
Post by perterra on Jan 29, 2016 18:08:31 GMT -5
That's terrible Dick. I grew up around trap fields. My dad (better know by his sons affectionately as "The Badger") has always been a trap shooter; a dang good one too. Not flashy, not the showboat type, just a butt kicker on the trap field. I saw for years how heated competition can get around the firing line. It would absolutely blow my mind how arrogant some grown men could be. I innocently thought at the time that eventually boys grew out of that stuff, after all- my old man wasn't like that. Nevertheless, time after time, I'd be out late at night at the Rod & Gun club watching my dad "shoot-off" against these types of guys. The pretentious, flashy guys did great in the first 50 rounds, but when they had to go up against this guy covered in sheetrock dust, driving an old beat up Ford, with his snot-nosed boys looking on, boy they'd really lose it. Defeat themselves. Easy enough. Back to IDPA- While I've never competed and don't know diddly squat on the subject, I read in Dillon's Blue Press last year or so that Jap's were coming over here and kicking our tails in IDPA and nobody knew how. Jap's couldn't practice shooting handguns in Japan... Enter airsoft pistols. These Japanese shooters had been practicing shooting tens of thousands of rounds with airsoft pistols! They taught themselves the fundamentals thoroughly enough with these toys that they were winning matches! If I were going to try IDPA, I would definitely give using airsoft pistols to practice with an honest thought. That was at the Steel Challenge matches not the IDPA matches, still same thing when the Japanese handed everyones ass to them using borrowed guns because they were not allowed to own real ones. Last time I shot clays, a little toot about 4 ft tall and 13 years old was there all by his self, baseball cap on sideways, he couldnt have weighed 90 lbs. Shooting a flame painted O/U. He powdered everything that went in front of him, usually 10 feet from when it left the thrower. The guy I was with said that little turd is out here all the time practicing, shoots 4H tournaments. I figgered out, cans of whup ass come in all sizes and shapes.
|
|
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 21:36:23 GMT -5
Post by seancass on Jan 29, 2016 21:36:23 GMT -5
I just started trying USPSA last year. I haven't been to a major match, just local club stuff. I haven't tried IDPA yet, but it really doesn't sound like it's for me. I'm going out to play, not worry about made up so-called tactics. I like steel challenge particularly. No reloads to slow down the wheel gunners. I've had a lot of fun with the wheel gun in USPSA. I am shooting an 8 shot and I think it'd be less fun to have only 6. With 8 rounds, I can compete directly with the Production and Single Stack guys.
As others have mentioned, people can get awful butt-hurt at a match, and there is Always somebody better than you! I had somebody get actually mad when his glock lost a stage to a revolver and I've watched an 80lb, 12-ish year old girl shoot a stage in a fraction of my time. All in good fun!
|
|
paulg
.375 Atomic
Posts: 2,420
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 21:36:42 GMT -5
via mobile
BigBore44 likes this
Post by paulg on Jan 29, 2016 21:36:42 GMT -5
Shot in one match in Bandera, Texas back in 2008 when we were wintering there, that was enough for me. I showed up with my 6 1/2" 40 caliber revolver & my USPSA holster & the guy tells me my gun isn't legal, has to be a 4" barrel, also tells me my holster isn't legal but says since I've never shot before its no problem, they will let me shoot with my gear. Guess bad guys hate 6 1/2" barrels! He's also shooting revolver & is the "head honcho" & every stage I'm beating him & every stage he's getting madder. Half way through I tell him again, I don't need to shoot, you told me to pay up & go ahead & shoot. He says, no, its ok just keep shooting. By then he's having me go first on every stage, trying to make it harder, thats ok when we get to the last stage he refuses to even shoot it, puts his gear away & tells his wife he's going home! I came in second overall, even against the semi auto shooters. I never went back, so many rules & judgement calls that they took all the fun out of the match, not for me, ever! Dick The rules state that a revolver must have a 4.25 inch barrel or less. IDPA is supposed to be a competition for your carry guns and gear. I doubt many folks will be carrying a 6.5 inch revolver. But he did tell you to shoot anyway and there is no excuse for a poor loser.
|
|
|
IDPA
Jan 29, 2016 22:10:21 GMT -5
Post by contender on Jan 29, 2016 22:10:21 GMT -5
Well, I have been shooting USPSA for over 15 years now. I was using my 1911 45 acp before there was a Ltd 10 category. We hold USPSA matches at my range each month. Level 1 matches. We follow the rules,,, make it fun, and if we catch anybody NOT obeying the rules,,, they are gone. (I ran one guy off several years ago, and it caused a big stink,,,) but we follow the rules. IDPA, well, I studied it a long time ago, and decided that some of the rules were not as practical as they seemed. I tried it a bit,,, but decided it wasn't for me. Like Dick,,, I've seen the big fish in a small pond get upset when they get beat by someone better. That type is everywhere.
If IDPA is available, and it appeals to you,,, why not try it. But if the rules aren't followed, or favoritism is shown,,, you may want to move on.
|
|
|
IDPA
Jan 30, 2016 10:20:17 GMT -5
Post by dougader on Jan 30, 2016 10:20:17 GMT -5
I used to shoot IPSC, and went to the local gun club meeting last summer to see about getting started in IDPA/USPSA (??) and was amazed at the requirements to get started and how they run the stages now. It's like a running shootout at the OK Corral; you against 12 other guys. The other thing about time commitment has been stated above, and that's a real problem now.
I'd like to get out and practice more, but I don't think this is for me anymore. Maybe just run drills at the range when I can get there.
|
|
|
IDPA
Jan 30, 2016 10:23:38 GMT -5
Post by clintsfolly on Jan 30, 2016 10:23:38 GMT -5
One local club that I was once a member of was having IDPA matches. I wanted to try it so I called the match director and asked if he could show me the game. So he had me come out Friday evening. There was a small gang there and we set the stages up. No info on what was going to happen or why. Just See you in the morning! Got to the match and was told just sign up. There was just one group with a opening and so I joined them. First stage I ask ? And hear from my fellow group member " o F#{k another newbe!! " . That was the high light of my day. The rest was Hurry up, just shoot it, you did it wrong. Few day after the match the director call me to to see if I would weld up a target. I let you just come up with your own answer as mine was not nice.
|
|
|
IDPA
Jan 30, 2016 10:36:14 GMT -5
Post by bulasteve on Jan 30, 2016 10:36:14 GMT -5
You can run into smucks anywhere. I've seen them at various archery shoots, mtn man rondevous, trap, skeet and clay ranges,and yes IDPA.. Each new form of shooting comp or game tries to improve upon the last. This gets done mostly by using more and more rules. Alternative ? Buy property, or join a camp, or form an association of like-minded. I know, a tough option to swallow for some. If you play someone elses game, you have to play by their rules. You can keep shopping for a venue that fits you better. I did visit and get to shoot a SASS event a few yrs back. It was a smuck-free bunch of happy fun people. Wish it wasn't an hour plus away.
|
|