Between being out of work, COVID, ammo prices, then working Saturdays I haven't shot in two years. Today was the day.

Went to my club for our USPSA match. All excited. There was a qualifier I had never shot with twelve targets, two stages with lots of movement, a Texas Star, and people I haven't seen in two years.

Step up to the line With my trusty 226 legion which has never failed me. Cleaned her all up nice and pretty the night before. Bang, click....??? Tap, rack bang. Click, click, bang. New mag, bang stovepipe. Tap, rack, bang, stovepipe. Drop mag, clear weapon, show RO. Bid farewell to everyone.

Stop by other stage, tell the organizer I'm heading home. He tells me I can switch guns and shoot other three stages if I want as long as my other gun is same type (irons/limited). Tell him I'm going to go check and see what the problem was and correct if I can or switch to my 228. Go up to another range, try third mag, same results I had on stage 1.

Hmmm, maybe it's bad ammo? So I go to pop out rounds, odd, they aren't coming out right, that's strange. Pick one up, hmmm, this thing looks smaller than normal. Grab box they came out of. It says 9mm Browning .380. WTF?!?!? I had no idea I even had any .380 other than SD rounds, P230 is the only .380 I own and I thought I shot the only ball 380 I had, guess not.

Load her up with 9x19 works fine, I guess size does matter. Call my buddy up that was going to meet me at the range towards the end of the match for lunch, tell him I'm leaving early. He tells me he's on his way. So I decided to shoot another stage or two until he showed up, he was late and talking to others after he arrived, so
I ended up shooting the other three stages.

Somehow I still placed 10th out of 20 for the match. I'm not sure how that's possible with a stage of almost all misses, probably miss scored. I did get the Texas Star in awesome time, knocking the last plate off in slide lock.

Anyways, moral of the story is don't be dumb like me. Double check what your putting in your pistol.

Did feel great to make it to the range and shoot in 65 degree weather though.

Glad you got it resolved. Surely most have done or will do similar. I know I have. Good for you finishing the shoot. That was a worthy accomplishment

Ugghh, I haven’t shot USPSA since mar of 2020….no primers. Finally got some and loaded up 1000 rounds of 40 (185grain for power factor) rained, got Covid, rained, cancelled for cold, can’t win for losing…but I only have one gun in 40 now so there’s not gonna be wrong ammo problems….I have forgotten my mags for my M1A once …that sucked.

It’ll get better.

I need to go practice

You're definitely not alone. I was shooting IPSC and local matches. Two of my revolvers were a model 25 and a 29 S+W. I filled my pouches with 44 speedloaders with 44 special loads. At the start first shot went bang and then click. The firing pin barely touched the second round. The first fired case was swollen. Shooting 44s in a 45 doesn't work very well. Quite embarrassing. I'm glad they were 44 special loads instead of magnums.

More than once I’ve forgotten mags, usually it ends up being the CZ mags for a 455 when I plan to go do some plinking. Turning that into a single shot might be fine when my daughter is with me, but not when I just want to shoot for the pure fun of it.

At least you got out and shot though. I’m 9-10 months out since I shot last due to the move and not having anywhere around here to shoot. Next time we get home to TX I’ve promised myself I’ll go shoot.

I haven't gotten shot yet.

It's been awhile since I took a gun to the range, too. There is a range where I hunt and I should have then - way too warm the last day, and sounded busy because of it.

Thats relatively speaking, I've hunted there almost 40 years and on opening day in the past it sounded like Battalion firearms qualifications. This year was significantly quieter in comparison. As long as ammo availability and higher prices are a concern it will likely stay that way.

The only folks who haven’t forgotten something have never gone to the range.

Yep. I forgot my pistol for a steel challenge match one time!

quote:

Originally posted by sunburn:
The only folks who haven’t forgotten something have never gone to the range.

Haven't shot in a match for about 5 years now but I did forget ammunition one time.
Luckily the club sold 9mm so I just bought some there.
It happens.

Been there. I can't remember if it was .40 in a .45 or 9mm in a .40. Probably fifteen years ago. It wouldn't cycle and kept splitting the cases. Could. Not. Figure. It. Out. Went home and called somebody to talk it over and figured it out while I was explaining it. Face? Meet palm.

Took the Jr Dfs shooting one fine Saturday back when they were young. Got them all ready. Loaded them and the guns up in the truck. Stopped to get ammo and treats. They were so excited. Challenges were made. Wagers placed. Who will be the best today? How bad will we beat dad? Laughing and anticipation. We get to our spot. It's a perfect day. The boys grab targets and set them up. While they were out, I get the guns laid out and grab the ammo. Go to load mags and.........drum roll.........I forgot the mags. We are an hour away from home. The boys come back and the mood goes dark when they learn that we either cancel our day or shoot single shot. Dad went from hero to zero in one second. I still get razzed about it. LOL

Last year sometime after having not shot in a few months, I grabbed my favorite P226 and a bunch of extra mags and headed to the range. It turned out that all of the extra mags I had brought were for a Beretta 92. Luckily there was an actual P226 mag in the gun, so I at least got to plink and test out some new sights.

I was waiting for the part of the story where the dumbass next to you put some lead in your body then wondered... is this a regular thing that happens every couple of years with you?

One day several years ago, I got dressed to go run some errands. I put all my daily pocket crap in my pockets, threaded my mag pouch onto my belt on the left side, then my holster on my right side, put on my cover garment, set the alarm, locked the door, closed the garage door, drove to wherever I was going, and as I unbuckled my seatbelt, I realized my holster and mag pouch were both empty! WTF!? Good thing I didn’t discover the empty holster if I had NEEDED a gun that day. Sure wish I had noticed it when I first got in my truck and buckled my seatbelt before leaving the house in the first place. Needless to say I drove back home and corrected the situation, then left to continue my errands, feeling (rightfully) like a dumbass…

IDPA is my game of choice, but I haven't shot it regularly in several years now. I shoot a match once or twice a year lately and always feel rusty. I hope to resolve that issue starting this spring.

Glad you persisted and finished your match and got to the bottom of the problem.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
IDPA is my game of choice, but I haven't shot it regularly in several years now. I shoot a match once or twice a year lately and always feel rusty. I hope to resolve that issue starting this spring.

Glad you persisted and finished your match and got to the bottom of the problem.

I used to shoot IDPA. Never understood the purpose of walking the course after it was explained. Like there was this couple who would walk the course 3-4 times after the instructor did and they would plan out how many rounds to shoot, when to reload, etc. IRL there are no walkthroughs and at least for me the purpose of IDPA was to see how I performed under stress. Having to reload and reacquire without having it all planned out in advance. A testament to the OP for finishing the match strong.

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
IDPA is my game of choice, but I haven't shot it regularly in several years now. I shoot a match once or twice a year lately and always feel rusty. I hope to resolve that issue starting this spring.

Glad you persisted and finished your match and got to the bottom of the problem.

I used to shoot IDPA. Never understood the purpose of walking the course after it was explained. Like there was this couple who would walk the course 3-4 times after the instructor did and they would plan out how many rounds to shoot, when to reload, etc. IRL there are no walkthroughs and at least for me the purpose of IDPA was to see how I performed under stress. Having to reload and reacquire without having it all planned out in advance. A testament to the OP for finishing the match strong.

Different people play the game for different reasons. Some care about the score and want to do everything that they can to get the best score possible. It is a competition after all. Other folks come at it with an entirely different approach. It has been a long time since I’ve been to the local range for IDPA, Steel Challenge, or anything else*, but when I went it was for the reasons you describe, to test myself out on an unfamiliar course of fire someone else came up with and see what I could learn. I don’t think either of those reasons is wrong, and there a probably plenty of other good reasons to go. Just because my goals are different doesn’t diminish anyone else’s.

*My son and I stopped going once we got the range setup on the ranch and figured out that we could accomplish twice the shooting, get back up to the house, clean the pistols, and be on to the next thing in less than half the time consumed by an IDPA or Steel Challenge day. I still miss it though and ought to make the time anyway. Lots of good folks there…

I used to shoot at a range in West Texas, where I was usually alone. One day I found two very nice pistols left on a range table. I called the emergency range number and passed on the fact, left my number and said anyone who could accurately describe them could come and get them. A couple of days later a very embarrassed gentleman called, and we arranged to meet. He took me out for a nice dinner and all ended well.

A number of years ago I shot USPSA matches in a local indoor range. When that club folded I pretty much stopped regular shooting. I miss it, but it's no fun to shoot alone. (I wasn't any good--too slow, but accurate--but I did enjoy it.)

FWIW, a .380 would just fall through the barrel of what I would be shooting.

flashguy

I agree people shoot the game sports for different reasons. I will say about IDPA though, their rules are based around safety in a self-defense scenario....as much as that's possible. So even by gaming the particular stage, I still believe you're getting good practice in a possible real world conflict. I know....easy for me to say, but how else can you train regularly without taking Bruce Gray classes or the like....which by the way are very good.

Now USPSA is run and gun. But that's not to say it also doesn't prepare you for a conflict. Any kind of sport that puts pressure on the shooter is good training in my opinion.