Went to a non sanctioned steel / paper match that was put on by M160 range and Collin Co IDPA.

First it was well run and the range allowed good movement and 20-30 rounds ( depending on how bad I sucked )

No surprise but everyone was great, the SOs pointed out small errors I made and got a lot of good advice.

Overall 6 stages and 6-8 per squad which was less than normal I was told.

I was too focused on not screwing up and being DQ'ed to really learn but here was a couple of my big take aways.

1 practice drawing and dry fire....it helps....a lot. I normally practice a couple times a week and it showed. I had no issues drawing and engaging targets it "just happened".

2 practice malfunction drills, first stage first mag I think I engaged the slude stop twice...first time it took me a couple seconds for my brain the engage...MALFUNCTION!!!! Oh ya...clear it dummy. I also somehow put an empty mag in my pouch on the last stage...did a reload and click, SO says I think that mag was empty....fun fun, thank god I thought to carry 3 mags.

3 front sight...front sight...by god front sight, my pistol has FO surrounded by orange tritium....they stood out like the sun and really helped on getting on target fast.

4 slow down and ensure you know your fundamentals, on the further steel plates you had to slow down and focus on sight picture and trigger squeeze.

5 don't take an "easy " target for granted. One stage has 2 targets at the start, rules said 2 rounds each target. So being the idiot I am I tried a controlled pair but went beyond the speed I would normally try and threw a shot high....it was my only missed shot on paper at least.

6 practice movement, I normally practice move at a low ready as that is what I was taught in the Army. One of the SOs guessed where I learned it and advised for a match it was better to bring the pistol in clise to my chest so I would not sweep my feet.

All in it was well worth the 200+ rounds I used and now that I popped my cherry so to speak can focus more on learning in the future.

Kicking myself for not doing it earlier.

Sounds like you had a great time. It has been a long time since I shot a match. Nursing school is taking all my time.

#competitionwontgetyoukilled

I am so glad to hear this. Shooting matches tells us so much about our training programs. But, too many people won’t get out of their ego and just show up to their first match. Keep going back. It is a cheap and easy way to learn things about yourself.

Enjoy!

Matches are fun and good practice/training, which is the most important reason to go to matches. Have fun and enjoy yourself. You're really only competing against yourself.

Remember, you are only competing against you last scores...no ones else’s....that’s how you get better. Watch what other shooters do and you can learn a lot of stuff. The master shooters also know how to game the game, like running out of shooting boxes to cut off time instead of following the set path or route, counting rounds and reloading on the move...stuff like that

Here's a really great talk about competition shooting by two legendary shooters https://youtu.be/UbkXWZTbKW8

Matches are amazing when it comes to guns. I've seen it so many times, guys will have guns that they've literally put thousands and thousands of trouble free rounds through, but once they pick up the pace, things mechanically go astray.

My match rules:
Rule #1 Be safe.
Rule #2 Have fun.

Anything else is icing on the cake.

Thanks....it was great training, one big thing I realized....or maybe remembered is how much your senses focus and block out everything else.....fine for a game but a big no no is a real engagement.

Also my grip tends to ride the slide release...need to do something about that.

For the kit heads amongst us here is my load out.

G17 cut down grip to G19 size, TFX pro sights, trigger components buffed and a 3.5lb connector.

Safariland paddle holster and mag pouch, third mag pouch was a belt clip one I picked up on amazon.

Nextbelt....not sure it is stiff enough compared to my normal beltman belt but it worked

Glock and KCI 17 and 15 round magazines.

Herters 124 gr fmj and whatever else I had in the zip lock in my range bag.

Saw a couple 320s, a G35, Cz, G45 and a mixture of RDS in my squad

One guy in my safety brief was using his Wilson....due to the fact that he only had large pistol primers

quote:

Originally posted by dewhorse:
One guy in my safety brief was using his Wilson....due to the fact that he only had large pistol primers

I shot a match last weekend, I saw a few people shooting things they normally wouldn't for that same reason.