Competing in my first IDPA match tomorrow. Excited!

[SirBrass]

I'm heading out to Phoenix Rod & Gun club tomorrow afternoon to participate in my first IDPA match.  Not certain on what classification I'll shoot since I haven't yet shot the qualifier, but I've talked over email with the Practical Division officer and he said to just come on down and let the SO know that I'm new, etc., etc. and they'll take care of me.

I'm going to be going with my Glock 17 gen4, as I actually have XS sights for them (it is hard for me with my weird eyes to focus on the front sight quickly with a traditonal 3 post sight where the dots are all the same color), and my XS Sights for the Px4 (which I ordered on Thursday evening from XS with Fedex 2 day) won't arrive till sometime tomorrow.... shipping fail.

Anyway, wish me luck, and I'll post my results when I get back .

[MasAyoob]

Good luck, and say hi to Bubba for Gail & I!  They run a great evening match at Phoenix Rod & Gun, and they draw a great bunch of shooters. 

Let us know how you did. I hope you stay with it!

best,
Mas

[SirBrass]

With the cost of competing being what it is, it's cheaper than playing paintball weekly .  And shooting pistol has more practical application than playing paintball (as much as I would dearly love to return to playing regularly).

This whole deal is actually kicking my rear into getting into shape.... wanting to increase my grip strength is leading me to want to get overall in shape.

[Miggy]

Brass, have fun and just make sure that the holes are in the -0 zone. If you see a target with hands painted, shoot twice! They are collaborators!

[mistertaco]

Hope you have a great match.

[tom]

Hope it goes well for you today.  I am shooting my first indoor match tonight.

tom

[SirBrass]

Well, I don't think I did too badly .  I had alot of fun, and though I was expecting it, I was still blown away by the outright friendliness and neighborliness of the people there.  Two of the four stages were pure drill, and the first and last stages that my squad shot were more situational, with the final being very complex and for me had that "just plain cool" feel to it.

My shooting could've been better, but I chalk it up to 2 things:  new sight picture with my XS sights (though I absolutely LOVED shooting with them) b/c I forgot to completely "dot the i" on a few shots, and thus gaffed some shot placement, and I don't shoot my glock that often b/c I so favor the PX4 (thus why for this month, I'm carrying my glock as my carry arm).  I think I'll do something of a month to month rotation of carry & IDPA firearm.  Though this month will be more of an IDPA survey of which I enjoy and do best with in competition: the glock 17 gen 4, or the PX4 Full size (the 92FS needs to go into the shop for a reliability tune, trigger smoothing, and mainly to get the dovetail cut for the XS front sight, and get those sights installed and sighted in).

Shooting the glock in competition was ALOT more fun than shooting it at the range.

I'm looking forward to going back next week and having fun.

Mas, I didn't meet bubba, but I did meet Bill (the PRGC practical division officer) and some others and they were really great folk.  Maybe, hopefully, I'll meet you in person as well when you come out in November for MAG40.  I'm seriously considering signing up.

Miggy, LOL, nice one there. Nope, I don't shoot collaborators .  I'll just leave them be.... Gail will eventually get to them and stab them with her pistol bayonet

[Matt G]

Glad you enjoyed your first time at IDPA.  The first one is the hardest, fear of the unknown I guess.  Looking to get back and shoot some matches after this trip to 'Asscrackistan".  I would focus on honing the concealed carry skills first and as your skills improve, and desire to compete as well, branch off into compitition guns.  My .02 cents.

Matt G

[Miggy]

Miggy, LOL, nice one there. Nope, I don't shoot collaborators .  I'll just leave them be.... Gail will eventually get to them and stab them with her pistol bayonet

I've seen her stab No-Shoots with a big folding knife, no joke! Their names were Raven and Bambi and the poor girls never knew what hit them. You could hear Mas whisper "The horror....the horror." I ran for my life....          

I am glad you enjoyed your match. I bet you are hooked now!


PS: I found a pic of Gail's victims before the dreadful event.



That was the Border Disorder match in (I think) 2006 up in Jacksonville. Hosted by First Coast IDPA which is one of the nicest bunch of shooters you'll ever meet.

[SirBrass]

Glad you enjoyed your first time at IDPA.  The first one is the hardest, fear of the unknown I guess.  Looking to get back and shoot some matches after this trip to 'Asscrackistan".  I would focus on honing the concealed carry skills first and as your skills improve, and desire to compete as well, branch off into compitition guns.  My .02 cents.

Matt G

I've been carrying concealed for well over a year now, carrying daily.  I've gotten quite good at the carrying part.  Now it's just going drawing the firearm to shooting (two things that I can't regularly practice together as one motion thanks to indoor range rules) that needs work.

Got the XS Sights put onto the PX4 today.  I definitely like how these things work.  Now I just need to work on consistently doing that front sight focus.

[tom]

I've been carrying concealed for well over a year now, carrying daily.  I've gotten quite good at the carrying part.  Now it's just going drawing the firearm to shooting (two things that I can't regularly practice together as one motion thanks to indoor range rules) that needs work.

Two things since that is common for ranges, though some will let you do it after you pass a safety check.
First - this is while not perfect a value of dry fire practice.  This month's Tactical Journal talks about that very thing
Second - Can you utilize the location where you shot IDPA?  My outdoor club has practice every thurs evening and my indoor club has every Tues evening (and if it isn't busy I can use the LE action bay anytime I want) so see if there are practice nights or other options.

tom

[SirBrass]

It's a club (of which I'm not a member), and another range at their facility is only open to the public on Saturdays.  I'm a member of an indoor range that is much closer to where I live.

[tom]

Try and talk your indoor range into holding some kind of league I guess is another route.

tom

[SirBrass]

Why?

Phoenix Rod & Gun holds matches at least weekly, sometimes more than that.

[tom]

ahh, there see that is plenty of practice then.

tom

[SirBrass]

Well, I shot in my 2nd club match today and was using my Beretta PX4 full size with XS Sights.

I did MUCH better than I did last week with the Glock.  It could be that I'm simply more familiar with shooting the PX4, but this was only the 2nd time I'd been shooting using these sights, and it was on the clock, not simple indoor range time with time to carefully level the gun.  These sights really ARE very good combat-accurate sights.  I shot mostly -0's, and had a few wingers (oops) and a few instances where I wanted to whack myself upside the head for gun-handling stupidity, but overall I shot well.

I'm finding I need to work on increasing my shot-to-shot speed while maintaining that same level of accuracy.  I think some physical training should help there as well with keeping the muzzle under control while still simply letting the slide recoil.  I'm going to keep up the grip exercises (got an inexpensive heavy-tension 'gripmaster' that I'm working both my hands with several times a day... my grip strength has already improved noticeably).

So, lots of fun today, since 3 of the 4 stages were scenario-based, with one including a steel plate and a popper that manipulated a disappearing target (target started out facing away, faced forward, then faced away again a second later).  I nailed the small steel plate on the first shot (a double action shot too that quite a few GOOD shooters took several shots to hit on their runs), and the popper on the first shot.  I did a dumb-dumb thing with the disappearing target in that I took 3 shots, but on the 3rd, I also turned my head away to look towards where I was going to move TO.  That shot missed clearly, but thankfully my gun stayed downrange.  Yeah, that was DUMB.  Oh well, no one was hurt, muzzle never covered anything it shouldn't have.  Live and learn.

I also really needed to go shooting today.  Stuff going on that I can't really talk to others about right now, and keeping it bottled up was eating away at me.  This provided a relief valve, and I left after the match today feeling WAY better than when I'd arrived.

I'm looking forward to finally shooting a qualifier soon.  Maybe (I hope), I'll do well enough there to NOT be ranked as a Novice.

[BubbaInfidel]

Hi Guys! Sorry to chime in late, but my dialysis has kinda gone south as of late and have had 3 surgeries in 6 weeks!  Really missed Mas and Gail in AZ this month

SirBrass; I hope to get to meet you soon, I am the Range Master at PRG.  I run the 3d saturday match that is geared more towards the self defense/concealed carry side.  Closer distances, fewer rounds.

Mas and Gail, see you in November!  Should be healed up pretty soon and ready to win the AZ Regional IDPA  championship

Best to all

Bubba

[Gail]

Hey Bubba,

       Funny but I was going to send you a message on FB today to see how you were doing but I put if off until tomorrow, glad to her you're healing up. We are looking forwrrd to the AZ IDPa match and seeing you in Nov.

Stay Well,
Gail