I plan on attending my first IDPA shoot next Saturday night, it is a night shoot and I am pretty excited about it. I have done a few of the shoots at the local range which is mostly plates and paper targets. Most of the LEO training shoots I attend are mostly static line firing(70%) with a little bit of IDPA course (30%) mixed in so to be right honest I am a little nervous/ excited . Any one shoot IDPA on a regular basis that would have any pointers. Is it allowed at these events to use a police duty belt as long as it is covered? I used this as an excuse to order a new paddle holster but I don’t know if it will be here in time is the reason I am asking.
You can use your batman belt, it’s in the rulebook.
If you are going there to game the game, then go over to brian enos forums and start reading.
If you are going to shake out your skills in gear and shoot how you would “in da streets”, then tell the SO’s that, and pay no attention to the dumb rules they have.
Since you are buying gear, do you plan to go full out competitor, or just a good way of keeping your work skills sharp?
Mainly to keep the skills sharp and learn a few things. At this time I don’t plan to go ‘full out competitor” but who knows how things will go next year. I am starting late in the year and I might only be able to make one other event this year, so I will be just getting my feet wet this time. As for ordering the paddle holster, I planned on buying it for some time just kept putting it off.
I would shoot your duty rig. Concentrate on being safe and getting good hits. IDPA scoring is more accuracy driven than speed driven. Shoot at your pace and strive for accuracy. Let the SOs know that you are new so that you can watch a few shooters shoot the stage and you don’t have to go first. Read over the rules at www.idpa.com.
You don’t have to cover a duty rig. What flashlight are you using, weapon mounted or handheld? If handheld get some dry firing in, drawing the weapon and the light together and bringing them together in a steady hold. Even if you use nite sights a flashlight is necessary.
Best advice is to slow down and shoot accurately. More points taken for missed shots over time.
My flashlight is a hand held Streamlight scorpion. I will get some practice on drawing them together. I have never tried to do that to be right honest. It was beat in my head to either have them both out before they you entered or needed them or get the gun out, get on target and then get the flashlight if there was time.
In that case, shoot your duty rig but dont use it as an excuse for not placing high n standings. Your are there to push your handling skills in a mostly objective sitting against other people. Too many people use the “gear divide” as an excuse on not performing well and don’t progress as fast or at all.
If you later decide to buy game gear, you will prob learn more about everything outside of the holster(once the gun in up) chasing 1st place and DM/GM at state,area and national matches then just doing random range sessions.
Gunfighter Moment – Pat McNamara
“Though there is no instant solution to shooting well, I truly believe that the illusive shortcut is in competition. How does one compartmentalize the pressures of a gunfight? Well, you won’t learn to do it during the gunfight. Competition forces pressure on the shooter and it is mostly self-induced. We experience anxiety because of self defeating beliefs. The more one trains under pressure, the more he learns to compartmentalize those pressures.
There are many who believe that competing in the likes of an IPSC match has no tactical relevancy, and it is all just a game.
OK, it’s a game where you are shooting your gun at targets, under time, and with people watching you. You must handle your weapon properly, and follow all rules or be DQed (disqualified). You must discriminate between “shoot” and “no-shoot” targets. You have got to move and make use of cover. You will have to fire from awkward positions. You must find a solution to an ambiguous situation within your skill level.”
Patrick McNamara
SGM, US Army (Ret)
Go, shoot your duty rig, learn some stuff, and have a good time.
IDPA is rule-driven like any gun game, but at least the rules are fairly realistic. That said, the rules are not perfect. You can shoot safely and well and still lose a bunch of points over administrative issues. This will only come in time, so don’t get wound up if you get dinged on small stuff.
Accuracy matters, but speed matters more. Several times I’ve dropped half as many points as guys who ran faster than me (and did things I consider tactically unsound) but finished well behind them. My club calls out the Most Accurate Shooter in the final results; this person is usually 20-25% slower than whoever wins the overall match.
My current strategy is to 1) shoot slowly enough to stay in the “zero-down” area, 2) do everything else (except for re-holstering) as fast as I possibly can. Once I started doing this, I started placing in the top 3.
Okie John
What I’ve found is that “tactics” is such a subjective and situationaly dependent thing that IDPA’s strict COF rules written by SharpShooter class SO’s with no true tactical awareness actually is more a personal burden then USPSA’s “engage targets 1-20 as they as visible from inside the fault lines.”. While it’s true that you don’t pick the time and place of your worst moment, you will get to pick how you handle it. That’s where your rapid “stage” planning skills come in, and USPSA usuallly leaves it wide open for the shooting to decide how they can best shoot the stage for their skill level and mindset. Life gives us many choices, or only only one, but a well practiced shooter will always do better at both
A specific SO’s face popped into my mind when I read this. IDPA rules are a tiny problem compared to stages that encourage shooters to start down a hallway with just enough ammo to handle what they already know lies at the far end.
Okie John
I agree and it’s my main gripe. The other is the gamer “Cover Garments”, etc worn by some shooters.
It only took until the end of the first stage of the first match I shot before my stage SO asked, “Are you a cop?” When I asked why, he told me he could tell by the way I moved through the stage. I took it as a compliment.
I shoot my carry gun, from my carry IWB holster, using my normal clothes. I do not own a “Concealment Vest” or whatever they are called. This year I’ve used a button down shirt, polo shirt, untucked t-shirt, regular jacket, a hoodie, and my normal “business casual” work attire to shoot matches in. My choice of shooting cover garments may make me less competitive but is more realistic and I usually finish in the top 3 in my division.
(Last match I finished outside the top three, but took most accurate shooter in the match. I need to shoot/move faster.)
I use our monthly matches as a training opportunity and as such it is what you make of it. If you game it its a game, if you treat it like the situation is real I think it can be a good part of a training program (worrying less about the score and more about doing it right).
For your first match, pay attention to the rules. Let them know it’s your first match. Try and see if you can let at least a few other shooters run each stage ahead of you so you can get a sense for the stage. Pay attention to the rules. Relax. Shoot slower and move faster (you can’t miss fast enough). Help paste targets, and pay attention to the rules.
I see lots of new shooters scream through a course and get a great time only to loose it all by dropping tons of points from bad shot placement, misses and failures to neutralize, dropping partial mags on the deck, not engaging all the targets, etc.
Good luck! You’ll have fun!
Thanks for the link to the article and all the good points.
One of the dumbest things you could do is getting shot/ while bumble fucking around with a magazine you should no longer care about and then stuffing it down your skirt.
http://www.sheepdogsolutions.com/2012/03/our-experienced-vet-validates-the-speed-reload/
We all know this guy.!9!! shooter, patches all over his shooting vest, prob old enough to draw SS, and writes all the stage descriptions, only to take liberties with it and even contradict himself during the walk thru, and dosent realize if the rulebook or stage description dosent say I can’t, I can.
Read the rule book at IDPA
IDPA has some unique rules and procedures, so I think it’s best to at least be familiar with them before facing a stage.
Good point and good link.
In the context of the match dropping a partial mag on the deck will cost you a penalty, which is the point I was trying to make. If it came across differently I apologize for not being more clear.
Yeah, but if he is really gonna shoot stages as realistic as possible, he might choose to drop a mag or not shoot a couple targets when G’inTFO is more important. Not my idea of fun, showing up to a match to not shoot targets and have a time that isnt comparable and therefor no way of gauging skill and progress, but we all shoot our own matches for our own reasons.
What I have found is when you take away all the mental distances do to personal background,gear, perceived physical shortcomings etc etc and any other reason you don’t place well, you will then really begin to look at what you suck at and how you fix it.
I’m not talking about beating local Open class guys with your AIWB carry rig, that’s just good shooting.