GSSF Match.

I just signed up for my first GSSF match. New Smyrna Beach, FL. I'm probably going on Saturday, and only shooting a single division. I can't really justify shooting the 4 divisions my G17 could. It would cost more than double what a USPSA match would cost me. It's probably going to be a 3 hour drive one way though. So that's kind of fun.

I really love Beretta, and I really like USPSA... but the chance of winning a pistol even if it's a random giveaway is too much. I think Gabe is the one who said he likes USPSA for the challenge and GSSF for the loot. I haven't been able to make it to a USPSA match in a few months, so I figured a GSSF match would be a nice no pressure shooting match with less parts. I'm looking forward to it.

Anyone else headed to the same match, or GSSF in general?


-Cory

Buddy of mine got a 1099 from Glock this year and last. He's the reason I own Glocks now. Doubtful I'll be getting 1099s unless I start practicing.

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Originally Posted by Spartan1980

Buddy of mine got a 1099 from Glock this year and last. He's the reason I own Glocks now. Doubtful I'll be getting 1099s unless I start practicing.

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That's the best kind of 1099. I had a good run a couple years ago. Between 2 matches, Glock 1099'ed me for around $1800. The down side being bumped to master and now I can't compete with the career GSSF shooters. Haven't won peanuts since. The per division cost going up also killed my desire for the matches. It was a fun run though.

If I was gonna spend six hours total on the road, I'd shoot every single division/category that I could. Money be damned.

About 2011 the arthritis in my knee forced me to give up USPSA/IDPA and that left steel challenge and GSSF (I also do CAS). I have enjoyed those. There are two GSSF matches within about an hour drive every year and I traveled to a few others in the 3-4 hour range most years. Not as much fun as USPSA but you don't have to move, which became the necessity for me.

I have always found the NRA D1 a more challenging target at distance, especially 20-25 yards and my problem is vertical. I either end up with vertical stringing or too high or too low as I cannot see the rings at that distance. GSSF has forced me to learn a better target focus and centering on the larger target for my aiming point at those distances. I guess the vertical aspect of the A zone on a USPSA target had let me slide by over the years with some vertical stringing slop at longer ranges.

I only shoot two guns at GSSF these days, my G19 (which I perform better with than my G17) and my G26 in subcompact division. I have a small group of friends from the USPSA world and a couple of guys who have never been involved in serious competition before who go. We road trip these together and have a great time.

I have never won anything big on the random drawings but several times I ended up with a $50 or $100 check. They usually have a box of used factory magazines you can pick up for $10 each.

We always attend on Sunday afternoon. The plan is to arrive just around noon and there is usually no wait at all compared to the crowds on Saturdays. Several times I have arrived and shot through in less than an hour.

I think you should shoot in more divisions. I've shot only one GSSF match; not knowing what to expect, I signed up for only two, 'guardian' and 'competition'; all of my shooting was over in less than ten minutes, a very anti-climactic less than ten minutes. The shooting, for me, was over. I should have signed up for more divisions, and I could have done it then, but by that point there was an ungodly line-up. When the results were released, I was 13th in 'competition' but 1st in 'guardian'. If you don't sign up for everything, I think that - like me - you'll regret it later.

Definitely sign up for everything. I shot only amateur civ with a 19 my first time and regretted it. Had fun but had a lot more the next time shooting a few more guns/classes.

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Originally Posted by tlong17I

Definitely sign up for everything. I shot only amateur civ with a 19 my first time and regretted it. Had fun but had a lot more the next time shooting a few more guns/classes.

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I'll echo the shoot a lot of divisions. To some extent winning a pistol is just random, the more divisions the more chances. Borrow a buddy's G26, whatever. The scoring rewards accuracy over speed, especially relative to USPSA. Get your hits.

I shot GSSF for several years and enjoyed it. I won five pistols (3 wins, 2 randoms) and had a string of second place finishes that paid for my matches. Then, I jumped into the open enrollment training world and haven't been able to shoot them. For the past five years, the closest match to me and TacCon have been on the same weekend, and then two of the matches that were within 1.5 hours of my house vanished.

I may try to do a couple this year as I have improved considerably since my match days, and I would like to see what the differences in my scores would be.

I really enjoy GSSF, I dig the focus on the fundamentals and the number of timer beeps you get in the course of a match. It's nice sometimes to focus purely on the shooting and not worry about movement, reloading, and stage planning.

I would encourage you to shoot at least two divisions...if your first time through a stage doesn't go so well, you have a chance to evaluate what you would do differently and shoot it again. I would hesitate to recommend shooting all the divisions unless you are used to that kind of volume or don't mind taking your time. At many larger matches there are express lanes where you can shoot all your entries on a stage one after another...my hands were a wreck the first (and last) time I shot 7 divisions back to back on the plate rack.

For your first match, I'd say just have fun and focus on accuracy, letting the time be what it will be. Once you know where you land in the rankings you can make more of a plan for the next match. Past results are available online and in my experience things tend to be similar at a given match year to year. Seeing how many people at what skill level shoot a given division and looking at how the performance awards are allocated (number of shooters and priority order) may influence which divisions you shoot in the future. For example, at the New Smyrna Beach match last year, Subcompact and Heavy Metal were pretty wide open at the amateur level. It was the same in my area when I started so I bought a Glock 30 just for GSSF, and I've won more with it than my other Glocks combined.

There used to be a separate gun drawing for new shooters attending their first outdoor GSSF match, not sure if they still do that but worth checking!

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Originally Posted by cor_man257

I just signed up for my first GSSF match. New Smyrna Beach, FL. I'm probably going on Saturday, and only shooting a single division. I can't really justify shooting the 4 divisions my G17 could. It would cost more than double what a USPSA match would cost me. It's probably going to be a 3 hour drive one way though. So that's kind of fun.

I really love Beretta, and I really like USPSA... but the chance of winning a pistol even if it's a random giveaway is too much. I think Gabe is the one who said he likes USPSA for the challenge and GSSF for the loot. I haven't been able to make it to a USPSA match in a few months, so I figured a GSSF match would be a nice no pressure shooting match with less parts. I'm looking forward to it.

Anyone else headed to the same match, or GSSF in general?


-Cory

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I've shot a few but have missed a few years. I should hit the one at my club in March. I've won two pistols over the years in the random drawings.

I only shot two divisions once. I generally pick on. I've a low tolerance from schlepping. Like to travel light and stay focused on one thing. I can't say I love loitering around a stage waiting to shoot with 4 or 5 guys ahead of me each shooting 4 divisions. :D

I would definitely recommend signing up for every division you can, for no other reason than shooting multiple divisions helps warm you up and give you a better overall chance of winning something.

What is your USPSA classification? GSSF will stick you in master class if you're M or GM, and the rules for prizes are a bit different there. Prizes are easier to come by in amateur. It always takes me a couple runs to dial into the slow speed of GSSF compared to USPSA, so I almost consider the first division I shoot to be a warm up, and then consider the other divisions as automatic gun + cash. At my range if you shoot 4+ divisions, there are special bays setup just for those shooters that often have a much shorter line than the standard bays.

@cor_man257 Cory good luck at the match.

I looked and it’s 2.5 hours for me to NSB, just too long of a drive. I really wish there were some GSSF matches on the West Coast of FL.

Please post back your experiences, I’d definitely like to shoot one, one of these days.

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Originally Posted by RJ

@cor_man257 Cory good luck at the match.

I looked and it’s 2.5 hours for me to NSB, just too long of a drive. I really wish there were some GSSF matches on the West Coast of FL.

Please post back your experiences, I’d definitely like to shoot one, one of these days.

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Will do. It's really too far for me to drive as well. This will make the 2nd time I've gone there for a match
(The first was a USPSA).

I think it's going to be INCREDIBLY similar to the "outlaw" steel challenge matches from when I was in Kentucky. The multiple strings 10 shots each, no draws seems identical.

-Cory

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Originally Posted by cor_man257

Will do. It's really too far for me to drive as well. This will make the 2nd time I've gone there for a match
(The first was a USPSA).

I think it's going to be INCREDIBLY similar to the "outlaw" steel challenge matches from when I was in Kentucky. The multiple strings 10 shots each, no draws seems identical.

-Cory

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Cool. We really have to link up in Hernando sometime. We are in our new place and my work travel will not pick up again seriously until July, so my plan is to hit a few more USPSA matches at either HSC or WAC next few months. I need like one good classifier to get into C class.

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Originally Posted by RJ

Cool. We really have to link up in Hernando sometime. We are in our new place and my work travel will not pick up again seriously until July, so my plan is to hit a few more USPSA matches at either HSC or WAC next few months. I need like one good classifier to get into C class.

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Hernando is a lot easier for me, but WAC seems like the better match. Plus I know WAC is doable for Les on occassion.

My wifely tolerance is tapped for this month. I'll check the schedules and see what matches I can make. This is long over due.

-Cory

First GSSF match in the books. Drove all the way back to beautiful Volusia County Gun and Hunt Club.

My OEM ban-state 10 rounders were unusable. They would drop out on every shot. The retaining ledge is worn too much. They goofed me pretty bad on one stage. Luckily, at the match I picked up 3 gen5 17 round mags for $10 each.

I shot about how I thought I would. "Soup can" up close, man size a tad further. Shooting a Beretta is so much more forgiving and I enjoy my Langdon guns far more.

I'm not a Glock fanatic, but I'll do this once a year at least just because it's fun. Even if you drive 2+ hours, get rained on, have gun problems, shoot "meh" level, and only do a single division due to time. It was a GREAT day shooting, and I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

[Ig]First GSSF match in the books. Drove all the way back to beautiful Volusia County Gun and Hunt Club.

My OEM ban-state 10 rounders were unusable. They would drop out on every shot. The retaining ledge is worn too much. They goofed me pretty bad on one stage. Luckily, at the match I picked up 3 gen5 17 round mags for $10 each.

I shot about how I thought I would. "Soup can" up close, man size a tad further. Shooting a Beretta is so much more forgiving and I enjoy my Langdon guns far more.

I'm not a Glock fanatic, but I'll do this once a year at least just because it's fun. Even if you drive 2+ hours, get rained on, have gun problems, shoot "meh" level, and only do a single division due to time. It was a GREAT day shooting, and I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

http://instagram.com/p/B8CnvCwlcan/


Feel free with any questions or whatnot.

-Cory

According to prelim results, I placed 18th in my division.

I really feel I could have done better. On a day withh good weather, mags that don't require grip change, and running another division first for "practice" I think I could have reasonably been higher in the results.

The match seems to be far more gun owners than shooters. Which is honestly a great thing for our sports, and makes for a fun match.

All the same 18 of 151 is still a nice little ego boost. Hopefully I'll snag a pistol ot something when final results post. If not, I'm still excited for next year's match.

-Cory

GSSF is definitely geared toward the newcomer, that's for sure. Even people who might feel too intimidated to try other shooting sports won't have that problem with GSSF.