How many people shoot CO in your neck of the woods? Locally, it may very well not exist at all, no one will notice.
I liked the idea of it when it was introduced and I love the fact that folks like yourself have an avenue to shoot what you carry. I just feel that every rule change has taken it farther and farther away from CO to Open Minor. I was considering it at some point, now I am actually less inclined than before all the changes.
Last edited by YVK; 01-31-2017 at 12:27 AM.
Not many shoot it. Usually 5 or so in the few matches I have been to. I see a lot of people talk about it though.
As far as your second paragraph, I agree. Then I have to remind myself that it is the USPSA, and a game that is not trying to replicate real life. I am just there to improve my overall shooting skills. Do I wish that I could shoot it like I carry (AIWB) without having to go into Open? Absolutely, but again the game isn't about me and my needs or wants and I am sure to be in a very small minority so I just try to fit where I best can and put in the work to improve.
Limited Optics is probably what it should have been from the start and where it's heading. It wouldn't surprise me if a year from now they make some kind of allowance for small compensators to allow Roland'esque rigs. Maybe a box to restrict overall size just to drive folks nuts.
The problem with that is the definition of flush fit. Are we talking flush fit like a 7 round 1911 steel base plate mag or something that is not actually flush fit?
It would become the eternal "two more rounds" argument.
USPSA is already a long way from realistic carry setups and it's really not the game for that. It's a sport about shooting fast/accurate. Sure some guys use their exact carry gear, AIWB holsters, closed from concealment holsters, etc, but that is not how the sport is designed to be played nor how the majority play it.
Carry Optics has been an extremely low participation division from the start. I think the primary reason for that is because there is nothing different enough between it and production to cause shooters to want to switch to it unless they are using an optic for concealed carry, which is already a very low percentage of the shooting community. Going to 140mm mags though really sets carry optics apart from any other division for one reason: you can shoot high capacity minor power factor (and be competitive within your division). From a game/sport standpoint, this gives the division a uniqueness that could cause shooters already in the sport to migrate to.
2017 USPSA Optics Nationals just finished up. Carry Optics had 72, Open 183, and PCC 85 competitors.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.