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Thread: Opinions on USPSA/IDPA matches for LE

  1. #11
    Member Peally's Avatar
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    A fear of failure (or ego) is why we don't do a lot of things, which is a shame. There's a lot of things I really enjoy right now that I had to really mentally force myself to try out in the beginning.
    Last edited by Peally; 08-24-2018 at 12:26 PM.
    Semper Gumby, Always Flexible

  2. #12
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
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    I used to shoot IDPA, and haven't shot any other recognized competition. I understand the benefits and am not particularly skeptical. I just don't value it enough to prioritize it over all the other things I have to do or want to do. It's a long drive for me, there's only a 1/3 chance I'm off work for any given match, and time I'm at a match is time I'm not doing something else.

    I guess I might fit in the apathetic group.
    Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.

  3. #13
    I shoot IDPA. I do well. I shoot and also make it into the top shootoffs at the TACCONs.

    My wheels always fall off in the man on man steel matches. My ADD takes hold and I end up point shooting my targets out of the corner of my eye, whilst watching the other guy shoot down his steel out of the other corner of my eye.

    I don’t have the focus to not do that...yet.

    I would LOVE to see my department do man vs man steel or IDPA type matches for bragging rights and applied practice. I’m one of the few gun guys though, and we all know how that goes!


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  4. #14
    Member John Hearne's Avatar
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    All the organized competitions suffer from one clear drawback: they give an objective measure of your performance. Depending on your skill and ego, you may not like what you're shown.

    I'm in the camp that all shooting helps. I'd offer that competition doesn't eliminate the need to train/practice at other times. I can work myself pretty hard with 100-150 rounds in an hour. Most matches are a horribly efficient way to get actual trigger time. They shine for making you shoot under some modicum of stress/strain.

    Arguably, the biggest benefit is that most people will work harder to not suck at a match and to not get killed. If knowing you're going to shoot a match soon makes you train then shoot all you can.
    • It's not the odds, it's the stakes.
    • If you aren't dry practicing every week, you're not serious.....
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  5. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by John Hearne View Post
    All the organized competitions suffer from one clear drawback: they give an objective measure of your performance. Depending on your skill and ego, you may not like what you're shown.

    I'm in the camp that all shooting helps. I'd offer that competition doesn't eliminate the need to train/practice at other times. I can work myself pretty hard with 100-150 rounds in an hour. Most matches are a horribly efficient way to get actual trigger time. They shine for making you shoot under some modicum of stress/strain.

    Arguably, the biggest benefit is that most people will work harder to not suck at a match and to not get killed. If knowing you're going to shoot a match soon makes you train then shoot all you can.
    Agree with John 100%

    My local IDPA Club match is 6 hours of standing around for 35 seconds of shooting total. It’s HORRIBLY inefficient.


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  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sherman A. House DDS View Post
    Agree with John 100%

    My local IDPA Club match is 6 hours of standing around for 35 seconds of shooting total. It’s HORRIBLY inefficient.


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  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Hearne View Post
    All the organized competitions suffer from one clear drawback: they give an objective measure of your performance. Depending on your skill and ego, you may not like what you're shown.

    I'm in the camp that all shooting helps. I'd offer that competition doesn't eliminate the need to train/practice at other times. I can work myself pretty hard with 100-150 rounds in an hour. Most matches are a horribly efficient way to get actual trigger time. They shine for making you shoot under some modicum of stress/strain..
    Respectfully, did you mean inefficient ?

    That's my main beef with competition. My local IDPA group is incredibly slow, and the core group spend a ton of time joking around and goofing off before and during the match. I get it, its their match, their rules, and their culture, but it burns up unnecessary time on a weekend. For that reason I find myself training solo more often.

    But as others have said, a match is a great place to see other people shoot very well, and get an idea of your own relative level of competence. It can be quite humbling, but also inspirational.
    Last edited by Mark D; 08-24-2018 at 04:09 PM.

  8. #18
    Leopard Printer Mr_White's Avatar
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    Like others have said, a match isn't practice because it just isn't enough quantity. But, it very strongly motivates a lot of people to practice, so it can be a big enabler of practice. A match is a test, and for many people is a venue of honest, on-demand shooting under whatever level of self-induced stress that can be hard to get from other available shooting circumstances. When I shoot a USPSA match, I spend most of the day to actively shoot ~2 minutes of stages. It's a pretty valuable 2 minutes though.
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  9. #19
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    Mar 2011
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    Austin, TX
    The match is the test, y'all. You gotta study to do well.

    If competition really catches your interest, it will light the fire under the main thing you've been lacking: Motivation.

    I started shooting long before I was a cop. I just enjoyed it. The range is my happy place. I don't have a care in the world and I get to focus on what I'm doing. The more I shot, and the more matches I went to, the more I started to want to win. Then I started practicing a bunch. Then I started dry firing a bunch. Then I got more training. Then I practiced ... then I dry fired ... then I shot matches ...

    Motivation.

  10. #20
    I enjoy IDPA. We have the occasional drop ins from 10th SF and some of those guys are just are a lot of fun to watch move and shoot. There are some LE folks that attend and lots of retired military folks. It's a good opportunity to move and shoot and manage cover over an extended period of the day. I generally am shooting my Gen4 G19 which is set up the same as my issued Gen4 G23 with factory night sights and the thickest backstrap, out of a ALS/SLS "concealment" holster. My focus is on accuracy and I rarely go more than 10 points down in a match, usually a little better.

    I dont mind the down time, enjoy talking to other people who like to shoot and we have some parents that are bringing their kids into the game, which is awesome. I agree there'd likely be more LE shooters but for ego. I'd speculate that the kind of folks that have the ego that lets them choose to face off against random bad folk for a living might be the kind who are chagrined about being "beaten" by the local aging pharmacist at shooting
    Last edited by FNFAN; 08-24-2018 at 07:59 PM.
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