New IDPA prospect

[GyroF-16]

Looks like Roswell has Steel Challenge and unsanctioned IPSC which probably will be very similar to USPSA . That's where I would go first before I drove a long distance.

Seconded. And I’m a longtime IDPA guy. When you’re starting off, there’s not enough difference to matter.
Try the local match first

[Jim Watson]

We have the Roswell gun club, and while they have lots of shoots, there’s just a few with metal plates. May try that too, but they have an IPSC match once a month it looks like. Hmm. I’ll have to look into IPSC. Haven’t looked into it at all as of yet. Thanks everyone for your replies.

GO!
USPSA used to be the US Region of IPSC. Still is, formally, but rules have diverged a bit.
There is not enough difference to matter to the new or casual shooter.
GO!

Steel Challenge or local knockoffs are good introductions to multiple target shooting and good practice on target transitions.
Give that a try, too.

My "combat radius" for a club match is about two hours travel, I have one a little over but the others run from 40 minutes to 1:45.

[CraigS]

As already mentioned a lot of clubs/ranges have matches that are not officially idpa or uspsa sanctioned. I'd search for all places where you can shoot and then look at their website to see if they do any competitions. Also try Izaak Walton League and 4H clubs. Steel challenge is fun but usually you stand in one spot so I much prefer idpa style matches where we move around some. Also in Steel Challenge you usually need 5 mags. For idpa you need a gun, a holster, a double mag pouch, 3 mags and maybe 100 rnds of ammo. You usually need a conceal garment. I like a 5.11 vest but any light jacket that covers your holster is fine. Also considering your location, they may skip conceal garments completely. Both of the clubs I shoot with skip concealment May-Sept when it is warm. Remember that your goals are in this order, be safe, learn something, and have fun. Also understand that you don't do anything until you are told to.
You walk around all day w/ gun holstered, no mag in the gun. You will be called to shoot and he will say when to load and make ready. NOW and ONLY NOW can you load the gun and re-holster. I hope you can find something because all the mentioned competitions are an absolute blast.

[okie john]

I can’t just pop in and say hi and get the gist from there…

Actually, you can. IDPA was designed to help gun owners acquire basic gunfighting skills with a carry gun, so clubs will teach you everything you need to know to compete safely, starting with the draw stroke. As for gear, shoot what you carry.

Action shooting sports are a great way to build skill, but they’re also a great way to pick up bad habits, so you really need to decide what you want to get out of it before you start. For instance, time is a bigger part of IDPA scores than marksmanship, so many folks will try to shoot faster than they can hit.

I got into IDPA to hone my ability to make hits quickly under pressure so I could win a gunfight if I got into one. In my first stage, I moved down a hallway slowly and quietly like there really was a bad guy at the end of it. IDPA awards no points for maintaining the element of surprise against a cardboard opponent, so I finished dead last despite getting good hits. That taught me to shoot slowly enough to get good hits and do everything else (reloads, moving between firing points, etc.) as fast as possible. I’m very comfortable running with a loaded pistol in hand—most people aren’t—so I quickly learned to zip around a stage, skid to a halt, fire a few well-aimed shots, and speed off again.

The rules are universal but clubs interpret them differently. You’ll get a good feel for how a club runs things in the orientation, so do exactly what you’re told there and you’ll have a good foundation for matches. Also follow the Range Officer’s commands exactly. They have the experience to keep you out of trouble and their job is to run the stage safely. Don't leave the match if you get disqualified. Stick around, watch the rest of the match, help paste targets, and help dismantle the stages. You’ll learn and it shows a lot of good will.

Always help paste targets. It keeps things moving and you can learn from the other shooters. In time, you'll be asked to make judgement calls about whether a hit is good or not. Always give other shooters the benefit of the doubt and never push to get it for yourself. Also help set up stages before the match and tear them down after. You can also learn a lot about how to structure your own training regimen from that.

Stages vary in every match. Some mirror local events like ATM robberies and carjackings. Others are more hypothetical, but almost all of them are designed by other competitors. Identify the good stage designers, get on their squads, and study how they think. I found a guy whose stages would make a saint weep. On one of them, you had to shoot your way out of a house while carrying a life-sized model of a baby that weighed about 10 pounds. (It was also kind of slippery, so hanging on to it was a challenge.) Baby handling was freestyle as long as it would not harm a real baby and you didn't drop it, but there were a couple of targets you had to shoot weak-handed so there was a fair amount of fumbling around. Most people took four or five minutes with lots of misses. When I cleaned it in 26 seconds, he just stood there shaking his head. He asked how I did it and I told him, “It’s an area ambush. The only way to survive is an instant counterattack. The baby will start screaming and wiggling on the first shot, so I locked it in place under my arm. That forced me to shoot reverse Weaver and pull my workspace in really close.” I learned more from trying to understand that guy's mind than I ever did from pulling a trigger.

Know when to quit. I started consistently finishing in the top five after about a year. Driving home one day, I realized that I had invested 12 hours in driving to the match, setting up and taking down stages, and pasting other people’s targets. My total shooting time was around 40 seconds. I decided that I had achieved my goal of getting better at making hits quickly under pressure, and that I could get more value out of that 12 hours than shooting IDPA.

I tapered off after that.


Okie John

[19852+]

Actually, you can. IDPA was designed to help gun owners acquire basic gunfighting skills with a carry gun, so clubs will teach you everything you need to know to compete safely, starting with the draw stroke. As for gear, shoot what you carry.

Action shooting sports are a great way to build skill, but they’re also a great way to pick up bad habits, so you really need to decide what you want to get out of it before you start. For instance, time is a bigger part of IDPA scores than marksmanship, so many folks will try to shoot faster than they can hit.

I got into IDPA to hone my ability to make hits quickly under pressure so I could win a gunfight if I got into one. In my first stage, I moved down a hallway slowly and quietly like there really was a bad guy at the end of it. IDPA awards no points for maintaining the element of surprise against a cardboard opponent, so I finished dead last despite getting good hits. That taught me to shoot slowly enough to get good hits and do everything else (reloads, moving between firing points, etc.) as fast as possible. I’m very comfortable running with a loaded pistol in hand—most people aren’t—so I quickly learned to zip around a stage, skid to a halt, fire a few well-aimed shots, and speed off again.

The rules are universal but clubs interpret them differently. You’ll get a good feel for how a club runs things in the orientation, so do exactly what you’re told there and you’ll have a good foundation for matches. Also follow the Range Officer’s commands exactly. They have the experience to keep you out of trouble and their job is to run the stage safely. Don't leave the match if you get disqualified. Stick around, watch the rest of the match, help paste targets, and help dismantle the stages. You’ll learn and it shows a lot of good will.

Always help paste targets. It keeps things moving and you can learn from the other shooters. In time, you'll be asked to make judgement calls about whether a hit is good or not. Always give other shooters the benefit of the doubt and never push to get it for yourself. Also help set up stages before the match and tear them down after. You can also learn a lot about how to structure your own training regimen from that.

Stages vary in every match. Some mirror local events like ATM robberies and carjackings. Others are more hypothetical, but almost all of them are designed by other competitors. Identify the good stage designers, get on their squads, and study how they think. I found a guy whose stages would make a saint weep. On one of them, you had to shoot your way out of a house while carrying a life-sized model of a baby that weighed about 10 pounds. (It was also kind of slippery, so hanging on to it was a challenge.) Baby handling was freestyle as long as it would not harm a real baby and you didn't drop it, but there were a couple of targets you had to shoot weak-handed so there was a fair amount of fumbling around. Most people took four or five minutes with lots of misses. When I cleaned it in 26 seconds, he just stood there shaking his head. He asked how I did it and I told him, “It’s an area ambush. The only way to survive is an instant counterattack. The baby will start screaming and wiggling on the first shot, so I locked it in place under my arm. That forced me to shoot reverse Weaver and pull my workspace in really close.” I learned more from trying to understand that guy's mind than I ever did from pulling a trigger.

Know when to quit. I started consistently finishing in the top five after about a year. Driving home one day, I realized that I had invested 12 hours in driving to the match, setting up and taking down stages, and pasting other people’s targets. My total shooting time was around 40 seconds. I decided that I had achieved my goal of getting better at making hits quickly under pressure, and that I could get more value out of that 12 hours than shooting IDPA.

I tapered off after that.


Okie John

My experience mirrors yours. I got into competitive shooting through IDPA and I enjoyed it for over 20 years. I did well and finished 1st in several state championships. I still like it and I shot an IDPA match yesterday, my first IDPA match in over a year. It was a local match so minimal driving time and I was done before 1200. These days I much prefer 2 gun shooting, I love the challenge of targets out to 400m.
Every gun game has rules so read up on the rules before you go. My only issue with IDPA is not the rules per say, but the range lawyers who show up to debate the fine points of every stage ! Yesterday was good not because the stages were super cool, they were average, it was my squad. Just regular guys who wanted to shoot and not debate.

[CraigS]

Each of the variations have their pluses and minuses. But one thing is a constant, if all you have available for shooting are ranges where you stick in your lane and shoot at stationary paper, any competition will be much more useful and a LOT more fun. I am lucky that I have two clubs shooting idpa and one uspsa (I haven't tried it yet) within an hour. Because of this I have shot around an old van; from driver seat out right window, from outside through left window and out right window, from sliding door out back door, underneath, around front and rear. I have shot laying on my side, on my knees, from a chair, prone, while walking frontwards and backwards and sideways, at night w/ light and laser, left hand only, right hand only, around over and under barricades, etc, etc.

[okie john]

Each of the variations have their pluses and minuses. But one thing is a constant, if all you have available for shooting are ranges where you stick in your lane and shoot at stationary paper, any competition will be much more useful and a LOT more fun. I am lucky that I have two clubs shooting idpa and one uspsa (I haven't tried it yet) within an hour. Because of this I have shot around an old van; from driver seat out right window, from outside through left window and out right window, from sliding door out back door, underneath, around front and rear. I have shot laying on my side, on my knees, from a chair, prone, while walking frontwards and backwards and sideways, at night w/ light and laser, left hand only, right hand only, around over and under barricades, etc, etc.

This is all true. My description of IDPA above is pretty clinical but it can be a LOT of fun.


Okie John