this is my first post but i shoot idpa best thing i can tell you is slow down work on making every shot count. The penalties are heavier for missing and failure to neutralize than the time issue for taking the extra 1 or 2 seconds to hit every score i shoot all head shots except moving targets and steel ones and there is no way to tell where you need the help from reading scoring lots of dry fire setup targets on wall i like 6 inch squares practice dry fire on these 2 shots each draw from conceal carry the practice also remember 1st rule of dry fire practice no bullets allowed in room where dry fire and clear your gun ist add snap caps aqnd practice practice practice.
jhp
Thanks for the comments everyone. So far have:
* downloaded the iphone app to use my phone as a timer, and
* am reading the "Champion Shooting" book recommended above.
Now it's time to come up with some drills to address specific defiencies, such as off-hand shooting, and better overall accuracy.
See you at the range!
First: Most important comment from Todd: "... you can improve your score best by simply improving your general shooting ability." Focus on the basics: Grip, trigger operations, sighting, mag changes, and marksmanship. At MM and SS levels, working on the draw is not as important as these other skills.
Second: Steve Anderson's Dry Fire regime is excellent....I second that recommendation. But you have to complement that with live fire. Everyday dry fire drills, and 1-2 times weekly live fire.
Third: Shoot lots of matches. I am not a big fan of the classifier...it is one step above range practice at a stall. The IDPA game is a mental game and you have to shoot enough matches to gain experience with the rules, the gameplay, the tricks that Match Directors pull, and the gaming side. I have been shooting for almost two years now and I still make gameplay mistakes. This weekend at the Burt Schaffer Sanctioned Match I was supposed to shoot 8 targets, Strong, Freestyle, Weakhand...I shot the whole thing freestyle. (My times were great, but probably didn't make up for the 6 second penalty I got).
Fourth: Enjoy being marksman. I have a wall full of Marksman trophies for 2nd place, 3rd place, 4th place from sanctioned matches. One day a match bump will come, but in the meantime, it's really great to place at sanctioned matches. Enjoy the trip....you will get to your destination eventually.
Cody
That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;
I too feel that learning how to approach a match is more important than practicing the classifyer. Certainly practice is very important to skill building, in fact, it is absolutly a must. However, you can improve your match scores significantly by just moving very fast while not shooting. Do not try to creep up on a target(it does not shoot back), cover barriers are not your friend, do not go deep into one, and know when to reload and do it quickly
Dry Fire: I have a bunch of 8.5x11 IDPA paper targets around the house on the walls at different levels. After putting a laser in the chamber, or twice checking my gun for an empty chamber, I shoot the targets focusing on transitioning and improving my speed to target, sight pic, pull. I also work on moving while shooting since that is a particular area of weakness for me.
Then for live fire: I practice a slow draw, grip, pushout, sight pic, pull slowly, then faster, then two shots. Then, I push the target to about 25 yards and practice slow shots and marksmanship.
But the truth is that we each have our own weaknesses and strengths. So you should keep a journal and start identifying your weaknesses and then use drills to focus on those weaknesses. Then, when you improve that, focus on the next weakness, etc.
Thanks,
Cody
That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;
Go to the drills section of Pistol-Training.com or Ben Stoeger's Site.