In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
Other people already addressed the other ones.
I'd like to add that the articles of material I've seen treated as 'cover' in IDPA competition are normally concealment rather than cover since they will not normally stop even pistol bullets (plastic barrels, thin weak walls/barriers, etc.)
Doesn't it concern you that this will lead to failure to correctly recognize potential articles of cover in real life, and IDPA Dude will take 'cover' behind the Hostess endcap at the mini mart? Then he will get hisself shot in the streets. Not tactical, not tactical at all. 25ACP > Ding Dongs
Technical excellence supports tactical preparedness
Lord of the Food Court
http://www.gabewhitetraining.com
Apart from my general attitude toward bullet-stopping cover in the modern world (to whit: there isn't much), I have to sympathize with IDPA on this one. Frank Glover (of Carolina Cup fame) is the only guy I know who routinely has a rule that "hard cover is defined as things I can't stop your bullet from penetrating through."
Setting up a system for differentiating the shooter's point of cover between ballistic and non-ballistic would be incredibly complicated, especially if you wanted to achieve the goal of identifying cover properly instead of just saying "blue walls are cover, red walls are concealment."
Referring back to Frank Glover, he's had stages before that were set up like a 7-11 with real shelves piled with real products like loaves of bread, etc. You'd be surprised just how well some of those things can deflect 9mm and .45 rounds. Heck, look at all the guys whose AK mags have stopped 5.56 bullets...25ACP > Ding Dongs
I'd be genuinely interested to see how many Ding Dongs it would take to stop a typical .25 ACP round. You wouldn't even have to wear a wig when you filmed it, Gabe. (though knowing you, you probably still would)
Well, everything I've learned about one-man defensive scenarios includes leaving ASAP, and if a new area were to be explored to take down a bad guy, it's now offensive, not defensive. Regardless, let's say it's "justifiable" offensive behavior to protect the lives of others. Still, moving around corners includes things like "cutting the pie" as slowly as possible. Does IDPA reinforce any of these defensive skills? Or is it in fact a fun game that falsely inflates the confidence in false skill sets for the defensive-minded person?
I'd disagree with that description. There are circumstances in which I wouldn't be pieing the corner. Even when I do pie a corner, I don't do it as slowly as possible... I do it as quickly as possible. That may be slow or fast depending on multiple factors but I'm still always doing it as fast as I can see what I need to see.
You keep telling yourself that...
I am surprised that nobody has yet mentioned what I believe is far and away the single best thing IDPA has going for it -- the 50% off Safariland card you get by joining.