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cheby and I shot a local USPSA match yesterday. It was a fun, although very long day because of the number of shooters (78), many of them new to USPSA. It's great to see our sport growing in popularity.
Here are a few observations:
There were zero douchebags on our squad, and in my experience that's typical of USPSA. Even though it was frustrating to have to stand around pretty much all day because of bottlenecks at certain stages, everyone was positive, friendly, and helped reset.
The guy who was back from deployment overseas was very squared away with his Glock. He was relatively slow, but accurate, safe, and knew how to run his gun. I was impressed by how calm he was.
The two new-to-USPSA active LEOs had great attitudes, and asked for advice.
A few shooters did not have much experience with moving, shooting, and reloading in a complex environment. We were able to give them some tips about keeping their finger away from the trigger guard, and how to move in any direction while not sweeping themselves. I noticed improvement over the course of the match.
Some shooters learned that their guns and gear did not work reliably enough for competition --let alone defensive use. A Walther CCP was especially troublesome.
A 75 year old shooter (Vietnam vet, retired LEO) with serious health issues fell backwards while I was ROing. He kept his gun pointed downrange, and navigated the muzzle safely around his knee as he went down. We helped him up, and he continued the stage, shooting mostly As on very difficult targets. It was impressive, and he received a round of applause afterward.