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I signed up for a pistol match. I didn't know what the format of the match was going to be but I thought what the Hell. It will be fun. I haven't competed for a while.
Allow me to be intentionally sarcastic. Here's what the game was:
(non holster shooters get a 1 second penalty)
Shoot 5 plates from the holster
No more than five rounds in your mag (so if you miss, you have to reload)
Holster weapon and the do the funky chicken
Repeat from the beginning - three times
From the holster, five rounds to the body (full size silhouette target at 10 yards)
Change mags (mandatory)
Five more rounds to the bidy
Change mags (mandatory)
Four rounds to the body and one to the head
Recite the Lord's Prayer backwards
From the holster Shoot five stationary plates
Without stopping, shoot the four reactive plates
Reload and shoot the five stationary plates again
Only ten rounds per mag allowed, reload and continue fire until all plates hit
There were a few ringers there who obviously do a lot of match shooting. But the majority were just regular guys who want to improve their shooting skills and have some fun. The officials were micromanaging everybody and most of the guys there had a tough time remembering all the fucking rules about how many rounds you can have in the gun and when mandatory reload was necessary. Some people had 1911's with 9 rounds others had striker guns with 12-20 round mags.
These complicated scenarios are a fucking buzz kill. As if all this over complicated, do this do that, count to five, cut a fart, and all that extraneous activity were not enough to piss me off, I decided to shoot my full size Prodigy and I sucked. I could not have shot worse wearing somebody else's eyeglasses. I haven't shot it much and this was the first time I chose it for a match. The gun performed fine. It was all me. I chose a handgun I have not spent much time with and it showed.
There is tactical training and there's competition. I dont like commingling the two. That's what many of these IDPA/IPSC and other organized matches seem to try and accomplish. I don't want to have to memorize and execute a routine like a recipe for a fucking soufflé. I want to test my speed and accuracy in a match. Not be told after 9 rounds I have to change mags when I have 11 left. Some of the less experienced guys were getting paused by the officials and given lectures or guidance at the firing line. I could see some of them felt embarrassed. One corrected me for flipping on my safety when holstering. It's a habit I have no desire to change.
When I go a range I just want to be left the fuck alone to practice my shooting.
Allow me to be intentionally sarcastic. Here's what the game was:
(non holster shooters get a 1 second penalty)
Shoot 5 plates from the holster
No more than five rounds in your mag (so if you miss, you have to reload)
Holster weapon and the do the funky chicken
Repeat from the beginning - three times
From the holster, five rounds to the body (full size silhouette target at 10 yards)
Change mags (mandatory)
Five more rounds to the bidy
Change mags (mandatory)
Four rounds to the body and one to the head
Recite the Lord's Prayer backwards
From the holster Shoot five stationary plates
Without stopping, shoot the four reactive plates
Reload and shoot the five stationary plates again
Only ten rounds per mag allowed, reload and continue fire until all plates hit
There were a few ringers there who obviously do a lot of match shooting. But the majority were just regular guys who want to improve their shooting skills and have some fun. The officials were micromanaging everybody and most of the guys there had a tough time remembering all the fucking rules about how many rounds you can have in the gun and when mandatory reload was necessary. Some people had 1911's with 9 rounds others had striker guns with 12-20 round mags.
These complicated scenarios are a fucking buzz kill. As if all this over complicated, do this do that, count to five, cut a fart, and all that extraneous activity were not enough to piss me off, I decided to shoot my full size Prodigy and I sucked. I could not have shot worse wearing somebody else's eyeglasses. I haven't shot it much and this was the first time I chose it for a match. The gun performed fine. It was all me. I chose a handgun I have not spent much time with and it showed.
There is tactical training and there's competition. I dont like commingling the two. That's what many of these IDPA/IPSC and other organized matches seem to try and accomplish. I don't want to have to memorize and execute a routine like a recipe for a fucking soufflé. I want to test my speed and accuracy in a match. Not be told after 9 rounds I have to change mags when I have 11 left. Some of the less experienced guys were getting paused by the officials and given lectures or guidance at the firing line. I could see some of them felt embarrassed. One corrected me for flipping on my safety when holstering. It's a habit I have no desire to change.
When I go a range I just want to be left the fuck alone to practice my shooting.
Last edited:
I do a walk-through occasionally when the squad moves to a new stage before we start shooting. Visualizing point of aim through a window or where the gun will be transferred to the other hand/shoulder, if necessary. As the stages take 20-30rds, there may be a mag change involved and I like to plan when/where I will do it, usually during a transition. And especially if I'm one of the first shooters. I'd rather drop a mag with a few left and insert a full mag without having to manipulate the slide. If I'm smart, I'll throw the old mag in the dump pouch in case I need it later. 
