IDPA Newbie Report

[TLynnHughes]

I shot the IDPA match at PSC Range this past Saturday. I’m not great at IDPA by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t care because it’s a whole lot of fun for $12 + the cost of ammo. I know that for most of you the following information will be redundant, but I thought it might be helpful to some who are interested in IDPA. I guess this is kind of a lessons learned report.

1. Belt - It’s been said over and over again about the value of a good belt. I couldn’t agree more. First time using a 5.11 leather gun belt and the difference was amazing. I could barely feel the holster or the magazine holder on the belt.

2. Holster – I got a Tucker Silent Thunder Champion holster for Christmas (thanks williamkevin) to replace the paddle holster I had previously used. I couldn’t believe what a difference the holster made in the draw. This holster is amazing…the leather liner makes it feel like your drawing the gun out of butter, but without sacrificing retention.

3. Vest – I shot my second 2 IDPA matches with shirts as the cover garment rather than a vest. I even purchased a 5.11 Shirt. I found that to be really frustrating. There were several “veterans” shooting with regular shirts, but it’s not for me. When the day is particularly humid, the shirt gets damp and it’s like trying to fling a wet noodle over your holster to make the draw. I used a 5.11 vest on Saturday which doesn’t really fit properly and had to be rigged somewhat. Still, it was better than a shirt. I have ordered a vest from CompVest that should solve the fit problem.

All in all, it was a great match! Thanks to Charles and everyone for a terrific Saturday morning. The weather was perfect and the scenarios were challenging. Five members of my family shot with me and we all had a great time.

T.

[CompVest]

Your vest is ready and waiting pick up. This Saturday at Thunder Gun Range is the Thunder Tactical Shooter's freeze dated match.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I can't take the credit for the match. Eric Achord and Kevin Svetlik created the scenarios and Kevin and Jim Pierce set up the match on Friday. Then we had great SO's to bring it all together. All I did was score the match.

Thanks for the kind words!
Chas.

[williamkevin]

Good report sweetheart!

Yes, the match was a LOT of fun! The guys did a great job. Now where did I put that magazine........?

[TLE2]

I know that PCS puts on a "good show", that's one reason I joined. I hope to actually be able to shoot an IDPA match before my IDPA membership runs out...

Last year early, rain was the problem, now it's lack of available child care...

Oh well, maybe someday!

[Abraham]

What time did the match start and stop?

Thanks!

[TLynnHughes]

What time did the match start and stop?

Thanks!

Registration began around 8:00 and I think we actually got shooting a bit after 9:00. Wrapped up shooting about 1:30 but I think I was in the last group to finish because several of us were newbie-ish. I do appreciate the patience of all the experienced shooters. I know we were slowing them down but there was no complaining!

T.

[Abraham]

Thanks!

Initially, I was enthusiastic about shooting IDPA at PSC, but due to a lack of S.O.'s the time between shooting bays was so long I dropped out.

I spoke to someone at the range about this and was advised that at one time shooting used to start around 9:00 and ended around noon, but when I got into it, it took well into late afternoon to finish. I'm afraid I didn't have the patience to wait so long in between shooting times to want to pursue shooting IDPA.

Now, that situation wasn't anyone's fault - hey, if there aren't enough S.O.'s, that's just the way it is...and what I'm posting isn't criticism, perhaps more my selfishness than anything else.

Now, if the time wait between shooting bays has sped up I may try IDPA again.

(at one time, I mentioned I'd volunteer to become a S.O., but was dissuaded when I was told I didn't qualify and to be qualified seemed daunting...)

[TLynnHughes]

Abraham,

I've only been to two matches at PSC so I'm certainly not any voice of experience. We were in squads this time and there was only one time that we had to wait about 10 minutes for the previous squad to finish at the bay we needed. Other than that, when we walked up to shoot, the bay was empty and we got started right away. I think it helped that there four squads and five bays so theoretically, one bay was always empty. The slow down we experienced was largely due to us new folks asking a lot of questions and the experienced shooters being kind enough to give us pointers and tips so we could do better the next time. There were I think about 60 shooters out there Saturday and when Charles did the new shooter meeting, I know there was at least 20 brand spanking new shooters.

T.

[TxD]

Abraham,
There were I think about 60 shooters out there Saturday and when Charles did the new shooter meeting, I know there was at least 20 brand spanking new shooters.
T.

Abe and TLynn, thanks for your imput.
We are constantly seeking feedback on areas of improvement in our matches at PSC.

For those interested, here is a timeline and overview of the match Saturday.
60 competitors including 20 shooters new to IDPA.
8 stages, 5 bays, and 4 SO's, 83 scored rds.

My squad had 16 shooters including 8 new to IDPA.
We started the match at 9:14 and completed the last stage at 1:40.
The average time to complete each stage was 33 minutes, so if you shot each stage in the same rotation, this was your average wait time.

This equates to about 2 minutes each to shoot, including scoring, taping, and resetting.
At no time did any shooter feel rushed at the make ready and in fact several were reminded to slow down as it is very common for new shooters to hurry at this point.

Significant time was also spent with Course Discription, IDPA terminolgy and tips on gear etc.

Abraham, I sincerely hope that you will join us again in the future.

One last thing.
All the good SO/RO's I've known over the years started out as really good "TAPERS".

[CompVest]

The PSC crew did very well to run an eight stage match with 60 shooters ONE THIRD of which were new in 4.5 hours. That many shooters is about 1/2 the number for a major match which would take all day to run.

Well done PSC crew!

On another note. It takes quite a bit of IDPA experience and knowledge to be a good Range Safety Officer. RSO if a very exhausting job when done right and that is when running seasoned shooters. Running new shooters takes an extra amount of vigilance to ensure safety. Add doing this in a way to improve knowledge in an encouraging way and you have a pretty stressful job.

[TLynnHughes]

The PSC crew did very well to run an eight stage match with 60 shooters ONE THIRD of which were new in 4.5 hours. That many shooters is about 1/2 the number for a major match which would take all day to run.

Well done PSC crew!

On another note. It takes quite a bit of IDPA experience and knowledge to be a good Range Safety Officer. RSO if a very exhausting job when done right and that is when running seasoned shooters. Running new shooters takes an extra amount of vigilance to ensure safety. Add doing this in a way to improve knowledge in an encouraging way and you have a pretty stressful job.

And our family has been so fortunate, whether it be at PSC or with SVRA and CompVest at Thunder Range, we have had the BEST SO's bar none! I have no desire to be an SO but I hope to be in a position one day to pay it forward with the knowledge and encouragement.

T.

[Jeremae]

Yes it was a great match. I was a little frustrated with my own performance but did have 1 stage (number 1 with the 2 swingers behind the door) where I went all zen and actually shot well. I do believe it is time I sent an other letter to IDPA HQ suggesting that there be NO limited stages with shots greater than 15 yards.

We have made some changes to the way we run the matches that have cut the overall time to shoot the match way down. I don't remember any match going later than 1:30 last year. It is particularly helpful if we can get several experienced shooters (and maybe an extra SO) in each squad who are willing to coach the shooters with less experience while the active SO concentrates on running the stage.

Even if a new shooter takes 5 times as long to shoot a stage as an experienced one and twice as long to understand the description, the clock time eater is in the tape/reset. As an SO I would rather have a whole squad of newbies who are johnny on the spot to tape than old hands who blaze through the stage but don't help tape.

Once again I would like to express my thanks to Charles, Eric, Jim and all the SOs for putting on an challenging and enjoyable match.