Miggy

Blackeagle: I don't know what kind of shooting match your friend saw, but it was not IDPA. Some of his comments (such as "Infrequent use of a concealment garment", "Use of a "match gun" and equipment", "Conditioning shooters to use two hands to re-holster" and other comments make me think he has never attended an IDPA match.

You may find this article interesting. Specially the people mentioned in tha article and the one in the picture in page 3
IDPA Shooting

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Miggy

Darn... The closest would be Jacksonville
Maybe you should open a club! Talk to Lance, I bet he knows people in your situation and living area.

__________________
You have to make the shot when fire is smoking, people are screaming, dogs are barking, kids are crying and sirens are coming.
Randy Cain.

GunFreeZone.net

Blackeagle

My friend shot IDPA for many years (and IPSC/USPSA before that). While I have not been shooting nearly as long, I have seen every single one of those bad habits in play at IDPA matches, and usually see at least a majority of them at each match.

The match I shot today provides some excellent examples of some of the very things you mentioned. Due to the heat, they entirely removed the requirement for the cover garment for all stages. I and one other shooter used concealment regardless, but everyone else shot from open carry. As far as the 'match gun' goes, at the end of the match, the vast majority of participants routinely strip off the guns they used for the match and switch to smaller guns, more concealable holsters and mag pouches, or even go without a carry gun entirely. I am one of the minority of shooters who simply switch mags to carry ammo and leaves the range carrying the same equipment I shot the match with.

Bunny

Yes, but not IDPA. Our range hosts a monthly 3-Gun competition, and I just found out about IPSC here, too! Will try that next month and hope I don't get laughed off the range.

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mlong623

nope not yet, but I will.

I didn't know there was a match today. Where in CLT was it held?

Blackeagle

I find most folks in the different shooting games are very friendly to new shooters. Get out there, have fun, and don't worry about getting laughed off the range!

sniper58

I used to and enjoyed it a lot. Our local club stopped offering matches as the same people would volunteer all the time and the same crown would just show up and shoot. The northern contingency of the club do hold matches, but the range is a good 2+ hours north and report time is around 0700.

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Tim
BE PREPARED - Noah didn't build the Ark when it was raining!
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Thomas Jefferson
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Miggy

Then the problem is not IDPA but the club you are shooting with.

__________________
You have to make the shot when fire is smoking, people are screaming, dogs are barking, kids are crying and sirens are coming.
Randy Cain.

GunFreeZone.net

Blackeagle

Could be, but from what I've seen and heard most of these issues are pretty universal. Some of these are things that ought to be incorporated in the rules, but aren't. Some is just the fundamental nature of shooting games, particularly timed ones: what gets you the best score will inevitably sometimes diverge from what would actually be best in a fight.

Miggy

The use of timers is a great stress inducer. It tries to add some pressure to the shooter's preformance which is a great learning tool. Most shooters starting IDPA soon find out that those perfect bullseyes at the static range disappear when they have to move and they running under a clock. And let's face it, the stress induced by a timer is very very small compared to the stress created by a self defense situation. So you may have gone to all the tactical schools and trained in the latest whiz-bang ninja techniques but if not practiced under some sort of stress to see if the shooter can actually procure a combat hit, all that training is wasted time and money.
Now, not everybody can shell big bucks to attend a tactical class every month but they sure can shell $10 to $20 on a monthly IDPA match which will provide them with a modicum of techniques that otherwise would not get.

__________________
You have to make the shot when fire is smoking, people are screaming, dogs are barking, kids are crying and sirens are coming.
Randy Cain.

GunFreeZone.net