Shot in an informal USPSA match today

[wwillson]

I had fun today shooting in an informal USPSA match today in Nashua, IA with about 30 other shooters. There were three stages, which weren't complex as they anticipated many new to competition shooters. We also had a rifle side match after the shoot, in which about half of the shooters participated. It was a great day to teach and to learn from others. We didn't have a single safety issue all day.

I got to shoot a really nice tricked out STI race day chambered in 40 S&W. It had the absolute smoothest slide movement I've ever felt on a 1911. It shot with virtually no muzzle rise, just straight back recoil. For several thousand dollars it should be fantastic, and it was.

I shot my M&P Pro 9mm which the more I shoot the better I like the way it shoots. The 5" barrel and frame really calms the muzzle rise. The fiber optic from sight really pops in the sunlight. It does have the 'pro' trigger, which is better than the standard M&P pistol trigger, but I wish it were more 1911ish. This has me seriously thinking about the Apex Tactical trigger for the M&P.

Of course Hittman beat me, but I certainly expected him to. Chris beat him by .015 point, they both beat me by about 10 points. We finished 1, 2, 3 and had a ton of fun doing so.

Wayne

[BarryinIN]

I'm sure you saw that, even though people are always saying IPSC/USPSA is impractical and will cause bad habits, that if used properly it can be a big help. If nothing else, it develops gunhandling skills. I don't know of any group of shooters more skilled in the various aspects of gunhandling than USPSA shooters. If one has the gunhandling down to habits and practiced reactions, they are free to think about other things (like movement, cover, tactics, etc).

I know it's helped me.

I usually don't get to a USPSA match very often, but have been to three this year already. Whenever I've been away from it a bit, I am reminded at how skilled they are.

I bet the size match was fun, huh? I'd rather shoot 3-gun or carbine matches anytime. There has been three scheduled so far here this year and I've missed them all. I'm pretty sure I'll miss the next one too.

[wwillson]

Barry,

I believe if people think USPSA/IPSC will prepare them for a gunfight, then they are sadly mistaken. What it does extremely well, for those who make a habit of competing, is making gun handling become muscle memory. Like you said, just watch some of the practiced shooters, it's a wow moment seeing how a quick mag change is done without ever looking away from the target.

God forbid, if a gunfight ever does happen, I don't want to even think about how to draw, hit my target, change a mag, etc. For this, USPSA is great practice.

Besides all of that, it's FUN.

Wayne

[BarryinIN]

Neither would ever admit it, but the main part of any defensive shooting class and the goal of an action shooting competitor is the same: To run the gun without having to concentrate on it, freeing the mind to think about other things.

Now, that is really stripping it down, and both would start arguing with me over it, but it sure seems that way to me. It's what is done with the freed up brainpower that is the difference.

I don't want to be consciously thinking Grip, Clear, Click, Smack, Look. I want to think "draw", or better yet, I want the gun to be in my hand and ready somehow while I'm thinking about which direction I'm moving. When the gun malfunctions, I don't want to look at it in wonderment, I want to clear it without thinking about it. I've seen the good guys shoot and have a malfunction, then when you say something to them about it afterwards, they never knew it happened! They cleared it and moved on without even noticing. That is the subconscious at work.

One of my proudest moments in any match was in an IDPA match where I had a malfunction, but instead of clearing the gun, I ducked behind cover while going straight to the BUG in my pocket. I didn't realize it until my left hand wrapped around that gun's grip. I caught myself, pulled my hand back out and cleared the gun. The SO assumed I was going for another magazine and I let him.

I was more proud of automatically doing that than if I had won the state match.

That's what matches do for me. They let me practice the mechanics, and sometimes they tempt me into doing the wrong thing to save a second. When I resist that temptation, I am happy. When I resist it without thinking about it, and only realize the option was there afterwards, I am thrilled. It shows me I'm thinking right.

I can practice that on the range, but doing it in front of a bunch of people when it's human nature to try to score well is better practice.

Matches are what we make of them.

Lots of people go, and think they are doing something just by going. They are, but they have to think about it and apply it to get the most from it. I often hear people at IDPA matches say it's great training. No it isn't. It's great practice. Whether one makes it training or not is up to them.

[BarryinIN]

I was thinking- Did I ever tell you guys about my first informal USPSA shoot?

I am so glad I was there to see it. It was a sight.

The husband and wife owners of the local gun shop had been shooting USPSA for several months, and invited some of us regulars to a little informal practice session she had setup.

The shop's gunsmith came from an FBI family. His dad had a long career in the FBI and was assigned all over the south during the civil rights activity. His brother was in the FBI for several years and was moving up the ladder before leaving for the private sector. Being so tied to the FBI when they were, they were a revolver family. The kids were raised with revolvers in each hand, and they used them well. Jeff, the gunsmith, always carried multiple snubbies. I don't know if he owned a gun with a barrel over 3".

So we show up, and they have a couple of stages ready in back of a small pole barn. We chatted a bit in the open barn door then started shooting.

The first stage was a pretty typical one where you started at Point A and shot a few targets with two shots each, advanced to Point B and shot a few, and so on.

After a few people shot it, it was Jeff's turn.

He was asked if he had any questions. He didn't. "Standby!". The buzzer went off.

Few people ever saw Jeff being serious. He was always in a happy joking mood, like a big kid who everybody likes.

When the buzzer went off, he went from giggly to dead serious.

Out came a revolver from somewhere in his clothing, which he emptied on the first pair of targets while retreating to the doorway of the barn we were standing in. People scattered. The gun goes dry.

Then he let go of it.

Thud. Into the dirt. He had another revolver out by then and was blazing away with it from the cover of the barn door. Empty. Thud. Pops out from a different level of the door opening. Bangbangbangbangbangbang.

I think he was already on his third gun when our hostess started screaming "STOP!".

She was appalled, and she's usually hard to shock. "Y-y-you can't do that!"

The rest of us were caught between shock and hilarity, when someone answered her protests with "But he's the only one who did it right!"

Which was true.

It was a sight to see, but he did the best of any of us at surviving the situation. He taught us something that day, whether he meant to or not.