2 out of 3 in competition Why???

[1-DAB]

i'd be more interested in what good shooters are shooting who are NOT paid to shoot a particular gun. they had to select it on it's own merits, not because they got a check and were told what they would be shooting the coming year.

the best shooter i know personally shoots a SW M&P 9mm. same for second best. these men picked them on the merit of the pistol, not because they got a sponsor check.

Rob Vogel is a great shooter, but he'd beat you no matter what gun he was handed.

me?

i shoot Colt 1911s and Beretta 92Fs and Px4s in IDPA. they work well for me.

 

[Lohman446]

Skills matter and are by far the greatest discriminator, but as the skill levels between competitors becomes closer together (they are VERY close to equal at the top levels), equipment becomes more important.

Some time ago when I was really pushing running I felt like I looked at a particular pair of shoes. Designed and tested by some Olympian (I forget who). I was running a lot and the person who had helped me buy many pairs of shoes that year was looking at me with skepticism. Why would I change brands and styles of shoes at that point? Finally he handed me the particular athletes split times and mentioned when I approached them we should have this conversation.

Never did approach them. Never will.

Does gear matter? Sure... if you are in that very top on a national or international level the minimal difference between quality gear MIGHT matter. Though as others have mentioned the biggest difference might be how much they offer to pay you to use it.

 

[1-DAB]

on a related note, i'm cheap, so i shoot 115gr 9mm ball ammo (PMC) for IDPA, while the local Expert was showing me that he shoots 147gr ammo.

yes, there is a slight difference between the two, the 147 will have a softer felt recoil if loaded to the same power factor, and the flat point makes a nicer hole in the target so he might get an extra point here and there on boundary shots.

i've tried some 135gr loads, and quite frankly, i'm not good enough to notice the difference.

off the top of my head, i'd say stick with what you have and can afford until you get to Expert level, then the equipment might make a difference in moving up further.

we had a little side match sunday, one target shaped steel target at 10 yards, 6 shots as fast as you can. if you missed, you didn't get a scored time. had to get all 6 on the steel. if you had asked me before i shot what my time would be, i'd have guessed about 4.5 sec based on previous shooting.

got 6 good hits, asked what the time was: 3.30 sec. woot! shooting a Px4 9mm with 115gr PMC ammo.

 

[Siggy-06]

I remember one bullseye competition: an older woman(probably about 60ish) showed up in an old Russian soldier outfit. She used a 1895 Nagant revolver and took first place, beating all the tricked out 1911's and wonder nines. She was real humble and talked for a few minutes about her outfit and husbands heritage and took her trophy and left. She beat $2000 plus 1911s with a $99 c&r surplus revolver. Mad skills pay the bills.

 

[kraigwy]

Though its been around for a long time, but I've always liked this picture.

My favorite competition pistol is an old Model 64, police trade in I bought used. Only modifications I made was to put a dab of florescent hunter orange paint on the front sight. (Those stainless sights suck in bright sun light).

In USPSA, Steel, or similar "run dodge and jump" matches I have the hits but using standard speed loaders, I cant compete with those multi round mags, and nearing 70 I cant move with the youngsters. Looking at the final scores, when it comes to hits I would be toward the top of the list, add the times I drop down to the middle of the pack.

Same with rifle shooting, in Precision Rifle, I used an Old AMU built Model 70. That rifle is older then most of the shooters on the line. I don't shoot the PRS that require running, but in belly shooting that old Winchester I paid $501 from the DCM Auction Site, can hold its own.

If you stay in the game long enough, you can make it to the Grand Senior Class (or Super Senior in USPSA) and start winning again.

I did it with my Underwood Carbine in the CMPs Oklahoma Games last month.

 

[RickB]

Of course, Mr. Model 10 would put seventeen rounds through the 10-ring if he were shooting a Glock.
Just sayin'.