Finally shot my first IDPA match

Don't be put off by what you might consider a poor showing at your first-time out...anybody who shoots in competition's been through this...you can only get better.
Hang in there, and shoot as many matches as you can. Don't listen to all those guys telling you to "Just go out there and have fun.". They just say that because they want to keep beating you. ;) It AIN'T fun until you feel happy with your performance...and that won't take you long.
 
It can be intense sometimes. For me, having an opportunity to shoot an IDPA State match was my best break. Boy, did I learn a lot from shooting those fourteen stages at KY IDPA STATE last year. It was good for me to shoot that match. I learned more about me and my shooting in one day.
 
One question they don't answer on the web site
is what is the best preparation for your first
IDPA? What stupid newbie mistakes can the rest of
us avoid? What would you tell a first-timer to do
now?

By the way, wasn't Bat Masterson's real name
Bartholemew?
 
RHC, I will tell you from running IDPA matches for over 3.5 years, the biggest thing for novices is to keep your weapon pointed straight downrange(safe muzze direction) while handling/loading/reloading and to keep your finger off the trigger until engaging targets. Remember this, threats are never at your feet or in the sky, despite what Hollywood shows, and you never want to press the trigger until you have clearly sighted a threat with a hostage free background. And when you are done shooting, wait for the Range Safety Officer to look into the barrel, and check your weapon, and after you holster, then the range is safe. Beyond that, speed is fine, but accuracy is final... In the end, it is all about getting the front sight right, and pressing the trigger.
 
From personal experience, I'd second the safety thing as being the primary goal you need to orient towards.

My biggest mistake (shooting-wise) was that I tried to do everything quickly and ended up wasting more time in penalties and other goofs than if I had just moved slowly and deliberately. If you can avoid letting time-pressure force you into muddled thinking and sloppy shooting, you will be way ahead of the game.

Mag changes and malfunction clearing will add to your time pretty quickly - it really pays to know how to clear these quickly and efficiently.
 
Are you shooting with hi caps or 10-rounders in these competitions?

I plan to get involved sooner or later and already have two hi caps for my Glock 20. Should I buy more?
 
Hi-caps are useless in IDPA. In Stock and Enhanced Service Pistol, you can only load 10 rounds in the mags plus one in the pipe. For Custom Defensive Pistols (SA trigger and 45, 10mm, or .400 Cor-Bon), 8 rounds in the mag. Revolver, 6 rounds only.

The best advice for new shooters is to be safe and shoot only as fast as it takes you to hit all A's. Accuracy is more important than speed in IDPA. IPSC is the opposite.

Bart, if you are clearing a lot of malfunctions with your carry gun, you might want to change your gun to a more reliable one. I have yet to clear a malfunction with either my HK USP or my P7M8. I still practice those drills though.
 
Scooter2 - There isn't much out there that is more reliable than my Hi-Power (possibly the Glock). Both are still going strong with no malfunctions except those that have come from bad magazines.

The malfunction during the IDPA shoot was a planned one for the purposes of the shoot. An empty case was slipped into the first magazine in order to force a malfunction.

My problems during the shoot were basically I dropped the mag when I didn't need to during the malfunction clearing and it cost me time and during a mag change I slammed in one of the Browning manufacture 10-rd mags with the little spring. That little spring is great for kicking them out but in this case it kicked the mag out after I thought I had slammed it in there. The gun fired one round and then the mag dropped out. Oops!
 
I was taught if you have to clear a malfunction, best thing to do is to dump the mag, rack the slide, insert a new mag and rack the slide again. This is better than the tap and rack because it eliminates any further problems. For instance, if it is a bad mag and you do the tap and rack, you might cause another problem which takes more time to clear. If the case fails to extract when you rack it, it will try to chamber another round possibly causing the death jam. Tap and rack is only good if there's a round that misfired or if you didn't seat the mag.
 
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