IDPA questions

J

jrsower

New member
Will be trying my first IDPA match in a week and a half. Two questions.

Will my Glock 36 be competitive? (In spite of the user) With only 6 rounds am I at a disadvantage?

Also, I can't find on the IDPA site whether mag carriers are required or optional. I have 6 mags but no mag pouches. Do I need them or can I stick two mags out of my other pocket or between my belt and pants?

I have a P7M8 also. I'd rather shoot with my Glock but if I get enough people to tell me that my P7 would be better I'd probably try it.
 
Will my Glock 36 be competitive? (In spite of the user)

It depends entirely on the user. Why does it matter, were you planning to win the first time out?

With only 6 rounds am I at a disadvantage?

Yes. You will be in SSP (10 rounds allowed) or CDP (8 round 1911s allowed.) So what? See above.

I am not being tough on you. Go, shoot your best with your familiar gun and have a good time. Lots of people put that ahead of hot competitiveness. I consider priorities in the following order:

1. Be safe. Don't hurt anybody, don't scare anybody, don't get disqualified for unsafe moves.
2. Execute the course of fire. Don't get penalized for procedural errors. PAY ATTENTION.
3. Hit the target. Hit it in the middle (or head, when required.)
4. Move along. Your time is your score. But don't run before you walk, LITERALLY. There are three greater priorities.

Also, I can't find on the IDPA site whether mag carriers are required or optional. I have 6 mags but no mag pouches. Do I need them or can I stick two mags out of my other pocket or between my belt and pants?

I don't know what your club will require, but I would let you reload out of a pocket. Some people do carry their ammo there and it is a valid technique, just not very fast. I would watch you closely to be sure you kept control of your muzzle direction while frisking yourself for ammo. I would not agree to magazines stuck in the belt, I do not think that is secure enough for carry.

I have a P7M8 also. I'd rather shoot with my Glock but if I get enough people to tell me that my P7 would be better I'd probably try it.

Shoot the Glock, then. Familiarity counts more than a theoretical technical advantage. But a GOOD squeezecocker man is very effective. And an unpracticed one is a bit dangerous.
 
1. With only 6 rounds, yes you will be at a disadvantage. You will be competing against others with 8 or 10.

2. Some clubs go strictly by the rules and while I can't find/remember the one rule that applys, let's just say magazine carriers are strongly encouraged at those clubs.

I agree with the other posts. "Run what you brung". What ever you feel comfortable with is what you should use.

At our club, Pitt County Wildlife Club in Eastern NC, we don't turn anyone away. SOMEONE there always has an extra mag holder, extra holster, heck, even extra guns have been loaned on occasion, for new shooters to use. We believe the more people we can get into the shooting sports, the better off we'll all be. We even had a guy shooting his SAA.....in IDPA!
He didn't win.....but he had a blast and was back next month with a 1911.

One more tip and I'll hush, You can't miss fast enough to win!

Take your time and make your hits first. Don't try to run with the big dogs......it won't work, trust me, this is the voice of experience.....BTDT! You have to remember, you're not competing with them. Your speed will improve as you practice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blessed are they who, in the face of death, think only about the front sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:D :D
 
Hey 2speed!

Will you be at the IDPA match this Saturday? I live in Eastern NC too. It's the PCWC match I'm thinking about entering. Small world.
 
Excellent post from Jim. There is some great advice there.

At your first match, you ain't going to win. Just go and have fun. If you do happen to win, at your first match, with a sub compact large caliber gun, with no mag pouches, against people who have years of experience, then you are channeling Rob Leatham. But for the rest of us we shoot for the practice, experience, and fun. :)

With 6 round mags, then you are going to get plenty of practice reloading. I mostly shoot CDP, but strangely the guys shooting SSR (revolvers) aren't that far behind the rest of us.

Plus you are allowed to top your gun off before the string. So you will go in with 6+1.

Just go have fun. Pay attention. Watch the good shooters in action.
 
I shot my first COF with a makarov and extra magazines stuffed in my pockets ;-).

Most clubs that I know will let you slide on almost anything if the match isn't a prize winning match of some sort.

As far as SSR, I shot SSR faster than 2 CDP'ers and 3 ESP'ers last time out ;-).
 
jrsower

This is my anniversary weekend so I won't be making this one.
I can ALMOST guarantee you'll have a blast!

Pay attention, take your time and make the hits.

We try to setup our stages so they are not intimidating to new shooters, and are a challenge to those who like to hose 'em.

Good luck!

If you have a problem with your "36", ask for Bill. He's a certified Glock armorer and if it's minor, can probably fix it right there.
He'll also probably be the CRO. He also likes P7's.

Tell him Steve sent ya...........it might help. :D

They will set up at 08:00, have the walk through/safety brief at 09:30 and start shooting at 10:00
 
Glock 36 in IDPA

If that is what you carry, by all means shoot it. Then, no matter where you place, you WIN because you are a better shooter with your carry piece. It seems that IDPA guys have a certain "respect" for folks that shoot what they really carry. A guy that shows up and shoots his carry gun will likely get the compliment "yeah, he don't game it."
 
I don't think the number of rounds is the issue. It is the number of reloads per course of fire. If everyone only has to reload once (12 round course) then you would not be at a disadvantage.
 
I believe that IDPA rules strongly encourage making COF's revolver friendly, I think 18rds is the maximum (supposedly)?

So, I wouldn't think 6rd capacity would be much of a handicap.

My wife on the other hand, shooting a 7rd revo has to line up the empty when reloading ;-)... I think the local folks wouldn't care if she loaded 7 though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top