I shot my first 2 matches last month. As a new shooter to IPSC I can tell you the IT IS A BLAST.
I’ll suggest a few things to you that I learned so far. On your first time out, your priorities should be this –
1. Be Safe. Always go slow, ask questions, pay close attention to the range officer, don’t do anything you are uncomfortable with.
2. Get solid hits. Shoot slow and accurate to start – speed will come later.
3. Learn. I did things with a gun that I had never done before. (shoot around barriers, shoot under obstacles, shoot and reload on the move, etc… if you go slow and safe, you will learn from the simple mistakes (I keep a notebook of them). Also, as a new shooter, you will get more advice than you can digest. Take the advice that you are comfortable with and use it, but don’t try to do anything and everything that everyone will try to tell you.
4. Have fun. Don’t compete your first time out. Just be safe and learn. The guys with $3000, 18 shot, custom race guns and sponsors on their shirts didn’t have nearly as much fun as I did. You probably didn’t compete in a tournament the first time you swung a golf club, shot a basketball, or played a board game, so don’t feel any pressure on your first shooting match. The only pressure I felt the first time out was to be safe and NOT have a safety violation.
Some pointers from a 2 match veteran (for what it’s worth)
- Bring more bullets than you think you’ll need. 250 was enough the first time, but I felt better with 400 the second time.
- Your hat bill will get in the way at the worst time.
- You can’t miss fast enough (the sport motto).
- Slow positive reloads are faster than doing it wrong twice.
- Bring food and water. Granola bars and trail mix are good, sloppy/sticky is bad.
- Show up early for set up. You meet the coordinators, get a quick feel for the ranges, and sometimes you get a discount on your shoot.
- Get a good belt.
- Don’t wear loose clothes
- Do the walk through, but don’t get flustered if the shooting doesn’t go as planned.
- Dirty magazines do not work as advertised. Blow/clean them out every time they touch the dirt.
That should be enough info to get you started.
BE SAFE and HAVE FUN. You’ll be back for more.