No, IDPA is a game, to be sure. But it's not a pure game. The game is secondary - learning to shoot AFTER DRAWING REALISTICALLY FROM A TRUE CARRY HOLSTER in a realistic scenario is the primary point - that is NOT the primary point of USPCA - the primary point of it is to play a game, whereas any skills you might pick up are secondary. Yes, you will undoubtedly gain pure shooting skills from shooting USPCA, but your false sense of security can get you killed when you need to draw to protect your life from your CARRY holster, concealed under a garment, and whaddya know, it's not just like drawing from your speed holster, so it took you an extra 3/4ths of a second to draw from it, than it would have if you had trained in IDPA from your CARRY holster, and that 3/4ths of a second is all the BG needed to kill you DEAD.
The example of the guide rod is beside the point. Why? Because it ain't got nothing to do with the primary difference, and that is holster type, extra mag pouch type, actual number of exta mags (or speedloaders) and method of holster carry. Now, should IDPA let you use any damn guide rod you want, and are their rules idiotic for not let you using it? Yes, and yes. But you could still shoot the IDPA course with it, and just not receive a score, which you really ought to do it this way if you're concerned about practicing for realistic scenarios. If you're not, then why did you show up for the IDPA event to begin with?
Jeeper, you're logic is entirely flawed, and here's why. You say that the IPSC guys usually win IDPA events. While you offer no evidence of that, let's assume for a moment that it is true. This doesn't prove that IPSC is a better way to train for real scenarios. It only proves that the best shooters, and those dedicated to becoming the best shooters are initially drawn to IPSC first, for whatever reason, and then happen to also do quite well at IDPA when they choose to do it. It does NOT prove that they would not be even better at IDPA if they had done IDPA to begin with. It also does not prove that they would be EVEN better well-prepared and trained for REAL defensive scenarios if they had competed in IDPA all along, and they would. So, flawed logic. It only proves that a lot of really motivated and/or talented guys LIKE to shoot IPSC (probably because they are competitive and it is indeed a GAME). But they are competing in a JOKE, *IF* (and that's a huge if) their goal is to become the best possibly prepared to save their life.
there's a WHOLE lot of peopel out there who coudn't give a crap what YOU think the point of something is supposed to be.
Spelling mistakes aside, that entirely misses the point as well. I'm not saying that is it wrong to play a game. More power to you - no one is wrong for thinking that the point is playing a game - in fact, they're exactly right - that's what it is, and what it is alone. But it remains a joke if they're trying to train to save their life by drawing from CONCEALMENT when the feces collides.
It's a GAME it doesnt have to be some kind of "real life simulation".
Exactly my point - IPSC is a game, not a "real life simulation". Glad we agree. And, since the time you spend on this game COULD be spent on a game that happens to try very hard to be a "real life simulation" (at least as close as we can come - it's called IDPA), then you're really wasting valuable time, once again - only *IF* your goal is to prepare for emergencies.
Meh, just my opinion. Guess I'm not the only one, though, since Ken Hackathorn, Richard Thomas, John Sayle, Walt Rauch, Larry Vickers and Bill Wilson started IDPA for the reason that their opinion was exactly the same as mine, as I understand it. But to be fair, I guess I mispoke when I said that the entire point is to train for real life encounters - that would be the entire point for ME, but obviously not everyone. It just seems to me such a waste of time to be participating in a nearly identical sport that only trains you 80% on realism, when you could spend that exact same time on a sport that trains you 98% on realism. Obviously, I firmly believe that the muscle memory formed, which takes over in an adrenaline-rushed emergency, by virtue of using the exact same holster carried in the exact same way, is of the utmost importance is slicing fractions of a second of the time it takes to get to those all-important first well-placed shots, to put the BG down, before the BG get his shots off and puts you down. See, I *knew* I'd get flamed - ha!
