level of accuracy for IDPA

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georgiacatweazle

New member
i've been practicing a lot over the last 9 months to get in form for IDPA etc.
overall what kind of accuracy is needed ? most pistols i have from glock 17's to 1911's and 38's i can get one to two inch groups without too much trouble.
obviously with a time factor that will drift.
 
The down 0 (-0) zones on an IDPA target are an 8" circle in the center of the body portion of the silhouette, and a 6" square on the head portion. That is the level of accuracy required to be "perfect" as far as IDPA accuracy is concerned. Any holes outside these zones result in added time to the adjusted (final) score. There is so much more too the sport than just accuracy, and I can almost guarantee you that the inherent accuracy of whatever gun you choose will not be your limiting factor.

Just go shoot and match and have fun, but be aware that is is highly addictive.
 
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IMO, the inherent accuracy of most factory handguns will be fine, especially if you're just starting out. Any "drift" due to time pressure is a shooter issue.
 
had a stage yesterday, two targets at 35 yards, 2 shots each from cover. down 2 and down 6 (missed, dang it).

classifier is at 20 yards max.

accuracy at speed is what you are after. up close, bangbangbang, at distance, bang...bang...bang.

you will learn, over time, how fast you can go at different distances.

at 35 yards: bang............bang............bang..........bang.
 
had a stage yesterday, two targets at 35 yards, 2 shots each from cover. down 2 and down 6 (missed, dang it).

classifier is at 20 yards max.

accuracy at speed is what you are after. up close, bangbangbang, at distance, bang...bang...bang.

you will learn, over time, how fast you can go at different distances.

at 35 yards: bang............bang............bang..........bang.
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35 yards??? Sounds like the match director was having a bad day when they designed that stage.

Typically 20 yards is the max range for IDPA, with most targets being much closer. I can remember a few stages I have shot at local club matches where a target was 25 - 30 yards out. It never hurts to throw those in the mix once in a while, but it's not typical by any means.
 
If the gun - with you shooting it - is capable of putting all rounds in the area covered by the front sight, it's accurate enough for IDPA.
You need to shoot at the pace that allows you to get those hits.
 
you can go max 25 yards for a scenario stage, and max 35 yards for a standards stage, but 6 shots max at those distances.

6.7.1 Scenario stages may have shots up to 25 yards (22.9 meters) from the shooter.
6.7.2 Standards stages may have shots up to 35 yards (32 meters) from the shooter. Standards stages will not require more than 6 shots per stage at targets that are further than 25 yards from the shooter.
 
What Glenn said. You need some really basic equipment, and have that thing between your ears working safety wise and you're good to go.

Most important thing:

*Don't touch your pistol until ordered to do so by the SO ever ever ever.
*Keep the bad end pointed down range at all times. ALL TIMES.
 
Strange things seem to happen at the Action type matches.
When that buzzer goes off, all those close, easy to hit targets seem to grow legs and wing it way farther down range.
And leave ya' wondering how on earth anyone can miss a target at 15 yards that's nearly as big as a person.
All part of the fun.
 
If you really want to improve your shooting skills, then shoot both IDPA and USPSA. If you can be cognizant enough to shoot both games well, then you will be better prepared to handle a stressful SD situation. Having to shoot different disciplines under the pressure of a timer in a competition requires you to have your head on straight.

It has done wonders for me.

Fly
 
Idpa is lots of fun and had lots of practical and creative shooting scenarios but it does not require a match grade gun. Most factory line pistols will do. The same is true of uspsa as far as accuracy is concerned. You will find race guns at uspsa but they are tuned for speed more than accuracy. If you are looking for a discipline that includes speed but has a greater focus on accuracy than idpa or uspsa then there is nra action pistol (bianchi cup) which is more rigorous in the accuracy department (and more fun in my opinion). Steel challenge can also be more demanding on the accuracy side of things. Good luck!
 
Other than for the Bianchi Cup, the NRA has done a miserable job in promoting their only action pistol competition.
One would think that with the aging of the competition shooting population, the AP matches would be a no brainer.

There's lots of folks who are no longer able to do the run 'n gun games.
AP would be a natural home for those whose running, squatting, and fast manipulating of multiple magazines are a thing of the past.
If anyone can actually find a place that has an NRA Action Pistol Match, they are lucky.
For shame, NRA.

Where we used to live there was just one club that had AP matches.
And even when most folks preferred the USPSA type matches, the AP matches were always well attended.
Where we live now, it's literally hours to drive to one of the few that can be found.
I'm convinced that any club that offers and advertises an AP match would find an audience.
But it would take the NRA to get behind it and promote it country wide.
Something they seem to have no interest in.
Maybe it would take another organization willing to adopt it to see it happen.
One can hope.
 
from reading wiki, action pistol sounds like a fairly long course of fire, requiring some fancy equipment (steel plates, moving targets) that i suspect many clubs do not have, nor have room for them.

there are plenty of IDPA stages that can fit into a small or narrow pistol bay, are easy to set up and shoot, get the whole squad thru them in 30-45 min, and then either go to the next bay, or reset the stage to another stage. minimal equipment (target stands and targets) and props (barricades and barrels) and you can have a challenging stage for all.

AP is the same COF every time. boring.

there are plenty of events available if you want to go shooting, search and find some.
 
Steel Challenge doesn't take a lot of room but it takes a lot of plates.

AP is the same COF every time. boring.
Click to expand...

A common attitude for all the older shooting sports.
But that does not make them less challenging.
Bullseye, PPC, AP, SC, IHMSA have the same CoF every time. The entertaining part is they hardly ever have a 100% score.
 
IDPA, which i've been shooting for just over a year now, your score is your time.

AP, from what i've read, is 'did you hit the X or 10 or not'? yeah, there are time limits to complete each string of fire, but maybe they'd do well to borrow some scoring from others. assign time penalties to misses, like IDPA, and low time score wins, not just X count? they are very close to getting a 1920-192x score. then what?

with time scoring, there is no absolute lower limit, go faster, accurately, you win.

my 2 cents.
 
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