I’ve been thinking lately about a couple of posts on TFL and on another board and comparing comments I’ve read to what I’ve experienced in pistol competitions. I have competed off and on for the last eighteen years. A little IPSC and some Bowling Pin matches and a few of the Glock sponsored GSSF matches. The last several years I have mainly shot IDPA, a hundred or so matches including several state championships. There are many more experienced and many more skilled shooters, but what I offer here are just observations and personal opinions from what I have observed during matches. YMMV.
Any competition will make you a better shooter. I have never seen anyone who began shooting any type competition and stuck with it that did not improve, sometimes drastically.
IPSC vs. IDPA. This has been argued to death so I’ll quickly give my .02. They’re both great and so are the people at the matches. They’re both sports and should be treated as sports. IDPA is more relevant to real life defensive handgun use but it is not training. The best IPSC shooters are also the best IDPA shooters and the best IDPA shooters make great IPSC shooters. I recently read someone make the analogy that IPSC is like the varsity and IDPA is the jv. I disagree. My analogy would be IPSC is baseball and IDPA is softball. Both are similar but the rules are different. It’s easier for most people to play softball but the best players are very, very good. Now that IPSC has the Limited 10 and Production divisions it also becomes more accommodating to more shooters.
What’s the most reliable semi-auto pistol? A good question that has been debated many times and will never be answered completely. However, competition is a good proving ground that helps to show what works and what doesn’t. Pistols I can’t remember ever seeing malfunction at an IDPA match:
Browning Hi Power
Any Ruger
Any Sig Sauer
HK P7 or USP
Pistols I have seen malfunction at a match:
S&W autos
Walther P99 and the SW99 (.40 cals.)
Witness 9mm and .45
A Beretta 92 that jammed constantly and was bone dry (a little oil on the slide rails and it never missed another lick).
All of the above are commonly seen but are not the most well represented types used in IDPA (at least not at clubs in this area) so the sample size is pretty small. Both Custom Defensive Pistol and Enhanced Service Pistol divisions are dominated by the Model 1911 type pistol. In Stock Service Pistol division the Glock is the most used type. So, with a much larger sample size what can be determined about the reliability of Glocks and 1911’s? I have never seen a G26, G34, or a G35 malfunction. I have seen a G17 stovepipe shooting weakhand with underpowered reloads. I have seen a G19 have several failures to fire with a weak (aftermarket) striker spring. I have seen two G22’s have failures to extract that were found to have broken extractors. Also several .40 and .45 cal. models stovepipe and fail to feed with faulty reloads. 1911’s? Well, you see the most malfunctions with them, but you’re also seeing everything from parts guns to Les Baer and Wilson Combat models and most of them are shooting reloads. But, I have witnessed a Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special stovepipe with factory FMJ ammo. Some opinions I have formed:
No pistol is ever 100% reliable though some come close.
The majority of malfunctions are caused by bad ammo.
Modifications to a pistol should be thoroughly tested before depending on it, including a different magazine.
Sig Sauer P-series, HK’s, Beretta 92’s, Rugers, and Glocks (especially 9mm’s) are very good.
1911’s are usually accurate and reliable but a good many are neither.
1911’s and S&W autos need to be kept clean.
The bottom line to this overly long post: If you like to shoot, try shooting competition. Take a reliable gun and good ammo and go to a match. You will have fun, you’ll become a better shooter, and you’ll meet some great people.
Any competition will make you a better shooter. I have never seen anyone who began shooting any type competition and stuck with it that did not improve, sometimes drastically.
IPSC vs. IDPA. This has been argued to death so I’ll quickly give my .02. They’re both great and so are the people at the matches. They’re both sports and should be treated as sports. IDPA is more relevant to real life defensive handgun use but it is not training. The best IPSC shooters are also the best IDPA shooters and the best IDPA shooters make great IPSC shooters. I recently read someone make the analogy that IPSC is like the varsity and IDPA is the jv. I disagree. My analogy would be IPSC is baseball and IDPA is softball. Both are similar but the rules are different. It’s easier for most people to play softball but the best players are very, very good. Now that IPSC has the Limited 10 and Production divisions it also becomes more accommodating to more shooters.
What’s the most reliable semi-auto pistol? A good question that has been debated many times and will never be answered completely. However, competition is a good proving ground that helps to show what works and what doesn’t. Pistols I can’t remember ever seeing malfunction at an IDPA match:
Browning Hi Power
Any Ruger
Any Sig Sauer
HK P7 or USP
Pistols I have seen malfunction at a match:
S&W autos
Walther P99 and the SW99 (.40 cals.)
Witness 9mm and .45
A Beretta 92 that jammed constantly and was bone dry (a little oil on the slide rails and it never missed another lick).
All of the above are commonly seen but are not the most well represented types used in IDPA (at least not at clubs in this area) so the sample size is pretty small. Both Custom Defensive Pistol and Enhanced Service Pistol divisions are dominated by the Model 1911 type pistol. In Stock Service Pistol division the Glock is the most used type. So, with a much larger sample size what can be determined about the reliability of Glocks and 1911’s? I have never seen a G26, G34, or a G35 malfunction. I have seen a G17 stovepipe shooting weakhand with underpowered reloads. I have seen a G19 have several failures to fire with a weak (aftermarket) striker spring. I have seen two G22’s have failures to extract that were found to have broken extractors. Also several .40 and .45 cal. models stovepipe and fail to feed with faulty reloads. 1911’s? Well, you see the most malfunctions with them, but you’re also seeing everything from parts guns to Les Baer and Wilson Combat models and most of them are shooting reloads. But, I have witnessed a Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special stovepipe with factory FMJ ammo. Some opinions I have formed:
No pistol is ever 100% reliable though some come close.
The majority of malfunctions are caused by bad ammo.
Modifications to a pistol should be thoroughly tested before depending on it, including a different magazine.
Sig Sauer P-series, HK’s, Beretta 92’s, Rugers, and Glocks (especially 9mm’s) are very good.
1911’s are usually accurate and reliable but a good many are neither.
1911’s and S&W autos need to be kept clean.
The bottom line to this overly long post: If you like to shoot, try shooting competition. Take a reliable gun and good ammo and go to a match. You will have fun, you’ll become a better shooter, and you’ll meet some great people.