The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - USPSA: First Impression & Possible Alternatives

benenglish · October 16, 2012, 09:05 AM

Assuming you're a pistol guy, you have several alternatives. Off the top of my head -

Conventional Pistol (aka bullseye) has already been mentioned. In a full 2700 match, you'll be called to the line to shoot 54 times over the course of the day. In truth, you'll spend most of your time walking downrange and back to score and repair targets but it still feels like you're spending an entire day shooting. You can start with a .22 and shoot just the first third of the match until you know if you like it or not. If you decide to go into it (nearly) whole hog, you only need two pistols (a .22 and a .45), a box to put them in, a scope to look at your target, and a few accessories. Like all shooting sports, it's expensive; however, it's not as ridiculously expensive as some and can be downright cheap in the beginning.

If you really want lots of shooting time and you can find a club that shoots Men's 50M Pistol under ISSF sanction, you get just one turn but you'll be shooting continuously for over an hour, up to 90 minutes. (Time limit is currently 2 hours but the rules change next year to 90 minutes, max, for 60 shots.) I don't know of a club in your state that regularly shoots that competition, though.

Pistol silhouette under IHMSA sanction is available in several places in Texas and the amount of shooting you do on a match day is pretty much up to you. If you want more trigger time, just shoot a different pistol. IHMSA has far too many pistol categories (that's a discussion for another day) which means it's possible to stay on the line, shooting, pretty much all day at most silhouette matches just by switching guns. Actually, you don't even have to switch guns. In at least 3 of the categories offered by IHMSA (Production Standing, Revolver, and Field Pistol) a quality revolver like a Freedom Arms is fully competitive. 120 rounds from a magnum revolver over the course of a couple of hours of continuous shooting is about all the fun I'd care to have in a day; ymmv.

It seems to me you have options.

October 16, 2012, 09:05 AM	#5
benenglish Junior Member Join Date: August 12, 2012 Posts: 10	Assuming you're a pistol guy, you have several alternatives. Off the top of my head - Conventional Pistol (aka bullseye) has already been mentioned. In a full 2700 match, you'll be called to the line to shoot 54 times over the course of the day. In truth, you'll spend most of your time walking downrange and back to score and repair targets but it still feels like you're spending an entire day shooting. You can start with a .22 and shoot just the first third of the match until you know if you like it or not. If you decide to go into it (nearly) whole hog, you only need two pistols (a .22 and a .45), a box to put them in, a scope to look at your target, and a few accessories. Like all shooting sports, it's expensive; however, it's not as ridiculously expensive as some and can be downright cheap in the beginning. If you really want lots of shooting time and you can find a club that shoots Men's 50M Pistol under ISSF sanction, you get just one turn but you'll be shooting continuously for over an hour, up to 90 minutes. (Time limit is currently 2 hours but the rules change next year to 90 minutes, max, for 60 shots.) I don't know of a club in your state that regularly shoots that competition, though. Pistol silhouette under IHMSA sanction is available in several places in Texas and the amount of shooting you do on a match day is pretty much up to you. If you want more trigger time, just shoot a different pistol. IHMSA has far too many pistol categories (that's a discussion for another day) which means it's possible to stay on the line, shooting, pretty much all day at most silhouette matches just by switching guns. Actually, you don't even have to switch guns. In at least 3 of the categories offered by IHMSA (Production Standing, Revolver, and Field Pistol) a quality revolver like a Freedom Arms is fully competitive. 120 rounds from a magnum revolver over the course of a couple of hours of continuous shooting is about all the fun I'd care to have in a day; ymmv. It seems to me you have options.