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Old November 17, 2012, 03:42 AM   #351
Jeff22
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I witnessed an accidental discharge @ the last match

I shot in an indoor USPSA match at my local club last weekend.

One of the shooters had an accidental discharge. He's new to action type shooting, and got a little ahead of himself and was trying to move and release a magazine at the same time while his finger was in the trigger-guard, and he put a round into one of the prop walls used as part of the stage design.

This resulted in an instant match DQ. He was quite mortified. However, to his great credit, he had a good attitude about the whole event, took it as a learning experience, and stayed for the rest of the match and helped paste targets.

(I guess a few of the guys worked with him a little bit after the match was over. He also came to our informal club match on Tuesday night)

New shooters often try to go too fast before they're ready. Sometimes this results in an accidental discharge. In this case, there were no negative results because he had good muzzle discipline and kept pointed in down range, even though he did manage to shoot a wall . . .

(He was using 115 grn hollowpoint ammo in a Springfield XD. After some searching, his bullet was found lying on the floor. The hollow point cavity was plugged with particle board and the bullet did not expand or deform in any way)
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Old November 17, 2012, 07:27 PM   #352
Glenn E. Meyer
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I shoot my little Glock 26 reasonably well. Even made the far shots in an IDPA drill. Sweet little gun. I was competitive with the average run of shooters. Shot it for practice as compared to my full sized guns.
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Old December 2, 2012, 10:39 PM   #353
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Match malfunctions

I'm continually amazed at the number of malfunctions I see at matches. I shot Speed Steel at Tri-County Gun Club, Sherwood Oregon today. The 22s are always having problems. One guy was shooting really well, but having to clear his gun on maybe three out of five strings. Another guy shooting a 9mm decently had repeated FTE.

I'm feeling superior shooting my Glock 17 with store-bought ammo. The big risk factors seem to be 22s--they all seem prone to failure--and homebrew ammo.
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Old December 7, 2012, 09:15 PM   #354
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Wear sunscreen and bring a hat.
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Old March 2, 2013, 10:57 PM   #355
rocket305
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Take care of your leather shooting coat before a rainy match. I have watched my Hawkeye coat's sleeves crack and split as I was shooting at Camp Perry last August.
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Old April 22, 2013, 10:15 PM   #356
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I just shot the Surefire Texas Multigun (big 3 gun match) and boy was it a learning experience! I learned to expect the unexpected, and to plan for it. I learned that I do not practice in nearly enough unusual positions.

On the plus side, I did learn that regularly shooting matches with targets 350-500 yards makes shooting rifle at an average of 60 yards quite easy (even offhand) and taking headshots at 40 yards is a piece of cake
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Old April 23, 2013, 04:38 AM   #357
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Learned

I had not shot a 2700 Bullseye match in years. I went to one a few weeks ago.
Ha. Never go with a load/sight combination that you have not sighted in together at 50 yards. Never go with an old reflex sight that you know has rheostat problems.
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Old April 23, 2013, 07:25 PM   #358
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I haven't shot a USPSA match in over a year. It wasn't pretty! At least one mike on every stage.
Oh yeah, I almost DQ'ed also.
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Old October 11, 2013, 05:51 AM   #359
Jeff22
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IDPA classifier

I shot the IDPA classifier twice this year.

In May I shot it with a Smith & Wesson M&P in .40 cal and did pretty well.

In July (on a very hot day) I shot it with a Glock 22 (Gen III) in .40 cal and did NOT do pretty well. To be specific, I was erratic on stage III again. Not catastrophic, but still disappointing.

I absolutely have to practice more shooting at distance on multiple targets from behind cover.
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Old October 11, 2013, 09:42 AM   #360
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F-Class. The most important thing I have gained is-- Your shooting against yourself. Don't worry what the guy next to you is doing. If you can get that thought in your head the stress,pressure disapear and the fun begins. Take your time and don't just reload and shoot again. LOOK at where your last shot went and ask yourself why. Learn from each shot. 5 sight in shot's can tell you a lot if you look at them.
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Old October 11, 2013, 12:19 PM   #361
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Weigh your gun and chrono your factory ammo.

Shot an IDPA state championship last weekend. I knew in advance that my ammo probably wouldn't make chrono, but it was all that I could find. What disgusts me is that this was American Eagle factory .38 Special. IDPA reduced the power factor for Stock Service Revolver (SSR) division down to a ridiculous 105,000 simply because most factory .38 couldn't reach the required 125,000. I was appalled to discover that AE .38 only made 97,000. They really should title the ammo "Perfect for little girls."

Additionally, I never weighed my revolver because it is a bone-stock S&W 686 (with the exception of having Pachmeyr grips on it) and I assumed that I was well below the division maximum weight. Turns out that the gun is already close to the max in stock form, and the Pachmeyrs put it over. I missed making legal weight by 1/10th of an ounce. I knew I was going to have problems with ammo, but I never expected to have a weight issue with the gun. But I assumed, so that is my bad.

So, don't assume your gear is legal. Verify!
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Old October 11, 2013, 06:30 PM   #362
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make sure your ammo makes the power factor

I shot in the state IDPA match using a Glock 19 and Federal M882 GI spec 9mm ammo.

I shot in the state USPSA match using a Glock 35 and GECO .40 cal ammo that I got from weapons world.

In both cases, the guns easily made power factor. I always use the GI spec if shooting a 9mm in a classifier match or a state match. I had not used any GECO ammo before, but I was quite impressed. It was loaded hot and held a tight group.
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Old October 12, 2013, 06:26 AM   #363
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Started shooting highpower service rifle this year, learned a few things along the way.

Take Advil and antacids...just in case. You never know you might get a headache or heartburn and that alone could wreak havoc on your shooting.

Have plenty of water and food on hand on hand.

A comfy chair can make all the difference in the world at long matches.

Never underestimate any of the other competitors, especially a 12 year old girl.

Most importantly....HAVE FUN. I'm not saying to not take the matches seriously, but remember why you started doing this in the first place...it was fun. Don't lose sight of that.
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Old October 13, 2013, 12:47 PM   #364
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Shot my latest IDPA match last week (ESP with an STI Eagle) and have to keep re-learning the same simple lesson, smooth is fast. On the third stage I got nailed with a procedural for not finishing my reload prior to advancing to the next shooting position. (Damn new rule is going to take some getting used to!) Never the less, I then felt the need to "make up" for the procedural and went too fast. Smooth went out the window resulting in more points down over the following stages. I would have been better off putting the procedural behind me and shooting at my pace. The reduced times didn't make up for the points down.

Smooth is fast...
Smooth is fast...
Smooth is fast...
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Old October 13, 2013, 06:53 PM   #365
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Name one thing you learned at your last match...

Don't throw stones at a guy who carries a machine gun.
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Old January 9, 2014, 08:02 AM   #366
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What I learned in my last match

IR50/50 22BR match (my first) - 1.) If given the chance to warmup or practice before the match, use your chosen match ammo, not some bargain brand. This allows you to judge the wind conditions and make final optics adjustments (if any) BEFORE the match begins. 2.) Zero your scope in dead calm conditions and then leave it alone. Just alter the aim point to compensate for wind. If you zero it in the wind, it will be off when the wind stops or shifts. 3.) If your rifle likes to have 10 shots thru it to warm up and settle down, don't try to shot the bulls for score after 5 (shot four 9's in the first five bulls !@#$%^&*). 4.) If the course of fire allows you 20min to shoot, then use all the time. Don't rush, no matter if you are the last shooter on the line. 5.) Always verify that you are aiming at your tgt before you press the trigger. 6.) A stable rest is better than a loose/shaky rest. Fix it before the match. 7.) When shooting indoors or in dead calm conditions, a battery powered fan may?? reduce the heat mirage in front of your scope. We shot from a heated building thru little plexiglass window ports onto outdoor tgts. The mirage from heat escaping the building thru the ports as well as from your bbl was an interesting challenge.

IPSC/USPSA - Aim fast, shoot slow. A slow "A" is better than a fast miss. Friends don't let friends carry mouseguns.

ARA 22 BR (my 1st time) - 1.) No matter how good your Winchester model 52 shoots, it is still 1932 technology and is not in any way close to competitive in modern BR competition. 2.) Have fun, it is still a game. 3.) Do not switch ammo in the middle of the match. Those small differences seem to get magnified. 4.) Wind flags? What are those for?? lol 5.) The affects from wind that is from right to left is different than when it is from left to right. 6.) When the wind is from left to right close to the bench and from right to left at the tgt, the affects are not cancelled out. 7.) Ammo, rifle, trigger, bbl, stock, optics, rest, wind, temp, humidity, shooter, all these affect the precision and accuracy of the total package. Some are controlled before the event and some during the event and some are not within your control. Deal with each to the best of your ability and at the appropriate time. i.e. On match day your choice of scope is no longer a variable. It becomes a fixed component. But you can still swap ammo or manage the shooter on match day. 8.) Just like racing cars/motorcycles, martial arts, or other forms of human competition, no matter how physical it may appear, competition is usually 90% mental and 10% physical. So the use of the mass between your ears may be the most critical variable of all. When the green flag drops, slow everything down and execute. You have to be slow to go fast (or score well). This applies just as much to road racing as it does to IPSC or BR shooting.

Finally, write down what you learn each time. You might be surprised how much is forgotten after a few days.

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Old January 9, 2014, 02:12 PM   #367
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Quote:
Finally, write down what you learn each time. You might be surprised how much is forgotten after a few days.
Amen!
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Old February 4, 2014, 12:41 AM   #368
The Rukh
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Name one thing you learned at your last match...

that someone wanted my Blade-Tech holster more than I did. Now I have to buy a new one.
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Old February 4, 2014, 09:39 AM   #369
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to tell the truth not a derned thing. it was a CMP shoot and they tend to cater to the fellers that aren't used to timed drills. many of the things they taught were awkward and difficult and though I'm sure they all have a really good reason for teaching that method, I still reverted back to my own way of doing things.
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Old February 4, 2014, 02:35 PM   #370
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"that someone wanted my Blade-Tech holster more than I did. Now I have to buy a new one."

That sucks, You would like to think that the gun crowd would be the more honest folks. I had someone mess with the sights on my rifle once.
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Old February 4, 2014, 03:15 PM   #371
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(IDPA)
I learned by watching another person - DON'T DROP YOUR REVOLVER!

Also to be more aggressive around corners. I tend to baby toe around them. Its a game I can go around them faster and not be shot.
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Old February 5, 2014, 10:33 PM   #372
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Just a Novice

(IDPA)

When shooting the first stage, slow down!

My front sight - the red ramp - looks completely different in full sun than it does under a covered range. For whatever reason, I tend to point it upward when I can actually see it as red - instead of just a dark silhouette. (Smith revolver) I get used to it real quick - in just a few rounds. Or in just a few missed shots - however you want to look at it
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Old February 9, 2014, 09:26 PM   #373
Jim Watson
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IDPA and USPSA
When the years mount up, you may not be as quick or sharp sighted as you used to be. Take the conservative approach and get your hits in, don't take the high risk option to save a little time and blow a stage.
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Old March 4, 2014, 04:27 AM   #374
Reinz
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That when shooting from cover many get called and penalized for "not enough cover". But when Jimmy Fast Gun does the exact same thing,he does not get penalized!

Subjective calls should NEVER be incurred as penalties in ANY competition.
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Old March 31, 2014, 02:36 PM   #375
Glenn E. Meyer
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Eye Protection!!

We were shooting a match yesterday and a round came back and hit a gentleman square in the safety glasses.

I once caught a fragment that slit open my chin badly.

Also, don't shoot crappy.
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