[Jeff22]

I shoot both USPSA and IDPA fairly regularly and shoot PPC about once a year. USPSA and IDPA can be considered as shooting skill building exercises that have some training value and can be very entertaining. Any competitive event, of necessity, will not be able to duplicate the dynamics of a real gunfight.

But, depending upon the course of fire, there CAN be training value in the process, if you are shooting the IDPA classifier(s) or a USPSA classifier that measures basic marksmanship and gun-handling skills. USPSA and IDPA classifiers and most IDPA courses of fire are at least semi-realistic in the marksmanship challenges presented.

In such competitions I've always used whatever my duty gun was at the time. Currently I most often use a Glock 19 in CCP in IDPA matches and a Glock 22 in production class in USPSA matches.

I've been shooting USPSA since 1978 and IDPA since 2001. At the local level.

I particularly like the USPSA Classifiers and the IDPA Classifier match(s) as methods to test basic skills. Also, several of the local USPSA clubs have LOTS more steel and movers and bobbers and so forth than what we have available at the police range, so the courses of fire they use on match days are much more innovative that what we can do during in-service training at the PD.

You'll get out of it what you put into it. Be safe and have fun with it. At the very least, shooting in matches can show you which skills to need to practice more . . .

Many clubs are now on the web and some post the course descriptions for upcoming stages on their web site. If clubs near you do this, you'll find this to be very useful. I don't look at the courses of fire in advance to figure out a "game plan" on how to shoot the course, but rather to get an idea of what skills I might need to practice before the match. (practice strong hand only and weak hand only shooting to start with, and engaging multiple targets from behind high & low cover)

Also, some clubs are more practically oriented, and some have more members who shoot purely as a competitive activity (usually the USPSA shooters, BUT NOT ALWAYS) and by looking at posted courses of fire you can determine which orientation the club has and if the matches they run have any value for what you're trying to accomplish. (Sometimes I'll look at the posted courses for one of the local clubs and if three out of five stages are "run & gun" 32 round field courses [which don't fit in with my training goals very well] I'll just go do something else that day . . . )