Sidearms & Scatterguns Any IDPA, IPSC, USPSA, etc pistol shooters around?

[madmikes262]

That was a lot of good info.Now it brings up a couple of questions.First of all Nine hotel mentioned a Outlaw match,can someone describe that.Ive shot a couple of IDPA matches shooting a CZ75 B sa or kimber 1911 custom tactical in 45.The only problems Ive had were a couple of close calls with the 180 rule.Cuase when I reload I bring the gun close to my chest in my work space and rotate the gun to be able to reach the mag release with my thumb.Im trying to perfect that.

 

[davsco]

That was a lot of good info.Now it brings up a couple of questions.First of all Nine hotel mentioned a Outlaw match,can someone describe that.Ive shot a couple of IDPA matches shooting a CZ75 B sa or kimber 1911 custom tactical in 45.The only problems Ive had were a couple of close calls with the 180 rule.Cuase when I reload I bring the gun close to my chest in my work space and rotate the gun to be able to reach the mag release with my thumb.Im trying to perfect that.

outlaw are just matches with no specific overall governing body (so pretty much not idpa or uspsa matches). local clubs have lots of their own matches, such as plate racks, dueling trees, falling steel and even idpa/uspsa hybrids. a lot if not most 3 gun matches don't have a sanctioning body (such as 3 gun nation) and are just run under that club's rules.

and as far as 180 and reloading, definitely need to pay attention to that. when walking thru the stages before you shoot them, figure out when/where you will be reloading and if you will be naturally pointing downrange or will need to make an adjustment. for example, for a right-handed handgun shooter, you generally want to work a stage left to right so when you reload, you gun is naturally pointing downrange. if you for some reason shoot it right to left, you will need to remember to consciously keep the gun pointed downrange while reloading and that can be a little awkward, but doable.

 

[Alphatreedog]

This is a good write-up. Any reason you'd go Air rifle over .22lr? Compared to my 9mm the. 22lr feels like a peashooter and ammo is available again.

Unless you are shooting your actual pistol , the one you compete with I personally would not shoot .22 or air pistil with one exception . Running airsoft to muacle memory stance approach and transiztion on stages . My opinion is get all the time you can with the platform you shoot . Trigger memory , grip memory , stance , drawstroke , all of it . Everything is a chance to train . Why not i clude everything is a chance to train and muscle memory . Even dry fire is with the platform that you use .
Just my two cents . Everyone develops their own tqeeks and training mantras . Rob Latham is a big proponent of squeeze the gun for all you've got . Doug Koenig believes in grip tension . Just enough to get the job done . Both are phenomenal shooters with legendary win records and both have their opinions and styles .
The real key is to try xifferent styles and see what works for you . Attempt to prove rather than disprove and you will find your groove .

 

[steve123]

Unless you are shooting your actual pistol , the one you compete with I personally would not shoot .22 or air pistil with one exception . Running airsoft to muacle memory stance approach and transiztion on stages . My opinion is get all the time you can with the platform you shoot . Trigger memory , grip memory , stance , drawstroke , all of it . Everything is a chance to train . Why not i clude everything is a chance to train and muscle memory . Even dry fire is with the platform that you use .
Just my two cents . Everyone develops their own tqeeks and training mantras . Rob Latham is a big proponent of squeeze the gun for all you've got . Doug Koenig believes in grip tension . Just enough to get the job done . Both are phenomenal shooters with legendary win records and both have their opinions and styles .
The real key is to try xifferent styles and see what works for you . Attempt to prove rather than disprove and you will find your groove .

My premise is;

To build a form base by shooting a pistol the correct way, treating speed, mag changes, drawing, etc, for the time being, as secondary acts. Concentrating first and foremost on accuracy as paramount importance. Once a person has that down then everything else can follow. The absolute best way to do that is "by doing", right?! And this is aimed mostly at a novice pistol shooter.

So in other words let's look at these two scenarios.

One guy, a novice shooter with a low ability level, starts shooting his air pistol every day in his yard for some practice, and in a matter of weeks he can hit head shots with it at 20Y like it's nothing. He goes to a combat pistol match with a fresh confidence, there's plenty to learn and improve upon, but he's figured out that hitting A's isn't hard anymore.

Another guy with the same level of experience hasn't shot his combat pistol in weeks or months, goes to a match and hits a few A's, about half C's and about half D's, hits hostages, hits hardcover, misses most of the steel, etc. Why??? he has bad form, he pulls the pistol in the direction of his flinch, is jerking the trigger instead of pressing while following through and not tracking/concentrating on the front sight, etc. He was going along at a pace the C shooters were except he's expended twice the amount of ammo necessary.

We've all seen it in every match, the D shooters that never advance, they never developed correct form to begin with, and many never will, going about it the way they have been for however many years.

Backing up, and repeating myself, I have zero doubt I would have been a more precise pistol shooter had I started with an air pistol or at least supplemented with one early on in my ventures with a pistol. Actually I had to retrain and refine a few things in my form shooting my combat pistols.....

Also, and most will laugh at this, A guy asked me after I won a long range series for the second year in row what my secret was, my reply was, I practice with my PCP air rifles in my yard, you should have seen the expression on his face, lol, he didn't know whether I was teasing him or not, I assured him I wasn't.
Years before, I had learned form, follow through, wind, etc, and that was before I ever shot long range with a centerfire, the two disciplines crossed over. That's not to say I didn't practice with my long range rifle once I got into it, sure I did.

Doing...