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USPSA newb question


B_RAD

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Brad, you are reading me wrong Bro.  If you just want to go to a Level 2 and play and have fun? No, hang out at your Level 1 matches and get way more experience for the same $$$ under your belt. But? If you want to be the "Man on Fire" and crush all the stages, and have the top guns say "WTF just happened? Who was that guy?" And take overall with the next nearest hoser at 88%? Yea, then do what I recommended.....   i've seen tons of hosers show up at Area 2, thinking they were bad ash locally, and got squashed. Consider the match entry fee, travel, gas, food, hotels, etc.....  Either way, it's always DVC, but mostly C!

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14 minutes ago, 9x45 said:

Brad, you are reading me wrong Bro.  If you just want to go to a Level 2 and play and have fun? No, hang out at your Level 1 matches and get way more experience for the same $$$ under your belt. But? If you want to be the "Man on Fire" and crush all the stages, and have the top guns say "WTF just happened? Who was that guy?" And take overall with the next nearest hoser at 88%? Yea, then do what I recommended.....   i've seen tons of hosers show up at Area 2, thinking they were bad ash locally, and got squashed. Consider the match entry fee, travel, gas, food, hotels, etc.....  Either way, it's always DVC, but mostly C!

It's all good. I get what your saying. 

 

I don't know what DVC means?  Ha ha. Newb!

 

 

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1 hour ago, BeerBaron said:

 

to be fair he is already an experienced IDPA shooter and has shot 2 sanctioned IDPA matches and is a fully bonded IDPA safety officer.

 

I say rock out!

 

Yeah, but he hadn't told us that at the time.  

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Brad, look on your USPSA membership card....

 

The letters “DVC” are prominently displayed in the USPSA logo, and routinely encountered around the practical shooting world. The initials for the Latin words “Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas” (accuracy, power, speed), DVC was popularized by Jeff Cooper as shorthand for the goals of defensive shooting

 

USPSAlogo.jpg

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14 minutes ago, B_RAD said:

It's all good. I get what your saying. 

 

I don't know what DVC means?  Ha ha. Newb!

 

 

Funny thing. I have a STI DVC. 

 

Googled it. Yeah. Mostly C. 

 

To quote my hero, Ricky Bobby - "I wanna go fast"!

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On 2/22/2017 at 11:23 PM, wtturn said:

There is absolutely no reason to delay shooting big matches provided you are safe and your equipment is reliable and is division compliant.

Big matches are hugely motivating and will jumpstart your growth as a competitor.

I wish I had started sooner instead of being afraid of the big match Boogeyman.

The rules are all the same, scoring is the same, targets are the same.

Dive in head first.



Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
 

 

This seems to me to make the most sense..  In my humble view.. building up one match over another only increases distractions... It's "just a match" so to speak, treat it as such. 

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On 2/22/2017 at 9:38 PM, B_RAD said:

Why wouldn't I be ready?  You think I should shoot 36 local matches first?!  

 

I'll admit I'm new to USPSA but I'm a decent shooter.  

 

I'm totally willing to accept advice. 

I say go for it. I started last year and shot 1 IDPA match and then two club matches before our section match. I walked in unclassified and finished 30th of about 60 production. If you know the rules and can stage plan, you'll be fine. Level 2 stages are definitely tougher, but it's a good challenge. I shot area 5 and finished the year in B class. My local club has some heat so I learned along the way from some GMs and Ms. This year I'm swapping to single stack and starting over.  If you're confident, you should give it a try. 

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On 2/23/2017 at 7:59 PM, BeerBaron said:

 

to be fair he is already an experienced IDPA shooter and has shot 2 sanctioned IDPA matches and is a fully bonded IDPA safety officer.

 

I say rock out!

Me too.  I shot my first Level 2 as my 6th ever USPSA match.  I'd previously shot a couple of dozen IDPA club matches, and the IDPA Winter Nationals....

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On 2/23/2017 at 6:59 PM, BeerBaron said:

 

to be fair he is already an experienced IDPA shooter and has shot 2 sanctioned IDPA matches and is a fully bonded IDPA safety officer.

 

I say rock out!

 

Fully bonded?  What do you mean?

 

To answer the OP:  USPSA matches, in general, take a LOT more in terms of props, staff, and work than an IDPA match.  A number of sanctioned state-level IDPA matches have 10 stages or so, often with 2 stages per bay (and run 5 squads per day), and can fit them all into really small bays.  When the vast majority of stages are 18 rounds or less (technically, IDPA only limits to 18 rounds per string but most stages don't go over 18 rounds) and in USPSA, can go up to 32; when in IDPA they (in the past) can say exactly what you can and cannot shoot but in USPSA since it is "shoot them as you seem them" so you have to normally add many more props to hide targets; when in IDPA you have 2 staff per bay and two stages on the bay, so you only need 10 ROs for the entire match but in USPSA you normally need 20 minimum for a 10-stage match....

....it just takes a lot more in resources to make it work.

 

An 18-round IDPA stage can be made with two walls (one with a port), 9 target stands, and a start position.  (Matter of fact, I just shot an IDPA match in which one stage was a barricade, a wall, and four target stages.  16 rounds.)  In USPSA...that wouldn't work.

 

It costs more to put on a quality USPSA match with 10 good stages than it does a quality IDPA match with 10 good stages.

 

That being said, some sectional matches aren't that expensive----the Great Plains Sectional, for example, is only $85 for 10 stages.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just curious how most clubs handle new shooters. Not talking about totally new people to shooting, but new to USPSA.

 

Do most clubs do, or want, an orientation or are they OK with a new guy showing up? My local club wants me to watch 1 match before having me actually shoot. I'm ok with that since I'm a total unknown to them. But will other clubs also require this? I want to travel to some nearby matches at different clubs as time allows.

 

I'm hoping that once I have a match or 2 under my belt locally they'll be receptive to new blood.

 

 

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6 hours ago, Eureka1911 said:

Just curious how most clubs handle new shooters. Not talking about totally new people to shooting, but new to USPSA.

 

Do most clubs do, or want, an orientation or are they OK with a new guy showing up? My local club wants me to watch 1 match before having me actually shoot. I'm ok with that since I'm a total unknown to them. But will other clubs also require this? I want to travel to some nearby matches at different clubs as time allows.

 

I'm hoping that once I have a match or 2 under my belt locally they'll be receptive to new blood.

 

 

 

I'm still crazy green... and this was the course I took I went out to a match and watched. Introduced myself to a few people and they quickly set out to give me the "ins & out" of rules and etiquette (pasting, scoring, teardown) and I listened and took part. So when I showed up at the next match to shoot, I felt much better about the whole understanding of the process, I still let the folks know that this was my first match to shoot and people seemed very understanding. 

 

Would it be the same at a level 2? Is a shooter expected to know the process?? 

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39 minutes ago, 90lxracer said:

 

I'm still crazy green... and this was the course I took I went out to a match and watched. Introduced myself to a few people and they quickly set out to give me the "ins & out" of rules and etiquette (pasting, scoring, teardown) and I listened and took part. So when I showed up at the next match to shoot, I felt much better about the whole understanding of the process, I still let the folks know that this was my first match to shoot and people seemed very understanding. 

 

Would it be the same at a level 2? Is a shooter expected to know the process?? 

At a level II you will be expected to fully understand the process. Staff generally has to turn and burn shooters to keep the match moving. Shooters need to do their part in it too. Be ready when you are up, plenty of mags, have a stage plan, know how your gun works, have good ammo, etc. you generally can't expect help from RO's like you do at locals as a new guy. 

  The worst I have seen is a babes with bullets clinic in conjunction with a state match. A ladies gun jammed and she looked at me and said I have no idea what to do. :)   Basically an entire squad of new shooters at a level II. Sorry, not the time or place for that.

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47 minutes ago, Sarge said:

At a level II you will be expected to fully understand the process. Staff generally has to turn and burn shooters to keep the match moving. Shooters need to do their part in it too. Be ready when you are up, plenty of mags, have a stage plan, know how your gun works, have good ammo, etc. you generally can't expect help from RO's like you do at locals as a new guy. 

  The worst I have seen is a babes with bullets clinic in conjunction with a state match. A ladies gun jammed and she looked at me and said I have no idea what to do. :)   Basically an entire squad of new shooters at a level II. Sorry, not the time or place for that.

 

That makes perfect sense, and I guess that was going out of the realm I was even thinking. In your context there, I completely agree.. thoe ladies weren't ready or able to compete. So maybe new people who are absolutely familiar with their chosen weapon may fall into the ready to compete, but may not be able to compete due to skill level. But again, I guess that's why there's the class structure. So, in my mind.. ready to compete is ; a solid understanding of the rules, and procedures, and given weapon. Where able to compete falls into having a chance to win your class. So a new person who is ready would be fine..and as I see it, wouldn't be a bad deal to go somewhere to see what it takes to shoot at a high level beyond a local club match. It could be an eye opener as to how to reset a goal structure. 

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FWIW, I am not a total newb, just an old rusty one. I shot a bunch of IPSC/steel when I was younger then drifted away from shooting for too long. When I last shot competition (nearly 25 years ago) I was a "B" class shooter.

 

I recently started back up and naturally gravitated to competitive practical shooting. I really have no issue with a club asking an unknown (to them) shooter to"get acquainted" before shooting. I've joined USPSA and I am looking forward to getting back into the flow again. I'm rusty, but getting back the shine pretty quickly!!. It will be fun to shoot a classifier to see where I am now!!

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I had some of my biggest "aha!" learning moments at Area or State level matches, early in my shooting. Wish I went sooner, instead of being turned off about entry fees or expectations. It really gave me a sense of what SHOULD be happening at a match, and I got to watch some of the best shoot, peruse the vendors tables and drool, and have a great bonding experience with fellow shooters.
Was I competitive? Heck no. Did I have fun? Heck YES!

 

Get to your bigger matches ASAP, and soak it in, and have fun. Some of the best $ I have spent outside of a shooting class, to further my understanding/ability.

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