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Advice For First Match


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So by chance my schedule had open up and I decided to enter an all classifier in Wisconsin this Sunday, 4/23. This will be my first match and I know not to go faster then what I can safely shoot. I will be focused on safety, USPSA rules and having a good time. I'm looking for some words of wisdom and anything I should know going into this. At this range there is a mandatory help setting the courses up in the morning. Also is there any specific ammunition I need, all I know isI will be shooting 124gr since that is what I use for work. Ill be shooting in limited with a g17 if it matters.

Also how long does it take to get a USPSA membership number so score could be recorded?

 

Thanks for any help.

Edited by crispyrice
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First match?  Don't get DQ'd and you've done well.  I wouldn't even think about what my score is on the first match.  Come in last on purpose if that's what it takes.  Then you can only go up!  Classifiers are a good place to start for sure.  You won't be moving and grooving much and there won't be a lot of options about how to "game" the courses.  You'll be shooting minor, so pretty much any factory ammo would work.

If you get it in your head that you are just going to focus on getting hits and not even pay attention to time, you'll do fine.  

Know your equipment is ready.  The second you finish a stage, go reload those mags to full.  Don't touch the gun until you are on the line and they tell you to.

 

You're going to have fun!

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Bring a hat & gloves for setting props/steel.   Warm clothes if it's cold (usually cold in the a.m.)

 

Bring beverage/snacks to keep your energy levels up.

 

Bring too much ammo (way too much) - make sure you've plunked it all in your gun's

chamber prior to the match.

 

Don't change anything right before the match that you haven't tested out.

 

Make sure the gun.mags are clean and gun is well lubricated (try Brian's Slide Glide - it's super).

 

Depending on the club, bring along something to sit on, comfortably - and then

do NOT sit on it all day - paste and set steel, shoot, get ready to shoot, and

the sit.

 

Bring bandaids.

 

Camera to record yourself?

 

 

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2 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

Bring a hat & gloves for setting props/steel.   Warm clothes if it's cold (usually cold in the a.m.)

 

Bring beverage/snacks to keep your energy levels up.

 

Bring too much ammo (way too much) - make sure you've plunked it all in your gun's

chamber prior to the match.

 

Don't change anything right before the match that you haven't tested out.

 

Make sure the gun.mags are clean and gun is well lubricated (try Brian's Slide Glide - it's super).

 

Depending on the club, bring along something to sit on, comfortably - and then

do NOT sit on it all day - paste and set steel, shoot, get ready to shoot, and

the sit.

 

Bring bandaids.

 

Camera to record yourself?

 

 

 

Jack, you forgot a few things.

 

Go Slow, Be Safe.

Have Fun. 

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I just shot my first match at age 64 did not get DQ  and finished 70th out of 88 shooters. Jack is right on it.  snacks, water water water . Listen to the RO keep your finger out of the trigger be safe and have fun. by the way help past and set. watch the good shooters and ask questions.

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at each stage let them know you're new and they'll let you go last.  pay attention to what the shooters in front of you are doing, what they shoot from where, when they reload, etc.  classifiers are generally pretty small and simple, so no massive stage planning or movement, just focus on getting good hits.  download the mags on your belt by one if that makes it easier to do reloads for your glock.  be safe and have fun.

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 download the mags on your belt by one if that makes it easier to do reloads for your glock.  be safe and have fun.


Can you explain what you mean here?

I'm following this thread too. Trying to learn as much as I can before my first match.


Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

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29 minutes ago, anonymouscuban said:

 

 


Can you explain what you mean here?

I'm following this thread too. Trying to learn as much as I can before my first match.


Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 

 

Magazines can be hard to seat when all the way full. Many people download the mags on their belt to make them seat easier on a closed slide.

Edited by js1130146
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Thanks for the advice Ill make sure I have everything ready and be helping set up the stages between shooters. The only camera I have would be a go pro but that dosnt seem like it will capture enough to catch any mistakes I make.

 

I know that finger in the trigger guard is the biggest thing so for clarification the only time my finger should be on trigger is while the sights are on target? what about during the draw can I start prepping the trigger while I'm presenting to the target?

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1 hour ago, crispyrice said:

I know that finger in the trigger guard is the biggest thing so for clarification the only time my finger should be on trigger is while the sights are on target? what about during the draw can I start prepping the trigger while I'm presenting to the target?

as you're pushing out to the target, finger can be prepping on trigger, but that is when the gun is horizontal and pointed towards a target.  until that point, finger clearly and visibly outside the trigger guard.  for me, that means finger straight out and indexed along the slide.

 

the other biggie is the 180 degree rule, which indexes off of the downrange berm.  basically just keep your muzzle pointed generally downrange and you will be fine.  the easy way to get a dq is to (as a right hander) run from right to left and do a reload, so don't do that, as your gun will naturally point uprange.  always work a stage from left to right if possible so that your reload will have your gun pointed generally downrange.

 

don't forget your front sight, go slow and be accurate and safe your first time out, let them know at each stage you're new, and have fun.  oh, and holstering is not a timed or speed event.  make sure your holster is free of any clothing or pull tabs, and LOOK your gun into the holster slowly.

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24 minutes ago, davsco said:

as you're pushing out to the target, finger can be prepping on trigger, but that is when the gun is horizontal and pointed towards a target.  until that point, finger clearly and visibly outside the trigger guard.  for me, that means finger straight out and indexed along the slide.

 

the other biggie is the 180 degree rule, which indexes off of the downrange berm.  basically just keep your muzzle pointed generally downrange and you will be fine.  the easy way to get a dq is to (as a right hander) run from right to left and do a reload, so don't do that, as your gun will naturally point uprange.  always work a stage from left to right if possible so that your reload will have your gun pointed generally downrange.

 

don't forget your front sight, go slow and be accurate and safe your first time out, let them know at each stage you're new, and have fun.  oh, and holstering is not a timed or speed event.  make sure your holster is free of any clothing or pull tabs, and LOOK your gun into the holster slowly.

 

Thanks for the clarification, it is an all classifier so it will be shooting from a box so moving will be limited. I'm going to be using my work gear so there will be no type a speed holstering with my level 3 lol

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2 hours ago, davsco said:

the other biggie is the 180 degree rule, which indexes off of the downrange berm.  basically just keep your muzzle pointed generally downrange and you will be fine.  the easy way to get a dq is to (as a right hander) run from right to left and do a reload, so don't do that, as your gun will naturally point uprange.  always work a stage from left to right if possible so that your reload will have your gun pointed generally downrange.

 

This is great advice and I hadn't thought about it. Being a right hander, it makes great sense to work left to right especially for reloads. Thanks for bringing that up!

 

My first match will be mid-May, so this thread has been great. I did go to a match at the first of this month, so I got a good feel for it. I helped paste and everything, so I felt more a part of what was happening.

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Good advice here. 

 

I shot my first one last week. 

 

Take food and water. You will want it. 

 

If they say 250 rounds take 500

 

don't be afraid to ask to be bumped down if your first. 

 

Go slow mentally. Your going to be slow physically anyway. 

 

Clean everything well before you go. I had zero malfunctions at the match and it was really nice. 

 

 

Last but def not least. DONT PULL THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU HAVE A GOOD SIGHT PICTURE!   You will be amazed how easy this is to forget.  Shoot, my first targets of the first stage I was shooting and forgot I even had a red dot on. Never even saw it!  Lol. 

 

 

And BTW:  HAVE FUN!!   Your not gonna win. 

Edited by calebj06
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Everything good has already been said. But just to reinforce things, take your time. I'm fairly new to this kind of thing and usually I don't even want to look at my scores after a match because I feel like I'm sooo baaaad that it would be counter productive to know the truth. But I will finally get up the nerve to take a peek. So far I've managed to avoid coming in last and usually there is at least one good shooter that gets DQed. As another poster has said when you are at the bottom you have no where to go but up. You will learn much about this sport at your first match. Just have fun!

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Thanks for all the advice I have most of my gear all together. planning on dry firing and cleaning everything spotless tonight. I talked a friend into coming to spectate since he doesn't want to shoot, so ill have him video me so I can see what needs work. My goal for tomorrow is just not to be DQ with a secondary goal of not being last lol. Looking forward to having fun, meeting people, and getting my feet wet. I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow.

 

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4 hours ago, crispyrice said:

Thanks for all the advice I have most of my gear all together. planning on dry firing and cleaning everything spotless tonight. I talked a friend into coming to spectate since he doesn't want to shoot, so ill have him video me so I can see what needs work. My goal for tomorrow is just not to be DQ with a secondary goal of not being last lol. Looking forward to having fun, meeting people, and getting my feet wet. I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow.

 

If you have someone that will record video for you, download clipshot from DAA. It will show yours split times and the total time for each stage..It's a pretty cool tool.

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Quick update I shot 24/58 overall and 4/23 in my division. I think I did okay for my first event like this. When i figure out how to post practiscore on here and get my videos all uploaded I will post back.

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Great first match..
Ive got a few dozen matches under my belt and though I'de share a few lessons I'm still learning the hard way..

It is a mental game - stressful practice will help with mechanics AND stress due to mental errors.
During walk-thoughts and pasting develop a simple plan for mag changes and movement that fits your abilities. keep it simple.
Develop a personal routine for when you are on-deck to relax and calm your mind. Too much tension creates problems.
Really try to slow down on the first stage - otherwise the adrenaline is gonna pull the trigger before you are on target. A bad first stage can distract you later.
Try to slow down on the first target of each stage after that - and naturally speed up.
Don't look at the moving targets (stars/poppers/plate racks)  - stay on your front sight until you have to move. If u start missing, think slow down, front sight, squeeze.
Don't go immediately after a top shooter if you can help it - you'll feel the need to compete and you'll try go too fast.

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I know you already shot this past weekend and it sounds like you did pretty darn well!  However, I would also check out the 7 page thread in the intro section on tips for shooting matches. There is some awesome advice in there to write down and take note of. 

Edited by R1_Demon
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Here is the breakdown idk if there was an easier way to do this lol

 

                                                   #     %    Stg Points       pts    HF          Time      Class          Categories                                  PF    A    B   C  D  M NPM NS 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stage 1 El Strong & 21 43.15 51.7774 103 2.3878 34.76 Limited X ["Law Enforcement"] MINOR   17 2 4 0 1 0 1
Stage 2 Big Barricad 38 26.07 18.2459 59 2.0646 18.89 Limited X ["Law Enforcement"] MINOR   10 2 1 0 1 0 1
Stage 3 Fluffy's Rev 33 49.18 19.6731 40 5.4496 7.34 Limited X ["Law Enforcement"] MINOR   8 0 0 0 0 0 0
Stage 4 Steely Speed 28 53.16 15.9494 30 3.7975 7.9 Limited X ["Law Enforcement"] MINOR   6 0 0 0 0 0 0
Stage 5 Both Sides N 31 30.04 27.0317 70 1.9598 20.41 Limited X ["Law Enforcement"] MINOR   11 0 5 0 2 0 1
Stage 6 Tight Squeez 18 51.48 30.8894 60 4.3988 13.64 Limited X ["Law Enforcement"] MINOR   12 0 0 0 0 0 0
 
 
 
Edited by crispyrice
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