LowPower

Thanks guys, I've only been shooting a couple of years. I guess I was looking for reaffirmation/clarification. I shot a match where I started shooting "in the open" then just stepped and leaned to the left and shot around a wall 10 feet in front of me. Then I did a reload with retention going toward the wall at the right to shoot the remaining targets. I got a procedural for reloading "in the open" or not at position 3. I couldn't figure out when that magical bubble was when I could do the reload. Actually, I still don't get it. With 3.5.2, after I peak my head around the wall I can then do a reload with retention, but not if I am 10 feet from the wall. I guess gamers are gonna try to game. lol "next shooting position (the position from which he/she intends to engage the next target." is an interesting definition. Feet can't move once a reload is done in the next shooting position because it would cause the actual next shooting position. (I realize I should be practicing draws and calling shots to really get better, just wanted to know).

Perhaps I missed it in the rule book, but how big is a shooting position in IDPA? Is it arms length from cover and 3 foot circle from an unmarked spot? Is it whatever the match director says it is? Another way to state my confusion is: when does "in the open" stop and "a cover position" begin? Looking at rule 3.6.4.9 in the IDPA rulebook. Can I just run directly to the right from P7 and stop when I see T8? When am I at P8 position? Is it when I can see T8 or just before I can see T8 (1 foot before, 2 feet before I can see T8, etc)? I need to know when I can start my reload with retention. Must I be at least 5 feet from the wall by P8, how about 3 feet? If I run straight forward from P7 to the next wall, can I then reload with retention while moving along the wall to P8? Can I start reloading if moving along the wall and I'm 2 feet from the edge at P8? It seems fault lines and reload anytime make more sense to take away the subjective judging and results in more competitive equity.

I've only been shooting IDPA for a year and a half. I thought I was a decent shooter, just shooting at the "square" range about once a month for the past 15 years. Then I shot my first IDPA match and immediately realized that my shooting was not very good or realistic. I've since made significant progress shooting faster (recoil control, seeing more but only what I need to see, etc). I'd hate to think that I would have been stuck in my fantasy world of slow fire had I started shooting IDPA with the new point equal seconds rule. I think the spray and pray shooter will just spray a pray more rounds instead of "slowing down". Might even try to go faster and perhaps not really suffer in points down on most of the stages. Seem counter to the stated intention of the rule. Again, I'm so glad I starting IDPA when I did, so I didn't fall into that trap either. Most of all, I'm thankful for all the good shooters and forums like this in sharing their knowledge.

It helped me to think of gripping the gun tight in the back (top, bottom, left, right), instead of hard per se. Probably because I have the strength of a 14 year old girl. I eventually noticed the bottom of my palm slightly peeling off (not really, just less pressure), then my pinky would grip tighter at fire. I was gripping hard on top, just my pinky wasn't. To make matters worse I could keep the sights steady and press the trigger straight back when dry firing even when the grip wasn't tight on the bottom. Then I'd shoot live fire, or a match, and discovered that my pinkie would squeeze harder into the bottom of my palm. So now I think thumb-palm as a padded U-shaped plate and make sure there is equal-pressure behind the gun. I even had to re-learn the trigger press because it felt different after the correction. It's funny that the title is "pushing" the gun down, because I was actually pulling it down. Kind of like milking the gun, only just with the picky.