WaJim

I guess Ill never learn... Today we had a pendulum swinging Texas Star stage. Resetting this contraption was difficult and a 2 to 3 man deal. It was cool though. I helped set it up a couple times today then was talking to a buddy of mine, (topic forgotten)..And I see the other guys struggling with resetting this Star. So I run up to help. On the way past a bench I drop the full mag I had in my hand...........I was sitting so I had it out of my back pocket. I help with the set up and another shooter walks up to me @ the Star and says... "This your mag? It was on a Safe Bench..." He saved my bacon...again.

Would he not then get a procedural for the slide not locking back between the two strings? IIRC an El Pres is slidelock reload.

Who is the guy in the Jerry M costume?....that's epic. Jerry Miculek for President 2016 Dude, he looks like he could be your uncle.....

Huh?????? Lucy,,,,,,,,,, you got some 'splaining to dooooooo. I even Googlied "IDOL"

Didn't know you could do that... I wouldn't do that unless you are trying to get people pissed off at you. Even if it's legal to do, people will get frustrated especially at local matches. I seriously doubt anyone would be pissed at the shooter once it was explained to them. Quite the opposite I'm sure...I believe they would be pissed at the RO for being difficult. Me either, especially when the new shooter starts facing up-range second up on the first stage he's ever shot in competition? I'd vote he see a few shooters go before hes up.....its a safety thing. And to the OP.......I been at this game a couple years, relative newbie. The mind going blank at the beep wont disappear soon. I still have my stages where all plans go out the window. Wait till you get your first Malf. or miss a mag reload. That's when the fun begins. And remember we've all been the newbie. Be safe, shoot at your skill level and speed and accuracy will come. No pressure.

Overall I can say I improved a good bit from match 1 to match 2, it just didn't show up in final position because of mental errors on a couple of stages that resulted in procedurals for targets that I didn't even engage... Lesson learned, and I'll be more prepared next time so that I can arrive and focus on the task at hand instead of having several other things in the back of my mind. Funny enough... coming in near the bottom makes it even more fun, because it gives me even more focus on improving. I'm in the same boat...its frustrating to miss hidden targets. I shoot linearly...which means I'll take them from one point to another shooting as I go. I can't remember to do like the A shooter where they can pick up hidden targets after shooting a plate rack and a popper array working forward then backward... Its definitely not the fastest way to shoot a stage but FTE hurts total stage points so much I have to do/shoot what works for me. Shoot at your level. Watch the great shooters and learn but missing targets isnt an option. The speed and memory will come naturally...so they tell me Set a goal...in all reality its you vs the course...not the other shooters. My goal last year was to place at or above 50% and shoot 'C' classifiers.

Dupe

Since its a hate on .380 loading 9 story thread..... Saw a guy run a couple mags of .380 through his 9mm during a Club IDPA match. First stage. Had to rack every round. Tap rack drills a plenty. I couldn't beleive it actually fired most of the rounds and they all had this weird pop noise. According to him his wife loaded his range bag.......yeah right. Come to think of it I don't think hes been back since.

There may not be an I in Team but there certainly is a Me in Team. So the phrase is a non sequitur.

Yes it was clearly marked. ....I dropped the bag on the table as I went past it. It was 5 feet in the bay along the left side but the bay was 50 feet or probably more deep. My Bag was to the right but in front of the sign....it was a little moldy but clearly marked Safe Area No Ammo.

Ok ive been thinking about this since it happened. I realize now that the DQ doesn't happen unless I handled ammo at the Area. I was extremely lucky that I stowed both partial mags in my back pockets and helped tape the remainder shooters. That was all because the bay was so deep otherwise I would have gone back to my bag with partial mags in my hand to download all my ammo or toss the partial mags in the bag it was my last stage.......The infraction would have occurred if I picked the bag off the table with mags still in hand or just the act of tossing the mags in. I was too busy saying farewell to the other shooters to retrieve the mags from my pockets and hadn't before I noticed where the bag was. I was lucky. How many times after you shoot a stage do you go back to your bag with a mag in your hand........... I'd say Pretty much 100%.

I take the gun in a Gun rug, leaving my range bag either in the bay I'm starting in or my truck. I said I knew 99% of the rules....maybe this is a Range rule exclusively and not an IDPA, USPSA, rule????? I'm here to learn. 10.5.12 I guess it's in the book......But Shooters with more years under their belt have told me different.

I take the gun in a Gun rug, leaving my range bag either in the bay I'm starting in or my truck. I said I knew 99% of the rules....maybe this is a Range rule exclusively and not an IDPA, USPSA, rule????? I'm here to learn.

So I drove/rode 150 miles one way yesterday to shoot a USPSA match at a range I had never been to before. I'm an all about the rules guy and know 99 % of the important ones. I have a Gun Rug and never take ammo to a Safe Area in a mag in my pocket or range bag. I also know better than placing my range bag during a match on a Safe Area bench. So I get to this new to me Range yesterday do the important early walk throughs trying to familiarize myself with all the stages..... The ALL important (to me) Classifier is Stage Bay #2 Strong Hand Weak Hand El Pres. Welp, this is my second year USPSA and first shooting Major PF Limited. Dammitt,,,,, a weak hand Classifier??? I want my Pro Custom 9.........Ill be lucky to get all shots on paper. Its ok though, because I've got 5 stages to get my confidence up....more trigger time with the 40. So first stage for me is bay #3. Roll call shooting order and order for the match is called out....I'm the 6 th shooter. Great! The match goes well I shoot at and above my usual / normal performance am having a great time as usual. All with this Classifier, me the first shooter in the back of my mind. Not nervous but I want to shoot it and possibly move up in class. Heck I already know what HF I need to make this happen. I shoot Bay 1 which was an interesting stage that included shooting strong hand only carrying a bowling ball in the weak...Right on ...I needed that. I was second shooter. After I shot I started peeking at the Classifier......without shirking taping dutys of course. Well my Squad finishes Bay1 and I'm up for My Classifier I'm First Shooter so I round the corner and drop my bag on the first available dry flat table I see. Bays are deep, I'm up, I have plenty of Ammo, El Pres isn't a mystery to me.....lets go. I shoot and get the score HF I need. Great....woo hoo for me. I of course help shoot/tape the rest of the Squad. We finish, everyone is saying their farewells etc and I go to retrieve my bag. Ohhhhh Heeeeellll Noooooooo. Its on a Safe Area table. After a very light scolding from a Range owner from another Range that I frequent about rules I explained myself....and was let go with just the explanation. Man, I felt small. Sooooooooo Very close to a DQ and would have taken it graciously. Dumb Move and I know better.

Most definitely better than zeroing the stage or running out of ammo. If you consider not running out of ammo as an issue and in hindsight knowing you got a 2.22 HF you can figure how you came out. You actually could have added 27 seconds to your stage time just to shoot those 4 plates and come out with a better hit factor. So if you think you would've taken more than 27 seconds to hit the four steel you made the right decision, otherwise you would've been better to shoot them. Plus, you can only truly zero a stage by accruing more penalty points than hit points. Just letting your stage time run out to infinity will get you closer and closer to zeroing a stage but will never actually result in a zero. It would have taken me waaaaaay longer than 27 seconds.....my luck doesn't run that deep. Remember after I hit the first plate that sucker started moving. Well, all bets are off on me at 25 yards hitting another plate purposely...it'd be all luck from then on.

You got off easy. Leaving 4 plates should hit you with 40 penalty points for misses. On top of that you give up 20 more points by not getting the 5 per steel. A total swing of 60 points versus the alternative. At some level of time that is worth it, but that's a lot of time. My HF was 2.22 so I'm sure I got the penaltys.....better than Zeroing the stage. I'm a High D Shooter.

AlphaCharis. I was next to last on that stage in my squad....I was shooting with a couple of M's and at least one GM. They were not having fun. I saw a couple other guys that are better shot than I stand and dump ammo. So I took a bit of NickBlasta's advice when we talked about Base Ball Standards last year. I shot the two poppers and fired 6 rounds at the star so I wouldnt get a FTE and moved on. I left 4 plates on the Star and gladly took the 20 point penalty. Look at my score in Limited....no way I would have done that well on that stage dumping 4 mags at the Star wasting a full minute of time.......I cant shoot that far above my ability. I'd have probably Zeroed the stage. That and I wouldn't have had enough ammo to finish the match.

I was in your squad, Revolver Shooter, hope everything is back to normal. I can tell you, you looked to be in severe pain. We all learned a lesson that day. Yea everything is back to normal...I don't think I have any permanent damage... Well, there are those that would say that the act of shooting a match is a sign of brain damage......and your 'normal' is questionable.

Well a local Range that I frequent had their first USPSA match of the year yesterday. At the IDPA Match on Saturday I was told that the Ranges websight said that the match was on (it sometimes gets flooded) and it was going to be a low round count. I imagined this was possibly due to the amount of rain that was forecast for yesterday...we all know how well tape sticks etc....so it makes sense. I was happy it was on...I need Classifiers. Well I bring 250rds. I almost loaded my mags before I left my house but I figured I had more than enough. Drove 80 miles to the match. I show up yesterday morning to find that the match is approximately 80% steel. I'm ok with steel but as far as round count? We all know steel eats ammo. Aaaaaaaand ...........Stage 2 has a Texas Star at 25 yards and 2 poppers at 27. A friend of mine had a rangefinder. Well, I made it without running out. My Last stage I had 45 rds left....I had 2 plate racks and 7 paper targets left to shoot. I got in the car with 13 rds left in a mag. That will never happen again....Ill be the guy with a hundred more than I think I need.

Yeah well I've been at this for a couple years (2) and last night first stage unloaded on a barrel start I missed the magwell completely and watched a full mag go skittering across the floor. Wait till you don't seat the mag all the way...and it drops after the first shot. Although I was surprised.... Nuthin' surprises me anymore. Get used to the total goofs. They happen.

Awesome advice...thanks. Especially the small stand alone plates.

LOL, Yibomb , I'm new here too. I already shoot with NickBlasta......hes a gamer. I always do better after he's shot the stage.....i'm still learning. Didn't know he was into broomstick mausers though. That's cool! Where abouts in Wa. are you located??? There's a couple ranges still shooting in the rain. IIRC theres a Steel match this weekend at Renton Fish and Game.