DKorn

in my last match, there was a stage with some very wide transitions, at least compared to what I've shot before. As you can see in the video below, I lined up my feet to shoot the targets on the right, then shifted my feet to shoot the targets on the left. Naturally, this is extremely slow and inefficient, so I've been experimenting in dry fire to try to improve. What I'm trying to decide, and I'd like any suggestions, is where to line up my stance / NPA. Do you line up with the first target? The targets after the transition? Or somewhere in the middle? For me, a right handed shooter, it "feels" better to set up with my stance squared towards the right target for a left to right transition but somewhere in the middle for a right to left transition. I haven't had a chance to try it in live fire yet and I don't have a timer yet (I use a phone app for dry fire), so I don't know for sure which is actually faster. What works best for you?

I didn't think of breaking up the back right array (with the steel) and making it the same number of reloads but placed better.

This was an option, but our whole squad decided that it wasn't worth it because it would mean having to run all the way up the right side. It'd probably also add a standing reload since there would be 5 targets plus the steel all from one position.

Rez805, Thanks for the great feedback! Here's my own observations based on what I saw and what you pointed out: Stage 1: Both of my wide transitions were extremely slow. The first one was just slow, and the second one was worse because I started to move to the next position and almost forgot those 2 targets. I need to work on transitions in dry fire and probably set myself up square to the middle of the 2 sets of targets so I don't have to take a half step while I turn. Stage 2: Thanks! Hits were 6A, 2B, 2C. Classifier percentage seemed right in line with where I've been so far (low 40%s), and 1 more halfway decent classifier should put me into C class. Stage 3: I planned to shoot all the targets on the move, but then stopped when I realized I'm not good enough at shooting on the move to get good hits. Definitely would've been faster to plan to just run up and stop. Stage 4: Yeah, I got a bit intimidated by the hard cover targets on the left. For the middle port, I thought it would be faster to avoid having to go all the way up and back, but I'm not sure if I made the right call.

I'm a fairly new USPSA shooter. These videos are 4 of the 6 stages (forgot to get video for 2 stages) from my 3rd match ever, although only my second "real" match since the first one was a classifier match. I'm looking for feedback mainly on my stage planning - where am I wasting time? Also, what are the biggest areas to target in my practice based on what you see here? Let me know if you have any questions about any of the stages.

Steve Anderson's "Call It and Leave It" drill is supposed to be pretty good l, especially in live fire, although I haven't had a chance to do it myself yet.

4.5.1? "Range equipment failure includes, but is not limited to ... failure of props such as openings, ports, and barricades."

Here's my thoughts, based on what everyone is saying: Barrel does not actually fall over - score as shot Barrel falls due to shooter, but does not affect where shots are taken and also does not interfere with shooter - score as shot? Or 1 PE under 4.5.1? Barrel falls due to wind, etc - REF, reshoot Barrel falls due to shooter and allows shots from location previously not available - 1 PE per shot from that location or 1 PE under 4.5.1? Barrel falls due to shooter and interferes with shooter - ?

This weekend I almost knocked over a barrel on a stage. Since it didn't actually fall, nothing came of it and I finished the stage. It happens about 1 minute into this video: If it had fallen, what are the relevant rules? In this case, unless it landed in the shooting area, it wouldn't have changed where any targets were available from and therefore wouldn't really affect my stage time in any meaningful way. Still, I'm not sure exactly how the rules address this situation.

The gun is a Springfield Range Officer in 9mm. The "jam" turned out to be me accidentally activating the thumb safety during my reload/move. Slide lock wasnt the plan... that stage completely fell apart.

I recently shot my first USPSA match. Well, technically my second, but the first was all classifiers. I've shot IDPA for about a year and am starting to get into USPSA. Any help knowing what to work on next would be greatly appreciated. I know I had some good stages and some not so great stages.

When I eventually start reloading, I plan to weight 50-100 bullets prior to loading, then shoot 50+ rounds of my final load over the chronic and do a capability study to ensure that I can reliably meet power factor with a good Cpk. But im a Quality Engineer and a bit of a nerd, so my method is probably way overkill. I'll also probably do a full PFMEA for my reloading process...

8.1.3 Magazine Loading:All magazines must be loaded to division capacity at the start signal throughout the match except in the following cases: If a magazine is used that holds less than division capacity, the shooter will load all magazines to the capacity of the lowest magazine throughout the match. The stage description may require reduced magazine loading. In the Revolver division, the shooter must load the revolver and all loading devices with the same number of rounds throughout the match unless the above loading exceptions apply. 8.1.4 Division Capacity SSP, ESP, SPD ............ 10 rounds CDP, CCP................... 8 rounds REV, BUG-S ............... 6 rounds BUG-R....................... 5 rounds total In all semi-auto divisions except BUG-S, the shooter will also start with one additional round in the chamber, unless the stage description requires otherwise.

Yes, unless the stage briefing tells you otherwise, or you download all mags to the same reduced capacity for the entire match. I'll try to find the specific rule for you.

Here's another IDPA match. I can tell there were a couple of spots where I didn't have my stage plan visualized well enough and hesitated, such as when I switched from strong hand to weak hand on stage 1. My transitions are still slow, so I'll keep working on that in dry fire. My draw looks much slower than I'd expect based on dry fire; I think I need more dryfire with the vest than I've been doing. I also still keep dropping the gun way lower than needed when moving. Any other things anyone sees sees that can be improved on?

I'm not a glock expert either, but from what I've seen/read, I'd try just a Ghost connector or Glock brand "-"connector. Supposedly the Glock one will shave off about a pound of trigger pull with no effect on reliability. I'd also look up the Glock "25 cent trigger job"- basically, you polish all the moving surfaces without changing any geometry, which smooths out the trigger pull somewhat. I've done the polish job to my carry gun but haven't bothered with a new connector yet.

Don't bother unless your gear is holding you back. I upgraded because I had an unreliable gun that was causing issues. Spend the the money on practice ammo, reloading, or maybe a class with a professional, competition-focused instructor. Or maybe do some work on your glock- have the trigger on your competition guns tweaked. I wouldn't mess with the carry gun beyond maybe a Glock "-" connector or a ghost connector, but for the competition ones, the sky's the limit as long as you keep it within the rules and it stays reliable.

Agree 100%. I have one 10 round 9mm 1911 mag that I thought I tested thoroughly. Took it to the range, shot from full to slide lock multiple times with no issues. Reload with it in dry fire with a snap cap, no issued. Take it to the match, load my 1 round from my Barney mag, drop that, throw in this 10 round mag, go to shoot the stage. First round goes off no problem, then a click. Tap-rack-keep shooting, no other problems. Next stage, same thing. Last stage, we were all downloaded to 6 (IDPA match), so no issues. It ended up taking me 4 stages over 2 different matches before I finally realized that it would not seat with 10 rounds in the mag and 1 in the chamber no matter how hard I tried.

Here's video from this week's match. Sorry that it's 3 separate videos; I couldn't figure out how to edit them together on my phone. Stage 1: Start with "diaper bag" (empty bag) over weak shoulder, "baby" (doll taped to 10 lb medicine ball) in strong hand, and rope in weak hand. At the buzzer, pull the rope to start the no-shoot swinger, then engage all targets near to far with 2 rounds each, while retreating. Dropping the baby is a 10 second Flagrant Penalty. This stage beat me up and took my lunch money. There was so much going on and my plan and shooting fell completely apart. Also had a malfunction due to a mag not being fully seated. I looked at it later and realized I cannot fully seat it with 10 rounds plus one in the chamber, so that magazine will become a Barney mag only. Stage 2: Went really well. Reload was a little slow, still working on that. This was my first match with a new holster and pouches, so I haven't practiced with the new ones yet. I also need to up my speed on transitions and probably run a little faster from position to position. Stage 3: Also went extremely well. First 2 rounds were witha pickup gun (Hipoint C9). Had one mental error when I leaned around the left corner and started to aim for the wrong target first (have to slice the pie in IDPA), costing myself around half a second. Also still need to work on transitions and movement. Reload with retention was slow as molasses. Should I practice to speed that up or just do a really fast (with practice) standing slide lock reload?

My hits were less than ideal. I think I had a couple of down 1s in each target. I'm not very confident outside of about 15 yards since my club hasn't started putting targets farther than that until recently. I've started working on group shooting at further distances but I'm struggling so far. I still think my transitions could be improved in the way you're suggesting, even if the splits can't be sped up quite yet.

Only downside I've run into so far is that when seating the full magazine, you have to be extra careful to make sure it's fully seated since you can't do a press check to ensure a round chambered like you would normally.

My method (IDPA ESP with a 9mm 1911, so the equivalent capacity issue as SS minor or Production in a 10rd state) is to carry 1 mag in my pocket with 10 rounds and a second mag with only 1 round. Load and chamber the 1 round, swap mags to the 10, holster, and pocket the empty.

I agree that they've struggled with the balance of fun vs defensive shooting. The new rule set helps a lot, but there are still a few weirdly artificial situations. This stage is a good example of the problem: From a defensive standpoint, it makes sense that I wouldn't advance on "threats" with an empty gun; from a practical standpoint, if I need to reload and i need to move from point A to point B, why shouldn't I do both at the same time? I treat it as just a game with some silly rules and just roll with it. I do want to start shooting USPSA soon, and I've heard it's much more fun.

The stage is actually part of the IDPA classifier, so it isn't supposed to represent a specific scenario. It's intended to test skills used in other stages, so they limit you in order to force reloads, etc.

The stage is actually part of the IDPA classifier, so it isn't supposed to represent a specific scenario. It's intended to test skills used in other stages, so they limit you in order to force reloads, etc.