dfwmiket Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Hello all....... I'm a middle of the road IDPA shooter who is interested in giving USPSA a try. I've watched ONE match, but that's about all the exposure I've had. The fellas/ladies at the nearest club certainly seem friendly enough, so my thinking is this: I know there is more to it than "run and gun"..... and I'd like a few pointers on things I could start to practice to give me familiarity with the skills required. I'd like to at least 'practice' some dry-fire techniques and such that would help me make the transition from IDPA over to shooting USPSA. ( Basically don't want to look like a dunce my first time out! ) Anyone got any pointers? I am guessing that I'd be shooting in production, since if I'm reading correctly, that is where my IDPA gear fits in the best. Thanks in advance! MikeMaN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew_Mink Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 It's all shooting, there is no switch! The only tip I can give you is bring plenty of ammo and an open mind. The things you can learn will help in any shooting game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 My first time shooting USPSA I had never shot even IDPA before. However, I was accused of same as I wasn't used to letting my mags drop to the ground so I kept pulling them out and stickin' 'em in my back pocket. I've also heard of another guy gettin' bitched at for using cover. Some people just don't get it. Many people enjoy practical shooting for practice for the real deal. Go ahead and use cover if you like ... and if anyone gives you any hell about it, tell 'em to get over themselves. Bottom-line is, don't worry about your mags hittin' the ground ... empty or not ... and don't worry about slicing any pie ... and don't worry about two-to-the-body-one-to-the-head (even if there were such a stage, one to the head first would be ok). Just about every stage will be 2/target or 1/target, reload, 1/target. Some could be 3/target (haven't seen two-to-the-body-one-to-the-head though ... not sure if that'd be a legal requirement). Some might be 2/target, reload, 2/target, and maybe once or twice more. Only other thing is the limit on round-count is closer to 32/stage ... but, for club matches, that's just a suggestion. So, in case you only got a couple mag-holders, you'll be better served with 4 (and just carry the fifth mag up to the line in your hand). All Glocks (except "C" models unless they have non-ported replacement bbl's) and XD's qualify for Production division (SSP). Anything which qualifies for Production qualifies for Ltd-10 ... as well as 1911's and anything else so long as you don't load more than 10rds in a mag. Open allows porting and optics (red dot). Nothing else does. Ltd has no limit to rounds loaded in a mag ... however, there is a restriction on the length of the mag. There's also Major (.40sw+) and Minor (9mm/.38spl). All Production is Minor regardless of caliber. For Ltd and Ltd-10, actual caliber must be .40+ regardless of power-factor ... whereas, in Open, so long as power-factor is sufficient, a sub-.40 round may make Major. Power-factor is simply weight of bullet in grains times velocity divided by 1,000. Any load must make Minor and be at least .355 in. in diameter (or so). There's 4 scoring zones on the targets ... A (center mass and eyes), B (neck), C (around center mass), D (around C). There's nothing wrong with shooting 9mm for every division ... it's just that for scoring zones B, C, & D, Minor scores 1pt less than Major (A hits nearly always score 5pts). I see a few people shooting Ltd with Minor calibers. If you're looking for more competitive equipment, you might check Brian Enos' store and order the tactical nylon Safariland over and under belts, 4 Safarliand 773 mag-holders, and check out either Shooter's Connection or CED (I forget which) and order a Ghost holster. Otherwise, whatever you've used for IDPA will be fine. Really, so long as you just let your mags drop to the ground and don't worry about cover, it's the same thing as IDPA. In my experience, it's been a lot more about who you shoot with than whether it's actually IDPA or USPSA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecutts Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 buy steve andersons dry fire book, twenty bucks well spent. http://www.andersonshooting.com/order.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Come as you are. We'd love to have you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driver8M3 Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 i've been shooting uspsa for about 8 months now, and have shot exactly 1 idpa match (a few weeks ago). after learning the uspsa rules for 8 months, i had trouble adapting to the idpa rules (must do mag change here, shoot the targets in this order, etc). after the match i was thinking that it would be easier to go from idpa to uspsa than the other way around, since uspsa seems to give the shooter a little more freedom (usually). but then, my brain doesnt work well once a buzzer goes off...so maybe thats just me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwmiket Posted June 28, 2004 Author Share Posted June 28, 2004 Thanks for all the advice so far....... I shoot an XD, and am very happy with it......so I'm gonna stay with it. I figure I'll just get an extra mag pouch ( that would allow me to carry 4 mags to the line plus one*EDIT* for the gun......is that legal here? ) and a couple more mags, just to be safe. I think it should be a lot of fun. My motto is: "any trigger time is GOOD trigger time" Mike I edited above to add "for" instead of "in" to clarify what I was trying to say...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Welcome Mike.......I started out in USPSA with prior IDPA experience. I found the switch to mostly freestyle shooting in USPSA to be an easy and desirable one. give it a try and let us know your thoughts after the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precision40 Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 I shoot both and don't have any opinions on which is better because it's like comparing apples to oranges. USPSA is more individual oriented "freestyle" as far as how you want to shoot a particular stage, compared to the "this is how it's shot" style you have in IDPA. You should be able to cross over very easily. As someone mentioned, buy Steve Andersons Dry-Fire Book because it is an excellent tool. As far as your mags, I've seen guys wearing 5 and 6 mags on their belt for Production, so bring as much as you want, you can wear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 The biggest problem I've seen with IDPA shooters at my USPSA match is they don't have enough magazines to complete a 32 round stage that has targets with lots of "miss potential". They also tend to bring IDPA habits with them such as the use of cover and retaining their mags. After a stage, I'll remind them that they don't have to retain the mags or use cover, but it's done very low-key because they may WANT to retain those habits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 I recommend shooting A's fast and not doing a retention reload Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Thanks for all the advice so far....... I shoot an XD, and am very happy with it......so I'm gonna stay with it. I figure I'll just get an extra mag pouch ( that would allow me to carry 4 mags to the line plus one in the gun......is that legal here? ) and a couple more mags, just to be safe. I think it should be a lot of fun. My motto is: You may carry as many magazines as you wish ... perhaps limited by the amount of belt space you have. If you choose to shoot in Production Division (very similar to Stock Service Pistol in IDPA), you will have similar holster and magazine position rules. If you choose to shoot in Open, Limited, or Limited 10 divisions, you can wear your holster pretty much anywhere you want on your belt (on the strong side) and mag carriers anywhere on your belt. I'd recommend shooting in Production Division since it's the closest thing to SSP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 ... that would allow me to carry 4 mags to the line plus one in the gun......is that legal here? ...Mike Just making sure ... as in IDPA, you may NOT load your gun prior to being directed to do so by the RO. You may carry one mag in your hand, or wherever, and, upon being directed to do so by the RO, you may load a fresh mag into your gun and re-holster it (or otherwise place it as appropriate for the stage description) prior to the start signal ... so, as a result, prior to the start signal, you will have 4 fresh mags on your belt plus one in the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwmiket Posted June 28, 2004 Author Share Posted June 28, 2004 ... that would allow me to carry 4 mags to the line plus one in the gun......is that legal here? ...Mike Just making sure ... as in IDPA, you may NOT load your gun prior to being directed to do so by the RO. You may carry one mag in your hand, or wherever, and, upon being directed to do so by the RO, you may load a fresh mag into your gun and re-holster it (or otherwise place it as appropriate for the stage description) prior to the start signal ... so, as a result, prior to the start signal, you will have 4 fresh mags on your belt plus one in the gun. Yeah.....that was supposed to say one FOR the gun.....but my fingers got ahead of my brain....... Cool deal....... so I can just add another 2-mag pouch to the existing one I already have, and then I'd have 5 total mags on the line. Sweet. Obviously my AMMO cost is about to go up, huh? Thanks for all the tips so far...... MiKeMaN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 That's what I figured. Our weekday matches usually have 3 stages and total about 60rds or so. Our weekend matches usually have 5-7 stages and total about 120rds-180rds. Yes, I think your ammo costs are about to go up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 Someone has said, "If it has ascorecard, it's a game..." IDPA and IPSC/USPSA are both games, so as everyone else has said, just come out and have fun. You will get out of it what YOU choose to. I was almost discouraged enough to not come back, after my first match. There were a lot of puffed up, arrogant jerks there but I told myself, "...I'm not gonna let anyone else keep me away from what I love so much..." If you can hook up with some good shooting (USPSA) buddies at a good local club, that wouldn't hurt either. Regards, Todd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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