ICEMAN28 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Hey fellas, Ive always wanted to try out this sport but have never actually got around to try it. Matches in my area do not start for a while, so in the meantime i'll be practicing at a local range. Bolling pins, steel, etc... Anyways, I'm not new to firearms or pistols in general, but i've never really competed to much before. (done some trap shooting, and steel matches). My gun of choice is a Colt 1911 .45, I've had a decent amount of work done to it, and its my best shooter. Also the one pistol I own that I'm most comfortable handling. I think I have all min gear needed. A decent belt, a uncle mikes holster, five mag pouches, and a boat load of 8 and 10 rnd mags ( a mix of wilson, and Chip Mc) For those of you with experience with a 1911, especially in 45acp, what division do you think I should try first. Obviously i'd fall into SS, or L10...but I'm not sure what one i should try first as a noob, or even if it matters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Don't think it matters too much - try SS or L10, but jump in. Lots of fun ... You'll be amazed how much you'll learn your first few months. After you're in it awhile, you'll find out what you like and don't like re: shooting SS - but, if it's your favorite gun, that's where I'd start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
56hawk Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I would think you would be the most competitive in Single Stack. In Limited 10 you will be up against people with double stack magazines that are a little easier to reload, and using race style holsters. Other than your 10 round magazines, you are good to go in Single Stack. Of course you should probably check the rules to make sure all the modifications you have had done are allowed in Single Stack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noximus03 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 SS is an awesome division to shoot in. That, and who doesn't love shooting the 1911?? That would be my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpygravy Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Another vote for SS. It sounds like you have everything youu need gear wise. I'd echo the comment about ensuring any mods done to your gun are compliant with the current rule set i.e. fits in the box, weight, etc... Some may say that the need to reload every time you move can be distracting for a newb. Some say reloading is a fundmental skill that you'll need regardless of division. I say reloading is part of the fun and one piece of the SS game that I really enjoy. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Depending on the match, you might want to sign up for the division that has the most competitors. Locally every once in a while SS or L10 will have just one or two (or no) shooters. Even though I'm no longer competitive (I still shoot, just not well), I would want to shoot against a few others when possible to see how well (or poorly) I'm doing. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig N Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Single Stack. You will get tons of help if you ask to be squaded with other SS shooters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G34 CORDY Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 (edited) Another vote for SS. Also welcome to the game its a blast and very addicting! Edited December 15, 2012 by G34 CORDY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daybreak Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 SS is where your gun choice will be most competitive. L10 would not make sense for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfish Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 ss just because you have what sounds like ss legal gear and not the race gear most L10 people will have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Single stack vote here. Since you already feel comfortable shooting what you have. Just make sure your equipment passes muster with the rulebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGMorden Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Single-stack. I've always been of the mind that one should always shoot where their gear will be most competitive - for you that will be single stack. Limited-10 allows a whole host of other gun types and modifications that will put you at a disadvantage. Not that a good shooter can't still win (at least at the local level), but a shooter of equal skill will be even more competitive in the appropriate division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Depending on the match, you might want to sign up for the division that has the most competitors. Locally every once in a while SS or L10 will have just one or two (or no) shooters. Even though I'm no longer competitive (I still shoot, just not well), I would want to shoot against a few others when possible to see how well (or poorly) I'm doing. I don't really care what division people are in, I look at the overall results. Honestly, for the first many months you're shooting, whether someone else is using a race holster is not going to have a significant effect on how much better than you they are. shaving .2 sec here and there is trivial, since the experienced shooters will be shooting twice as fast, and shaving 10-15 seconds. For the OP, if you have 10 round magazines already, I'd shoot L10, just because it simplifies reload issues and allows you to break down the stage the same way as production division shooters (and there's alwalys plenty of them) so you can learn faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 You are going to the same amount of competitive in either division...for a good while. Everybody likes more bullets. L-10 has more bullets. I always think shooters that are new to the game will enjoy the ride quite a bit more with more bullets in the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I understand that the original poster has a 1911 so L-10 or SS would be the first choice for this guy. But I normally tell new shooters to bring whatever they have and simply shoot in Limited for their first couple of matches. Most people coming into the sport have a production type of gun (Glock, M&P, XD, CZ, etc) and I think its more important that they be able to fully load their mags so a complex 3 - 4 mag change stage plan isn't needed for them to complete the stages. When a new shooter runs the gun dry once during a stage run, that is frustrating but doable. When they run the gun dry 3 - 4 times during the stage run that is very discouraging. The other thing to consider is that Limited has very "Relaxed" gun and gear rules when compared to SS or Production. This allows the new shooters to pretty much run what they bring and not worry about breaking some gun or gear division rules. When they get a few matches under their belt then they can start thinking about shooting a particular division and optimize their gun and gear to whatever division they want to shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phearkno1 Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I agree with Flex. I have only ever shot single stack and uspsa was my introduction into competitive shooting. Starting out in single stack I was forced to focus on everything immediately out the gate. I found this to be a bit overwhelming in the beginning. Reloading all the time tended to cause me to rush shots and get in the way of being able to focus on getting into and out of position well. Single stack division also (in my opinion) forces me to focus more on accuracy than other divisions. With 8 in the mag and 1 in the chamber, on most stages I only have the ability to make up 1 shot before it disrupts and forces an extra reload. Steal heavy stages especially. I love single stack and feel like when the day comes that I choose to move to a new division that I will be ahead of the curve due to the intensive reloading, forced emphasis on accuracy, and not being able to rely on extra rounds for make up shots. Any division has to reload but if a new shooter who would shoot production shot the first few matches in limited with fully loaded mags it would take a bit of pressure off and allow them to focus on hits and movement more than feeding the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 (edited) When a new shooter runs the gun dry once during a stage run, that is frustrating but doable. When they run the gun dry 3 - 4 times during the stage run that is very discouraging like an IDPA match. fixed... at no charge. Why is it discouraging to run your gun dry? it only adds a few tenths to a reload. Sure, it's usually not the fastest way to run a uspsa stage, but I bet it's just as fun, and you might end up doing 1 or 2 fewer mag changes if you shoot all the bullets. Prolly easier on the mags to if you drop them on the ground empty. Edited December 18, 2012 by motosapiens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGMorden Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 (edited) When a new shooter runs the gun dry once during a stage run, that is frustrating but doable. When they run the gun dry 3 - 4 times during the stage run that is very discouraging like an IDPA match. fixed... at no charge. Why is it discouraging to run your gun dry? it only adds a few tenths to a reload. Sure, it's usually not the fastest way to run a uspsa stage, but I bet it's just as fun, and you might end up doing 1 or 2 fewer mag changes if you shoot all the bullets. Prolly easier on the mags to if you drop them on the ground empty. I think the point is that if you're shooting until the gun is dry, then you're generally not strategically planning your reloads. It doesn't matter that the reload itself takes more time, but rather you end up reloading at a time when you should be shooting whereas typically you want to plan to reload a time when you'd be moving and NOT shooting. Regardless of the speed of the reload, your stage time is going to be slower if you're running empty at random points during the stage. Edited January 3, 2013 by MGMorden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Stage time shouldn't be what the new shooter should be worrying about. And lots of practice reloading now is not really a bad thing. If rules compliance is at issue, I'd say L10. If all your gear is compliant, then SS is a natural fit, Regardless, go to have fun, and ignore the score and match placement for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppa Bear Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 The gun running dry is a good test of the shooters abilities. Some feel the slide locking to the rear and immediately proceed to a reload. Some do not feel it and try to squeeze the trigger again until they realize the gun is empty. To me the deciding factor should be whichever one feels the most comfortable to shoot. Until you get competent enough with the gun to automatically react to a slide locking to the rear, or a jam, the choice of division will not make a big difference. My 2011 does not lock to the rear by choice. The two times I have run it dry it took less than a second to start the reloading process once the hammer dropped on an empty chamber. It took a lot of repetitions to learn to react like that. If you are able to react like that then you will be comfortable in either division. If you are not comfortable with your ability to react to slide lock or jams then choose the one that is the easiest for you to learn how to plan your stages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.343 Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 I agree that you should shoot SS. I think that running your gun to slide lock should only be done at the end of the stage. I shot a single stack in L10 before we had a SS division. On two ocasions I reloaded at slide lock and jammed the magazine in the gun too hard and could not close the slide. Needless to say that was the end of the stage for me. I was not able to duplicate that in practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuflehundon Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Single stack is were I started shooting. I also have several 8rnd and 10rnd mags at the time. It does force you to work on your fundamentals and learn how to game the stage. I shot SS for the 1st 5 months, and then switched to Limited Major with a Glock 22. We only have 2 guys at my local club that shoot L10, and both use 1911's. I still will shoot my 1911 every once in a while, just to switch things up. At my local club, there are usually more people shooting SS than any other division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idoktr Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 SS also seems to have smaller fields now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 When a new shooter runs the gun dry once during a stage run, that is frustrating but doable. When they run the gun dry 3 - 4 times during the stage run that is very discouraging like an IDPA match. fixed... at no charge. Why is it discouraging to run your gun dry? it only adds a few tenths to a reload. Sure, it's usually not the fastest way to run a uspsa stage, but I bet it's just as fun, and you might end up doing 1 or 2 fewer mag changes if you shoot all the bullets. Prolly easier on the mags to if you drop them on the ground empty. I think the point is that if you're shooting until the gun is dry, then you're generally not strategically planning your reloads. It doesn't matter that the reload itself takes more time, but rather you end up reloading at a time when you should be shooting whereas typically you want to plan to reload a time when you'd be moving and NOT shooting. Regardless of the speed of the reload, your stage time is going to be slower if you're running empty at random points during the stage. And I think my point was "so?" Doesn't seem like it should make it any less fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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