Tuflehundon Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 I shot an Open gun a earlier this year at the range, and really liked it. The guy who let me use it got it for his son to use in steel challenge, and eventually in USPSA. he said he wanted his to reach an M rating in Production 1st. Kids is pretty close, his hits are good and he is lightning fast. I am currently shooting Limited, but I plan to build an Open gun sometime this year, and thought my friends resoning made sense. I don't have a rating yet as I haven't shot enough classifiers, but going off of the classifiers I have done so far, I'm mid B. (Scores were low 70's) I am thinking of shooting Limited until I reach A, just so I can make sure I have the fundamentals down, and then make the switch to Open. Did anyone else do it this way, or did you just decide to go open, and dive right in? I'm just curious how everyone got into Open as it seems every Open shooter I have talked to started out in a different division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipdouglas Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 tag for interest. very good question. I as well tried an open gun and loved it. but i'm gonna shoot limited for a few years to get fundamentals before i make the plunge. one point of interest a seasoned shooter once said to me was shooting open is great fun but its also the most competetive with the top finishers within tenths of a second of one another. that advise is another reason i'm shooting limited first. might be nice to have at least a chance of placing in a match to puff my ego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassochist Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 (edited) i started in open div, bought a cheap open gun (sps 38super), shot it for one year in competition, got to b-class with that, after that, i bought myself a custom build sti, and in the next year i raced myself to A class (A class is the highest wich is possible, we don't have M and GM overhere), after that shot another year in open (last year) and at the end of last year i didn't like it anymore, sold everything bought a shadow, and now competing in production. it doesn't matter wich div you start with, you can learn your fundamentals with an open gun as well as with a limited of production gun. Edited February 25, 2013 by bassochist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
56hawk Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 I first started shooting local non USPSA matches with a HK USP40. Noticed that the top 5 guys on the overall list were all shooting open guns, so I decided that would be my next purchase. Got a custom built SV in 38SC and got my first USPSA classification as B class in open. So, I started shooting matches with what now would be considered a production gun, but my first USPSA classification was in open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Shot Production and wanted to get a Cheely 6" Limited gun but since the sights were getting fuzzy on the G34 I figured they would be as well, on a Limited gun. So I called Matt and changed my build to an Open gun and have been having a ton of fun ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Shot Production 6 months, went to Open. Never looked back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuflehundon Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 Shot Production 6 months, went to Open. Never looked back. I shot SS for 2 months, and have been shooting Limeted for 4 months now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 I started in Open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpenDot Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Started in Production, switched to Open, switched back to Production for reloading practice, switched back to Open. Funny thing is now i shoot Production almost as fast as Open. Slow...LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwmiket Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Wife and I both shoot, so both started in production; moved her to limited and I stayed in production; moved myself up to limited a while later. Her limited gun bit the dust and bought her an Open gun...... and once she started soundly trouncing me I decided what was good for the goose was good for the gander......... although she still beat me time to time. Now after our couple year hiatus we are probably going to go straight to open again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mildot1 Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 I don't understand some of the reasoning here as far as "having the fundementals down" as being a reason to hold off shooting open. I have shot limited and open, the gun is gripped in the same way, mag changes are done exactly the same (maybe less of them) way. If you area slow limited shooter you are probably going to be a slow open shooter unless it is your eyesight holding you back with irons. Mildot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y. Koester Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I think it is better to start in open and work your way back down to the other divisions. Almost everything is easier in open. You can learn to call your shoots easier in open, learn to shoot on the move, work on your movement. I started in production, went to limited for a few years. I got stuck in b class so I went to open and made it to a class pretty quick and have been shooting in limited and am close to making a in limited now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y. Koester Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Plus if you like open, shoot it. Don't be afraid to shoot open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neomet Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 There really is no "intro to Open" division. It is a case of shooting what you like/can. I started in Limited and now shoot both. My wife started in Open and won't even consider holstering a pistol that doesn't come with a battery. I have seen no discernable difference in how we have progressed in the sport. Reader's Digest version, shoot what you like. This sport is fun and we all progress no matter if we are shooting 6 guns or 31 round cosmic particle blasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecil Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 as soon as my STI Steel Match comes in... lol.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuflehundon Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Plus if you like open, shoot it. Don't be afraid to shoot open. One of the big reasons I haven't bought or built an Open gun yet is cost. Wife was diagnosed with Cancer last year, and I had to sell most of my guns to fund her treatments until her insurance kicked in. She is in remission now, and just had her 6 month checkup, and it was all clear. I started shooting USPSA when she finished treatments, and I shot SS because my 1911 was the only pistol I kept. Then I picked up a Glock, which I now run in Limited. I am saving the cash up now to fund the Open gun. You guys do have a point though. May as well move on up once I can get the funds together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38supPat Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 When I started shooting an "Open" gun there were no divisions, if you wanted to be competitive you shot a race gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvinc78 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I got started in August in production...Adter The second match I shot a guy let me try a open gun.... I was hooked from that point on and a month later had one on order.... Been loving it since Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolex40 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Started shooting Limited with a Glock 24 around in July while my open gun was getting overhauled. I'm trying to get comfortable with the new race gun but it has been a slow process since I don't do enough dry firing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandbagger Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 shot limited gun for around 6 years, im ready to take a break from shooting a good friend made me a deal i cant refuse on an open gun, been shooting open for 15 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangeJunkie Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I have a different outlook on things. Obviously, being more accurate and faster with an open gun is almost a given, once your comfortable with your set up. I mean..it's a dot with a comp. BUT, from a competition stand point, I would say its probably more difficult to place higher in open than, for say, Production. Not that production is an easy class at all, look at TGO. Obviously in every different area across the US there are clubs with more Open, or SS shooters etc etc. But coming from Production and switching to Open quickly after that's how I feel. I only shot 3 classifiers in Production, a mere 68, 74.9, 74.9 lol. Now in Open, I'm across the board but Classified in B with an average of 70 currently. To me, I've felt like it has been harder for me to get to 70 percent in open by far that it was for me in Production. That's just my 2 cents though. In summary, I guess I'm saying you can shoot an open gun "easier" but so can everyone else. There are many other factors such and money and other things, but I was just referring to the skill sets I've picked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandrooney Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Open is easier to shoot but harder to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I didn't yet. Maybe I'm a traditionalist. I may switch when my eyes struggle more with iron sights. I agree that Open might make the shooting a little "easier" but to win EVERYTHING else needs to be faster. And since there aren't many reloads- that means movement, movement, movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuildSF4 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 When I started shooting an "Open" gun there were no divisions, if you wanted to be competitive you shot a race gun. Same here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parallax3D Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I joined USPSA in Oct. 2009 shooting L10 with a 1911 .45ACP and 10 round mags. Bought a Glock .40 in 2011 and ran it in Limited for a short time before I convertd it to an Open gun in June of 2011. (Yes, I shot a .40 Open Glock.) I made "B" in open 6 months later using that gun. Bought a used STI Open 9mm in Jan. of 2012 and have been shooting that ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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