jriggs Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 so i'm finally going to get my feet wet and try some competative shooting this summer. i've been shooting for years and have always been active in some sort of competative sport or hobby, but over the last 3 years i got married, had two awesome kids and just got done moving my family into a new house to raise them and grow old in. so now i find myself needing a competative fix...and the things i've loved and done in the past are too far away and not practical anymore....but i LOVE to shoot and decided i'd try to re-ignite my competative flame with some pistol competitions. there are some really great ranges in my neck of the woods, and from what i hear they put on some pretty good steel challange and USPSA matches. i'm in the process of turning my XDm 4.5 into an open class pistol...so i snagged a Ghost holster and 4 CR speed mag carriers. now i just need to set them up on the belt...but i'd like to set it up one way for both SC and USPSA so i can really get comfortable with it. i noticed while watching some matches that the SC guys and the USPSA guys run different setups on belts when it comes to mags. the SC guys just stack em up off to the side while the USPSA guys seem to have them placed in the most efficient manner for reloads...starting at the belly button and moving back towards teh hip at all sorts of angels. so now to my question..... would it be stupid to set up my belt for USPSA and run that exact belt for SC also? i mean a mag on my belly isn't really necessary for SC but i'm bit into muscle memory and repatative motions when trying to learn stuff like that, but i'm not even sure if it's legal in SC? are there rules regulating mag placement for SC? i couldn't find any and figured it would be best to ask? thanks in advance, Riggs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Honestly, most guys run their USPSA belt "as-is" when they shoot centerfire SC, you will be fine and most do carry their normal mag setup for SC. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jriggs Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 ok that's sort of what i was hoping to hear. being the noob is always terrifying enough all on it's own...much less worrying about gear and setup. although...most guys i've bumped into are always more than happy to offer advice and help which is really nice. thanks for the info, Riggs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I remember my first SC match, someone told me I only needed 100 rounds and it was a 5 stage match...I was begging for ammo by the 4th stage Good luck and bring plenty of ammo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jriggs Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 haha...yeah i was really surprised to see guys carrying so many mags. luckily i had 6 mags for my XDm so i didn't need to run out and buy any extras. is there a standard round count that guys like to keep..it seems like everyone carries 4 or 5 mags and i'm guessing it depends on how many rounds the mag holds...but what's the most rounds i should expect to burn in a COF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 For the matches I run, the shooters load up their mags to capacity, especially in centerfire. It helps things keep moving along. So usually everyone only brings 3-4 to the line with them. If you try to go 1-for-1 on the steel, you should only need 2 mags but most will do two strings with one mag, two more with one mag, then the last string with another mag. Still leaves room for error unless you miss a lot. For the round count, most places run 5 stages, a few will run 6 and some will run all 8. If it's a 5 stage match, that is a MINIMUM of 125 rounds - that's no misses. So I normally bring about 250 If there are additional stages, count 25 rounds for each additional plus missed shots. The only exception is Outer Limits where you run 4 strings instead of the normal 5 (but still 5 targets) since you are moving on the clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaGunner Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I always bring twice the amount of ammo needed for a match. You never know how many reshoots you might have. I've seen a individual reshoot a stage 3 times from range equipment failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Also with regards to ammo, if you bring plenty of ammo, you can be a hero and lend some to the guy who runs out. Great way to win friends and influence people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGMorden Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Also with regards to ammo, if you bring plenty of ammo, you can be a hero and lend some to the guy who runs out. Great way to win friends and influence people. I don't know. I'm loading pretty mild stuff but I still get antsy about other people shooting my handloads. I've lent plenty of magazines before though. Particularly as a help to new shooters given how many of them bring out a Glock not knowing about gear requirements I've found it really beneficial to keep a Glock holster, mag pouches, and a few Glock 17 mags in my trunk just for newbie loaners . Anyways, as to the belt setup - if you have to reload during a Steel Challenge stage (which I certainly have ) you've bombed it anyways. Mag placement is kinda irrelevant. If you want you could even just bring the mags in a pile and sit them next to you. Only part of the belt that's going to make a different is the holster since you have to draw from it, and that placement will be the same for SC and USPSA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jriggs Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 thanks for all the info. my thought is, if i have the mags in position for where they would be for USPSA... it would just be more muscle memory training when i'm using that belt during an SC shoot....practice makes perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quedude Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 +1 on the extra ammo I went to the Big Dawgs steel match in 2010 and did not have enough ammo and had to borrow some just to complete the match! Good luck on your endeavors in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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