First PCCA match

[dlaroe]

I'm a USPSA shooter who had to take a financial hiatus from the sport and I'm just getting back into shooting.

To that end I looked around and what local matches were going on and found Caswell Ranch about an hour away.

I spoke with the very nice Beverly Brevit, she and her husband Dean own the range. She explained they had just stopped doing USPSA matches due to low attendance. Bummed about that and with the next local USPSA match a couple weeks off I tried their Pocket Carry match.

As an aside, I haven't been avoiding IDPA-style matches as much as enjoying the freestyle nature of USPSA.

I've only shot one match drawing from concealment and using cover. That was an unsanctioned match at Shooters Paradise in VA (RIP) just before they started doing IDPA matches using the one pistol I owned at that point, a Makarov. That was the match that got me hooked on this sport.

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PCCA just recently added a Service Division which allowed for full size pistols. The only other shooters in the Service Division were shooting Glock 26s so my Glock 17 was the only full size gun on the range. Both of the 26s were run by SOs, one of whom was Dean the range owner. It looked like most of the other guns were 3" or less carry pistols. The guns I recognized were a couple 1911 variants, a Ruger SR45c and a CZ 2075 RAMI. I was hoping to see a 5 shot revolver because the rules seemed geared that way but one was not in attendance.

The rules were pretty simple and reflected the intent of sport focused on getting trigger time with small guns. Service Division started with 10 rounds in the gun but everyone else starts with 5. Slide lock reloads only, draw from concealment and shoot from 50% cover. You could reload wherever you wanted as long as your gun was empty. The rules allow for stronghand/weakhand and tactical priority but none of the stages used either. Wanting to get into the spirit of the match, I wore my tactical cardigan sweater and used a more concealment oriented holster and mag pouch than by Bladetech gear.

Dean Brevit, the owner and course designer has been around, and the stages reflected that. They included shooting on the move, obstructed seated positions and some really tight shots using more props than I'm used to seeing at a normal monthly match including shooting through a pickup truck. The round count was low but the shooting was interesting. The only reload I forgot the slide lock rule and dropped the mag moving between positions, just like I'm used to so I could avoid the standing reload on the last array. That same stage was my only "Cover" call too, the SO was surprised when I thanked him as I tucked back against the wall. I ended a couple stages at slide lock so I had to be sure to get my "A" hits.

All and all it was great fun and an awesome was to get back into shooting. This will be the first match to which I drag my nearly non-shooting CCW holding friends. The simple rules and focus on carry weapons make it ideal. Going back just for Dean's stages would be worth it and nobody said a thing about my full size "cheater" pistol.

-Dale