jayhkr Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 So I'm tinkering with the thought for my wife and I to get into some sort of competition. I know the first step would be to just go and watch one, but I don't even know where to begin. There is a competition next Thursday near Topeka, Ks that good friends of mine have invited me to go watch and it's IDPA. Is this where most people start out at for first time competitions or does it even matter? We'll be using our stock everyday carry's (Glock 19 and M&P Shield). Mainly we just want another way for us to shoot our guns together and have fun. Any tips, or suggestions for just getting started in competitions? From what I watched on the groups website (where we are going next week) it looks VERY casual with all sorts of shooting skill levels from people. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Steel Challenge is probably the least stress no worry way to get into action pistol shooting. NSSF Rimfire Challenge (.22 Pistol and Rifle) is the ultimate starting point, but does require a .22rf pistol and rifle. No movement and no draws. But really, there are competitions for just about everyone these days. Don't avoid trying out Clay sports, precision sports. My home range has at least 20 different styles of matches. Some with a timer and some without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayhkr Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Great! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okorpheus Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Whatever is close by and you have the gear for. You'll find helpful people anywhere. With the guns you named, IDPA would definitely be doable, just be sure to have 3 mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Steel Challenge is probably the least stress no worry way to get into action pistol shooting. NSSF Rimfire Challenge (.22 Pistol and Rifle) is the ultimate starting point, but does require a .22rf pistol and rifle. No movement and no draws. But really, there are competitions for just about everyone these days. Don't avoid trying out Clay sports, precision sports. My home range has at least 20 different styles of matches. Some with a timer and some without. +1. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I stated out shooting GSSF and Steel Challenge while I waited to get enough ammo for USPSA and that worked out great. Those are two great places to start before you decide on doing something more move and shoot oriented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayhkr Posted April 20, 2014 Author Share Posted April 20, 2014 I'll look into that too! Not sure how comfortable I am yet with running and shooting yet. But boy there are lots of options out there for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBolt Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 USPSA & IDPA are two of the most popular. Steel challenge is a great way to get your feet wet. USPSA isn't as intimidating as it may look. Go at your own speed and stay safe. The speed will come. My wife and I both shoot USPSA and are having a great time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgardner Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Steel Challenge is probably the least stress no worry way to get into action pistol shooting. NSSF Rimfire Challenge (.22 Pistol and Rifle) is the ultimate starting point, but does require a .22rf pistol and rifle. No movement and no draws. But really, there are competitions for just about everyone these days. Don't avoid trying out Clay sports, precision sports. My home range has at least 20 different styles of matches. Some with a timer and some without. +1 You'll feel at home in Steel Challenge. USPSA, if your club has any good shooters, can be pretty intimidating. It's hard for the new shooters to get up and shoot and feel good about it. I have one guy I befriended and helped train. It was hard seeing his disappointment for nearly 2 years until he came up in the ranks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Visit as many clubs which hold some sort of competitions in your area and see what you think you might like and that you have something you could compete with already in that venue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aglifter Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 IDPA, honestly, probably has the most new shooters/is the easiest way to start. SC is great, but, IMO, too often we tell new shooters, "Draw, and Fire", and they start trying to go faster than they can go, safely, due to the, perceived, peer pressure of being so much slower than the more advanced competitors. Now, my personal inclination is to say, "Open, in UPSPA, since it's where you'll want to be, eventually..." But, other opinions may differ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Not sure how comfortable I am with running and shooting Shooting is a lot like Solitaire - you can go at YOUR own pace. No reason to run - just walk slowly. Only SAFETY matters - nothing else, until you feel you're ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awfaxis Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 For new shooters, I tend to recommend USPSA before IDPA. My reasoning is that USPSA is freestyle (shoot 'em as you see 'em), vs. all the IDPA rules with cover, standing reloads and required tactical sequence or priority. These layers of complexity add more stress when you are just trying to get the hang of the draw, point, shoot, unload and holster basics. A cover garment gets even more distracting. Our club will put newer shooters together so that the pace is comfortable. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOF Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 +1 on USPSA. The rules are simple and easy to understand, so you get to concentrate on shooting. The IDPA rules are many, and so vaguely written that even the SOs can't uniformally agree on what is and isn't a penalty. It definitely detracts from the shooting part. Steel Challenge, as has been mentioned, is another excellent choice. Very simple... ya want BANG-TING. It's fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 If available, Steel Challenge without a doubt. It's stand and shoot, the 8 stages are always the same, it's only 5 plates on a stage, you shoot each stage 5 times in a match and get to throw out the worst of the 5 on each stage, they have a rimfire div so you can start out with 22 and in rimfire there is no drawing. It will teach you to be accurate and eventually accurate at speed. It's the perfect intro into the action shooting sports .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayhkr Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Wow! Great stuff here guys. Thank you for giving me both pros and cons of them! I'm really looking forward in my search now to see what I can find locally! Anyone in the Kansas City area know of clubs or organizations I can attend? I'll obviously do some searching but thought if there were a few on here that participate in a club I might venture that way. Thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnietzel Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I'm new too! I have shot both USPSA and steel challenge in the 4 weeks since I started. I'd start wtih steel challenge if it's available for all the reasons Nimitz described. I've shot both and enjoy both. No matter what you decide my best advice would be to tell everyone you're new to the sport! I did, and all the RO's gave me clear and precice commands at a pace that was easy to follow, answered any questions I had, and made it a really enjoyable first experience. I spent the better part of a day plinking steel and loving every minute! It can be a bit intimidating seeing all the really fast shooters and all the fancy gear. Don't let that discourage you. Everyone there was a beginner once! I shot my first steel challenge with my Glock 19/holster and 3 magazines/pouches on a leather belt. I'll be upgrading my gear as I shoot more and decide what my preferences will be. My biggest priorities are safety, and how I'm going to afford it now that I found out how much fun it is because I want to shoot every chance I get!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levellinebrad Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 (edited) I guess I'm just backwards. I started in uspsa with a compact 45. I never felt intimidated by the really good shooters. I just wanted to shoot like them. I am coming up on my 1 year anniversary and just made it into c class. I am happy with the improvement. I shoot a local idpa match every once in a while and enjoy it but the rules just plain suck for a newb. Even now that I'm not really a newb, I still rack up the procedurals. I don't really care. I also like talking a little smack. I have a buddy that I met through shooting. We are pretty closely matched so we kinda compete between ourselves abd talk smack like we were on the basketball court. It's all in good fun for me. I'm sure you will enjoy whatever type of shooting you try and I'm also sure that you will improve your gun handling skills. For me, that's what it's really all about. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk Edited April 22, 2014 by levellinebrad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJ3440 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I'm new too! I have shot both USPSA and steel challenge in the 4 weeks since I started. I'd start wtih steel challenge if it's available for all the reasons Nimitz described. I would like to add that your age may be a factor in finding what is right for you. At 45+, I am happy that I started with Steel Challenge even though I thought I wanted to shoot IDPA and USPSA first. My first IDPA match was a bit of a disappointment. I was not as ready for that as I wanted to think. Now at 3 or 4 months into this, the wife and I was able to try and ProAm match and it was very enjoyable except for being stiff and sore the next day. I am looking at physical training more seriously now. I want to shoot more ProAm as well as Steel Challenge. However, I do not think I would have been to enjoy ProAm as well if it had not been for shooting Steel Challenge first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studlee Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I started out in IDPA first, as I wanted to practice more self defense type instead of run-n-gun style in USPSA. But now that they have changed the rules, some good, some bad, I would also suggest to start in either USPSA or Steel Challenge. I've been doing more of these than IDPA. IDPA is still good, I would definitely suggest doing a few matches later on. It's good to get a feel for all of them and shoot the ones you enjoy most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cajuntransplant Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I started out couple years ago doing a uspsa (?) style action pistol at a local range. They would do several matches over the course of the summer up here. Was timed an scored but was all for fun and bragging rights. Was a great time. There were guys that showed up shooting their competition match gear, guys like me with nothing more than a belt holster an couple mag pouches, local sheriff wearing duty gear setups and the occasional wife or girlfriend with bare minimum requirements. Everyone always had a blast and it got me hooked. Was also a great time to meet other people interested in the shooting sports and ultimately got me hooked and this year I got my 3gun gear all setup. One bit that always stuck with me was don't go to just watch. Bring gear out to shoot and talk to everyone and ask questions. I haven't met a shooter yet that won't talk about their gear setups and stuff they've learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I send people to steel first because they can start at the low ready and even a first timer can win if the just don't miss! USPSA is a points per second scoring so there is advantage in some sacrifice for speed, but if you miss in steel (and most of those really fast guys will!) you won't win so just focus on making each plate ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cf2126 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Steel and USPSA is by far the most FUN i think. Talk about something that will get the adrinalin pumping haha!!! Nothing like the feeling when that buzzer goes off u forget anything and everything u planned before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayhkr Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Just checked around a little, and in my area (Kansas City, Ks) there only seems to be IDPA. I was supposed to go watch a match last Thursday but of course life got in the way. There are other competitions, but they are indoors and viewing is VERY limited. One of the disadvantages of living IN the city I guess. Thanks again everyone for all the feedback though!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cajuntransplant Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Jayhkr There might only be official idpa but try to find a local forum or group to ask around in for local matches or leagues. That's how I got started doing action pistol. Closest thing to me that's official is a little over two hours away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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