New USPSA shooter seeks sage advice

[Hi-Power Jack]

Everybody forgot "see the sights"!

Over rated. I can shoot faster if I ignore the damn sights ...

[kitsapshooter]

y'all FORGOT FUN, have FUN. if i don't have fun i am screwed.

[zzt]

SB, I wasn't going to post on this, but decided I would anyway. Here is what I would recommend.

Know the rules by heart and practice safe gun handling. Make sure your EB 1911 has a good magwell and you are using good mags. I personally prefer the Wilson ETMs. They have never failed me, and that is more than I can says for some other brands.

Practice drawing and firing from the holster. Then do it some more. Repeat until the web of your hand hits the grip safety the same place each time and your grip is the same. Bring the pistol up, grip with the weak hand and thumb off the safety as you align the sights. This has to become muscle memory. It has to be a reflex. When you get good you'll draw and shoot in a lot less than one second. I see a lot of shooters who take 2 and sometimes three seconds to draw and fire the first shot.

Next you practice ejects and reloads. They have to be lightning quick and instinctive. I've done it so often I'm actually much faster with by 1911 than I am with my Limited gun. Go figure. Since you may often be reloading from slide lock, make sure you have a mag release that prevents over-insertion of the mag, and practice releasing the slide stop.

Plan each stage. Even though your reload points will be dictated to you since you only have 8 rounds, you still have to plan. Watch the other shooters, particularly the Production and SS shooters to see how they approach the stage. You'll learn what makes sense. Not everyone takes the optimal path through the stage.

Be careful on the Qualifier stages. You want to go fast, but you need to be accurate. Don't mess up on those stages.