USPSA Production beginner, rate my potential setup

[KyleJ]

Hey guys, long time listener first time caller on this forum. Looking for a bit of guidance. I am head over heels for getting into competition shooting. Yes, I know that no gear will make me great and copious amounts of training is necessary. I am gearing up for the 2019 season of USPSA Production and about to pull the trigger on gear. This stuff is mid budget, but I've tried to select items that I can grow with in the future. Opinions? Suggestions? Let me know. 

 

-CZ Shadow 2  

- Mec-Gar 17rd magazines (Qty 3)

-DAA competition belt 

-DAA Racer mag pouches (Qty 5) 

-Boss Hanger kit with the Bladetech holster 

 

Base plates, necessary for a beginner? I plan on shooting the pistol for a couple thousand rounds before deciding if it needs Cajun upgrades. Other than training, what else do you suggest? 

Edited January 6, 2019 by KyleJ

[gwchem]

You're right that you don't need to upgrade the gun yet.  You'll want more magazines, though.  

 

The rest looks fine.  Good luck!

[Hi-Power Jack]

23 minutes ago, gwchem said:

  You'll want more magazines, though.  

 

And reloading equipment - $600 will buy you a SDB and everything

else you need (chrony, timer, calipers, scale, tumbler, etc).      

 

Nice choice of firearm, BTW.     

 

Good luck with your entry into the World of Competitive Shooting .     

[Joe4d]

Your gonna need a bunch more magazines... As is now you may run into stage you cant finish..  Check current rules but I think you can still have 32 round stage.
When I shot in 10 round land in HI always had 5 mags on me  Mag 5 in the back was my barney,,, So 11 in gun, 4 mags with 10, on belt,, one in back with 9 starting stage.
Also it can really blow reloading a bunch of mags in between stages, ,, But Id want enough mags I didnt have to reload every stage.. Check places like CDNN for good deals on mags.

[3gunDQ]

- dryfire targets

 

...more mags, duh 

[davsco]

if you haven't done any comp's yet, make sure at each stage you let the RO know you're new and they'll let you go last. and if you let your squad know you're new and want some input, sure you'll get plenty.

[KyleJ]

The three mags are in addition to the three that the Shadow 2 comes with. Will I really need more than six mags? 

 

I do reload but don't have a progressive (yet) so right now I'm just hoarding my 9mm brass for when that day comes. 

 

I am also planning on buying a shot timer. I have a friend that's very experienced in comp shooting and is a uspsa RO. He has provided lots of guidance so far.

[GrumpyOne]

Six mags is more than enough. You don't need the base plates at all, really. I would buy a baby bottle brush to keep in your range bad for cleaning mags if you shoot at a potentially sandy or muddy range.

[pskys2]

Pay the money and get quality mags though.  

I've not had good luck with Mec-Gar Mags, but that's maybe just me and that's been with M&P and 1911 mags.

[Joe4d]

yes u need more than 6 mags,, I would call that barebones minimum...  Stages gonna be in 20-30 round range most of time,, Throw in some steel and some misses ? you running through 3-4 mags per stage, all but one of which is getting dropped in the dirt. You want to be stripping and reloading mags EVERY stage ? Or what if one gets stepped on ? For me I hate feeling rushed, so I like having plenty of mags loaded and ready to go. 

[KyleJ]

43 minutes ago, pskys2 said:

Pay the money and get quality mags though.  

I've not had good luck with Mec-Gar Mags, but that's maybe just me and that's been with M&P and 1911 mags.

 

I haven't found a better alternative to them in the CZ world so far but I will look. I thought they were standard equipment on the Shadow ,2 models. 

[Nathanb]

More mags as said. I’d consider six a minimum. 

Mecgars are fine for the cz. Keep an eye on your feed lips. 

 

Basepads are nice but not a necessity.  An

[Chili]

1 hour ago, pskys2 said:

Pay the money and get quality mags though.  

I've not had good luck with Mec-Gar Mags, but that's maybe just me and that's been with M&P and 1911 mags.

 

Mec-Gar are the best choice and almost only choice for a Shadow. 6 Mags is fine, I carry 7 in my bag simply because that is how many mag slots there are in the bag, rarely use more than 6 but I do have the comfort of the extra mag if one develops an issue in a match that I can park it until I can sort the issue. 

Edited January 6, 2019 by Chili

[ajblack]

Pick up an extra slide stop and throw it in your range bag. Some day you'll break the one in the gun and be relieved to know that you've got an extra on hand.

[IVC]

As everyone else said, 6 magazines total and five pouches on the belt. The 6th should be your "barney" (don't get into habit of having 11 rounds in the first any magazine). 

 

You are right on with your gear, both with the type and quantity. 

[George16]

Mecgar makes the mags for the CZ Shadow 2.  Buy a couple of different weight recoil springs and test which one suits your ammo better too.

[MemphisMechanic]

2 hours ago, IVC said:

 (don't get into habit of having 11 rounds in the first any magazine). 

 

Take all advice on how you should do things with a grain of salt. For instance, I have never barneyd in twelve years as a production shooter. I load first mag to 11. I’ve never accidentally loaded 11 into the gun at an unloaded start.

 

You’ve been told MecGar mags are crap. They were, for the brands listed. For CZ, Tanfoglio, and 9mm Colt AR-15 mags they are a great choice and run flawlessly.

 

You’ve been told you need lots more mags. I never bring more than 7 to the range: When I shot Glock I used to bring 15-20, all loaded. I often discovered I was missing one when I got back home after the match. 6 will do just fine - you’ll notice a missing one right away too.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by MemphisMechanic

[Single Stack]

A good mag brush is also a must have.  Arrendondo is my pick

[scroadkill]

15 hours ago, KyleJ said:

 Other than training, what else do you suggest?  

yep.. IMO uspsa is tough enough w/o all the mag changes..  limited minor is an easier way to learn the game.. I cant imagine why any new shooter would start in production.   in which case a few 140mm base pads will get you to 20/21 rounds.

[KyleJ]

2 minutes ago, scroadkill said:

yep.. IMO uspsa is tough enough w/o all the mag changes..  limited minor is an easier way to learn the game.. I cant imagine why any new shooter would start in production.   in which case a few 140mm base pads will get you to 20/21 rounds.

 

Ideally I wanted to be able to shoot both, hence the Shadow 2 instead of a TSO or 2011. I wanted my gear to allow me to run either class. If giving up a slight advantage in Limited minor means I can shoot production also, so be it. I'm more concerned with having fun and becoming a more proficient shooter than setting the scoreboard on fire. 

[scroadkill]

1 minute ago, KyleJ said:

 

Ideally I wanted to be able to shoot both, hence the Shadow 2 instead of a TSO or 2011. I wanted my gear to allow me to run either class. If giving up a slight advantage in Limited minor means I can shoot production also, so be it. I'm more concerned with having fun and becoming a more proficient shooter than setting the scoreboard on fire. 

S2 is good choice..  if I were you ide shoot  limited minor until i was around 75-80% of the division winner (M/GMs) at which point you will have a good handle on stage planning, shooting on the move,  entry / exit targets and exiting position.. and able to shoot your gun well.  once you hit that point switching to limited major or production makes sense

 

[wav3rhythm]

S2 is good choice..  if I were you ide shoot  limited minor until i was around 75-80% of the division winner (M/GMs) at which point you will have a good handle on stage planning, shooting on the move,  entry / exit targets and exiting position.. and able to shoot your gun well.  once you hit that point switching to limited major or production makes sense
 

I really have never seen the value in this. Why shoot in a division where you’d be even less competitive? A few weeks of dryfire will make reloads easy and then you will be able to climb the ladder in production.

If you want to shoot production, then by all means stuff your mags to 10 rounds and go play.


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[BJB]

As stated previously, 6 mags for Production.  

 

I also agree with the advice of starting out shooting Limited Minor.  Keep your gear as is but just load out the Shadow 2 mags to capacity and shoot Limited Minor, at least the first few matches just to get a feel of what you're doing.  Not having a double-stack .40 is not gonna make a hill of beans difference for you at first if you choose to go this route.  And, if you face an array that is a Texas Star with 2 or 3 poppers next to it in one of your early matches you'll appreciate having the full mag capacity rather than static reloads with a pile of mags at your feet.

 

Whichever route you take you'll have fun.

Edited January 7, 2019 by BJB

[DKorn]

1 hour ago, wav3rhythm said:

 

I really have never seen the value in this. Why shoot in a division where you’d be even less competitive?

 

 

I really only recommend this for people who’ve never shot any practical  shooting before. Let’s be honest, at least for their first few matches, they aren’t going to be competitive no matter what they shoot. Shooting Limited minor, even with stock mags, means less reloads and therefore simpler stage plans. Once they’re able to navigate a stage safely and (relatively) effectively - probably after only a few matches- they can switch to Production if they want or pursue a Limited Major setup.  Or pick another division, now that they’ve been exposed to all the divisions at actual matches. 

[wav3rhythm]

 
I really only recommend this for people who’ve never shot any practical  shooting before. Let’s be honest, at least for their first few matches, they aren’t going to be competitive no matter what they shoot. Shooting Limited minor, even with stock mags, means less reloads and therefore simpler stage plans. Once they’re able to navigate a stage safely and (relatively) effectively - probably after only a few matches- they can switch to Production if they want or pursue a Limited Major setup.  Or pick another division, now that they’ve been exposed to all the divisions at actual matches. 

I gotcha. I’m not horribly opposed to it or anything. For me (I started in production) it was better to learn the sport in the division that I wanted to shoot. Limited minor is fantastic for people who only have a few mags and want to try it, but if they want to play the game, I recommend picking one division and sticking with it typically. If they can’t navigate the stages safely with two additional mag changes, they probably won’t be substantially safer in limited. It also lets them begin classifications in the division they want so they can track progress.

It’s not necessarily bad advice to start in limited minor if they want to shoot production, but it seems that everyone gives that advice. If he or she has the equipment and magazines, why not just shoot the division they want to shoot? Most local stages aren’t terribly complicated and they’ll figure it out faster. I tell them to take the training wheels off and give it a go.

That’s just my two cents though...


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