USPSA Division for New Shooter?

[matir]

So, the general advice I see is for most new shooters to start off in Limited learning the game, even if shooting Limited minor (9mm) as we won't be competitive either way and Limited has somewhat easier rules to comply with (specifically, magazine capacity).  Unfortunately, I live in a 10-round state (California), so I'll be changing magazines every 10 rounds either way.  Other than having to drop my hammer at the start (which I guess I'll need to practice quite a bit), is there any other disadvantage to just declaring production?

[davsco]

first, just bring what you got and have gun and be safe.  find the match director, let him know what you have, and ask for his advice as to what division to enter.

 

but yeah production sounds like the right call for 9mm and 10 round mags.

 

congrats for jumping in!

[Rnlinebacker]

So, the general advice I see is for most new shooters to start off in Limited learning the game, even if shooting Limited minor (9mm) as we won't be competitive either way and Limited has somewhat easier rules to comply with (specifically, magazine capacity).  Unfortunately, I live in a 10-round state (California), so I'll be changing magazines every 10 rounds either way.  Other than having to drop my hammer at the start (which I guess I'll need to practice quite a bit), is there any other disadvantage to just declaring production?

I disagree and say Production is where everyone should start as cost is a huge factor (gun, gear, ammo). Open and limited should be a decision of sorts once you have an understanding of the rules, costs, commitment, etc.

Dry fire is where your fundamentals can be honed the most of which the most important are:

-Grip(support WRIST has got to work 100%)
-Stance
- Sight Alignment(if grip is correct this should be taken care of)
- trigger prep and pull

What gun will you be running?

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[matir]

 

8 minutes ago, Rnlinebacker said:

What gun will you be running?

 

A new CZ-75 SP-01.  Currently completely stock.

[HCH]

1 hour ago, Rnlinebacker said:

I disagree and say Production is where everyone should start as cost is a huge factor (gun, gear, ammo). Open and limited should be a decision of sorts once you have an understanding of the rules, costs, commitment, etc.

Dry fire is where your fundamentals can be honed the most of which the most important are:

-Grip(support WRIST has got to work 100%)
-Stance
- Sight Alignment(if grip is correct this should be taken care of)
- trigger prep and pull

What gun will you be running?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

 

So buying 4-5 extra mags, having to buy  mag pouches, dealing with extra mag changes, and being down points for no reason (assuming a new  shooter has anything other than a 9mm), is the best way to start?

[Rnlinebacker]

 
So buying 4-5 extra mags, having to buy  mag pouches, dealing with extra mag changes, and being down points for no reason (assuming a new  shooter has anything other than a 9mm), is the best way to start?

are you buying their ammo for them? 9mm is cheap to buy in bulk. Everyone doesn't reload to begin and I complete in Limited btw

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[Rnlinebacker]

 
 
A new CZ-75 SP-01.  Currently completely stock.

nice choice! Definitely look into
www.cajungunworks.com

There are many parts on that site you can buy to turn your SP-01 into a high performance machine. You can watch some YouTube videos and do the work yourself or send the gun to cajun where the work can be done for you.

I have an SP-01 that I Cajunized and dabble in production with it sometimes.

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[matir]

6 minutes ago, Rnlinebacker said:

nice choice! Definitely look into
www.cajungunworks.com

There are many parts on that site you can buy to turn your SP-01 into a high performance machine. You can watch some YouTube videos and do the work yourself or send the gun to cajun where the work can be done for you.

I have an SP-01 that I Cajunized and dabble in production with it sometimes.

 

Yep, I want to put a pro kit on it, but I haven't decided if I'll DIY or send it in.  It's my only full-caliber pistol, so I don't really want to be without it for 2-3 months.  The flip side is that I'm not sure I'm capable of doing the work on it, I've never done any gunsmithing.  I do have an 85C trigger to install on it because it feels better, but I haven't been prepared to go beyond that.

[Rnlinebacker]

 
Yep, I want to put a pro kit on it, but I haven't decided if I'll DIY or send it in.  It's my only full-caliber pistol, so I don't really want to be without it for 2-3 months.  The flip side is that I'm not sure I'm capable of doing the work on it, I've never done any gunsmithing.  I do have an 85C trigger to install on it because it feels better, but I haven't been prepared to go beyond that.

For this particular job you'll need a dremel with a polishing wheel and some Flitz. There's no stoning orde cutting involved such as in 1911/2011s.

Do it! You'll have a greater understanding of how your blaster works. Dedicate a weekend day to it and go slow. Fortunately, all the internals can replaced via CGW if you mess something up lol

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[matir]

25 minutes ago, Rnlinebacker said:

For this particular job you'll need a dremel with a polishing wheel and some Flitz. There's no stoning orde cutting involved such as in 1911/2011s.

Do it! You'll have a greater understanding of how your blaster works. Dedicate a weekend day to it and go slow. Fortunately, all the internals can replaced via CGW if you mess something up lol
 

 

Seems like a good approach.  I've read I should get some spare slide stops anyway.

[George16]

Search for professor kneelingatlas’ Polishing tutorial. It’s complete with explanation and picture illustrations. Just go slow and take pictures before you dismantle or remove anything so you’ll have a reference if you forgot how it goes back in.

[nasty618]

If you don't mind my advice - besides choosing the right gear and modifying it, another key thing to turn your attention to is learning the rules of the game.  If i could go back a year ago - that's the advice i would have given myself.  It's astounding how many new and experienced people (to include ROs) at local matches do not know the rules... 

 

Being in a restricted state - I also started in L10/Major with a Glock 21 and a dinky belt/holster set up.  After a couple of months i made the choice to move to Production with SP01 Shadow as well.  After almost a year in Production - I think it's a more competitive, challenging and fun division. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by nasty618

[regor]

@matir, for reference, it took me about 4 hours to do a full strip, polish, and install of the CGW pro package in my SP-01 tactical (decocker model, so a little more complicated from my understanding) with no prior experience. It's really no more daunting than building an AR with roll pins. A basic pin punch set and a heavier hammer (for getting out the staked hammer pins) is all you really need. 

 

If you're looking for a quick improvement, swap the factory hammer spring for the CGW 11.5# one. It will drop the DA pull weight substantially and has reliably ignited primers for me on everything except Tulammo. 

[JJB05]

Would probably just be cheaper to move to a state that doesn't have a mag restriction.

[broadside72]

I started in single stack shooting major. Moved to production with a newly acquired SP01. Did my own pro package install and polishing. Not hard just annoying at time with my fat fingers and the small parts. Plus a yellow recoil and black hammer springs. Great for slow 147gr loads. I put the factory from back in for 124gr. The gun runs awesome.

You could shoot limited 10 and run cocked and locked and you have more options for holster and mag type and placement. But shooting minor is a disadvantage there in my opinion.

Start in production and get used to the reloads and stage planning. Get classified and make C or B class and then decide if you want to move division or not.

Edited January 7, 2019 by broadside72

[Darqusoull13]

19 hours ago, matir said:

So, the general advice I see is for most new shooters to start off in Limited learning the game, even if shooting Limited minor (9mm) as we won't be competitive either way and Limited has somewhat easier rules to comply with (specifically, magazine capacity).  Unfortunately, I live in a 10-round state (California), so I'll be changing magazines every 10 rounds either way.  Other than having to drop my hammer at the start (which I guess I'll need to practice quite a bit), is there any other disadvantage to just declaring production?

Just show up and ask for help. At our local matches we are assigning new shooters to more seasoned shooters to help them through the match. The new shooter's only goals are to be safe all day, have fun, and finish the match. 

Don't worry about divisions or anything else until you're good and addicted. For your first match, bring your gun, a safe holster, enough mags and mag pouches (pockets) to get you 45-50 rounds on your person and shoot  

[Adamj]

As a new shooter myself, apart from one match in Limited, I'm jumping directly into Open as I know it is where I will eventually wind up. I think stage planning and speed will be my biggest shortcomings for a while relative to other open shooters. I'm game though 

[JJB05]

2 minutes ago, Adamj said:

As a new shooter myself, apart from one match in Limited, I'm jumping directly into Open as I know it is where I will eventually wind up. I think stage planning and speed will be my biggest shortcomings for a while relative to other open shooters. I'm game though 

 

What gun will you be rocking in Open?

[Adamj]

1 minute ago, JJB05 said:

 

What gun will you be rocking in Open?

I have an Atlas Chaos on order that I cannot wait to get my hands on. 55 days into the 90 day period. Just trying not to think about, but I'm itching to get sone reps in with it. 

[JJB05]

3 minutes ago, Adamj said:

I have an Atlas Chaos on order that I cannot wait to get my hands on. 55 days into the 90 day period. Just trying not to think about, but I'm itching to get sone reps in with it. 

 

I have an Atlas Nemesis right now....after this season I may switch to Open and will get a Nemesis...the waiting is the hardest part.

[tacomandood]

I have an Atlas Chaos on order that I cannot wait to get my hands on. 55 days into the 90 day period. Just trying not to think about, but I'm itching to get sone reps in with it. 

After only one match huh? This guy full sends lol

[Darqusoull13]

3 minutes ago, tacomandood said:

 

After only one match huh? This guy full sends lol

 

Some of us prefer to go feet first and ..... deep 

[tacomandood]

To each their own. Hell, if I had the money to spend I’d buy one of them Atlases just to get good with it before eventually switching to Open too. I kinda did the same, where I shot Production for a few matches before just switching over to Limited with a good gun and setup. Obviously, my costs were a bit less than his, but I kinda jumped right in too lol.

I also didn’t like how Production was inherently less competitive when considering overall match performance. My average match placement immediately went from about 55-65% to about 75% overall, and even hitting 90% this last Sunday. Major scoring and less reloads definitely makes a difference on some of those stages lol.

[nasty618]

13 minutes ago, tacomandood said:

Production was inherently less competitive when considering overall match performance

 

 

I dont think thats a correct way of looking at things. Why would you compare apples and oranges?  If a Production shooter were to gauge his performance based on Overall placement against PCC and Open guns... well that's just asking for unfounded disappointment from setting unreasonable expectations.  Unless you want to compare overall target accuracy which still means very little when Major PF shooters care much more about speed than about dropping a bunch of Charlies. 

 

I think Production is much more challenging and requires more skill and focus for the very same reasons you mentioned - limited capacity, minor PF, iron sights, magazine placement, etc.

I think it's a higher badge of honor to be a solid Production shooter.

[Adamj]

45 minutes ago, Darqusoull13 said:

Some of us prefer to go feet first and ..... deep 

Absolutely. I don't like to do anything halfway. I watched a video years ago by hawkeye ordinance, geared toward 3 gun, saying that most people end up in a 2011 and you'd save yourself time and money by buying and crying once. 

 

I might change my mind,  but I love the idea of going as fast as posible and reloading as little as possible.