USPSA physicality poll

[RJH]

Just got to wonder everybody's thoughts on how much shooting they want to do at a shooting match and how much practical they want to do at a practical shooting match

[davsco]

answers probably skewed by age.  ~60 now i'm not a fan of really low ports or 25yd dashes.  but one every once in a while i won't complain too much because something like that may come up in real life.  but i do go to matches to shoot and not conserve ammo so like a higher round count.

[Braxton1]

The older I get, the less I like "track meets", but there HAS TO BE some physicality in a Practical Shooting match.  You generally can tell the vintage of the MD and Stage Designers by how much. 

 

Until two years ago, we had a match in the Atlanta area that we jokingly called "The Geezer Match".  A big Field Course would have 28 rounds and maybe 15 yards of movement, start-to-finish.  There'd be a couple of Medium Courses, plus two Speed Shoot/Standards type Classifiers.  Shoot at 0900, eating at the Barbecued Pork restaurant at 1230.  It was a nice break from other matches, being exhausted at the end and dealing with the afternoon heat.

Edited March 20 by Braxton1

[Joe4d]

doesnt take alot of effort to mix it up,,, even on the same stage. Give people options . Do I run and take the easy shot ? or stand and take the harder shot. 

[herky]

At almost 78 years old, none of it is as easy as it was 30 years ago.  LOL

[LDRIDER]

2 hours ago, Joe4d said:

doesnt take alot of effort to mix it up,,, even on the same stage. Give people options . Do I run and take the easy shot ? or stand and take the harder shot. 

^^^ Barricades and tunnels umm...not so much but, options are good. Good

stage designs must have options. Otherwisw its just a shooting gallery or

a track match.

[RadarTech]

A good stage could do both.. if you are a good shot, you could avoid a run by a LONG range shot, but if physical you could run it..

make it a good challenge to figure it out one way or the other… but it a fine line.

[shred]

Why even bother with even having the 'sprint to avoid a hard shot' part?  If the fast runners can't shoot accurately, that's a weakness in their game and they deserve to get hammered for it.

 

This is after all, a shooting sport.  People that want to run a marathon and shoot a couple dozen rounds can shoot run-n-gun or Combat Ninja Games if they like flipping tractor tires in between shots.

 

[RangerTrace]

2 hours ago, shred said:

Why even bother with even having the 'sprint to avoid a hard shot' part?  If the fast runners can't shoot accurately, that's a weakness in their game and they deserve to get hammered for it.

 

This is after all, a shooting sport.  People that want to run a marathon and shoot a couple dozen rounds can shoot run-n-gun or Combat Ninja Games if they like flipping tractor tires in between shots.

 

^^^this for sure.  If I want to workout, I go to the gym.  I don't need to run a 5K, wear a plate carrier and all that other stuff when I shoot a match.  If you want to take it easy, shoot IDPA, if you want a lot more movement, shoot USPSA.  

[outerlimits]

I'm almost 70-just shot a rifle stage at superstition mystery mountain 3 gun with a port no higher than 10" from the dirt, in the middle of a stage.  nobody bit&hed about it either...

[RJH]

3 minutes ago, outerlimits said:

I'm almost 70-just shot a rifle stage at superstition mystery mountain 3 gun with a port no higher than 10" from the dirt, in the middle of a stage.  nobody bit&hed about it either...

 

 

Yep, that's the difference in three gun and USPSA though. Most people that shoot three gun are fine with a little more physicality. People that just shoot pistols seem to really have issues if they have to go prone or shoot a low port. When I say issues I don't mean issues making the shots happen, I just mean they don't like to LOL

[MHicks]

2 minutes ago, outerlimits said:

I'm almost 70-just shot a rifle stage at superstition mystery mountain 3 gun with a port no higher than 10" from the dirt, in the middle of a stage.  nobody bit&hed about it either...

 

That's expected in 3 gun. In USPSA when they definitely have two places to shoot a specific target from it's usually to accommodate shooters who have difficulty getting into the shooting position, prone for example. Not to allow an easier shot if you can run up closer. I've seen alternate positions to avoid a Cooper tunnel. Usually the alternate position costs you some time to avoid the problem position.

[MHicks]

People that just shoot pistols seem to really have issues if they have to go prone or shoot a low port. When I say issues I don't mean issues making the shots happen, I just mean they don't like to LOL

 

Some shooters can go prone or shoot from a low port but don't like to do it, but there are some that just physically can't do it.  I can go prone but not just pop up if prone was in the middle of a stage. 

[ddc]

I'm old enough so that I'm not all that excited if I have to go prone or extremely low port in the middle of a stage. 

However my concern is not that I'm required to do so; I relish the challenge. However I'm more likely to pull a hammy when doing so at speed. Or at least at what I call speed... lol...

(And I hate pulling a hammy!)

 

But if presented with such a stage I just shoot it and do the best I can and try to be satisfied that I got down and dirty better than most in my age group.

 

This may not be a popular opinion but if people would take at least a little time to work out and maybe drop a couple of pounds (or maybe 50?) so they are at least somewhat height/weight appropriate maybe they wouldn't complain so much if they had to shoot other than in a rocking chair. 

 

 

[shred]

The only IPSC stage I ever beat Grauffel on in Open heads-up had 3 separate prone positions on it...

 

[jim vaughan]

I would suggest that movement itself is not a current problem. I rather identify 2 other stage design issues that are far worse. 12 round stages with 4 or 5 shooting positions and stages that do not have any options.

[LHshooter]

I'll be 66 in June. My days of doing wind sprints and moving "explosively" are behind me. I know I'm losing time on stages moving between shooting positions but I have to accept that I can't run as fast anymore unless I'm running through an airport terminal trying to catch a connecting flight.

[IHAVEGAS]

I don't think most folks have a problem with movement that suits a purpose. Running for the sake of running isn't what a lot of people are looking for at a shooting match. 

[Zincwarrior]

It should be a shooting competition not an athletic competition. If you want that, there are Spartan type competitions out there (shakes cane at kids).

[RJH]

But it's always been an athletic competition. Watch some footage of USPSA matches from the 90s. You'll see jumping barricades, 30 yd of sprinting, dragging dummies, etc. People talk about how there used to there was 50 yard shots and not a lot of running, but there was always an element of physicality and some of it was harder than there is today. I mean, there used to be holster test for a reason

[RJH]

3 minutes ago, Zincwarrior said:

It should be a shooting competition not an athletic competition. If you want that, there are Spartan type competitions out there (shakes cane at kids).

 

That's a bullseye match 

[barry]

This is not a USPSA problem  this is a local problem. In my area we have 25-35 yd targets in every match. Seldom have movement more than 15 yards without shooting. If your local club puts on a crappy match shoot elsewhere or step up and help run a better match. 

[RJH]

1 minute ago, barry said:

This is not a USPSA problem  this is a local problem. In my area we have 25-35 yd targets in every match. Seldom have movement more than 15 yards without shooting. If your local club puts on a crappy match shoot elsewhere or step up and help run a better match. 

 

The reports of there being a problem are greatly exaggerated 

[Schutzenmeister]

9 hours ago, shred said:

The only IPSC stage I ever beat Grauffel on in Open heads-up had 3 separate prone positions on it...

 

My gawd ... I never knew Eric had a stroke!

[shred]

1 hour ago, RJH said:

But it's always been an athletic competition. Watch some footage of USPSA matches from the 90s. You'll see jumping barricades, 30 yd of sprinting, dragging dummies, etc. People talk about how there used to there was 50 yard shots and not a lot of running, but there was always an element of physicality and some of it was harder than there is today. I mean, there used to be holster test for a reason

As someone that was shooting then, "30-yard sprints." were very rarely seen.  You'd have Rhodesian walls and gates to climb or jump over and doors and windows and tubes and low ports, shooting out of cars and stuff to drag or carry (you know, "Practical"), but sprinting distances for no reason?  Not so much.