Leadfoot Anny Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 Is there a big difference between USPSA and IDPA and if so what are they? I love shooting and right now I shoot USPSA, I'm still making a lot of mistakes and I have bad habits I'm working on breaking. I have been told I need to try IDPA and from what I have seen and read I'd like to but don't know if there is much of or any difference. I shot at the Pickaway Range today and every time I go I find the folks more and more helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 We all "need" to try other various shooting sports....IMHO. How else will we know which suits our skill sets and temperment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwmiket Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 Both are good fun and trigger time......just slightly different rules. Main differences-IDPA will require cover garment, and the way to shoot the course of fire is pre-determined and described at the beginning of each stage... you also cannot drop a partially loaded mag without recieving a penalty.. IDPA round counts are usually slightly less, as well. USPSA tends to be more free style, overall. Try both, enjoy both........ I was shooting both weekly until recently, when I decided to focus on my USPSA shooting only. Remember, if it has a clipboard and a timer, it's a game. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 Shoot both, have fun, make friends. Damnit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 the rules are somewhat different - idpa tends to tell you how to shoot the stage and uspsa tends to tell you how not to shoot the stage - BUT, good people, good fun, and trigger time can be found at both. Shoot both and you won't be sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobert1 Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 But you may not have such wonderful RO's that you had today at the Pickaway Range. It was a pleasure shooting with you and your family today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moneypenny Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 Anny, i shoot both sports IDPA is usually lower round count and more instruction (less choices of how to engage arrays) Both are good sports i like USPSA better because it is more of a challenge to me, but shoot both every chance i get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baa Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 Like others above, I shoot both and enjoy both. As I have become more experienced, I enjoy the challenges of USPSA shooting more (higher round count, longer distances, more "technical" problems to solve" but IDPA is fun and as others have said, trigger time is a good thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnpyeron3 Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 I enjoy shooting both. I feel shooting USPSA makes me faster when shooting IDPA. I've always been of the philosophy that trigger time is trigger time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD45 Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 I enjoy both, but USPSA matches are more fun for me at this point. After three years of mostly IDPA, it sure is fun to do speed reloads for a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Knight Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 (edited) I am still a beginer and shoot both for the competitive atmosphere and trigger time. We shoot IDPA indoors and USPSA outdoors. I still have yet to get really good scores but I am getting there. I am lucky I have a single top shooter that loves to give advice. He is a great guy and the rest are kind of in awe of him. I treat him like a person and he talks to me and gices advice. I have made mistakes and done IDPA techniques like taking cover on USPSA stages, or USPSA techniques like dumping full mags instead of reload with retention. I guess I will get used to both. Edited August 6, 2006 by theknightoflight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadfoot Anny Posted August 6, 2006 Author Share Posted August 6, 2006 Well my family and I had a real good time at the Pickaway Range, and Yes my RO was great. He was shooting my dream gun that I want soooooooooooooooo bad. He was nice enough to take me to the safe area and let me hold the big brother to my dream gun. All of the folks up there are very helpful, now we will be practicing what those nice folks was telling us today. Thanks to all for all of your help. We will be trying out IDPA soon, just for trigger time and all. We really do love USPSA and the C-ville range. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Knight Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 We will be trying out IDPA soon, just for trigger time and all. Thanks again. Trigger Time huh?? You will get addicted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markd Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 So here is the real truth without all the political correctness. USPSA is about the shooting and the better shooter will usually win. IDPA is about RULES, tons of nit-picky RULES most of which are so subjective that the SOs nor headquarters themselves can accurately and fairly interpret them. Lots of IDPA matches are and can be fun. However, likely sooner rather than later you will encounter the IPSC "HATERS". My advice is not to let them know you shoot USPSA. I get really sick of being told "This ain't IPSC" and other comments that slur other sports. Do not ever mention the word "game" at an IDPA match or you will be scolded into oblivion cause they do not think it is a game at all and being labled as a gamer will get you put under the microscope and likely result in more penalties for you. I bet my lunch money you will get more procedurals and penalty points than you ever imagined. Again, IDPA can be fun and cool depending on the people running the match. However, most serious IDPA shooters have never shot any other discipline and have a real bad attitude about USPSA. Good luck and have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RifleShooter Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Hey Markd, I'm sorry you have had such negative experiences with IDPA. Personally, I have not met anyone in IDPA who was anti-IPSC, or who was overly concerned with nit-picking about the rules. Lots of people at our matches joke about 'gaming', and no one really believes that what we are doing is 'real'. The only people that get penalties are the ones that earn them by doing something wrong, like I did when I fired an extra round on a limited stage. Perhaps I have never met 'most serious IDPA shooters'. If that is indeed the case, I hope I never do, because the folks around here are good people, and we have a lot of fun shooting--even though the best shooters do tend to win. I am hoping to get out and try USPSA at some point in the near future, especially since the friend who got me interested in shooting in competition was shooting USPSA. Call me strange, but I really do think that people can shoot both, and have fun doing so. I also think that people who only shoot one can respect the abilities of those who shoot the other. Certainly there are going to be a few out there who feel they have to put down the other sport, but in my experience they are thankfully few and far between. Arnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malak Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I don't shoot because it is IDPA weekend or USPSA weekend. I shoot because its the weekend. I enjoy shooting, and games are games (no matter what the IDPA commandos say). In corpus christi, the CBShooters club shoots IDPA, USPSA, 3 gun, ICORE, and carbine matches. I shoot long range Saturday morning, and skeet/trap Thursday nights. If I have Sunday free, I shoot. The particluar game does not matter much to me. I don't even have a competition revolver, so I shoot my single stack in ICORE. IMHO, you gotta love shooting to be good at a shooting game, so try not to get too bothered by some of the rules in different games. If they all had the same rules/format, then there would not be a difference. You will hear alot on this forum (from much better shooters than me) about trigger time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markd Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Rifleshooter, My experiences in IDPA span close to ten years and have been pretty consistent. There are lots of good people in IDPA. On the other hand there are plenty of real jerks who think IDPA is the only pure discipline in the world. One local range owner refused to allow an IPSC match or an IPSC gun to be fired on his range. We also have a big time IDPA "official" in our area who hates IPSC shooters and seems to go out of his way to stick it to them every chance he gets. You only get the rule book "benefit of the doubt" if you never shot IPSC!!! There is constant bickering at matches about the rules and most SOs seem to come to the match with a pocket full of procedural errors and a determination to give every one of them out to somebody! I left the sport one time already for six years and I think I am on my way out again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSabbath Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) No offense to anyone who's nice that's shoots IDPA, but, that's excactly why I (we) tried IDPA, and then dumped it. My number was A1812. I got in early on thinking this would be a cool new shooting sport. I believed in the concept, I (we) really did. All my friends felt the same way. I (we) just couldn't get over the bad attitudes of the people my group encountered everywhere we went. This was back in 97 and 98. The range nazis, meanies or, whatever you want to call them really disliked us because we were USPSA shooters, and...because we always came out ahead of them. Our equipment was always legal, we always played the game within the rules and always came out on top. They hated us for it. I'm sorry, but I don't know of another word to use. My home club in Mississippi host one of the biggest USPSA state champonships in the southeast. Shooters come from all over the country to shoot our match. They compare it to Area matches; ask anyone. We had an IDPA club and let it die after a few trips on the road. We have a huge facility with over 750 active members in the club at large. No IDPA though; not anymore. We do have an ICORE club though.... What a shame. Again, no offense to any nice people who shoot IDPA now. I've met some cool people on these boards. This is simply the truth. Bad people in USPSA? You betcha. Any sport has that. But, that type of hostility just isn't tolerated though. Until all of us...USPSA, IDPA, ICORE, Cowboy Action....whatever learn to get along, join the NRA and act as a united front, one day, when they take all our guns away, we'll wish we had been nicer to each other. Peace. Edited August 24, 2006 by BlackSabbath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genghis Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 I shoot both. I have seen the USPSA vs. IDPA rivalry online, but I have never, ever heard it in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Knight Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 I guess we are lucky in AK. We have a small club and everyone just wants trigger time. I like both sports a lot becuase I am new and they give me a competitive environment and a strive to get better. I have seen one of our group act like a little kid when he gets a procedural in IDPA(he keeps squating instead of kneeling) but he doesn't quit. No one seems to mind him acting like a baby whining about it. I think it is good to shoot both so you can see all the things in that IPSC or USPSA style shooting can lead to bad tactics on the street. I know I know IDPA is not "real" but it is the best format to shoot different senarios for the street if you carry daily. We have a lot of Cops that show up to matches and some are firearms instructors. Many use their duty gear and only shoot SSP. It is the only time they get to have senario based training as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazos SC Shooter Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Well my family and I had a real good time at the Pickaway Range, and Yes my RO was great. He was shooting my dream gun that I want soooooooooooooooo bad. He was nice enough to take me to the safe area and let me hold the big brother to my dream gun. All of the folks up there are very helpful, now we will be practicing what those nice folks was telling us today. Thanks to all for all of your help. We will be trying out IDPA soon, just for trigger time and all. We really do love USPSA and the C-ville range. Thanks again. I am personally heavily involved with the Central Ohio IDPA club. Michael, our match director and a couple of the SO's shoot both. You won't get any of that attitude from the folks that run our matches. We have actually began to bring many more USPSA elements, steel, poppers, disappearing targets and maximum round counts to make the courses of fire more interesting, and most of all more entertaining. I would encourage you to bring your family out to our next match, 2nd Saturday of the month, at the Circleville (Pickaway County Sportsman) Range and see for yourself. I have noticed that the USPSA competition has helped my performance in IDPA. The subtle differences have also cost me some points in both games. The challenge is making the mental switch from one to the other. For example, in USPSA, you do not have to worry about having your body behind cover. This slowed me down when switching to USPSA. Going the other direction, shooting target arrays in a specific order (tactical priority - as they become visible) has cost me in IDPA when I have shot them freestyle like USPSA allows. Lastly, trigger time is trigger time and there is always benefit to that. I was really impressed with the number us USPSA shooter who attended our August match. There were alot of folks we had just shot with the weekend before and it was great to see them come shoot with us. Look forward to seeing you on the range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Hmm.... Just last week, in fact, I joined IDPA. Although USPSA/IPSC is my passion, there are some major matches in my area I'd like to shoot, like the Carolina Cup, and it's also a chance for some additional trigger time. That said, since I shoot semi-often in a local "IDPA-like" match, with some pretty hard-core IDPA shooters, I am sensitive to a very slight undercurrent of friction, sometimes. I think it stems from the following: 1) a genuine incomprehension, on the part of the IPSC shooter, that anyone shooting IDPA wouldn't *also* want to shoot an IPSC match. 2) and -- on the part of some IDPA shooters -- a sensitivity towards having *their* shooting recreation demeaned in some way. It's like listening to your wife complain about one of her relatives. You, too, can agree, but beyond a certain level of enthuthiasm...beware. They're still her family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear23 Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 I shoot and enjoy both. Here in our local area We do have an IDPA vs. USPSA problem. Several of our USPSA shooters do both sports while most of the IDPA shooters do not cross over and do not help the other clubs in the area. Not sure where it came from and i've tried to involve the clubs in the area, but no go... Shoot both and have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Boudrie Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Is there a big difference between USPSA and IDPA and if so what are they? Thre is a fundamental structural difference. USPSA is a membership based organization, recognized as a 501 ( c )( 3 ). If you feel inclined to make a donation to USPSA, this makes it tax deductible. All US members have a right to vote for the selection of the board member representing their area, as well as the USPSA President. USPSA also has a HQ and staff both of which have the sole mission of supporting the organization. IDPA has a different corporate structure, and members are not allowed to vote. Current IDPA board members are the only ones permitted to vote in the board elections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincent Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Also you can shoot USPSA matches as a non-member. Part of the match fee goes to the USPSA organization so they get some money either way. Being a member of USPSA gives you benefits like the classification system, Front Sight magazine, access to the nice classified section in the members area of uspsa.com, etc. You have to become an IDPA member to shoot IDPA matches. None of the match fee goes back to the IDPA organization. Therefore they need the membership fees a bit more. Being a member doesn't get you much more than the ability to shoot IDPA. I personally don't think the Tactical Journal is good enough to call a benefit, but it does count for something. Both sports are worth shooting if there are good clubs in your area and good people at those clubs. In the end it's what you enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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