Your First Big Match

[Matt Cheely]

Targeting Education. First stage, shooting with Max and Travis, Forget a target. DOH! Look at the final placings and I lost HOA production to Flex by 4%. Learned my lesson very quickly to not forget targets!

[Mike Dame]

2003 Area 5 in Polo Il, ran around like a kid getting all the Pro's to sign my Front Sight issues when I first got there. Found out the Robbie doesn't like being called Mr Leatham

[Barrettone]

2003 Michigan State 3 Gun Championship at Livingston Gun Club. Shot 3 no-shoots in the match and DNF'ed on a stage when I ran out of ammo (5 mags in L-10 with my Kimber 45). After shooting all the rounds out of my stripper mag at those plates, I threw the mag at them...calibration passed...damn it...no reshoot!

Edited April 19, 2007 by Barrettone

[Flexmoney]

Targeting Education. First stage, shooting with Max and Travis, Forget a target. DOH! Look at the final placings and I lost HOA production to Flex by 4%. Learned my lesson very quickly to not forget targets!

ohhhhh....that would have been close. You were 25pts off on that stage...needing 35. That might have done it. I recall dicking up on one of the stages (it may have been a reshoot too?), but leaving out of there feeling I shot fairly solid. I was very surprised to see you in the mid-90's on the match %.

Of course, I knew you were good from that very first "tell me what I'm doing wrong" video you posted. I recall thinking...about that video...I wonder how many giving advice on this would have gotten beat by that run ??

[j1b]

The first big match I remember was the first match where I left Alaska to go shoot. It was the Coors/Springfield Armory challenge in Durango (I think).

I know I'd shot the Alaska State match the year prior and had finished second - but I don't remember much about that match. I also didn't think the "highest ranked" shooters were up in AK so I didn't really know how to guage that performance.

So down to Durango I went - roomed with then Doug and Kippi Boykin (Leatham) and Tim Copperstone. I was nervous as all get out - had a brand new Huenning P9 though and was ready to rock and roll! Tim and I spent a lot of time working on stuff together. I was very inexperienced and he had been around a while. He helped coach me through things. I was in B class - but was still not a match shooter.

So I just shot the targets. Tim remembers on my first stage I told the RO "I'm really new so please have patience with me"

The match went well though. Ended up 4th OA - high B class. Copperstone was snickering at me - "new my ass" was probably a term I heard a lot after that. Boykin handed me my nice plaque along with a nice sandbag - the sandbagger's award.

Then came the shoot-offs - which I had not planned on participating in. Honestly - I really didn't know they took place. So I start getting ready and stuff - then the nerves really started. In the match - nobody was watching. At the shootoff - anybody who wasn't shooting was watching!

Won my first round in the shoot-off only to come up against Robbie next. I should have saved the ammo - I was defeated mentally long before the shooting started. Of course he cleaned my clock and that was that.

Fun match - good memories. 4th OA was a great confidence booster - little did I know it would get tougher from there.

J

[herky]

Early 90's Michigan State match shooting a Sig 220 with 7 round mags. A real study in frustration, as this was before there was more than one division. No idea where I finished, but know it wasn't last. Ordered a 1911 the next week and have been having much fun ever since.

[dajarrel]

I believe it was the 2002 Mississippi Classic in Jackson, MS. There were several of us from Mobile who drove up for the weekend, couldn't sleep and were as nervous as long tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs.

We started on the classifier. All I remember about it was that you started with your gun and ammo on a barrel and shot through ports. When the smoke cleared I had about 40 penalty points and very few A zone hits. My buddy didn't do much better and we decided to enjoy the rest of the match as we couldn't win it. (we were full of high hopes back then ) We actually did ok the rest of the day, but I will never forget the butterflys on that first stage.

dj

[Steelshooter3]

In 2002, I competed at IRC championship in Morro Bay, CA. It was my first ICORE match. I used a 3" S&W Mdl 13 with a pair of Speigal boot grips and a Bladetech belt holster. I was the only competitor using a fixed sighted revolver and there were probably only ten of us using revolvers that used speedloaders. My goal was not to finish last and not to get DQ'd. I was successful on both counts. I had the best time I've ever had shooting.

I got to meet Jerry Miculek and Vic Pickett spent alot of time talking with/encouraging me. The ROs were fantastic. In fact, what impressed me the most was how friendly and supportive all the fellow shooters were to each other. It worked for me, with the exception of the Near & Far standard stage, I shot the rest of the match very accurate - albeit slow. Only had 3 C's, 4 B's & the rest A's.

The Near & Far standard stage starts with a 50yd string of 6 shots in 9 seconds (?) starting at the surrender position and going prone. There was alternate start position that involved making a 180 degree turn then draw and fire but you didn't have to go prone. Didn't matter - with my eyesight the targets were safe from projectiles that string. It didn't get much better the closer I got with the par times and mandatory reloads. Very challenging and a great stage for practice. Really shows you where you need to improve. I have always wanted to go back to the IRC but just haven't had the stars & moon align just right for it to happen. Maybe next year!

[hopalong]

2002 Tennessee Section Championship

Had no Idea what I had gotten into, had not been shooting a year yet and volunteered to help in the match.

Shooting on Friday with the Ro's doing pretty good until my mag catch on my Para (old plastic one) decided that it was time to wear out and not hold a mag in.

MATT MINK was Hi C class Limited that year.............with a GLOCK!

Had never seen a revolver at a USPSA match until that match too!

Hopalong

[JFD]

The 2004 SC Sectional was my first big match and I was working the match as well (provided a stage). I was pumped for a C class L-10 win, as I was fired up for being #1 on the C class L-10 Top 20. Friday morning I showed up and a few grinning shooters directed me to the stat shack to find out I had been moved to B class the night before, and this was not missed by Linda Chico

I shot my stage OK but didn't think so at the time. Sucked big time on the next stage. As I was walking to the next stage with an overloaded range bad I thought to myself "this is going to be a long, ugly day".

Next stage was a big accuracy test, basically a classifier that had the targets spaced way back. Pasters on the targets made it appear that previous shooters were using shotguns. Accuracy is my strength, so I shot the stage with no points lost and my spirits were lifted. Had fun the rest of the match.

I ended up winning the state L-10 belt buckle and took home $150. I was actually 7th overall in L-10, so my win was solely based on living in SC

[9x21]

1989 Miller Invitational.

Fulton NY

It was great, watching the super squad of that era!

TGO, Brian, etc....

My pistol was single stack , iron sighted 38 stupid!

Too hung over to make it to the shoot offs on Sunday.

(it was the Harvard gangs fault)

Good times, Good times.......

[mike cyrwus]

last year; L10 Nats

won 1st C class.

had a great time, first time I realized that shooting is a full time job.

[Carmoney]

I started shooting in steel and bowling pin competition around 1987, but my first big match was Second Chance in 1989 or 1990. I had a very good match, winning the first of the big money shootoffs that year (Richard Davis literally sprinkled $2,000 in cash over my head and tossed me a Master Blaster patch, which is still sewn on my range bag yet today). I also won a shotgun in the main event, and a S&W revolver in the 8-pin side match.

I shot everything with .45 ACP revolvers back then. Hmmm.....I guess that really hasn't changed, I still use a .45 ACP revolver in most of the USPSA matches I shoot these days! Although now I draw from a holster and run around shooting mostly brown cardboard.....but having more fun than ever.

[Bwana Six-Gun]

My first Biggie was in '96. What came to be known as the Mississippi Classic. We had just re-affiliated with USPSA and held our first Sectional/State Championsip. Glenn Whitfield was the MD and set the whole thing up. I had only been shooting IPSC for a couple of years, but had gotten the bug and bought an "Open Gun" (single stack .45 with iron sights and a comp) . The year before we had an unsanctioned state match and I won 1st C Class in Open. Thought I was hot stuff. When we affiliated, I was classified in Open and Limited, but thought I can win Open.

First day of the match and I am out there shooting my trusty Open gun and discover that I am the only one with iron sights, and a single stack. Everyone else had some form of Optical sight and a high cap .38 Super of 9 MM. I don't remember what the final standings were, but I can say that I did not finish butt-naked last. That wasthe end of my open shooting career. Went to Limited and eventually saw the light and changed to Revolver.

I have shot the MS classic every year since then and the last five with a wheel gun. I don't knoew that it gets any better than this. (Unless yo can learn to type better or spell better)

Come to Jackson and see me screw up annually.

[Stuck in C]

The night before my first Area match I went out for barbeque-for some reason no one would go with me so I went by myself. It was great food; I ate enough for two people my size and washed it down with enough beer to float a battleship. I spent most of the night on the motel bed groaning in pain until I finally puked at 4:00 am. The first day of the match was interesting.

[vrod2011]

Mine was the 2003 Area 6 match. On the advice of some of the shooters in my club, I became an RO and volunteered. No need to worry about my inexperience as I spent my days resetting steel on 2 Texas Stars. So, I was able to shoot the match Friday with the rest of the RO's. My group from Jacksonville, FL had all registered/volunteered at the same time, so I missed getting squaded with them. But, I was fortunate enough to get to shoot with Jerry and Kay.

On one stage, Jerry's 625 stopped firing. Jerry kept at it though, click, click, click, click, boom, click, click, boom. The RO just let him keep going. Finally, he figured out that he could "fan" the revolver and it would work about 90% of the time. So, he'd take aim, keep the trigger squeezed, and thumb cock and release his hammer.

And that, boys and girls, is the stage where I smoked the faster revolver shooter in the world. I beat him by a good 10 seconds.

Of course, the first stage we shot, it had something like a 24 round count. I had to reload my 40 STI once, Jerry had to reload 3 times. Humbling... very, very humbling.

[Paul Santiago]

First big match? If by 'big', you mean 'Major'....hasn't happened yet. My first exposure was an indoor league match on 2/26. Joined USPSA on 3/1. My first Major will be the Ohio Sectional in September. I'll look for this thread to update.

[North]

2007 NM Sectional. it was a blast, I got to squad with about 6 people I shoot local matches with, and I walked away with 2nd "C" limited, and 21 out of 70 in limited.

[torrpd]

Mine was the 10th annual charity match hosted by Yuma Match Masters in 2003. I placed 4th in L10 and took high Law Enforcement.

[splashdown]

2006 Area 1. I missed most of the swinger targets, forgot 2 targets on stage 4, shot a few mikes, and don't remember seeing my sights at all. Finished second to last B Limited. This year WILL be better.

[steel1212]

2007 NM Sectional. it was a blast, I got to squad with about 6 people I shoot local matches with, and I walked away with 2nd "C" limited, and 21 out of 70 in limited.

Kind of like my first major. I shot the IN sectional this year, finished 3rd C limited I think 25 out of 70 something. First major, I get to go first on the very first stage! Had a few good runs but my points just where not there. Since then I've learned a lot in 2 months lol.

[Sandormen]

Going to be very interesting.

I have had two matches, a level II, and a level III.

-My first big match though, haven't happened yet. It will... ...in September. The European Championship in Cheval-Blanc.

That is, as You all know, a level IV, with 900 top shooters.

I haven't gotten the butterflies yet. -I surely will, when I am standing on the literally hot shoot-off range, with my Open Glock.

I'll make sure to drink a lot of water first, so I don't pass out!

Hopefully, I am having a shoot-off with the eventual winner first, so I really can have a duel against the best. That would be fun, even though I might end up down there, in that very special place. Even if I am being parked, I'll hose those 11 poppers, until I am out of ammo.

[bruce282]

2005 Maryland IDPA championship. Since I was worried that my holster for my Glock17 was illegal, decided I would shoot my Ruger GP100 instead, since I had a nice leather holster for that. Ordered 300 rounds of S&B .357 full power, wanted to make sure I made 165 (rounds crono'd over 200 at the match). I love my GP100, but the stock DA pull is a killer. Shot the first stage in SA, and after it was over one the SO's had to ask if it was legal. Finished the match as 1st SSR Novice and got a plaque, haven't shot the GP100 in a match since.

Bruce

[tightloop]

1980 Nationals, in Virginia....No classifications, no divisions, run what you brung...

Simply was in AWE of who I saw and met there...Ray Chapman, Jeff Cooper, Ross Seyfried, Mike Dalton, Mike Fitchman, Raul Walters, ok, ok, all the old guys...

Stayed in the Chamberlin Hotel on Chesapeak Bay..an old fort with very thick masonary walls, inside and out....one of the contingent was in his room after the first days shooting practicing his draw...got distracted and made the weapon hot..got distracted again and made another draw to a dark spot on the wall and touched one off in the room...no problem...covered it with a picture and they never knew..

Did OK for the first time, finished 73rd out of about 300...

What a great time...

[38supPat]

First big Match: '92 Bianchi cup...shot well, met BE, got drunk....don't emember the rest.

First big IPSC Match '92 North American Championship, shot my Glock, did OK, still got the Pics