Tips for Newbies

[smjson]

I figured this might fit in the Miscellaneous Beginner section sort of similar to the "what to expect at your first match" thread, but if the mods feel like it would better fit somewhere else, please feel free to move it where it belongs (Match Screwups?).

Okay, the idea is to list some of the more common pitfalls newer shooters experience, as well as the good things you may not think of, but should be doing. If you can learn to avoid the pitfalls without ruining a stage/match, you'll be that much farther ahead. I'm totally convinced that at least up through B class if you have a gun that runs, avoid penalties/mikes and avoid, avert of prevent the common blowups out there you can win your class, even at big matches, with only a reasonable amount of practice and skill. Why? Well, most of the "faster" people you're competing with will very likely have some sort of total blowup on at least one or two stages that they can't recover from.

I'm hoping that folks will chime in with their ideas and this will eventually turn into a pretty comprehensive list of things to avoid, and more importantly (and positively) things to DO to ensure your best chance of success. Maybe we'll eventually try to rank them, but at first a laundry list is a good start and we'll see how it goes.

In no particular order here goes:

- The most common question is probably "what's the best gun, holster, mag, etc". There really isn't an easy answer that works for everyone. Get involved with your local club, see what the folks there are using and ask questions. Hang out at a match, help set steel, paste targets, pick brass etc and you'll suddenly have a bunch of friends. Ask to try guns, look at holsters etc. I don't know anyone that won't let you shoot their gun or try their gear. Heck, they're just as likely to set you up with a full rig and let you shoot a match with it as just talk about it....take them up on their generosity and some day you can do the same for somebody else. In the past year or two I've had a friend loan me a gun to try for a couple of weeks (thanks pjb45!) and later loaned a different friend a gun for a couple of weeks...and that's not at all uncommon. I don't like gross generalizations, but for the most part, don't listen to anything you hear in gun stores. You might run into someone who knows USPSA/IDPA, but it's extremely rare. If they aren't active competitors, they probably don't know what works....the people in your club do know what works and what doesn't.

- Mags: I see lots of folks stuffing their empty/partially empty mags back in their mag pouches after shooting a stage. BAD idea. All it takes is to get distracted, be one of the first shooters on the next stage and you could be starting with too few rounds to finish the stage. At unload and show clear I take the mag out of the gun and put it in my left rear pocket (right handed). When I retrieve my dropped mags I put them in my right rear pocket so I know which need to be cleaned and which can simply be filled. Find some sort of a system, but don't put them back in your mag pouches.

- Mags 2: Clean them every time they hit the ground! I like to empty them completely regardless of whether they've hit the ground or not that way you know, exactly, how many are in each mag. Wipe down the outside with a rag, run a mag brush through the tube and quickly check for cracked feed lips or dents anywhere. Any sort of problem with the mag means it's out of the game until you can test/repair it. Single stack mags can run just fine with cracks at the back of the feed lips, but you don't want to test that for the first time in a match.

- Ammo: For most matches bring enough to shoot every stage twice plus the full capacity of all the mags you keep on your belt because you might have a couple of reshoots. If it's a ten stage match with a minimum round count of 250 it's not likely that you'll need 500+ rounds, but something like 350-400 would be a smart minimum. Say you have bad luck and have three reshoots during the first nine stages. Now you're at 250 plus maybe another 90 or so for the reshoots so minimum to complete the match is now 340. You don't want to walk to the last stage wondering if you have enough rounds in your ammo bag should you wind up with another reshoot.

- Ammo #2: Don't bring more than one load with you unless you are sure they can't get mixed up or combined. Keep the ammo you've set aside to chrono after the match in something totally different from where you keep your match ammo. Personally, I keep chrono ammo in plastic baggies with a data sheet so I can't possibly confuse them with anythng else.

- Ammo #3: Pick a load and practice! Some folks are constantly striving for the Holy Grail of loads that will let them shoot their best. It's almost always counter-productive. You're better off getting your timing down with a load that isn't "perfect" than you are switching all the time and not learning the timing on anything. The better you get, the faster you'll be able to switch loads and adapt, but at first it takes some time. Your body will learn how the gun reacts and will learn to deal with it simply by giving it enough repetitions. If you do change loads, you may find you're slower or less accurate with it immediately after the change. Give yourself several hundred rounds before you decide whether it's better or worse unless it's totally wrong, won't run the gun etc.

- Ammo #4: Use your best ammo at matches. Don't show up with "well, I hope this is going to work" in your ammo bag. If you reload, case gauge/chamber check every round that you'll take to the match. If you have old, worn brass that you use for practice, don't use it at a match. You want the gun to run 100% at the match and you want total confidence in it when you step to the line. Malfunctions not only kill your match, but they kill your ability to learn and experience the match in the most positive fashion. Hint, you'll often learn more during a 4-stage match than you will in five 500-round practice sessions....make that time precious and do whatever it takes to get as much out of it as possible.

- Big match fears: When starting out some folks don't want to go to "big" matches until they have more experience. If you're safe and competent to shoot a local match, you're safe and competent to shoot the Nationals! If you can get to a state, sectional, area, etc match do it sooner rather than later. You'll be exposed to things you haven't seen before, shoot with people you don't know and almost certainly learn more than you ever will at small matches. Some of the best learning I've had has been at a big match where I didn't know a single person on the squad. It does add a little pressure because you're not with your buddies, but it actually helps teach you to perform under pressure even better. Also, every club tends to have stages of a certain "flavor" and you get used to them without realizing it. Some clubs don't have deep bays so they don't have long shots while some clubs don't have as much money to spend on expensive swingers, bobbers, stars etc, so you don't get to practice on them. Sometimes it's just that one or two people do all the stage designs so you see a lot of the same things over and over...it's not bad, but it's reality. Get to a big match, meet the folks on your squad, watch and learn....you'll develop quicker than waiting to be "ready" for the big time.

- Match squadding: I know the social element to our sport is very important to most folks and that's something to be proud of.....for everyone really. With that said, make it a point to shoot with people other than your range buddies sometimes. You might see something new that you would otherwise miss if you were hanging with your friends. Last year I got to shoot a match in MD at a range I've never been to before, with people I didn't know. I wound up on a squad with all Production shooters....and I was shooting Open. Yikes...one of these guys is not like the others! I was planning the stages differently than everyone on the squad (obviously) and talking to the other folks opened my eyes about a couple of things I normally wouldn't have thought of....really eye opening stuff out of nowhere. I found myself really, really tearing apart my stage planning because I didn't have anybody to "compare notes" with. The good thing was that once I was sure of my plan I was really sure of it. There were about 100 shooters and I wound up HOA by a fair margin....surprised the heck out of me, but I'm sure a lot of it was just being absolutely committed to my plan when I stepped up to shoot. I wonder if I would have been quite so committed if I was with my buddies?

- Ask questions! If you see the best shooter at your club or on your squad do something and you're not sure why, ask them if the opportunity comes up. It might be while you're both taping targets or after the match, but ask...they'll be flattered and will almost always be happy to share why they did/do something. I once asked TGO why he shot an array a certain way...I was even more of a nobody back then and he went on for about five minutes on exactly why he did it the way he did. Short answer was that he'd run something similar on the clock and was always faster one way versus everything else. Sure, there are a few top shooters out there that are complete tools (like everywhere in life) but that is really the extreme minority and most will be more than happy to chat.

- Stage planning: Once you have a plan, stick to it and don't make a change just because you see someone else do something cool unless you have enough time to be certain you've reprogrammed it in your head. Worst case is you do half of one plan, half of the other and forget something really important in the mix...like an array of targets or something similar.

- Stage planning #2: Say you're on a squad and there's a big name GM shooting with you. If they're getting ready to shoot, are off to the side with their eyes closed air gunning the stage, or something like that, don't walk up and say "hey, how are you gonna shoot this?". There's a good chance you could mess up their pre-stage routine which might be very particular....they probably would be happy to help, but it's just the wrong time. Worst case is they get annoyed and then feel bad about it and walk up to the stage thinking they should have been more polite and trash their run because they're still thinking about it. This can also happen with lower classed shooters, but always seems to happen to the best shooters for obvious reasons. Plenty of people will share their plans with you, and you'll figure out pretty quickly who does and doesn't mind talking about it (probably most don't mind). Often a confused look or just saying "man, I'm lost" while checking out a stage will cause someone to say "not sure huh? I'm thinking XYZ" and you'll be off and running.

- Find a mentor: Not too long ago a good friend of mine started out in USPSA shooting almost from scratch. He'd done a bunch of shooting, but it was more hunting oriented. He got involved with the club and struck up a friendship with a wonderful gentleman who is known and loved by a LOT of people in this sport. I'm paraphrasing, but he told my friend "for the first year, stick with me, do exactly what I tell you to and you'll do great". Man, did that advice ever pay off! His skills jumped by leaps and bounds and he's an incredibly solid shooter now who's probably a couple of decent classifiers away from his M card. A mentor will help guide you through the things discussed in this thread, but more importantly, will be able to tailor their guidance to your strengths and weaknesses. It's really hard to see the big picture of your shooting while you're in it. Your mentor will give you the feedback that's critical to get better. Sometimes things aren't how they seem and what's fast seems slow and vice-versa. I recall finishing one stage at a big match and said "man that was slow, but I know my hits were good". The RO looked at me and said we've only had two times faster than that in three days and then laughed. I wound up third overall on that stage but it sure didn't seem it while I was shooting....a mentor would watch that, break it down and help you make it even better.

Okay, at this point I've been typing for way too long so I'm going to ask everyone to jump on board, add your thoughts and mabye we can help answer questions for folks before they know they need to ask them

Thanks for the good advice. As a newbie, I'm looking for stuff just like this post.

[GMANROD]

I recently became involved in USPSA at a local range. The friendly welcome from everyone made it much easier and exciting, being so new and worried about safety and such.

Thanks for all the advice and knowledge. Two of the competitors I have met, who I have watched and compete are have my age. They are always making suggestions on ways to improve, providing insight to stage planning!

Thanks for the wealth of knowledge. I have a list of mental notes that I have taken from your post!

[10points]

WOW!!!. Great work everybody. I also am a newbie and will be shooting my first match next month. Between now and my first match, I will practice safety first by mentally imagining my steps i.e barrel always pointed down range. Never pass the 180 degree line. Keep my finger off the trigger until I am ready to pull the trigger. I will practice the shooter on line drills through dry, i.e shooter show ready, unload and show clear, slide forward, holster. I won't be the first shooter. I will politely ask to be moved down. I will be considerate of the other shooters in the hole and on line. The list goes on and on. Proper close, equipment, how and when to get advice, etiquette. Someone on this post who started shooting in the early 80's mentioned how lucky a newbie like me is to have such a thread to start with. You have to be a newbie to get the full understanding of that statement. Thanks everybody. I am sure I will be referring to this thread often.

[Robco]

Great post G-manbart.

By the way, this is my FIRST post ever on Enos!

One thing I would add is how beneficial it is to have video to go back and study, yes STUDY, not merely watch, of your match performances. It usually will be a big eye-opener for most shooters, even experienced and accomplished ones. A shooter's perception of what they did and what they ACTUALLY did in a stage, etc, is often widely different. E.g., a shooter may think they are keeping their gun up in the facebox while transitioning, when in fact they are dropping it down while moving and then having to bring it back up upon arrival at the next location or target - a big time waster.

Or, the shooter may think they are moving fast/quickly, only to discover in the video that they were walking between locations.

So hand your cell phone to a squad buddy, or even a stranger, and ask them to video your run. They will do it, and you will be able to multiply your learning experience and gain from that match EXPONENTIALLY! This is how you can compress your learning curve and get the most out of your time and money invested in each match.

And besides, you can look GREAT in a video and still have all kinds of poor hits, yet still impress your buddies with the video! LOL.

[Okano]

Good information. quite well. Thank you

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Edited March 29, 2015 by Okano

[Rob HESS]

Great post and very helpful. Just shot my first match and what you said really applies.

[FunShootingGuy]

Thanks for the Tips. I am a Super Senior and have shot fire arms since age 7. I started out about 3 years ago shooting IDPA. In the last year I also have been shooting night USPSA matches. I did not seem to get any better (actually I was) and then after about 8,000 round it all started to come together. Very satisfying.

[Rasyad]

I just turned 60 and have decided to expand my understanding of firearms in general and develop solid skills as a shooter. Wonderful thread, thanks to all for contributing and for making this such a nice place to learn.

Rasyad

Edited October 1, 2015 by Rasyad

[DrewHewes81]

Great post. I wish I would have read this before I started shooting a year ago.

[LadyBlue]

Thanks for all the good info. I shot my first IDPA match "by accident" earlier this summer. I has mentioned to a friend who runs a monthly match that I would like to learn more about it, and when I was in his area on business he invited me to watch a match at his club. When I got there he had a gun ammo and gear waiting for me. All I had to do was put the gear on and shoot. By the end of my first stage I was hooked.

Now I am looking to get better and there is some good advice in here to get me on my way. Thanks again.

[Neonic]

Thanks for all the good info. I shot my first IDPA match "by accident" earlier this summer. I has mentioned to a friend who runs a monthly match that I would like to learn more about it, and when I was in his area on business he invited me to watch a match at his club. When I got there he had a gun ammo and gear waiting for me. All I had to do was put the gear on and shoot. By the end of my first stage I was hooked. hulle6

Now I am looking to get better and there is some good advice in here to get me on my way. Thanks again.

I am looking forward to seeing some pics and videos.

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Edited October 14, 2015 by Neonic

[AR Gunner]

Thanks for all the good info. I shot my first IDPA match "by accident" earlier this summer. I has mentioned to a friend who runs a monthly match that I would like to learn more about it, and when I was in his area on business he invited me to watch a match at his club. When I got there he had a gun ammo and gear waiting for me. All I had to do was put the gear on and shoot. By the end of my first stage I was hooked.

Now I am looking to get better and there is some good advice in here to get me on my way. Thanks again.

Your friend is brilliant!

Edited October 21, 2015 by AR Gunner

[Steve001]

Hi!

[Mrocque]

Great ensite on matches. Thanks much

[Michiganman18]

Thanks for the tips. This will keep me entertained for quite some time. 

[streckjc]

Some 8 years later and this is still super awesome advice. Thanks for the great info! This newbie is going to take it to heart for sure.

[R1_Demon]

I know this thread is old as dirt, but I wanted to say thank you to everyone here that posted advice for everyone over the years. You didn't have to take time out of your day to put the words down to help the rest of us up and comers but you did.  I want to truly thank all of you for your kind effort in helping the rest of us try and get better when you don't even know who we are.  That shows just how cool the shooting community can be and is. Again, thank you so much for the advice. 

 

[Marmigeder]

Hello folks, i am new here, and thanks for your tips!

[Hi-Power Jack]

25 minutes ago, Marmigeder said:

Hello folks, i am new here, and thanks for your tips!

 

Welcome aboard, Marm

 

You should post another post in the first section - new  "Introduce Yourself".

 

Whatja shootin' ?

[Tonka]

Well written, I'm not new to USPSA but different views always help...thanks

[BigEasy]

Thanks for the good advice!!

[Bench]

I'm in the 'gearing up" stage for USPSA and there are some comments in the OP that I'm sure I wouldn't have considered on my own. Thanks!!

 

[Redaye]

I'll agree with all the others and say this is a great post and should stay on top for,,,,,ever! I'm a newb to competition shooting. Started about a year ago and can't say enough about how accommodating and helpful the other guys were in getting me involved in practical shooting. Something I had been wanting to do for years. I showed up at a range one day just to observe and was warmly accepted and encouraged to shoot. I had enough ammo with me but, had nothing else in the way of competitve equipment like gun, belt, mags, etc. Just my carry weapon. Having recently completed a range safety course they were comfortable with my capability and literally, set me up to shoot that day. I was off and running and to say the least,,,, hooked. It's the most fun I've had in a long time. I'm not a top shooter but, I'm getting better all the time and the guys & gals are extremely helpful and encouraging. Just a note from the little experience I've had. Attend safety training when ever it's offered. It is primary and a refresher course from time to time will keep you focused. Take RO training as soon as you can. You may not want to officiate or be a match RO but, you'll learn a lot about the sport and how to do it right. Shooting well is a process. Practice makes perfect, so plan to shoot a lot and often. Drill, drill, drill and ask questions, watch videos and read. You don't have to be the top shooter to have fun. Work on technique and accuracy and working through stages smoothly. Plan your work and work your plan. Speed will come with proficiency, in time.

Thanks for the opportunity to contribute. 

Edited March 26, 2018 by Redaye

[rojo1911]

There is a lot of great advice in the this thread. I normally breeze through the top posts, but this is worth the read. Getting a mentor for this sport is a must, there is a lot to learn.

[Wisemenofgotham]

Just re-read this, excellent advice!  Thanks again OP!