Classifier observations from yesterday

[Boats]

Ran the Clipboard at our clubs IDPA classifier yesterday. I find this is a real good way to observe. SO has his hands full when the shooter is up but the clipboard is idle until after the shots are fired. Plus you are up close. Here are a few things I saw. My observation only anybody can comment if they like

Mag Changes. Most guys make adequate slide lock re-loads. And most are slow on the Tactical load Stage III. The get the mags in and out quick but loose time on the stow. Everybody knows that you can stow on the move to the barrel but few do it. Also seems people make up there mind were to put the mag on the job rather than go quick and smooth to the stow location.

Fail to fires. I saw a bunch with all sorts of pistols. Some guys loose substantial time getting it up and running again others Slap rack bang fast. But even the guys that are back in business quick missed frequently on the follow up shots. I think it's better to go back to index and re-mount for the follow up, regain composure rather than rush to make up lost time. One of our better shooters missed the target completely on a stage III FTF recovery. He missed Expert by 4 seconds and it was all on that FTF shot and it's follow up.

Friend of mine was shooting his first classifier. He is a good pistol shot using the Weaver Stance. Has had to work hard on the Isosceles position and most important not aiming high and coming down as he aligns the sights. We had trained together last few months. Mixed on what to tell him if anything at all. His hits were very good but probably lost 30 seconds or more on target acquisition. Every shot settled a bit high and came down to alignment. Index push and shoot would be faster for sure but he could start dropping shots. he classifed MM and if 30 seconds faster would have made SS.

Boats

Edited March 8, 2009 by Boats

[MemphisMechanic]

I shot a comfortable Master classifier using a reload-with-retention on stage 3. It's not crucial to use a tac-load and stow on the move. Especially for those who never practice one.

Turning-draws kill most IDPA shooters, because they never do them. And almost no one who 'practices up' before the classifier thinks to work on that. Most MM/SS shooters who have a 2-ish second draw, will drop to 4 or greater on a turning draw.

[Boats]

Memphis agree on the Never practice part. It seemed that a lot of the guys, mostly marksmen, were figuring out were to stow the mag on the job. Will have a look at my Turning Draw splits. Could use a few seconds myself

Boats

[lugnut]

I shot a comfortable Master classifier using a reload-with-retention on stage 3. It's not crucial to use a tac-load and stow on the move. Especially for those who never practice one.

I personally don't like to do things in a match that I don't practice. I do think the classifier offers a balance of important shooting skills. Stage 3 is the deal breaker/maker but you can't miss the heads on stage 1 either!

[lugnut]

Memphis agree on the Never practice part. It seemed that a lot of the guys, mostly marksmen, were figuring out were to stow the mag on the job. Will have a look at my Turning Draw splits. Could use a few seconds myself

Boats

Other than the pure ability to shoot accurately- I think the single most valuable part of IDPA/USPSA is knowing exactly what you are going to do next after your last shot.

[Pittbug]

Memphis agree on the Never practice part. It seemed that a lot of the guys, mostly marksmen, were figuring out were to stow the mag on the job. Will have a look at my Turning Draw splits. Could use a few seconds myself

Boats

Other than the pure ability to shoot accurately- I think the single most valuable part of IDPA/USPSA is knowing exactly what you are going to do next after your last shot.

I'd put it in simpler terms: "the single most valuable part of IDPA/USPSA is knowing exactly what you are going to do next."

Edited March 10, 2009 by Pittbug