How Did You First Learn Of Ipsc/uspsa?

[Mig]

My story is a little different but here are the details.

Brought my first handgun in 1993 and shoot at a local indoor range. Nothing special but wanted to get “good” with it. Read about IPSC competition in various gun magazines like American Handgunner but didn’t know anything about it. An ex-IPSC shooter at the range was holding monthly defensive/tactical shoots and he talked it about and said tried it out. Not sure what he was talking about but thought why not since I got the gun for defensive purposes. Also at the same range, the local IPSC shooters would practice and talk to me about shooting IPSC but I was in the “tactical” mode so I said no thanks.

Several years passed and just happened to meet Erik Lund at the shoot one night. He shot the match and did very well and talked to him afterwards. He told me about a class he and Jeff Hoge were teaching and I should take it because it was for “action shooting”. Attended the class in winter 1997 and after several weeks of top-notch instruction, we’re scheduled to shoot my first true IPSC match at Quantico April 1997.

Two days before the match my apartment building caught fire and I was homeless. I didn’t want to shoot anything since I had other things on my mind like finding a place to live. My said wife go - it will take your mind off of things since nothing else could be done about our situation over the weekend.

Shot the match and finished middle of the pack and ever since that first match I was hooked

[DogmaDog]

My first chance at competitive shooting was at the Basic School in Quantico. They held a service rifle Leg Match for 2ndLts in the school that didn't work well because no experienced shooters competed, and one company had just been to the requal range, and did much better than all the other companies. But I was hooked.

Once I hit the fleet, I sought out the competition in arms program, and took a team to the Intramural Matches at Camp Pendleton. I was a nobody, and there were some really experienced shooters there, but I was able to take 2nd place in rifle. I took the same team to the Western Division Matches, and my cocky Corporal managed to win a Bronze medal in Pistol (to match my Bronze in rifle). He kept talking about IPSC and Rob Leatham, and crazy space guns and really short times (our rapid fire event was 5 shots at 25 yards in 10 seconds, but still plenty tough, especially with an issue Beretta).

A while passed, and I continued to stick with High Power rifle shooting, making it to a second Division Match, and then the Marine Corps Matches, and then onto the Marine Corps Rifle Team, and Interservice and National Matches.

Then I got out, and discovered that its really hard to find a 600 yard rifle range, and to buy suitable ammunition to shoot at that range out of an AR, and that all the equipment really costs a lot.

I decided to go looking for pistol competition. I found mostly IDPA in Indiana, and enjoyed it, and then moved to New Orleans, where it's all USPSA. Been shooting as much as I can ever since.

Still want to go Distinguished in High Power though...

Semper Fi,

DogmaDog

[wlktheduk]

In the mid-1980's I was shooting mostly PPC, with a few bullseye matches thrown in. I had read about "Combat Shooting", IPSC, and Practical Shooting in Guns & Ammo and American Handgunner. Most of my shooting buddies were not impressed by what they had read about IPSC. Everybody knows that all that running and gunning, quick draw, speed shooting, race guns, etc, etc, etc, was dangerous at the very least, and would ruin your shooting skills at the worst.

So when a local gun club, known mostly for trap and skeet, offered a "Practical Shooting Division" it sounded different, and my curiosity lead me astray.

They didn't laugh too much at my PPC revolver, complete with bull barrel & BoMar rib, although they did point out that my .38 special ammo was a little below minor power level. (2.8 grs. Bullseye, 148 gr. HBWC) But shooting an "El Presidente", the "Jim Loveland Assault course" and the "Los Alamitos match" made for a very different day at the range.

Next time I brought a .357 magnum revolver, full power ammo, my duty rig, and began to learn the mysteries of the Milpark target, Comstock scoring, Major/Minor power ammo, Pepper Poppers and all the other fun things of Practical Shooting. The people that I was shooting with were a different bunch (in a nice way) and I was hooked on this type of shooting.

I've used race guns, duty guns, wheel guns, combat tupperware, shotguns, rifles, all manner of toys to play the variety of shooting games this Practical Shooting sport offers. I've stayed a club level shooter (very C class) but I've had plenty of fun doing this.

FWIW...the local club is the Ashland Gun Club, which boasts among it's members Gary Stevens, Area 5 Director. He was and still is one of the guilty parties in addicting me to this powder burning pastime.

[3quartertime]

Great story Joey,,,

I think my single greatest contribution to this sport may be the link I sent our friend Rhino to find this site!!! What an asset. I always enjoy when John comes and plays. He is one of the most positive shooters I've met. Must be in the genes.

I've stated this in a few places here but it bears repeating. Twix got me started in this mad race. I came along kicking and screaming at first but once I saw the logic of the learned experience of others it all became much easier.

I've always said that when I learned the game I learned firearm safety. Like many shooters I grew up in an evironment that was very laxed in proper safety procedures. I thank IPSC and the people I've met along the way for showing me how to be safe and responsible,,,and have a super great time!!!

[rhino]

Great story Joey,,,

I think my single greatest contribution to this sport may be the link I sent our friend Rhino to find this site!!! What an asset. I always enjoy when John comes and plays. He is one of the most positive shooters I've met. Must be in the genes.

Thanks, James!

Brother John can be a lot of fun and he's really good with the new shooters (I think he's the only one in our group who is certified to do the new shooter class). Did you know that he was the very first president of WVPPS? He walked in the door late, and WHAM! He was president!

[Nik Habicht]

A couple of friends took me handgun shooting in about 1994. That was the first I'd shot anything since shooting single-shot .22 rifles in scout camp. I started reading about guns again and about three years later I bought my first gun. (S&W 581) My first auto (S&W 4516) folowed soon after, the first Glock (G19) came quite a while later. Having survived a violent crime once in my life, I started reading all the tactical books and articles I could lay my hands on while hoping to some day have enough cash to attend LFI, Thunder Ranch, or Gunsite. Started reading about IDPA in the gun mags, then at the end of 1999 found out that the local range and gunshop was going to start holding matches. Showed up for the first one with an S&W 910 in a Don Hume holster with a Bianchi mag pouch. Finished in the middle of the pack and was hooked. Shot every match that followed (Two per month at the time) with a different gun and wondered aloud why I wasn't improving. Someone (Not Steve Anderson) suggested that I pick one gun and practice with it. I picked the Glock 34 I'd just managed to acquire to play the game with. Late in 2000 I sent out an application to shoot the 2001 Winter Nationals and was accepted. Practiced my butt off and was overwhelmed by a ten stage single day format ---- most I'd ever shot was a two-stage match. Finished 6th Marksman SSP out of 18. Around that time a few local USPSA shooters started drifting through our little matches --- and some of them, Bucky especially, encouraged me to try USPSA. A few months (May 2001) later I tried my first match, shooting the same 34 minor in Limited division. During most of the stages I had to be reminded to engage all the targets. After spending most of the first year shooting limited, I realized that the best competition with Iron Sights could be found in Production shooting against GM David Olhasso and a few other good folks. I've shot mostly production since. In January 2003 I started designing and building stages at my club, in August a friend and I took over the reins as co-match directors. Took Todd Jarrett's intermediate class in May, shot my first Nationals (the FGN) in Barry in July. Sadly, IDPA has all but died out in New Jersey, the state has gone from a high of three monthly matches to one. 2004 will mark my fourth trip to Springfield for the Winter Nationals --- which are called the Winter Championships now.

[tightloop]

Nik

Excuse the thread drift, but to what do you attribute the decline of IDPA in the NJ area?

[Nik Habicht]

My opinion only: Most of the matches that were up and running a couple of years ago were two or at best three stage matches. The one at the gunshop took too long ---- i.e. if you showed up at 6 p.m. when it started, you might not leave until 11 p.m. --- the other match died out because the match director died. His cohorts tried to keep the match going for a while, but health problems and schedule conflicts made for an erratic match --- and then attendance just dropped off. If I hadn't gotten drafted to run a USPSA match, I might have been tempted to try to put on a four to five stage match every month.... While I miss shooting the sport on a regular basis, I prefer to shoot at least five stages if I'm going to get up early on a weekend day --- where following the match I have to go to work from 4:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

[ChuckS]

To get back on course...

I was living in Il. Back in the first half of the 90's. One winter day, my scuba diving buddy took me out to a local range. He brought a bag full of 1911's and a ton of ammo. After a couple of hours we had expended about 400 rds. of .45 and I had done rather well considering I had not shot a pistol since my last Navy quals. (Early 70's). He had a P-14 that I seemed to shoot well and the grip fit my hand pretty good. I started to go to the range and later picked up a P-95 for plinking. I was offered a job in SoCal and moved there in 96. During that time I had heard about USPSA and IDPA was just getting started. When I left, my buddy offered me the P-14 (and 4 mags) for $400! I had a high cap and was ready to shoot OUTDOORS all year! A big treat, considering ILL is always "Too" something. Too hot, too humid, too cold, too rainy, too snowy.. you get the drift.

I checked out a local IDPA match. The shooting seemed fun but the inventory of quasi-military/LEO buttheads was a bit too much to take. (In defense of SoCal IDPA, there are a lot of really cool guys and some really good shooters. I just happened to pick the wrong club and hit a cluster of buttheads. I still shoot an occasional IDPA match, but I still prefer USPSA). I got on the USPSA web site and found that the closest club was Norco. I drove out to watch a match and happened to see JoJo shooting open and Taran shooting limited. For some reason that did not discourage me and I started going to matches. So now, that aforementioned $400 gun has cost me a fortune! It became a .40 limited gun, I have another Para in .40, a coupe of single stacks (There is a federal law that requires you to own at least one single stack if you are older than 50. ). The open gun is at the smith right now. Great fun! I cannot understand how someone could not love this sport!

DVC,

Chuck

[RHall]

Heard about IPSC/USPSA when I started shooting IDPA. Over heard guys in my squad talking about how it is so much better than IDPA. So I tried it out. Now I am hooked.

RH

[kevin c]

Started with my Beretta 92. Went to a local shop for a detail strip and clean (didn't have the nerve back then to deal with all those teensie little parts) and they told me they wouldn't have time because "duck season is coming up" and they were tweeking everybody's shotguns. They told me to go to Dan Ruff at Competition Gun Works. Saw a flyer there for the Golden Gate, asked a few questions, and it was all downhill from there .

[Navy Joe]

TRN,

Amazing story. The way that BJ and Kyle shoot coupled with the excellent matches you run I figured you were in IPSC before there was a USPSA and had brought your sons along.

I didn't get into guns until 1999. I had always owned a couple, but being married to someone left of Stalin made shooting infrequent. Got divorced, bought lots of guns, burned lots of ammo, thought I was good. Read lots of gunrags ,believed them and decided that IDPA was the truth and the light. Changed jobs and happened to fall in with a couple of shooters who took about a year to talk me out of it(Thank GOD!). My first match was March of 2002 and it was a USPSA style 3 gun of all things. I found out that no, I couldn't shoot a pistol, but that I was generally competent with SG and rifle, they balanced out my second to last pistol performance and placed me mid pack. Most fun I had ever had with my clothes on. The next week I was at another match, shot my first classifier Bang & Clang at a smokin' 42%, thought I was good, but being squadded w/ TJ will kill that notion in a hurry.

Two things kept me away for the two years I was aware of competition and wanted to try it. One, I knew nobody that did it. Second is that I was left handed and nobody had gear to loan me. Learning from this I talk up USPSA whenever somebody starts talking about guns at the range. I have the pertinent websites memorized and give them out. I answer any questions. I also bought some right handed gear, both for my practice and to loan. I have gotten two folks into this, both juniors, one kinda casually plinkin' around with a G34, the other fell in with the right crowd and is now sponsored, beating me and all that.

I now also enjoy IDPA, I just know what the real sport is. (Sent in my application, no more UC sandbagging for me)