IPSC Virgin

[GuyMontag]

So, tonight my fiancee and I going to shoot an IPSC practice for the first time.

Any words of wisdom?

[Yoder]

Don't shoot your eye out kid!

Just take your time, shoot slow and be safe. Ask to shoot last so you can watch the other more experienced guys so you know exactly what to do. If you listen to the Safety Officers everything will be fine. Just make sure you have fun.

[Mtbkski]

First: Just have fun. That is what it is all about.

Second: Don't get intimidated. Your going to see people there that make you look like you never handled a gun before. Just remember. They weren't born that way. It is cause they practice all the time.

Third: Don't try to keep up. Trying to shoot really fast is the biggest problem that everyone makes. Just shoot as fast as you can comfortably. Remember: You can't miss fast enough to win.

Fourth: Don't get down on yourself. Your probably not going to shoot as well as your expecting. That is OK. This is a whole new ball game. You will get better the more you do it. Ask questions. Watch the other people. Pick up tips.

Fifth: Read Number one again and don't forget it.

[Lycanthrope]

What they said.

IPSC/USPSA is as technical as golf and it will stretch your limits of what you may have thought of as "fast" and "accurate". As Mtbkski said, the fast guys didn't get that way overnight and much of it was due to playing the game.

You can take days just working out the mechanics of a draw....a reload.....even simple transitions (watch sight lift.....lead with eyes......rip gun.....brake gun....front sight.....press).

The most important thing besides safety and having fun?

Have visual patience. Focus on the front sight and don't shoot any faster than you can see it. If you are looking at the targets for holes or looking over the slide you are going too fast or losing focus.

Lycaneyespeedthrope

[LittleRedToyota]

imho...

accuracy first.

accuracy second.

accuracy third.

then maybe start worrying about speed.

not the most common IPSC philosophy, but, depending on your goals, i think it is a good approach.

of course, when i do shoot actual scored IPSC matches, this shows through...my times through the stages tend to be slower than many shooters, but i get almost all "alphas" (actual COM shots) while they are happy to just hit the target anywhere and not get "mikes" (misses).

i do think speed does eventually come naturally with this approach without compromising accuracy, and i have gotten faster...but still not that fast compared to many IPSC shooters.

of course, other, much better, IPSC shooters advocate pushing the speed envelope more and not worrying so much about accuracy--and i should probably do that more than i do...but, when you are first starting, at least, i think it is best to focus almost exclusively on making all alpha hits.

just my 2 cents.

[Lycanthrope]

I don't think that's true about faster IPSC shooters and/or a common philosophy these days. I think it was 10 years ago....but not now. Classifier scores now are tougher than they were then.

To be a successful Production Master you need at LEAST 90% of the alphas......all at speed. The myth that you can drop significant points and win only works at the lower skill levels.

Yes, you need to be accurate......but you also need to be fast. They are not mutually exclusive and you NEED to have both.

Speed is not about pushing....it's about economy of motion. Sometimes that doesn't even look smooth or feel right. Only the timer can tell you because it won't lie.

It all depends on that front sight. You need to see what you need to see to make the shot. Sometimes that's a perfect boxed sight. Other times it's a bouncing blur moving through the A zone. Sometimes it's indexing over the slide and hosing like mad. Shifting focus easily is the key.

Lycanletyoureyesleadyouthrope

[LittleRedToyota]

as always, one should listen to lycan when it comes to shooting fast and accurately...

he is on a different level from most of us...one i would like to be on someday.

no doubt that the really good IPSC shooters are very accurate in addition to being very fast. i just seem to see a lot guys at local matches/practices that focus much more on their speed than on making alpha hits. like lycan said, though...those aren't really the higher levels.

not that i have been to many matches or practices so far this year due to not having the ammo...

littleredhastolearntoseefaster(andprollyneedsaneye transplant)toyota

[Mtbkski]

I shoot pretty good most of the time. My problem is that I shoot well, and my speed sucks.

But hopefully I will get faster as that is my goal, when I'm not playing with the KAHR or deciding to shoot my subcompact.

The one guy that is really good at our shoots told me I need to concentrate on one firearm if I want to improve. But... I guess, I'm just having to much fun. So, I'll probably never be as fast and good as the other guys. But... Man am I having fun.

[GuyMontag]

Thanks everybody. Sadly, when we got there they had set up steel plates instead of cardboard... We weren't too pumped to shoot plates so we didn't participate. Part of the fun for me was the moving, shooting around walls, etc. Maybe next time...