Posted: 8/9/2013 8:05:28 AM EDT
Well like I've heard a few people say online...it's as much fun as you can have with clothes on...I gotta agree 
Went to a practice last night and had a blast, might try out my first match this Sunday. I think I could really get addicted to this. Now only if I had some friends that were into shooting like I was....oh well guess I'll have to make some while shooting matches/practices. |
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Went to practice again last night and had even more fun than the first time. Best run was 5.79 power factor on a 20 round course, my reloads are going much smoother now which helped keeping my time down.
Should go to my first official match in the next couple of weeks. |
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Quoted:
I showed up at my first match knowing nobody. I got lucky in my squad choice and now I have some new friends to shoot with. Similar experience but I was placed with a VERY experienced group. Great people but ended up making new friends with a group of return shooters that haven't competed in a few years. |
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Many shooters hope to go to these things together with friends, and won't do so without one. It sad, because i have come to realize that like any hobby or comp, your friends just might not have the same passion, time or budget. Its when you join clubs , and do things and meet new freinds that have the same passion as you do, then it gets really fun
I have met so many great people doing IDPA and USPSA. blue collar, white collar, we all share the same passion. |
Well I tried my hand at an actual match yesterday.....while I had fun...yah I didn't do so hot 
Of course I started on one of the hardest stages and was first up to shoot the stage, got stuck about half way through on a Texas star that drained every last round off my belt. After I was scored the RO said I should have given up after a handful of shots and engaged the rest of them to get more points and came back. Live and learn. I found that all these courses of fire were much harder than the practices I've been attending but obviously they have been helping. Gonna keep at it, I think some better sights are in order soon though, the stock XD sights leave much to be desired. |
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I got hooked on USPSA in March '12, and shoot with quite a few people from this board on the regular now. Great group of people that has spawned an addiction. For cheap practice, I recommend Steve Anderson's books on dry fire. You'll learn more without firing a single round which in turn makes shooting that much more fun. He has a good podcast to listen to also: andersonshooting.libsyn.com |
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Quoted:
Well I tried my hand at an actual match yesterday.....while I had fun...yah I didn't do so hot
Of course I started on one of the hardest stages and was first up to shoot the stage, got stuck about half way through on a Texas star that drained every last round off my belt. After I was scored the RO said I should have given up after a handful of shots and engaged the rest of them to get more points and came back. Live and learn. I found that all these courses of fire were much harder than the practices I've been attending but obviously they have been helping. Gonna keep at it, I think some better sights are in order soon though, the stock XD sights leave much to be desired. It may have been better to leave and come back but you have to learn some time. They may have already shared with you to start from the top of the star so it doesn't start swinging too bad. Then it is like any other target. Put your front sight on a plate and shoot. They are easiest to pick off at the end of an arc when it pauses before switching directions. Focus on being smooth rather than fast and make your hits. Get to 90-95% of the points and then gradually pick up the speed. |
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I showed up at my first match knowing nobody. I got lucky in my squad choice and now I have some new friends to shoot with. A good friend of mine got me hooked on it. He's a Master in Limited. I started practicing with him, then met another Master in Open. Shot my first match with them, met another A class shooter in Open. Since then, I have met some great guys and we have even formed an informal squad. We always try to team up at matches. Now I help by friend set up and run our local club match. We have went to electronic scoring and I make sure that the scores are posted. I'm taking a Range Officers course this winter. My only regret is not trying this years ago. |
I checked earlier online and the results were posted...hangs head in shame  27th out of 29 in production.
Most stages I finished pretty far down on the list besides the last stage I shot, landed right in the middle of the pack. Gonna have to step up next match here in 2 weeks. |
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Shot my 2nd match on Sunday, finished 24th out of the 40 production shooters so improving Out of the 9 stages, I shot all of them pretty well but 2.
Here are a couple more tips, especially since you mentioned the division.... Make sure to shoot alphas. Don't shot at "brown" because charlies will kill you shooting minor. Plan your reloads. Mostly, if your feet are moving you should be reloading. Standing reloads are death. Shoot slow but do everything else fast. Now to contradict that, be aware of the appropriate speed to shoot each target. Far targets, targets with no shoots, go slowerer. extra er for emphasis |
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Quoted:
I checked earlier online and the results were posted...hangs head in shame 27th out of 29 in production.
Most stages I finished pretty far down on the list besides the last stage I shot, landed right in the middle of the pack. Gonna have to step up next match here in 2 weeks. They only way to get better is to keep going. Having fun is all that counts. This is a sport that you get what you put into it. And you can put what you want. You have to decide what you want to get out of it. I learned more about shooting a pistol in 6 months of shooting USPSA than I did in 10 years of shooting a pistol. I've meet some great friends and met my wife through the sport. |
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I did my first non sanctioned practice match the other night thanks to an invite from a fellow arfcommer.
Just a couple questions about the scoring...
I ended up getting 8th out of 27, so I was damn happy with it being my first time. I was surprised to see I got the most points out of everyone, while about 20 seconds slower than the winner (and one no shoot  , although it was right on the edge of the target so I actually got an "A" hit with the same shot). I see the "hit factor" is what you are ranked by, and was curious how that is calculated, or is it dependant on the winner like the percentage?
I did some googling about how this is organized and really didn't see a straight answer. I had a lot of fun and it's weighing in on my mind about things I want to do in the future. 
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I see the "hit factor" is what you are ranked by, and was curious how that is calculated, or is it dependant on the winner like the percentage? I did some googling about how this is organized and really didn't see a straight answer. hit factor equals points divided by time. {points per second} |
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Where do I need to go to get into this kind of shooting? I would love to give it a try. Im in PA Start here-http://www.uspsa.org/ Try here-http://www.uspsa8.org/ |
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Shot my first USPSA match (actually first competitive event ever) yesterday. Four stages due to rain and muddy conditions. I got all "A" hits, no misses, but my time was abysmal. I went in with the goal to be very deliberate at the expense of speed, and it shows. Need to pick up the pace next match. |
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Your time will be best spent on the brian enos forum, lots to learn there.If you are looking for the best improvement technique , it all boils down to 2 little words, ready? Sure? Can not be over emphasized enough.------------------------
DRY FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Quoted: Shot my first USPSA match (actually first competitive event ever) yesterday. Four stages due to rain and muddy conditions. I got all "A" hits, no misses, but my time was abysmal. I went in with the goal to be very deliberate at the expense of speed, and it shows. Need to pick up the pace next match. I have shot four matches now. My average match % is 69.25 What does that mean, if anything?
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I went in with the goal to be very deliberate at the expense of speed, and it shows. Need to pick up the pace next match. I have shot four matches now. My average match % is 69.25 What does that mean, if anything? Quoted:
Quoted:
Shot my first USPSA match (actually first competitive event ever) yesterday. Four stages due to rain and muddy conditions. I got all "A" hits, no misses, but my time was abysmal. I have shot four matches now. My average match % is 69.25 What does that mean, if anything? it depends on the competiton that showed up. you shot 69% of the top shooter in your division. What you need to do is to calculate the classifiers and then take the average and that will be where you are classfied. |
