I am about to go to my first real IDPA match this weekend, I have shot competitley before but it wasnt at an IDPA sanctioned club or anything like that. I have looked through the rule book and Im not sure if I can use my carry pistol or not and if I can what class it would fall in..

My Carry Weapon


It is a Glock 19 that I have modified with the following

Extended Slide Release
Extended Mag Release
3.5 Pound Connector
Undercut Trigger Guard
Stippled Frame

I know I cant use my weapon mounted light and while I dont agree with that and some of their other rules I am willing to play their games.

My other question is about magazines, I know that they restrict the capacity you load the magazines to but I carry a back up mag every day and I carry a Glock 17 magazine for that. Is it allowed to use those mags for reloads ?

Pretty sure they have the rules online at their site.

You can shoot that gun, it will be in ESP, Enhanced Service Pistol, division.

I believe a G19 with a G17 mag will fit in the IDPA box.
The box is 8¾” x 6” x 1 5/8”. Measure it for yourself.

Don't think of IDPA as tactical training. Think of it as a sport with rules and you will do fine.

Gringop

As Gringop already stated, your modified G19 would be ESP legal.

You can use a G17 magazines for reloads (or even your primary load), as long as you do not load more than 10 rounds (10+1 is the normal start condition for a stage). The gun will definitely fit within the max allowable dimensions ("the box") with a G17 magazine inserted - I have used this combination in the past myself.

Thanks everyone for the input, I have read through the rule book and I remember seeing somewhere about grip stippling not being allowed I just wasnt sure if that was at all or just for that class.

I know it is far from tactical training but I am going to approach it more from that angle then from a game, for me if its not something I would do in real life or on duty or in a training scenario Im not going to do it in a game and if I take a hit for that so be it.

Is there anything else I should know going into this ?

I am attending the match at Rivanna Pistol and Rifle club match in Charlottesville VA
http://sites.google.com/site/rivannaap/home

Take it slow for your first match and focus on being safe.  Listen carefully to the new-shooter brief.  Listen to the SO's.

My squad was full of new shooters this month and it seems like they just tuned out the new shooter brief and assumed that since they'd been gun owners for years that they should just disregard what we Safety Officers were telling them.  DQs were handed out accordingly.

Safety and having fun is paramount for me

I have given safety briefs for other courses and classes and I know the importance of them so I will definatly play close attention to that, It is their house so their rules and I am their guest and the FNG so I am there to learn from them and do what they want me to do.

Good attitude. You'll have a good time.  
The first match is kind of a see-what's-going-on thing anyway.

My local club was having bigger and bigger turnouts each month with a lot of new to IDPA shooters.
So for safety reasons, and to prevent discouraging new shootes by DQing them they now require you to take their free "Intro to IDPA" course before you're allowed shoot a match.
It's only a couple of hours of range time going over range commands and IDPA rules as they walk you thru a match course of fire.

One of the clubs around here, Palmetto Gun Club, does the intro thing.  I think it's a good idea, but our club has decided against it for the time being.
Don't get me wrong, all new shooters aren't that bad (most do just fine), but there are a few that.......well, have no concept of the 4 safety rules.

Yes, the Palmetto Gun Club is the club I'm speaking of.
Are you shooting the match this Saturday?

Nope, I'm probably heading up to Augusta to shoot 3-gun.  Unfortunately, I'm closer to LCIDPA and CAPS in Georgia and the match dates usually conflict so I don't get to shoot at Palmetto very often.  
I'll let you know next time I'm gonna shoot up there, maybe we can meet up.

Sure thing, drop me a PM.  I'll be shooting Steel Challenge next weekend.

I went to the match on Saturday and had a good time. I ended up placing 29th overall out of 62 shooters and 1st in the unclassifed ESP shooters and 8th overall out of the ESP shooters that is due to having so many points down. I had a total of 42 points down due to a few procederal penalties, I reloaded while moving instead of waiting until I get to cover and I also shot one string out of sequence and for not retaining mags when reloading.

There was a few things that I didnt like and I had issue with, the second stage was you start with your weapon laying on the dummy and you have to drag the dummy with your strong hand and shoot with your support hand ... I dont know about any of you but if I have to drag someone or something while shooting I sure as shit am not going to drag them with my weapon hand forcing myself to shoot with my support hand.

I also was spoken to about muzzle control also. I am used to and have been trained that once I am finished shooting to scan and asses the surroundings with the weapon out and then to break it in to the sul position and to scan once more before reholstering. I was told I could not do that and now I know where they are coming from with it but I still did not break the 180 rule and even if I had my finger is not on the trigger and therefore the weapon will not fire.

I also had an issue with some of the shooters and I guess that is a mind set thing more then anything. When speaking to several of the more experianced shooters several of them said to me they would never wear what they were wearing as far as a concealment garment, and holster and several of them said that there competition gun was just that a competition gun and something that they would never carry. I thought this was a competition based on real life what happened to train as you fight, fight as you train ? I realize that I also broke that as well by not shooting with a weapon mounted light like I carry everyday and carrying 2 spare magazines instead of my normal 1 but I did the best I could to keep it true to its meaning

I had decided before I even went to the competion that I was not going to change the way I normally operate just to play the game.

Here are some videos of my buddy and I shooting the competition

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUrSa5MqB2E&context=C49da300ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq80dibh6CW0bgoymAOwy19Q0=[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUrSa5MqB2E&context=C49da300ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq80dibh6CW0bgoymAOwy19Q0=

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8R51Fr65p0&context=C4281525ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq8-UWnk7W5prNgJsyn4fveRM=[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8R51Fr65p0&context=C4281525ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq8-UWnk7W5prNgJsyn4fveRM=

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLFUARQH70c&context=C4f789e7ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq85JazKJl0c0BAcbLU2saAWs=[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLFUARQH70c&context=C4f789e7ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq85JazKJl0c0BAcbLU2saAWs=

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EryJkFFYV8M&context=C48acab6ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq8-KtPbBKwHaeLxf5IlH0OS8=[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EryJkFFYV8M&context=C48acab6ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq8-KtPbBKwHaeLxf5IlH0OS8=

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsfzxURea8o&context=C412a04dADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq88mx0JWky1-qIM_EYB7MUug=[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsfzxURea8o&context=C412a04dADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq88mx0JWky1-qIM_EYB7MUug=

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRYKxKpHlTQ&context=C49aad53ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq83pEXWT1MqB65Oe7l-Jkzng=[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRYKxKpHlTQ&context=C49aad53ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq83pEXWT1MqB65Oe7l-Jkzng=

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSOcTSfU7ak&context=C4171027ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq8z72K4g10rR9C_0aBgRvuWY=[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSOcTSfU7ak&context=C4171027ADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq8z72K4g10rR9C_0aBgRvuWY=

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LB-2NMcOyU&context=C4ba641fADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq84lEuSG8mIcnRNJvq_f1bZQ=[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LB-2NMcOyU&context=C4ba641fADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq84lEuSG8mIcnRNJvq_f1bZQ=

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLXGWfp8iqY&context=C45a488dADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq8zEA1bb2eOz3BNQpcCDn8hQ=[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLXGWfp8iqY&context=C45a488dADvjVQa1PpcFMjjwPLgBoq8zEA1bb2eOz3BNQpcCDn8hQ=

Im not sure why but I cant seem to get the videos to show up maybe someone that knows how can do it for me

At least you had fun and understand why safety rules are inplace. Some can't grasp why they can't "scan" or why they must have a cold pistol when not on the line.

I definatly understand it and as a firearms instructor myself I appreciate it but at the same time if I cant trust someone to keep their finger off the trigger I dont really want to be on the range with them to begin with.

Break the saftey rules you earn your self a DQ. A person can be banned from shooting if they do not learn from there mistakes or out right banned from shooting  a a club if the action is serve enough.

Forget which one happened, at York a few years ago either the guy twirled a loadded gun or threw it down range.  I would have no problem if he was banned from shooting from that location or all USPSA sponsed events.

Just remember that IDPA isn't training. It gives you a chance to "solve problems" (how do I shoot this stage in the least amount of time or with the best score) with your pistol under the stress of a timer. The fact it lets you practice some mechanical skils (drawing, reloading) under stress is icing on the cake.

"Don't think of IDPA as tactical training. Think of it as a sport with rules and you will do fine."

Just doing a little repeat  of what I said earlier. No matter what they say about it being based in "tactical" shooting, it's just a game. It may be more tactical than Steel Challenge or Bullseye, but it's still a sport with rules.

Some folks will use equipment to try to improve their score.
Some shoot it as they would in a self defense situation but still stay within the rules. They don't care much about the score.
I try (and often succeed) to beat everyone using my carry gun and rig, because that's what is important to me.

Gringop

See if this fixes it.  



Going to my first competition this weekend if work doesn't get in the way.  Stock M&P9 in a comp-tac OWB holster.  Not what/how I would normally carry, but I'm going to check it out for the fun factor, not necessarily the training factor.  Should be a good time!

One thing I have not mastered on this site is getting the damned text to format correctly in a post with youtube links!