KirStang

Went to my 4th IDPA shoot today. The other 3 were in early 2009 when I had my 1911 and didn't know how to run the system. After receiving some training, I decided to see how I would do again.

=============================

Being slightly out of my comfort zone, I went with the mantra, "slow is smooth and smooth is fast."

In other words. I was slow as hell.

But seriously, I took my time to do the front sight press, the follow through, the sight picture, and I maybe lost 5 total seconds due to misses (2x -1 second, 1x -3 second). However, when it came down to it, my total time was 85 seconds.

In comparison, the other shooters were blasting away, occasionally missing the targets, but still ended up with times 20 seconds faster than me (every miss is something like 6 seconds).

I take comfort in knowing that with the exception of my mag pouch, I was running my daily carry IWB rig, whereas other shooters were wearing shooting vests and drop & offset OWB holsters.

In the end, my primary goal is to fight effectively should I ever have to use my CCW rig. To the other gamer/soldiers out there--although we know speed and accuracy is paramount, which factor, speed, or accuracy count more?

Should I focus less on fundamentals and try shooting a little faster?

Thanks.

__________________

Plan9

This is the other flavor of 9mm vs. .45 debate. Speed and accuracy are both important. One or the other isn't a winner.

It doesn't matter how fast you shoot if you can't hit shit and it doesn't matter if you can hit shit if you take all day to do it.

One is not better than the other in close combat. It is equally important to send them off quickly and hit high center mass.

...

Remember how I did at Viking with the NRA aggregate? And remember how slow I was during the speeding shooting?

I've got to work on the speed part. Either I need to stop being such a perfectionist or need to simply squeeze faster.

I need to do some IDPA when I get back. I gotta find somebody in the area to shoot with so I have a reliable sidekick.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Walt

I wouldn't place too much emphasis on your score at an IDPA match. Most of the shooters at the few that matches that I've been to are strictly gamers. The emphasis seems to be on getting the highest score possible, rather than correctly using cover, accuracy, etc. Ive seen guys do everything from intentionally not engage targets to just spraying rounds in the targets general direction. They do the math and reason that the penalties assessed from skipping targets/shitty accuracy will be offset by their completing the stage super fast. Good for gaming, but not so much for the real world.

I agree with Cromps that you need to be both fast and accurate. For me, it has always been more effective to focus on being accurate and making proper use of cover before I start to speed things up. Crawl. Walk. Run. Of course accuracy always suffers when you speed things up, but starting slow lets you gauge exactly how much your accuracy will suffer. In the end the goal becomes engaging as quickly as possible with "good enough" accuracy for that given situation.

EDIT: IDPA matches are a great way to sort things out if you don't have access to a range that will allow you to set up multiple targets, run and gun, use cover. Were I faced with those restrictions, I would use the opportunity to focus on developing skills rather than trying for a high score.

__________________
Calmer than you are...

RogueGypsy

I find it hard to compare any kind of competitive shooting with self defense. They're just completely different animals.

I have to agree with Walt, crawl. walk. run. It's all about muscle memory, do it right enough times and speed will follow naturally, that will save your life. The spray and pray technique will more often than not, land you in jail or make you dead.

It's all fun and games at the range, where there's a backstop or the area down range is clear. That is almost never the case in self defense. Any round that does not impact and remain with your target is a very bad thing. Is your child in the room behind your target? Your spouse, the neighbors, any by-standers? You have to think beyond your target, that's not the case at the range. Not thinking beyond your target is the reason hunting 'accidents', drive-by collateral damage (yeah, I know, but it fits) and home invasion 'accidents' occur. I was always taught not to take the shot unless I was confident in knowing where the round would end up. This lesson was driven home after Bird hunting with my Red-Neck uncle and his kids. Catching some Bird-shot spray isn't usually life threatening, but it does wake you up. I refused any rifle hunts with these assholes after bird hunting, even though it was his brother, my dad understood.

For range and competition I prefer a small caliber, for less recoil and high charge for flat trajectory.

For self defense, just the opposite. Large caliber for stopping power and low charge for shorter overall range.

I have no combat experience and prefer to keep it that way. I may have miss read your post, if you were referring to combat and not self defense, ignore my post.

Just my 2cents.


.

...

__________________
Methods, application and intensity of application vary by the individual. All legal wavers must be signed before 'treatment' begins. Self 'Medicating' is not recommend. However, if necessary, it is best to have an 'assistant' or 'soft landing zone' nearby. Any and all legal issues resulting from improperly applied techniques should be forwarded to: Dewy, Cheatum & Howe, Intercourse, PA 17534. Attn: Anonymous.