Shooting my first practical 'steel' match today...any tips?
 

I've decided to graduate from paper punching to steel popping at a local steel match. It's an unsanctioned local weekly semi-competitive shoot, neither uspsa or idpa, and as such, is pretty casual about what's allowed. They have four stages, but suggest bringing 150 rounds and a magazine capacity of at least 35-45 depending on skill level. I'll be shooting an XD Tactical in 9mm, and bringing 250 rounds and 4 16 round mags, so even if I suck a lot, i should still be able to drop all the plates.

I've got thousands of slow-fire bullseye rounds down range with various pistols over the last few years, and can consistently keep them in the black up to 15 yards, and on the paper up to 25, but have never done anything dynamic. I watched a few DVDs, did some draw and dry-fire drills, and tried to practice some double taps last time I was at the range but got yelled at by the range master...something about 'no uncontrolled fire'--despite the second hits staying in the black.

Any tips for a first timer? I'm sure everything I intend to do (face the center of the plate racks rather than either end, thumbs forward high-web grip, shoot the highest plate on the texas star and catch them as they rotate up through) is all going to go to hell as soon as the shot timer beeps, but hey, I figure it is better to shoot and suck than not shoot at all.

Inside Joke: Don't be Hinson.

You can be quick on the draw, but take your time to holster properly. Don't let your t-shirt, gizmos or FINGER get stuck in the trigger guard / holster.

A guy who shoots for STI recently let me participate in his daily training session. I probably learned more in 2.5 hours with him than I have in my last 2.5 years of hand gunning. Some things I picked up:

Short version:
Shoot slow, move fast.

Long version:
1) Because steel poppers, etc are generally smaller targets than a full-sized IDPA/IPSC target, he said that the secret to shooting steel is to slow down and hit it the first time. Lets say that you can acquire/fire in 1 sec and hit the target 50% of the time, but if you were to take 1.5 sec, you up your percentage to 90%. Taking the extra half second to guarantee a hit is preferable to taking 1 sec to miss, and then having to recover (0.2 sec) and shoot again which costs another 1-1.5 seconds.

2) As long as you are taking sure shots, you can afford to shoot a bit slower. Make up you time when you transition from one target to the next by keeping your arms extended and "driving" the gun as fast as possible.

3) Draw your pistol at a pace that you are comfortable with, but once your gun clears the holster, drive it as fast as possible to the target. Being smooth and doing it right the first time is faster than getting ahead of yourself, fumbling around and having to recover.

4) Relax and just have fun with it.

5) Don't be a dick and shoot yourself (or anyone else) in the foot.

I had an awesome time. The group here is super laid back and really welcoming, friendly, helpful and easy to get along with.

As far as my skills, I'm pleasantly surprised that I was able to do pretty OK! I didn't turn in that great of times but in each stage I got in some groves where I was one-shotting everything at a pretty decent clip. Unfortunately I'd get proud of myself and try to speed up, and promptly turn in five misses. It's probably the most fun I've had since Autocross, and I might actually like it more--the thrill is very similar...plus, ammo is sure cheaper than tires and gas.

Really though, it was about seeing if the range practice I'd done had prepared me for anything stressful and semi-practical, and I guess the consensus is...kinda? I'll definitely be going back.

Awesome! That's a great way to think of it. My draw is already very fast, but I think this is a good way to speed it up and get me on target even faster.

Sounds like fun.


I always remember the mantra "Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast." when shooting. As Walt said, better to take that extra fraction of a second doing it right the first time.

It's neat how easy it is to pick something up thats a bit outside of your "comfort zone" having established good fundamentals, isn't it? Glad you had fun.

Yeah, it was a blast. They just posted results, and (not that I care that much) I did really good on my 3rd stage out of 4. On overall scores, I got 29th out of 38 for my gun class (Limited), and 52th out of 70 out of all competitors.

I'm totally hooked, it's like someone coming up to me on the driving range/putting green and saying "you know, you can play GOLF with those skills, you don't just have to hit buckets of balls" :thumbsup:

Well done. Out of curiosity, what kind of pistol were you shooting?

A Springfield Armory XD-9 Tactical (the 5"). I just picked it up, actually, and had only run maybe 100 rounds through it at an indoor range two weeks ago.

https://www.mainemilitary.com/produc...og/mXD9401.jpg

In hindsight I really only needed 2 mags. The first stage, I copied my instructer and loaded +1 and then put a fresh mag in...then realized, I had 16 and he had 8, so stopped doing that. All the stages were set up with administrative reloads built in (either mandatory or common-sense, as you had to move). I only hit slide stop once. I got pissed off at the last target on the last stage (it was like a 25 yard plate that I had to get 3 hits on, non reactive, and I couldn't tell if i was getting hits or misses) and unloaded 8 shots on it to drain the mag.

Stop making conversation out of my be-a-dick-to-Walt post! Edit your message to say, "YEAH, I CAN'T BELIEVE HE MISSED THAT."

He's got a million years more time on the trigger than I do but couldn't pick out "I'll be shooting" and "9mm" in the OP? For shame.

Reading comprehension... F. Although, he's a college kid and is probably too distracted by bouncing tits and beer to give a fuck.

...

Topping up +1 on a 1911 makes sense because it's a low capacity antique and that extra round is important. Topping up +1 on a high capacity 9mm is a little masturbatory. I'm still waiting for the day I see a dude with a 33-round mag in his G19 at a shooting course. "Whatev... reloads are for chumps!"

Although... with one in the tube and a Glock 17 mag you can do some states' concealed carry test in like two no-stress reloads.

...

3/4 size steel plates at 25 yards? What kind of ear pro were you wearing that you couldn't hear the ping? If you weren't wearing electronic muffs, you're really kinda cheating yourself as far as your senses. I use the $80 green Peltors; they were a huge step up from foam plugs and old school muffs.

...

I'm looking forward to running these kinda courses in my usual GI Joe gear as well as my concealed carry setup. Gonna feel weird in jeans.

It was a 10" square plate, I think it was 1/2" AR500, but it was bolted to it's post, not hung like a gong, so it didn't ring as well as some of the other ones. And I was just wearing old school standard muffs. I need to pick up some electronics, I've never had need for them before now.

I am going to run with my concealed carry set up at some point as well...I just picked up the remaining mags I needed to make that feasible, as it is a PF9. I figure 5 seven rounders should do it...I'll just have to slow down a touch if I start to run low. Now I just need to make a 4 x IWB mag pouch. To the kydex lab!

Cool. I'd be interested to see how that stacks up against a G34.

Yeah, I'm a dick. Though to be fair, I just spent the last 48 hours awake and reading 12th century Sufi philosophy so I'm pretty much numb to the world around me and no longer feel feelings.

Well, have you shot an XD before? I freaking LOVE everything about it...grip angle, ergonomics, the single action trigger...it's a joy to shoot.

The fact that I picked it up with eight mags and three holsters for $500 less than the cheapest G34 I could find didn't hurt, either. :thumbsup:

Pfft, Springfield Armory's rebadge job of the HS2000... not a useful weapon. To date, it hasn't been featured in a single rap song.

Damn G34s. Makes me want to get a M&P9L.

Rollin' through the streets, feelin' a little shooty
Packin' mad heat: a nine-mil EXTREME DUTY

You're just compensating for your smooth spot with barrel length. :D

Let's be real here... as far as my dick goes... a S&W 37 is overcompensating. Just ask anybody who's had the misfortune of wrapping their lips around it.