A Beginner’s Guide to USPSA Stage Strategy.

I get frustrated sometimes with the lousy advice given to beginners in practical shooting who want to learn how to optimize their movement during a stage. We dole out lots and lots of advice over holsters and optimal powder charges for 9mm Major, but very little over “Here’s how you shoot a stage.”

So I wrote something to use as a starting point for stage strategy for newcomers to Production Division, over at the Beretta Blog.

 

Some Advice to Jessica Before Her First 3-Gun Match

I met Jessica at her first ever practical pistol match last year, and I very quickly took a liking to her.  her progress in the sport has been incredibly impressive and she’s got the moxie, sass and just the right amount of stubbornness that will make her tough to beat as she continues to improve.

She’s recently teamed up with Predator Technology group, and she’s ready to shoot her first 3-Gun match tomorrow.  She’s a little nervous,  so I thought I’d offer her a little bit of advice and share it here for anyone else that’s getting ready to take the plunge into 3-Gun.

Relax, You Got This!

You will be among friends and other shooters that want to see you do well, and you’ll have more than enough help and advice (probably leaning toward the too much advice side).  Heck, you’ll be at the best range in the world to shoot competitively, so you know you’re in good hands.  Take a breath and focus on the fun.

Leave your Inner Speed Demon at Home

You’re going to want to go fast, but I’d recommend backing off a bit.  Everything is going to feel similar to shooting USPSA, but totally different at the same time.  Your gun transitions, mag changes and movements will be a little clunky and much slower than you want them to be, go ahead and let yourself be “slow”.  This is the match to learn what it feels like to shoot, dump a gun (engage that safety!) and move on to the next one.  Speed will come later.

And Lastly:

Take the advice of another friend and awesome shooter, Annette Evans:

Top Ten Reasons To Shoot Practical Pistol

• It’s fun. Really, really REALLY fun
• It helps familiarize yourself with your pistol of choice
• It improves your accuracy under stressful conditions
• You meet great people
• It’s better exercise than sitting on the couch
• It’s mentally challenging
• It helps prepare you to react to situations with your gun
• You’ll quickly learn what works with your gun and what doesn’t
• You’ll find out what skills you need to train to get better with your gun

So why do you shoot action pistol matches? 

Shooting the IDPA Classifier

IDPA is a fast-growing shooting sport that is more focused on “defensive” situations than other shooting sports such as USPSA. People competing in IDPA are sorted according to how well they shoot the IDPA Classifier, a standardized course of fire that is the same for shooters around the world and allows people of equal skill to compete against each other.

The Classifier stage setup looks something like this:

The course of fire is as follows:

Stage One	7 Yards	30 Shots
String 1	Position #1 Draw and fire 2 shots to the body and 1 to head on T1.	3 shots
String 2	Position #1 Draw and fire 2 shots to the body and 1 to head on T2.	3 shots
String 3	Position #1 Draw and fire 2 shots to the body and 1 to head on T3.	3 shots
String 4	Position #1 Draw and fire 2 shots at each head T1 – T3.	3shots
String 5	Position #1 Start gun in “WEAK” hand pointed down range at a 45 degree angle, safety may be off, but finger must be out of trigger guard, fire 1 shot at each T1 – T3.	3 shots
String 6	Position #1 The shooter will load three rounds maximum in the handgun and begin standing, facing up-range (back to target). On the start signal, the shooter will turn, draw, and engage targets T1 through T3 with one round each. The shooter will then perform a slide- lock reload and re-engage targets T1 through T3 with one round each.	6 shots
String 7	Position #1 Draw and fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3 “STRONG” hand only.	6 shots
Stage Two	10 Yards
String 1	Position #2 Draw and advance toward targets, fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3 while moving forward (all shots must be fired while moving) there is a forward fault line at the 5 yds line for this string	6 shots
String 2	Position #3 Draw and retreat from targets, fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3 while retreating (all shots must be fired while moving).	6 shots
String 3	Position #2 (Load 6 rounds MAX. in pistol) Start back to targets, turn and fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3, reload from slidelock and fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3.	12 shots
String 4	Position #2 Draw and fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3 “STRONG” hand only.	6 shots
Stage Three	20 Yards (Bianchi style barricade and 55 gal. barrel required)
String 1	Position #4 Draw and fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3 from either side of barricade, perform a Tactical Reload and fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3 from the opposite side of barricade.	12 shots
String 2	Position #4 Draw and fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3 from either side of barricade, perform a Tactical Reload and advance to Position #5, fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3 from around either side of 55 gal. barrel.	12 shots
String 3	Position #5 Draw, kneel and fire 2 shots at each T1 – T3 from around either side of 55 gal. barrel.	6 shots
	Start position for all strings EXCEPT Stage One/String 5 is hands naturally at your side.

While all those shots look intimidating for beginning shooters, the fact is, the IDPA Classifier is a good test of a your ability to deal with close range targets, long range targets and moving while shooting. As with all IDPA stages, your score on classifier is a mixture of your raw time as measured by a shot timer plus extra time added for poor shooting or not following the rules.

Your score on the Classifier will put you into one of five IDPA classifications:

Times for:	ESP	SSP	CDP	ESR	SSR
Master (MA)	89.00 or less	91.00 or less	92.00 or less	101.00 or less	102.00 or less
Expert (EX)	89.01 thru 109.00	91.01 thru 110.00	92.01 thru 111.00	101.01 thru 122.00	102.01 thru 124.00
Sharpshooter (SS)	109.01 thru 138.00	110.01 thru 140.00	111.01 thru 142.00	122.01 thru 155.00	124.01 thru 158.00
Marksman (MM)	138.01 thru 190.00	140.01 thru 192.00	142.01 thru 195.00	155.01 thru 212.00	158.01 thru 218.00
Novice (NV)	190.01 or greater	192.01 or greater	195.01 or greater	212.01 or greater	218.01 or greater

So if you raw time plus equals 190 seconds or greater and you’re shooting a Glock in Stock Service Pistol, you’re considered a Novice shooter and compete against other people of similar classification in a match.

Me? I’m on the cusp of breaking into SSP Sharpshooter, and I *almost* made it there last weekend, but alas, I fell short. I’ll have a walk through of how I shot the Classifier and what I can do better to make it to Sharpshooter the next time I shoot it in my next post, and hopefully we’ll both learn something as a result.

WATCH LIVE NOW: NRA’s Wayne La Pierre Speech at CPAC

Gearing up for an IDPA competition

We’re big fans of competition as a means of testing yourself and your gear in something that’s more stressful than just punching holes in paper on a shooting range.

If you’ve bought a handgun for self-protection, I recommend shooting it in some form of competition. Massad Ayoob, one of the world’s foremost experts on firearms law, says it best, 

“A shooting competition isn’t a gun fight, but a gun fight is most definitely a shooting competition.” 

And a gun fight is one shooting competition you DEFINITELY want to win. 

You don’t need a lot of special gear beyond what’s needed for everyday concealed carry because an IDPA match is designed to shot with commonly used equipment. I enjoy shooting International Defensive Pistol (IDPA) competitions with my everyday concealed carry gear to see how it works under stressful conditions. I don’t win matches when I do that, but I learn what works and doesn’t work in the real world.

To shoot IDPA an IDPA match, you’ll need: 

• A good, serviceable holster. Avoid nylon or cheap leather holsters, as they tend to collapse when the gun’s not in them, making them harder to re-holster your gun after you’re done shooting. I recommend a Kydex outside the waistband holster for a first competition holster (or first holster of any kind) because they’re inexpensive, rugged and won’t collapse in on itself after you’ve drawn your gun.
• Magazine pouches to hold your spare ammo. Typically, you’ll need 3 magazines to shoot an IDPA match: One in the gun loaded to either it’s full capacity or the IDPA limit for your Division, whichever is less and two more for reloads during a course of fire. I use double mag pouches from Blade-Tech and they work just fine.
• A cover garment. As IDPA is a *defensive* pistol match, it’s designed to mimic concealed carry, and that means keeping your gun and gear concealed as you shoot a match. I prefer to cover my gear like I cover my CCW gun and shoot a match with an untucked t-shirt, but most competitors end up using a dedicated cover garment because it allows for a fast draw and is comfortable to wear during a match. 
• Eye protection and ear protection. This is a no-brainer. If you own a gun, you need something to protect your hearing and something to protect your eyes from ricochets.
• A desire to have fun and learn something. I love shooting IDPA, and everyone I’ve taken to a match has loved it as well. 

If you have all that gear, I strongly suggest shooting an IDPA match. You’ll learn more about yourself, your gear and how both of you react to stressful condition than hours on a square range will teach you.

Media Alert: TeamGunBlogger Appearance on Outdoor Channel’s Shooting Gallery Tonight

Tune in to Shooting Gallery on Outdoor Channel tonight to see special coverage of the Babes with Bullets 3-Gun Challenge, a record-breaking event that took place during the AR-15.com Rockcastle 3-Gun Pro-AM in August of 2013.

Keep an eye out for TeamGunBlogger’s Jaci J during tonight’s coverage of the 3-Gun match, and if you look closely during the opening and closing segments, you’ll see Robert M. and Kevin C. in the audience.

Air times on Outdoor Channel: 1-22-14 at 5:00PM ET | 1-22-14 at 8:00PM ET | 1-23-14 at 1:30AM ET

 

Did you buy the wrong gun?

Good question. Buyer’s remorse is a real and dangerous thing, and guns aren’t cheap. Buying the wrong gun means that something that could be used to provide hours of fun, enjoyment and practical self-defense ends up unused, unloaded and under your bed, never seeing the light of day or a proper gun range. Because there are so many types of guns and so many things you can do with them, we’re going to talk about defensive firearms like a small service pistol or shotgun.

So how do know if you’ve bought the right gun? 

1. Does the gun do what you wanted?
   If you’ve bought a .22 rifle for self-defense, you’ve maybe made a poor choice. Chances are, however, if you’ve followed the advice of a competent gun store clerk (or read this blog…), you’ve got the gun you need.
2. Do you enjoy shooting the gun?
   This question causes quite a lot of controversy because there’s more than one person who will say “Who cares if it’s easy to shoot? You should get a gun you trust to save your life, even if it feels like a porcupine in your hand and recoils like a freight train!”
   The thing is, they’re not wrong, but they’re not right. If you’re not comfortable shooting your new gun on a regular basis, you’re not going to be comfortable practicing with it or training with it, and that means you’re not going to be comfortable using it to defend yourself on the worst day of your life.
3. Can you buy the accessories you want for it?
   As someone who has a natural affinity for CZ firearms, (not the biggest brand of guns out there), I deal with this every time I want to add something to my gun. I love my CZ’s, but I accept the fact that there will be more available accessories for a Glock or M&P pistol.  
4. Is your gun reliable?
   This is the big one.  An unreliable firearm is not a defensive tool, it’s at best an occasional plaything. All gun manufacturers will tell you their guns are reliable, but how do you know for sure the gun you bought will work when you need it the most? 
   Fortunately, Todd Green of PistolTraining.com has set up a forum when gun owners answer a simple question: Can your gun shoot 2000 rounds in a row without a hiccup? Go check it out and if your gun is listed, you can be confident you have a reliable gun. 

No matter what, the key to being comfortable with your new gun is safely using it and learning to rely on it to defend your life or the lives of our loved ones if, God forbid, you might need it. 

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