A Checklist Of Gear For Beginning Practical Pistol

You’ve decided that yes, you want to do this “practical pistol” competition thing because it looks like it’s fun (it is) and it might just help inoculate you against making stupid mistakes when you life is on the line (that too). 

So, what do you need? 

1. A reliable, serviceable handgun
   Duh. Yes, you CAN shoot practical pistol with a cheap $150 hunk o’junk. No, you don’t want to. If you’ve bought a Glock or XD or CZ or M&P or similar, in either 9mm, .40 or .45, you’re set. 
2. Enough spare magazines
   What’s “Enough”? Four, at an absolute minimum. Look, magazines are a disposable, replaceable part of your gun: They’re going to wear out eventually, so buy some spare ones now. 
3. A decent holster
   What’s “decent”? Opinions vary on this, but in general, don’t use a woven nylon fabric holster for a practical pistol competition. Me, I like Blade-Tech holsters, but Safariland, Bianchi, Galco, Comp-Tac, and DeSantis are all good brands to start with, and if you need help choosing, my friend Tom’s written a great book on buying a holster for your gun.
4. Some way to keep your spare ammo handy and accessible
   And by this, I mean a magazine pouch on your belt. Again, my preference is Blade-Tech, but there’s a lot of different choices here.
5. A good belt to hold everything together
   No, not even a solidly-built “work” belt is going to cut it. Something like this reinforced “tactical” belt will help distribute the weight around your waist and make things MUCH easier for you.
6. Ear Protection and Eye Protection
   No, a pair of drugstore sunglasses and cotton balls in your ears isn’t enough. Get something that’s safety-rated for your eyes and something that’s designed for noise reduction for your ears.
7. Ammo
   Figure on 150 or so rounds for a match, a bit less if it’s an IDPA match.
8. Somewhere to compete
   All this cool stuff means SQUAT if it just sits around in a corner of your house. You can use the National Shooting Sports Foundation Range Finder page/app to find a range near you that hosts practical pistol matches, or visit the United States Practical Shooting Association or International Defensive Pistol Association to find a competition near you. 

And be safe. And have fun. 

Team GunBlogger Tip: Tag Your Stuff Before Your Next Range Trip

Here’s a simple tip that could save you a great deal of money and heartache.  Before you leave for your next trip to the range, make sure you include your contact info in your range bag, rifle case, spotting scope case and any other gear you’ll be taking with you.  An index card, sticker or a piece of paper with your name, email address and/or phone number is all you need to include in your case or bag to exponentially increase the chances of recovering your important belongings, should you ever leave something behind.

Even if you’re only taking a couple of items with you, or you believe you will never make the mistake of forgetting something, I would highly recommend doing it anyway.  I consider myself a responsible person, but I accidentally left my competition belt out at the range last year.  I was VERY fortunate that the match director found it and sent an email blast out to those that shot the match that day.  

While there’s no guarantee you’ll get your stuff back, the shooting community is by and large some of the kindest and most honest group you’ll ever be a part of, and I know for a fact that they will go out of there way to try and reunite a lost item with its owner.  Let’s all make it easier for each other by adding contact information to anything that’s going out to the range.