The start of something big!

Shooting around a “wall”

After about a year of living vicariously through those who participate in practical/action shooting events, I took the plunge yesterday and gave it a try at a USPSA match.  I have to say that it was as much fun as I thought it would be, although those of us who went picked one of the hottest days of summer (so far) to try it.  There were 11 of us newbies in the group, and I think all of us were pretty happy with our performance, considering we had never tried it before.  Some of us had way too many malfunctions, due to ammo issues; but overall we did well.

If you are not familiar with practical shooting, it is the sport where you move through various “stages” as you shoot, through openings simulating doors and windows, shoot around walls, shoot both paper and steel targets that move; and generally get to have a lot more fun than just standing in one place while shooting at a stationary target.

USPSA is the United States Practical Shooting Association, which also includes IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation), SCSA (Steel Challenge Shooting Association), and SSC (Scholastic Steel Challenge) specifically for young people.  Other organizations offering practical shooting events for pistol shooters are the IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association), and the SPP (Scholastic Pistol Program), among others.

Yesterday’s event was not a major match, but it did include a classifier stage, one of four that you must shoot in order to get a classification that shows what level of shooter you are in the organization.  There were around 80 people in attendance, but not all shot in my division – Production (which means the guns are pretty much off-the-shelf, with only minor modifications allowed).  Out of the field of 37 Production shooters, I came in at 27 – nowhere near the top, but not last either.

Dylan at a stage that required you to kneel and shoot through a low window

Shooters in these matches get five minutes to look over the stage and determine how they will shoot it. Some start on the right, some on the left; some shoot the steel first, then the paper, and vice versa.  Talking to others in the match helps, as well; and I was very impressed (as I always am at the range) at how helpful everyone was to the beginners.  My son, Dylan, who at 16 is already a great steel shooter, got some excellent coaching by one of the participants that we didn’t even know, and that is not uncommon.

After you determine how you are going to shoot the match, you have to decide how many magazine changes it will require.  Since you can only load 10 rounds into each magazine, you will have to reload at least once, and sometimes more depending on the stage.  One of the problems I had was remembering to reload before I ran dry (empty) – and to start reloading right after my last shot, so that I was reloading while on the run, which is dead time. Of course, I’m the person that recently tumbled down boulders at the river, single-handedly beating myself up, so no one has ever accused me of being overly coordinated; thus my dilemma.

Generally, I would remember to reload as I got almost to the next set of targets, which wasted time.  Then I had the issue of wanting to rack my slide after I reloaded.  I knew I still had a round in the chamber, but I’m used to practicing reloads for malfunctions and defensive situations, where I would rather “waste” a round and know that I have no issues firing again.  Now I need to practice retention reloads (reload and use the round left in the chamber).

My husband, Tom, bending to shoot through a low box

Other than those issues, I just needed to slow down and basically walk through it the first time.  Not that I was Speed Racer or anything, but the score is compiled via a formula that uses both your points (accuracy) and speed, and I could have improved my accuracy in the match by going even slower.

As a shooter, though, you can’t beat the fun of these events; and they are much more realistic in preparing you for shooting in a defensive situation.  I’ve said before that we can’t train people to carry for defense if all we teach them is to stand in front of a stationary target at a certain distance and shoot repeatedly.  Bad guys don’t often perform to your expectations 🙂  Moving, shooting, clearing jams, reloading – all offer more real-life training than you would get at a typical range practice.

We may be hot, tired, and hungry, but we’re happy!

The best thing about the match, though?  Shooting it with friends and family.  Shooting is a family event for us, and when we can go out to the range with friends, it doesn’t really matter what we’re doing, what the weather is, or what is going on in the world, we have a great time!  So will I do another match?  Absolutely – can’t wait!  Well, I might wait…at least another month or two until the weather cools down, but in our neck of the woods we can shoot outside pretty much all through fall, winter, spring – and even summer if we don’t mind shooting on the surface of the sun 🙂 so I expect to be moving up the classification ladder in USPSA very soon!