Just finished my first IDPA match...

[gamegod86]

I enjoyed the heck out of it!

I have been doing IPSC for a little while. This is a little different. More use of cover, more "tactical order" (slicing the pie, etc.), different reload rules, etc.

Really fun stuff.

Not a flame, just first hand observation. 1911 style guns seem to be prone to malfunctions. The Beretta and the Glocks I saw never malfunctioned. There was a Sig that never broke either. Both 1911s on our squad had 2 or 3 problems.

No offense intended. Just reporting what I saw from a small sample of guns.

IPSC match next weekend. From Tactics to Speed.

I highly recommend you try it.

www.mctsclub.com
www.ntps.org

Todd

[GeneS]

Glad you liked the match. I shoot 2 to 4 matches a month, and FWIW, I see pretty much the same thing in malfunctions every match.

[Sludge]

well, I shoot a Glock in IDPA alot, and I shoot a 1911 too. Both have had a stoppage here or there. The 1911s that I have seen giving trouble though were on hand loads alot of the time. Low power factor or something I think. Anyway, I think the 1911 is more prone to malfunction, but in the right hands.. its a thing of beauty.

[faustulus]

Keep going. You will see all guns malfunction. I think the 1911s seem to more because the owners always want to fiddle with them.

[Poohgyrr]

Yup,
I like IDPA a lot, and just don't get to shoot nearly as often as I want.

[OF]

2 Cents Worth: The 1911 is a more difficult platform when it comes to maintenance and proper setup (which I'm just learning about), but if done right and maintained can be an amazing machine (there's a reason all the top shooters are running 1911's). A Glock, Sig or HK will (typically) run better with less user intervention, but there's little you can do to them re: customization or improvements.

Sort of the Mac vs. PC thing: PC's, while typically requiring more care in setup and maintenance, allow a savvy user to create a machine geared for a specific task that will outperform any Mac at that task. While a Mac can sometimes make a better 'out-of-the-box' universal tool that requires very little in the way of setup or knowledge to achieve a certain minimum performance standard. But if you want that last bit of performance, you have to sacrifice the 'out-of-the-box' ease of use and get your hands dirty.

- Gabe

[VaughnT]

I just got back from my second IDPA competition and have to agree that it is quite addicting. I managed to take third in both matches, though I can't say whether or not that is because I'm truly a good shot or because the competition was playing by another set of rules.

Could someone explain to me how you win this game? I see some master-class shooters giving up a lot of points to misses (-1, -3 hits) and scoring higher than I do when I have fewer points down. It seems to me that my shooting slow and accurate is more of a handicap.

We shot one stage w/ three targets. T1=2 headshots; T2= 2 head, 2 body; T3= 4 body shots.

The fast shooters would shoot and miss the head, so they would try another round or two. When it came time for T3, they would dump six or eight rounds into the target, some in the -0 ring and some out. It was like they were making up for scoring points-down with their initial 4 shots.

All of the top shooters in this last match had as many points down as I did, and some had a ton more. Is that how you win? Give up accuracy to some degree for overall speed? :confused:

I love this game and can't wait to do IPSC and whatever else I can find.

[Sludge]

Well, there is a balance between speed and accuracy. You are on the clock and the fastest time wins. Points down translate into more time when the final score is tallied. So, the game is to know where ya need to concentrate and make the shot, and where ya need to go fast. On body shots I go faster than I do for instance on head shots. On long shots I go slower than I do up close. Slowing down and shooting accurate can in some places cost ya time, and in some places it will make ya time. When im face to face with targets like at 5 yds etc, I blaze away. I trust my index to take care of business, and im after pure speed. Its just knowing yourself and good gaming. You just have to balance out weather your speed can make up for the -1s and -3s that you might end up seeing. Your reloads, movement, etc also make alot of difference on your final time. Gaming the course of fire is a skill that some ppl have developed to a fine art.

[Correia]

Vaughn, I don't know about your local guys, but the key is to find that balance of speed and accuracy. Go with your strengths. Shoot as fast as you can see, but don't go faster than that.

My strength is speed. Accuracy is my weakness. My best shooting buddy is the most accurate person out there, but still pretty fast. Last match I was 3rd, he was 2nd. Over 9 stages I dropped 120 points he dropped 30. :D I was just that much faster.

However I pushed myself too fast, sometimes I ran on that ragged edge where you are shooting just faster than you can see. That is asking for trouble. It is only a matter of time before you screw yourself up. That day it paid off, other days it doesn't.

Happened to me in a classifier last week. I was running really well on string 1 and 2. Stage 3 I got cocky. Ran faster than I should have. Dropped way to many points. 40 points in that one stage in fact.

[Matthew_Q]

That's a little wierd... Maybe 1911s aren't as popular where you are?

Down here, the group I shoot with usually has 40 to 50 guys show up, and probably 75% use 1911s. I have yet to see one malfunction in any squad I've been in. My current 1911 (SA Milspec) has never malfunctioned. I use handloads, but I run them close to ball anyway.

I'm going to try my wheelgun in the next IDPA match. Noone in my group uses one, so it will be a nice change, plus, I'll be 1st in the division! hehehe. I hope that shooting a heavier DA gun will help improve some of my skills. We'll see!

[Sludge]

1911s are plenty popular here. I dont think they are at 75% though. Probably about 30%, 30% Glock, and the rest is a mixed bag.

I cant believe you havent ever seen a 1911 jam. Ive seen dang near everything jam at some time or another it seems Glocks, Ruger, 1911s, Berettas, Sigs, ...

Im not the grand old man of the range or anything, but if you keep shooting IDPA, you WILL see a 1911 jam someday. They are pretty reliable, but I tend to agree that they are more prone to malfunctions and need a little more tweaking in some cases to make em run flawlessly. Fact is that most guns shoot pretty well and jams are infrequent if your shooting good ammo.