Practice makes perfect?

[CZ52GUY]

I've heard some say that IDPA stands for "I Don't Practice Anymore". I've talked to some guys that come to our matches that agree, the only time they "practice" is at the match.

I practice weekly, and often run into a guy that's similarly classified. We asked eachother the question, are we the only ones practicing? We seldom see others out there. Heck, I practice after the match if I haven't had a chance to get in a workout during the week. Did that the last two months.

So the poll question is, "Do you practice outside of competition?"

Safe shooting,

CZ52'

[Jeeper]

Competition is good for practicing your mental game at matches. It is also good for learning to quickly determine tactics for tacklings stages. Beyond that it is NOT practice. Practice is practice. You need to do drills and focus on other fundamentals outside that competition enviroment. It is no wonder that some people always shoot at the same level. They wont move up without outside practice. This also doesnt have to be live fire. Dry fire is as important if not more important than live fire. Right now I am doing about 2-3 live fire practices per week. I am also trying to dryfire at least 3 times per week. I have drastically cut back on the amount of matches I am shooting also. SOmetimes I think they hurt more than they help. plus if you add up the cost of the match then you could get 2 practices out of the same cost.

[Black Snowman]

I've only done informal "combat" shoots and informal bowling pin matches but I'd practice specific things I thought I fell short on in the matches. Drawing, presenting, double taps, etc . . . Trying different techniques and stopping and analyzing performance is not really possible during a match. They were helpful and I did improve a lot, but having the knowledge of where I was weak was more useful than the range time at the competitions.

[dukeofurl]

The reason some refuse to practice is because they dont have access to a range and match is their only form of practice.

As for me, I practice when I feel like it which at this point is less than once a month. In my case I Dont Practice Anymore is the best way of describing me. I can kick butt at match without burning off 500 practice rounds since I practiced a lot during the cooler weather of last fall.

I think it stuck with me and I've just got my game face on,.

[DevilDog]

Matches (highpower) and dry firing is all I do. It is all I can do to make time to do reloading and make it to highpower matches. Coming up with time to practice and load ammo for practice just isn't viable for me.

[CZ52GUY]

Coming up with time to practice

That's the most common constraint I've encountered in conversations with folks at my club.

Stay safe,

CZ52'

[Correia]

For me it fluctuates. I love to practice. I do it when ever I can afford the time or the money. When I practice my match scores go up dramatically.

For me I have a job, a wife, kids, a start up job on the side, I sell hats to you guys, I teach CCW classes, church callings, and I'm a wannabe writer. I shoot when I can.

So I can't answer either of those in the poll. It really depends on what is going on in my life at the time.