S&W 952 for comp. shooting Y/N?

What event? I can think of:
NRA Centerfire (bullseye) - fine with ammo up to the gun.
PPC - see above.
IDPA ESP - one shot less in the magazine than allowed, but I find that not to be a huge problem with a Colt.
IPSC/USPSA Limited 10 - scored Minor caliber, which IS a disadvantage unless you can make nearly all A-zone hits.

Lemme put it this way... I have not seen a 952 in use at an IDPA shoot. I have read of some out there but have not seen one in action to comment. I have shot a few and they are solid, accurate pistols. Getting used to the slide safety would be a challenge for me after a lifetime of 1911s.
I have seen some number of P2xx in action and have shot with a P226 myself.

Do you HAVE a 952?
Do you HAVE a P229?
Have you shot IDPA or IPSC at all?

I say go with what you have. It might not be perfect, but either of those two will carry you a long way. You can specialize later if you like.

OK, don't waste time, take the P229, holster, magazines, pouch(es), ammo, eye and ear protection, and show up at your local club. Take a concealment garment if IDPA. Follow directions, be safe, have a good time. When the 952 comes in, get familiarized with it and run it through. Yum.

you can also shoot both guns in IPSC production (952 is DA right?) you would be down a round, but that really isn't that big of a problem usually. (In fact in IDPA I almost prefer the 9+1 configuration because our club tends to shoot mostly double taps and i end with a slide lock after a target not while i am in the middle of shooting them)
I don't think the safety is that much of an issue since you are not required to have it engaged. (although on my beretta i have been known to engage the safety when racking the slide quickly during a match)

Sorry, Faustulus, this is not good advice for OH25shooter.

M952 is NOT double action, is NOT allowed in IPSC Production Division, and you ARE required to have the safety engaged in the holster. And a darn good thing, with its three pound crisp trigger.

Further, you have an unimaginative MD if you have so many double tap setups that 9+1 is an advantage. Our matches have enough variation that coming out even is not an assured thing. I shoot 9+1 ESP because I do not have reliable 10 round magazines for my Colt but I hope Tripp will take care of that.

Also, you are seeing one big disadvantage of the slide decocker-safety. It can disable your gun when you least expect. But why are you racking the slide quickly during a match? LAMR is not a timed event and you should not need to rack the slide during a stage. Or do you slingshot it after a reload? Gotta be careful with that.

Sorry I didn't know the 952 was SA (why on earth would you put a safety on the slide?). This would rule it out for production.
It isn't the LAMR part where the I disengaged the safety it is more a problem in IDPA matches, I had some mags in the past which didn't always lock the slide back after the last round, when I ran dry I had to rack the slide. I do notice that a lot of IDPA events seem to feature a proponderance of double taps and that during the course of a match a 10 round limit seems to end with the gun empty between targets where the 11 rounder and 9 rounders seem to end in the middle of a target. It isn't a consern in USPSA. Others have noticed it too as I meet a lot of 1911 shooters who use 7 round mags for the same reason.

In the past I have shot 9+1 because it seemed that the CDP guys didn't want a reload at 11 shots and the SSP and ESP guys didn't want the reload after only 9. I think it might help out a new shooter a little.

I don't think I have seen anybody to shoot CDP at 7+1 to come out even at a club that is stuck in the groove on double taps; but I have heard a number of people cite that approach to ESP. I still think the problem is in course design. A new shooter like OH25 shouldn't notice or care, he has other problems.

OH25SHOOTER,

Mr. Watson as usual is right on the money about shooting IDPA and the S&W 952.

I've seen a couple of people shoot the S&W 952 in ESP, as I have also done. The S&W 952 is a great gun, it's very accurate, and has a real quality feel to it as it functions. You'll likely enjoy shooting it at the range so much that you'll want to shoot in IDPA competition. But you'll run into two problems. First it holds only 9 rounds (some say this is an advantage in IDPA) and second the safety on the slide is slow and cumbersome (to me any way). I still shoot it once in a while but the safety just kills me.

I'd get a lined holster for it, I use the Sarifariland 560. If you're interested I'll find out which fits the 952 best.


Respectfully,


jdkelly

Come to think of it, I HAVE shot a 952 in IDPA. S&W sent a crew to the 2004 Florida State with one (or several) and a supply of ammo. They got with the club and set up a stage in which you approached a table, picked up the 952 with magazine loaded but chamber empty, racked in a round, engaged three targets x 3, laid the 952 down, and moved off to engage other targets with your own gun. That got them some exposure for the gun without any of us having to manage its manual of arms. It was easy to get hits with, I'll give them that.

I figure OH25 can learn the S&W safety starting from scratch better than I can transition from a lifetime of shooting Colts.
S&W showed a few early PC guns about 15 years ago with frame mounted safeties but they were horrendously expensive and not even the then factory team used them.