Which Pistol for IPSC?

Which class. Limited or open?

Most everyone around here has a wide body 1911 in .38 Super or 9X21 or 9X23 ect.
Will

Wrong answer. Wrong question, for that matter.
A 9mm service pistol is really only competitive in Production.
I can shoot the Plastic M&P better than a Glock, but there are a lot more Glocks out there and a cottage industry of accessories and tuneups.

My information is a bit out of date aparantly (of course my Limited Gun hasn't been out of it's case in 10yrs probally). I apologize for opening my mouth when I should have know every organization moves along with the times.

I went to IPSC's website and found they have the classes listed out now as:

Open, Standard, Modified, Prouduction, Revolver Standard.

They have a list of rules, all the powerfactors, min calibers ect here.

http://www.ipsc.org/pdf/RulesHandgun.pdf

When I still shot IPSC, 9X19 usually wouldn't make the power factor (and I had to hand load the crap out .38supers to do so) to be competitive but looks like they have adjusted some of the classes and things over the past few years to more closely resemble what people actually carry for self defense these days.

I do rember a few Glock shooters comming in around the mid 1990's but I had no idea they were as popular as they are now. I guess the wide spread acceptance of the 9X19 and the addition of a "stock gun" type class has helped spurn that along.

I don't see a Limited class anymore ... If Prouduction is going to be your bag buy what YOU shoot better, as with both being 9mm there is no difference in power. Speed and accuracy is going to depend on your ability.

If your going for the Modified class you are going to have to have something custom built to be competitive. And that entials a 1911 or a Glock (in at least .40 cal, It would be much harder to be competitive shooting a minor caliber) as I don't know of any good smiths invested in heavily modifying M&P's. Not to say an M&P couldn't be done but why row against the current...
R/S
Will

I went to IPSC's website

Click to expand...

Wrong site.
If you and Asaph are in the USA, you need to be looking at
www.uspsa.org
for rules and other information.
USPSA has diverged somewhat from IPSC and the gun divisions and some other rules are different.
For example:
USPSA no longer recognizes Modified division; IPSC does.
USPSA only allows 10 rounds in the magazine for Production, IPSC lets you load them up.
USPSA allows the Glock 34 in Production, IPSC does not.
And other items, but those affect Asaph, based on his O.P.

I'd wait just a bit and use the M&PL (long slide).

I had a great time shooting USPSA for a few years. I shot a Para 16-40 Limited with a few add-ons: S&A magwell, Dawson front and rear sites, extended base pads for the mags, and a good belt/holster/mag pouch(es) combo.

I had zero trouble with the Para. Check out the USPSA website classified section for some good deals whether you intend to shoot Limited or Production. And definitely download the rules while you are there.

Go to a local match and visit with the folks there. You will learn alot and maybe find a great deal on a complete setup.

Good luck and have fun!

Glock 34.

Yeah, I think you'd be better off shooting in Production. I'm new as well, but from what I can tell, 9mm is scored as minor if you shoot it in the other categories BESIDES Production. So, if you shoot 9mm in Production, you are going to be scored major - which is a good thing as far as progressing in the sport goes.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

No, in Production you'll still be scored minor, but so will everyone else. Changes the character of the game some. Production demands accuracy to win. Start throwing old Delta Mike and your points go fast. Hitting the A box on the head means nothing in Limited, everything in Production. It's no hosefest.

To the OP, I'm a Glock shooter, I think it's a great choice. Easier to find holsters, pouches, parts etc I think give it the edge over your other choice.

Don't mean to hijack, but is there no place in USPSA where 9mm is considered major? I thought there was!?

to boost a 9mm into major.......shot it out of a .357SIG.
to make major was mostly the reason the 9mm super ( 9x21, 9x23 ) was developed; small dia for hi-cap mags & power make it a favorite still.

A .40" bore is required for Major PF by definition in Limited and Limited-10. .355" is the minimum by definition in Open. You also have to meet the actual Power Factor.

I used to shoot my Sig P226ST .40 in production until I figured out that I could shoot it in limited ten and do a little better score wise.

I've shot the M&P .40, the XD 5" .40 and the Sig P226ST .40. I hate to admit that I did best with the XD. When the M&P 9L comes out, I'll be seriously considering it.

XD, M&P, and Glock are all striker fired weapons and there is an advantage to having the same trigger pull every time.

Glocks are very popular in USPSA and XD and now M&P are making bug gains in popularity in the sport.

Yes, as Zak answered 9mm can be major in Open. Got to make 165 PF though. That means a 115 grain bullet skipping along at about 1440 fps. Which is pretty skippy. Major 9 is becoming a lot more popular since it was first re-allowed several years ago. It was banned back in the good old days because folks were making the old higher (175?) Pf with 9mm and sending gun parts into low earth orbit/ their face. Newer guns, better powders make the 165 pf pretty safe for 9mm provided you know what you are doing.

One factor for 9mm majors rise is brass cost, .38 TJ/Super/super-comp gets expensive.

Which Pistol for IPSC - Limited?

Since there is no current "Limited" I like my CZ-75 in an "IPSC Standard".

If I can ever get to the point of shooting anywhere near what it can, I'll start winning

Ooh, OK, so it's Open. Gotcha. I must have gotten the two confused. Thanks!

(teasing)

Hon, just tighten the girth strap and cowboy up with a .45acp and shoot the gun.

Shoot slow in a hurry and you'll do fine.

As an aside to the discussion somewhat going on here; I shot a 9mm G17 in Limited for awhile just for fun. The 22 rd mag situation against the usual 18rd .40s somewhat balanced my minor Pf disadvantage. You cannot afford sloppy hits with minor, even in Production where everyone is minor.

I was never very good but a high point for me was the Florida Open some years back. For the match I had no misses and very few Ds. No Bs since the match is on the stupid euro target. I had one stage, placed 7th, where I was perfect on points, only one of the 60 production shooters in the match to pull that off, Dave S. included. Finished the match at about 60% of Dave, validating the classification system. That was a long two days of shooting for points.