I know there is another "first match" thread below and I even posted in it. However I wanted to post a little more about my own impressions and observations without hijacking another post.
I shot the match with my Glock 17, using an Alessi IWB holster. I had the belt too tight and that really hurt my draw and reholstering.
First stage I went WAY too fast and ended up having 25 points down AND 1 FTN. Ouch.
Second stage was a drill. If I had slowed down a fraction of a second I would have had all 0s, instead I was 3 points down on practically a contact stage.
Third stage not only was I 21 points down, but I received 2 procedurals for shooting targets out of order.
By this point, I was feeling pretty low on myself. I wasn't aiming, I was going way too fast, my draw was terrible. However, I was entering the expontential learning curve at this point as well.
The 4th stage was completely different. Only 9 points down, ran in top half of SSP and top half over all. Huge accomplishment on my part. Same for the 5th and final stage.
Some self observations. You can shoot paper and say "front sight" to yourself all you want, but the first time the buzzer went off I just started shooting, I wasn't really aiming, I wasn't looking at the front sight, I was yanking the trigger, I was trying to shoot as fast as I could with no regard to scoring zeros.
I should have spent more time working on my draw. A lot more time. Same goes for reload.
Walking and shooting. Better to walk a little slower and hit the target with 1 shot (a popper) instead of walking fast and taking 5 shots to hit it.
Overall I was the top of the lower 1/3 (40th out of 60). I think some small tweaks would result in at top half to top 3rd. I had a RAW time of 101 seconds, but I had 50 seconds of penalties! 50 seconds! A thrid of my time was due to mistakes and rushing. Take a few extra seconds per stage and I could elimiate most of those penalties! I demonstrated that when I shot the 4th stage in particular (I felt really good about that stage right after I shot it).
Did I mention I need to practice the draw and reload more? I have already begun dry fire practice at home, just a few minutes but getting the repetions in place to create some muscle memory.
Also, years of target shooting only has developed the bad habit of closing one eye. I need to train myself to shoot with both eyes open.
In all, I am hooked. I would rather shot 80 rounds at an IDPA match than 250 rounds at paper. I know that I am capable of shooting everything in the zero if I slow down. I need to start slow and accurate and increase speed, not start fast and work on accuracy.
I definitely plan on joining IDPA and shooting again. I have a ton to learn and I had a great time. The people there were all very friendly with the newbs (like me), and the SO had some good tips for me as well. I also felt that the Glock was great for the game, no complaints. Same goes for the Alessi holster, the draw issues were due to having my belt too tight. Loosened up a notch and draw and 1 handed reholster are not an issue at all. All issues were software related.
I shot the match with my Glock 17, using an Alessi IWB holster. I had the belt too tight and that really hurt my draw and reholstering.
First stage I went WAY too fast and ended up having 25 points down AND 1 FTN. Ouch.
Second stage was a drill. If I had slowed down a fraction of a second I would have had all 0s, instead I was 3 points down on practically a contact stage.
Third stage not only was I 21 points down, but I received 2 procedurals for shooting targets out of order.
By this point, I was feeling pretty low on myself. I wasn't aiming, I was going way too fast, my draw was terrible. However, I was entering the expontential learning curve at this point as well.
The 4th stage was completely different. Only 9 points down, ran in top half of SSP and top half over all. Huge accomplishment on my part. Same for the 5th and final stage.
Some self observations. You can shoot paper and say "front sight" to yourself all you want, but the first time the buzzer went off I just started shooting, I wasn't really aiming, I wasn't looking at the front sight, I was yanking the trigger, I was trying to shoot as fast as I could with no regard to scoring zeros.
I should have spent more time working on my draw. A lot more time. Same goes for reload.
Walking and shooting. Better to walk a little slower and hit the target with 1 shot (a popper) instead of walking fast and taking 5 shots to hit it.
Overall I was the top of the lower 1/3 (40th out of 60). I think some small tweaks would result in at top half to top 3rd. I had a RAW time of 101 seconds, but I had 50 seconds of penalties! 50 seconds! A thrid of my time was due to mistakes and rushing. Take a few extra seconds per stage and I could elimiate most of those penalties! I demonstrated that when I shot the 4th stage in particular (I felt really good about that stage right after I shot it).
Did I mention I need to practice the draw and reload more? I have already begun dry fire practice at home, just a few minutes but getting the repetions in place to create some muscle memory.
Also, years of target shooting only has developed the bad habit of closing one eye. I need to train myself to shoot with both eyes open.
In all, I am hooked. I would rather shot 80 rounds at an IDPA match than 250 rounds at paper. I know that I am capable of shooting everything in the zero if I slow down. I need to start slow and accurate and increase speed, not start fast and work on accuracy.
I definitely plan on joining IDPA and shooting again. I have a ton to learn and I had a great time. The people there were all very friendly with the newbs (like me), and the SO had some good tips for me as well. I also felt that the Glock was great for the game, no complaints. Same goes for the Alessi holster, the draw issues were due to having my belt too tight. Loosened up a notch and draw and 1 handed reholster are not an issue at all. All issues were software related.