Shooting a revolver in IDPA for the first time.

[Hometeached1]

I'm planning on shooting my model 10 next Saturday and was wondering if ya'll have any advice for me. I've shot five matches so far, but with pistols, so this will be a little different.

I'm going to use two Safariland comp 2 speedloaders and two speed strips since this is to improve/get used to using my carry gear.

BTW: there is only one guy that shoots SSR at the match and he's not been to the last three matches, but hopefully he'll be there so I can have some on site corrections.

Thanks!

 

[MrBorland]

Terrific! I loves me some SSR . As far as advice, I have a bit.

First, be safe, have fun, and don't try to shoot faster than your ability. That's good generic advice.

More revolver-specific advice would be to particularly diligent about doing the basics well and getting good hits. In particular, don't miss steel. Very often, a missed steel target means an extra reload for a revolver shooter, so slow down as much as you need to to get that hit.

I'd also certainly recommend practicing your reloads beforehand and making sure your gear runs 100% reliably.

Here's something I wrote on the topic on another forum that might be of interest:

http://revo-nation.com/forum/technical/revolver-skills/1352-winning-with-a-revolver

Despite the title, the article's not just for someone going for a big win. The gist of it is good advice for any revolver shooter, IMO.


Good luck and let us know how it goes, eh?

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Round nose bullets only. Make it as easy as possible for a good quick reload. Nothing that can snag on the cylinder.

 

[Sam1911]

Yeah, round-noses or truncated cones. NO semi-wadcutters. It won't take you much more than the first couple of on-the-clock reloads to figure that out, but you might as well go into it knowing that!

Know what reload style you prefer and practice it a lot.

Here's a few suggestions on that:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=718237

 

[Hometeached1]

Arkansas Paul Round nose bullets only. Make it as easy as possible for a good quick reload. Nothing that can snag on the cylinder.

Ok, I had forgotten about that.

MrBorland, thanks for the link. "Thou shalt not miss steel." Got it.

I've been practicing with just my revolver lately and have improved in my "speed" reloading, I was going to order some belt pouches (I still might, but want use them at this match.) for speed loaders, but I'm going with loading from my pocket like I carry them. Could you recommend a good carrier that is useable in IDPA as well as concealed carry? I've read some good things about the 3x3 carriers.

One good/bad thing about this is I should get first place in my division since I'm a novice and no one else that's a novice shoots SSR.

Will let you know.

Thanks.

 

[Hometeached1]

Sam1911, thanks for the link.

I use the "stress fire" technique.

 

[MrBorland]

Could you recommend a good carrier that is useable in IDPA as well as concealed carry?

Leather carriers with the snapped flap covers would be good for concealed carry, but so-so for IDPA. Kydex carriers, such as Bladetech and ReadyTac are good for IDPA, but so-so for concealed carry. If you're mainly interested in testing your carry gear, and you're using Comp2s, I'd probably go for the leather carriers if you wanted to buy some holders. If you find yourself wanting to get serious about SSR, I'd recommend eventually springing for some Comp3s or JetLoaders and some kydex holders.

You're allowed to have 2 holders in front of your holster (or 2 up front on your weak side), and 1 behind. The body of the speedloader holder must also be covered by the holder, so the Safariland Triple holder, for example, breaks both these IDPA rules.

 

[Hometeached1]

Leather carriers with the snapped flap covers would be good for concealed carry, but so-so for IDPA. Kydex carriers, such as Bladetech and ReadyTac are good for IDPA, but so-so for concealed carry. If you're mainly interested in testing your carry gear, and you're using Comp2s, I'd probably go for the leather carriers if you wanted to buy some holders. If you find yourself wanting to get serious about SSR, I'd recommend eventually springing for some Comp3s or JetLoaders and some kydex holders.

You're allowed to have 2 holders in front of your holster (or 2 up front on your weak side), and 1 behind. The body of the speedloader holder must also be covered by the holder, so the Safariland Triple holder, for example, breaks both these IDPA rules.

Ok, thanks.

I'll probably go with the leather carriers since a 2" model 10 isn't a competition gun. I might pick up some comp 3's and kydex carriers after this match though.

But if I do get serious about it a model 15 sure would be a good sibling.

 

[jmorris]

"speed strips" will not fare very well if you are shooting against any real competition.


In "real life" time is not always against you, at a match you cannot "wait out" situations or you loose.

 

[Hometeached1]

"speed strips" will not fare very well if you are shooting against any real competition.


In "real life" time is not always against you, at a match you cannot "wait out" situations or you loose.

Yeah, I know. I'm not trying to get the best time, just to get practice with my carry gear and hopefully improve.

 

[kayak-man]

I used to shoot with a guy who was hell on wheels with a 686. He knew I had a soft spot in my heart for J-frames, so we chatted quite a bit.

One bit of wisdom he passed on to me was that it isn't uncommon for guys to keep a bore brush on them and clean out the chambers every couple of stages.

And hats off to you man! I've been fantasizing a lot lately about using a revolver in 3 gun, and I'm a pretty big fan of using your carry gear in competition.

It sounds like this might be something that you do more than once. It might not be a bad idea to have someone video your shooting so you can say what you did right, what you did wrong, and adjust your training and practice accordingly.... That, and I don't think I'm alone when I say I'd love to see some video of concealed carry revolver gear being used in competition

 

[Hometeached1]

I used to shoot with a guy who was hell on wheels with a 686. He knew I had a soft spot in my heart for J-frames, so we chatted quite a bit.

One bit of wisdom he passed on to me was that it isn't uncommon for guys to keep a bore brush on them and clean out the chambers every couple of stages.

And hats off to you man! I've been fantasizing a lot lately about using a revolver in 3 gun, and I'm a pretty big fan of using your carry gear in competition.

It sounds like this might be something that you do more than once. It might not be a bad idea to have someone video your shooting so you can say what you did right, what you did wrong, and adjust your training and practice accordingly.... That, and I don't think I'm alone when I say I'd love to see some video of concealed carry revolver gear being used in competition

Thanks for the tip about the bore brush.

That would be something to use a revolver in 3 gun!

I just have a point and click camera, but was planning on trying to film at least a few stages.

 

[MrBorland]

I noticed you're not all that far from me (Durham), so if you'd like to try out some Comp3s and/or Jetloaders, kydex holders and a kydex holster, just lemme know.

 

[Hometeached1]

I noticed you're not all that far from me (Durham), so if you'd like to try out some Comp3s and/or Jetloaders, kydex holders and a kydex holster, just lemme know.

Wow, thanks for the offer!

I might try to make it to a match up there once school/work slows down.

 

[MrBorland]

I might try to make it to a match up there once school/work slows down.

Even if it's not for a match, feel free to drop me a PM when your schedule opens up, and we can meet at the range for a little practice. When it comes to running a revolver well, a little 1-on-1 outside a match situation helps tremendously. Even a little time going over reloads can fast-forward your progress by months, compared to trying to figure it out on your own.

 

[Hometeached1]

Even if it's not for a match, feel free to drop me a PM when your schedule opens up, and we can meet at the range for a little practice. When it comes to running a revolver well, a little 1-on-1 outside a match situation helps tremendously. Even a little time going over reloads can fast-forward your progress by months, compared to trying to figure it out on your own.

Alright, thanks!

I'm all about improving.

 

[mnhntr]

I shot my 686 in a few matches with Safariland comp3 speed loaders and it was fun but there is no way to be competitive against guys shooting revolvers cut for moon clips.

 

[Sam1911]

I shot my 686 in a few matches with Safariland comp3 speed loaders and it was fun but there is no way to be competitive against guys shooting revolvers cut for moon clips.

Here's a guy who I shoot with when I can, showing off his pretty decent Comp III reloads:



The better you get, the smaller the gap between equipment classes.

Here it is put into action...

 

[MrBorland]

I shot my 686 in a few matches with Safariland comp3 speed loaders and it was fun but there is no way to be competitive against guys shooting revolvers cut for moon clips.

First of all, you're not competing against moon shooters, so it really doesn't matter. Secondly, someone's who's good with speedloaders, and has spent the time to get there, will reload faster than the majority of moonclip users you'll ever see at an IDPA match.

Not trying to crack on mnhntr, but this is an example of what I call "The Great Revolver Narrative", though it's usually invoked to give oneself permission to underperform against semi-auto shooters, not other revolver shooters. If you're gonna shoot a revolver and expect to do well, you need to avoid The Narrative, or at least recognize it for what it is.

Here's a guy who I shoot with when I can, showing off his pretty decent Comp III reloads:

Yup. Pretty decent. Young Lentz is probably the best there is right now with speedloaders.

 

[kayak-man]

Here's a guy who I shoot with when I can, showing off his pretty decent Comp III reloads:

That was awesome! Please tell me he will be sporting a poncho and smoking a cigarillo when he goes to the range on Halloween

 

[Hometeached1]

Well, I ended up not going because of some family stuff, but hope to make the next one. On the bright side I have more time to train!