First ever uspsa! Gopher flats! Woohoo!

[krb]

fixed your links.

The only part of the link you need to keep is what comes after the forward slash.

For example: foe second video, this "JDoP-yQ72_k" should be the only thing between YOUTUBE tags.

Thank you!

[JTROKS]

You did good for your first match. Always keep in mind safety and it's quite simple. During the walk through identify the 180*. Keep your finger off the trigger while on the move and reloading. Keep your pistol pointed down range towards berm or to ground. You'll be amazed how many people point their pistol up and over the side berm when moving and/or reloading. Pay attention to all the folks that are taping/resetting targets and brass/mag pick up. When the sun is hot, shoot going way pass schedule and everyone is tired, this is when complacency sets in.

[krb]

Good job getting out there. Here are a few tips for next time:

1) Minimize the time you are not shooting. Which means doing multiple things at the same time like reloading after every shooting position on the way to the next shooting position.

Hi and thank you! My magazine pouch only held 3 magazines and I had only four total. So whereas the other guys dropped a magazine as they transitioned each time to the next stage, I did not have the ability to do that, otherwise I would be out of ammo. Lesson learned for next time. I'm ordering another ammo pouch and more magazines so each magazine is less dear to me.

2) No need to lower the gun while going from one shooting position to the next shooting position. Keep the gun up (pointed down range).

I totally understand, but that's just how I was trained in my classes. Hard habit to break.

3) Unless the next position is a couple of steps away, RUN (don't walk) to the next position with ONE hand on the gun and reacquire your grip a step or so before the next position coming up on the target as you step in to shoot.

Agree - I FELT like I was running (!) but looking at the video apparently not so much. Also it felt like I was on fire as I was switching mags and shooting but ... apparently not so much as the video says!

I largely had A's, and just a few C's. Others recommended work on accuracy first and only then work on speed. I'd like to have a few more competitions under my belt to be confident about the accuracy. But I think if I'm largely A's and only few C's it probably means I'm too slow - I think the penalty of the C is probably worth the improved time. It was my very first one though so I haven't figured that part out yet. I'm happy with my accuracy and want to maintain that through a few tournaments.

Just by minimizing the dead time outlined above you should be able to cut out several seconds per stage.

Thanks! looking forward to the next one!

[tanks]

...
I largely had A's, and just a few C's. Others recommended work on accuracy first and only then work on speed. . ...

The speed I was talking about was for traveling between shooting positions, and in bringing the gun up to shoot sooner before you get to a shooting position. Getting to a shooting position sooner is not going to affect accuracy one way or another .

[krb]

The speed I was talking about was for traveling between shooting positions, and in bringing the gun up to shoot sooner before you get to a shooting position. Getting to a shooting position sooner is not going to affect accuracy one way or another .

Oh I totally understand and agree. I was referring to something different - shooting faster, not running faster. Running faster is kind of "why would you NOT do that?" It was my first time so I had a lot of other things to think about. On one of the sections I walked by one of the targets and was marked with two mikes and a failure to engage. I was so upset with myself! Just walked by it and didn't see it.

[tanks]

... On one of the sections I walked by one of the targets and was marked with two mikes and a failure to engage. I was so upset with myself! Just walked by it and didn't see it.

That happens even to experienced guys. One thing that will help is to visualize your stage plan constantly so you can close your eyes and walk yourself through the stage completely, where you will aim for each target, which target you will shoot first and what order, how you will enter and exit each shooting position, where you will reload etc., etc.. If you are looking for targets during your stage run then you have not memorized your plan.

Once you have it down, at make ready visualize it again and you will be ready to shoot the stage.

[Tehjosheh]

thanks for sharing your experience op, I have been shooting steel for the past year and am looking forward to trying out uspsa/idpa. seeing your experience gives me a bit more confidence in starting out later this year/early next!

[Mayor McRifle]

I largely had A's, and just a few C's. Others recommended work on accuracy first and only then work on speed. I'd like to have a few more competitions under my belt to be confident about the accuracy. But I think if I'm largely A's and only few C's it probably means I'm too slow - I think the penalty of the C is probably worth the improved time. It was my very first one though so I haven't figured that part out yet. I'm happy with my accuracy and want to maintain that through a few tournaments.

It all boils down to points per second. On the one hand, you have to score points, but I tend to think that speed is more important in that equation. Maybe try a match soon where you go as fast as you can, as long as you make sure your shots are hitting cardboard. See if that makes a difference in your hit factors, and then adjust your strategy from there.

Example:
160 points in 30 seconds yields a hit factor of 5.3
120 points in 20 seconds yields a hit factor of 6.0

[krb]

thanks for sharing your experience op, I have been shooting steel for the past year and am looking forward to trying out uspsa/idpa. seeing your experience gives me a bit more confidence in starting out later this year/early next!

Where do you live? I have found (I suspect we have all found) shooters to be nearly universally nice and generous with their time and advice. This experience was just like that. Apparently Gopher Flats by Angeles has this every fourth Sunday of the month and I think Deadwood Boys (which I'm looking to do next ) is 1, 2, and 3rd Sundays of the month in Piru.

Just get a holster, high capacity magazine holder, and a bunch of magazines and go. It wasn't really very intimidating at all. Except for the probably 105 degrees. That was hard. Everyone looked pretty wasted after 5 hours in the sun!

[Tehjosheh]

Where do you live? I have found (I suspect we have all found) shooters to be nearly universally nice and generous with their time and advice. This experience was just like that. Apparently Gopher Flats by Angeles has this every fourth Sunday of the month and I think Deadwood Boys (which I'm looking to do next ) is 1, 2, and 3rd Sundays of the month in Piru.

Just get a holster, high capacity magazine holder, and a bunch of magazines and go. It wasn't really very intimidating at all. Except for the probably 105 degrees. That was hard. Everyone looked pretty wasted after 5 hours in the sun!

I live in San Diego, was about to go to one a couple weekends ago but something came up.. and yeah I've got a few friends from my steel match that have offered to help out for my first one - just need to make it out! also one issue is I only have 3 mags for each of my handguns i would compete with - I'm thinking i need at least 5 so I need to buy two more.

[GlockN'Roll]

dupe...

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1371787

[krb]

It all boils down to points per second. On the one hand, you have to score points, but I tend to think that speed is more important in that equation. Maybe try a match soon where you go as fast as you can, as long as you make sure your shots are hitting cardboard. See if that makes a difference in your hit factors, and then adjust your strategy from there.

Example:
160 points in 30 seconds yields a hit factor of 5.3
120 points in 20 seconds yields a hit factor of 6.0

This is going to sound vain but ... I'm overall satisfied with my accuracy and I just plain like seeing big ragged holes on targets when I go to the range. So even though I know my hit factor would be better shooting faster ... I think it would drive me crazy seeing lots of C's when I know I can shoot largely A's. For the first few competitions I may just maximize A's even knowing that my overall score is lower just because getting mostly C's - even with a higher hit factor - would drive me nuts!

I'll probably concentrate on overall score once I have a few more under my belt.

[IVC]

This is going to sound vain but ... I'm overall satisfied with my accuracy and I just plain like seeing big ragged holes on targets when I go to the range. So even though I know my hit factor would be better shooting faster ... I think it would drive me crazy seeing lots of C's when I know I can shoot largely A's. For the first few competitions I may just maximize A's even knowing that my overall score is lower just because getting mostly C's - even with a higher hit factor - would drive me nuts!

If you're satisfied with your accuracy, let me give you a different angle.

EVERYONE classified C or higher can hit all As all the time. It's very easy to hit all As - those zones are HUGE. It's not as if you're doing bullseye. Taking pride in hitting all As in USPSA is akin to being proud of finishing a 100 meter dash race. Pretty low bar.

Hit factor is not some abstract "gaming measure," it's the standard of measuring how well you shoot combat pistol (similar to "time plus" and a few others).

For example, if you shoot hit factor of 5 by hitting all As on a 150 point course (30 targets) in 30 seconds, you are not in any way better than someone who got the same hit factor by getting half the points in half the time. Actually, you are FAR WORSE - the fast guy can slow down just a tad and get his score to 130-140 range and beat you by 50% or more (remember, he CAN shoot all As - everyone can). You don't have an upside because you've already maxed out on points, so you have to work on your time. "Working on your time" is precisely what the USPSA is all about, since, I'll repeat, *everyone* can shoot all As.

If this is coming across a bit harsh, it shouldn't be. This is a friendly advice to get you out of the wrong thinking and show you why you simply have to get over yourself and start worrying about what matters. Imagine a girl shooting her first USPSA match and saying "well, I don't care if I can shoot, I just want to look pretty because that's always been my goal." ... See the problem?

BTW, My first stage of my first USPSA match was a classifier "Tic Toc" and I shot 16 As for a C class. An A shooter (he is now Master) told me point blank that I was slow (he wouldn't have done it if I couldn't shoot or if I did poorly; he *saw* me going relatively slowly for As). He then showed me his score, where he did it in less than half the time and had almost all As, so he had over twice the hit factor. It was the most valuable lesson I could get on my first stage - it's about how well you can shoot fast, not how well you can hit a huge target at paultry 7 yards.

[krb]

If you're satisfied with your accuracy, let me give you a different angle.

EVERYONE classified C or higher can hit all As all the time. It's very easy to hit all As - those zones are HUGE. It's not as if you're doing bullseye. Taking pride in hitting all As in USPSA is akin to being proud of finishing a 100 meter dash race. Pretty low bar.

Hit factor is not some abstract "gaming measure," it's the standard of measuring how well you shoot combat pistol (similar to "time plus" and a few others).

For example, if you shoot hit factor of 5 by hitting all As on a 150 point course (30 targets) in 30 seconds, you are not in any way better than someone who got the same hit factor by getting half the points in half the time. Actually, you are FAR WORSE - the fast guy can slow down just a tad and get his score to 130-140 range and beat you by 50% or more (remember, he CAN shoot all As - everyone can). You don't have an upside because you've already maxed out on points, so you have to work on your time. "Working on your time" is precisely what the USPSA is all about, since, I'll repeat, *everyone* can shoot all As.

If this is coming across a bit harsh, it shouldn't be. This is a friendly advice to get you out of the wrong thinking and show you why you simply have to get over yourself and start worrying about what matters. Imagine a girl shooting her first USPSA match and saying "well, I don't care if I can shoot, I just want to look pretty because that's always been my goal." ... See the problem?

BTW, My first stage of my first USPSA match was a classifier "Tic Toc" and I shot 16 As for a C class. An A shooter (he is now Master) told me point blank that I was slow (he wouldn't have done it if I couldn't shoot or if I did poorly; he *saw* me going relatively slowly for As). He then showed me his score, where he did it in less than half the time and had almost all As, so he had over twice the hit factor. It was the most valuable lesson I could get on my first stage - it's about how well you can shoot fast, not how well you can hit a huge target at paultry 7 yards.

Hm. Good to know. Still... when I'm at the range I just get a happy feeling seeing one big ragged hole instead of a bunch of holes close to each other. It feels like sunshine and unicorns. That sunshine unicorn feeling getting all A's though seems to be misplaced. I appreciate the input. Looking forward to going faster next time, and I'll keep you posted!

Keith

[IVC]

Still... when I'm at the range I just get a happy feeling seeing one big ragged hole instead of a bunch of holes close to each other.

Heh, you can always slow down and make sure your A hits are also grouped well. Try to get touching holes, or shoot for the upper A zone (and get touching holes). Shouldn't be a problem if you take your time.

Kidding. You are on the right track, just need some prodding. Have you ever played any other sports?