Punching holes again

I cannot believe how long it's been since I have gone to the range. I think that last time I went was in October, 2010. I am not really sure what happened but boy did it feel good being back yesterday. I went mainly to test my new gun, S&W Bodyguard 380. It is a nice little pistol; very light and concealable. I think I am going to carry that instead of my S&W 642.

My wife is not a big fan of the BG380. She was not able to pull the trigger. LOL

My first IDPA match

I shot my first IDPA match today. It was a very exciting and humbling experience. I was quite nervous walking up to the firing line of the first stage but once I pulled the trigger to send the first round down range all the jitters went away.

The match was comprised of six stages. Some stages where more difficult than others. The one I enjoyed the most was stage three where I had to engage nine targets, including a couple of poppers. There was even a swinger partially obstructing four of the targets. The stage I enjoyed the least was stage six. It was the only indoor stage and involved a lot of shooting on the move. There I had to engage three targets (two shots each) while moving from left to right. Then I had to reengage them again (two shots to the head) from cover. I had a few misses on that one although surprisingly I did OK with the head shots.

This whole IDPA experience taught me a few of things:

1. I have a long way to go before I can consider myself a decent shooter.
2. Moving and shooting when performed at the same time are very difficult.
3. I need to slow down. I shoot too fast thus collecting many unnecessary penalties.
4. There is no better place to practice my skills than an IDPA competition.

I came in second in the CDP (Custom Defensive Pistol) class.  This would have been good except for the fact that there were only three people shooting in that class.  Still, I wasn't too far behind the first place and quite a ways ahead of the third place.

The next match is on January 9th and you better believe it that I will be there.

A cold morning at the range

We got a bit of snow last night and the temperature went down below freezing. I do not particularly like to go the range after a fresh snowfall because collecting spent brass becomes a lot more difficult. Still, I had to get out to and get a bit more trigger time before the IDPA match, which will take place next weekend. Overall, I did all right, although I continue to shoot left of center. At this point, I do not know what is causing it. I pay attention to my trigger pull and I do not think that I flinch. This is a bit frustrating because at times I shoot really well and right on target and other times, like today, my shots are not grouping well and are off center.

This inconsistency could be very costly during IDPA.

Practicing for IDPA

I went to the range today to start practicing for the upcoming IDPA match.  This will be my first match and I am both excited and scared.  Since IDPA is all about simulating real time scenarios, standing behind a bench and slowly shooting at a stationary target is not going to get me prepared.  This is why today I set up two target stands, 20 feet apart.  First one consisted of two separate high visibility targets (bellow) and the other one had just one target.  I used the two smaller targets to practice rapid fire and the larger one was used for shooting on the move and from cover.  I had a lot of fun practicing and I am happy that most of my rounds ended up on paper.  Still, if these were IDPA scored targets I would be in big trouble.

Introduction to IDPA

IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) is a shooting sport that simulates self-defense scenarios and real life encounters.

Today I had the pleasure of taking part in an introductory IDPA class conducted by the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL). I would strongly encourage anyone who is interested in getting involved with IDPA to take this class. During the lecture part of the class all the IDPA rules were explained as are some of the techniques for properly drawing a firearm. The theory was then put to the test at the range.

I did OK during all the firing drills but as the day progressed I started to feel fatigued. When we finally got to running a couple of actual IDPA stages the combination of being tired and nervous caused me to make some mistakes, both mental and physical. Needless to say my score was really bad. Still, I had a lot of fun and plan on attending the next local IDPA match.

Prior to this weekend I had not been to the range in almost 10 weeks. The lack of trigger time became quite obvious when the first dozen rounds all went high and to the left. Once I re-familiarized myself with the two 1911-style pistols I brought to the range things got better.

In the end the groups were decent but I continue to shoot to the left. This is most likely caused by flinching. I must spend a lot more time dry-firing.

Both of these targets were shot with .45 Cal. Officer 1911's (Remsport Custom and Colt 1991A).