As you may know, I got started shooting local IDPA matches about a month ago. My first match was a humbling experience as I came in last place in my class (unclassified) and division (SSP or Standard Service Pistol). I had no delusions of winning the match… I just wanted to know how I stacked up against other folks. And, that goal was accomplished.
My match time for my first match was 222.90 seconds. Given 5 stages, that’s 44.8 seconds per stage on average. Others in the same class and division scored between 112.64 to 177.28.
For those not familiar with IDPA scoring, every shooter is timed from an initial starting beep (from the timer) to the last shot fired. Then all targets are scored and the score is added as a time penalty to your stage time. A perfect target score on a target is a 0. There are other penalties that may add to your stage time.
In March, I competed in another IDPA match where I received a match score of 186.84 (with an average of time of 37.37 stage time for each of the 5 stages). Scores in my class and division ranged from 118.28 to 215.57 this time around. My goal this time around was to not come in dead last – which I accomplished. I attribute the time improvement to be a result of attending a pistol training course and making it a point to dry practice. I’m sure additional range time had something to do with it. I could have probably done better had I not brought a new handgun that I had never previously fired to the match (more on that new addition to the collection later).
I plan on shooting up to three (3) matches in April and will post another progress report in the future. In the mean time, I will keep up my dry practice drills and get some additional range time in.
I believe participating in local IDPA matches is helping improve my proficiency with my firearms. I encourage anyone who wants to be a better shooter to find a local match and participate. Local matches are a bit more expensive than fees associated with typical range access, but not by much and the benefits are well worth the extra expense.
I will be announcing the matches I will be competing in to patrons via Patreon. So if you are interested in meeting me or shooting a match with me, then head on over to Patreon and become a patron if you aren’t already.