On Sunday, the thunder tactical shooters group held a hybrid match at thunder gun range. The hybrid match used IDPA scoring with IPSC rules. Having never shot IPSC, I was stoked to find an overall lack of restrictions. One shooter equated IPSC to being a mind puzzle versus IDPA which reduces the need for creativity to measure pure skill. Combining both makes for a Helluva lotta fun.
The match was originally going to be for single-stack guns only, but was later opened to include all autos to get more participants. I found it interesting that double-action hammer guns are frowned upon so much SOLEY for their 1st shot trigger action. The huge magazine capacity of my H&K P30 was more than enough to make up for the smooth triggers of 1911s.
I’ve shot IDPA practice matches but never an official match. The stages were significantly more elaborate with many more targets than in practice matches. This accompanied with weather that one might see in the beginning of a Disney movie made the event nothing short of a shooter’s paradise.
There were lots of very experienced shooters there including state/national champions and professionals. One of the things I love about such events is that there is no “down time” If you’re not shooting, you’re watching and getting prepared. If you’ve already shot, there’s no shortage of time to evaluate your performance and get advice from experts to practice in the next stage. In all honesty, a shooting match is one of the fastest ways to meet new people…..Proof that an armed society IS a polite society.
pic from match:
My shooting went quite well except for a brain fart which cost me a procedural and 1 no- shoot. (I had practiced with the no-shoot hands on a sign that was hung around the neck of the target rather then being spray-painted on) I learned that I shouldn’t watch my shots as I take them and learn to trust the front sight, shoot with rhythm and just know the hits will be there. By the last stages, I was flying though the scenarios with reasonably well-placed hits. Now all I need to do is practice my shooting rhythm and A-zone hits will just come naturally.
The match results were pretty impressive. The match champion shot the course in a total adjusted time of 77.53 seconds. I shot the course in 124.91 seconds to put me 19th in the ranking of 45 shooters. This is certainly a hobby I plan to keep and recommend to any shooter who’s anxious to shoot “outside the box”.
