Practicing for IDPA?

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Axis II

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Got a question for ya guys. How do you practice for IDPA shoots on your own time? I have never done it before so looking for some insight. I also am a little concerned with targets i purchased. I used to use splatterburst targets from amazon and would get full size silhouettes but seems they did away with those and now they are 12''x18''. Anyone see an issue with shooting at a different type/smaller target such as these? Kind of wondering if i should return them and get cardboard IDPA targets.
 
Personally I don't think the target matters that much. Practice to be able to put the bullet where you want it. Don't forget to also practice draw, reloads and other weapon manipulation skills. A slow reload is as detrimental to your score as bad hits.
 
Personally I don't think the target matters that much. Practice to be able to put the bullet where you want it. Don't forget to also practice draw, reloads and other weapon manipulation skills. A slow reload is as detrimental to your score as bad hits.
I'm pretty quick. I always get yelled at for state requals, I always hear its not a race. Shocked some of the guys i can break a level 3 holster as fast as some level 1 thumb breaks. Anyways, could you clarify a little on "other weapon manipulation skills"? I'm just not sure what to expect as far as how many rounds at each target, etc. When we requal for the state we are told 4rounds, 6 rounds, 2 rounds in the magazine. This is for both safety i'm assuming and also you do the drill 3 times. Just trying to get a feel. Do you have to wear those goofy looking vests i see everyone wearing? I'm assuming the gun must be covered?
 
Drill this. Time:
1) Draw to first shot (and see how accurate)
2) Time between first and second shot at same target (and see how accurate)
3) Time to move to second target and shoot (and see how accurate).
4) Time end of shot at slide lock to reload and first shot.

Also shoot close, middle, and distant with strong hand, weak hand, and both.

Dry fire and range shooting.
 
Radical suggestion: Practice moving around your house with a gun-like object (I used a drill so I didn't have to worry about pointing a gun at any family member or neighbors) while keeping it aimed at whatever direction you designate as "the berm." Lots of people coming into gun games DQ themselves by sweeping their body parts or breaking the 180 because they point the gun somewhere inappropriate during movement. In gun games, pointing the gun up or down are both flirting with a DQ and a big waste of time.... you need to learn to tie an imaginary string between your muzzle and the berm. Practice moving left, right, forwards, backwards... practice trailing the "gun" behind you with a left pivot (right arm stretched behind you) and with a right pivot (right arm crossed over your chest), and getting out of those trailing positions by turning back into the gun (not spinning it through 270 degrees, even if that's more natural).

Sounds like you already know how to shoot. And you may already have movement-with-gun stuff ingrained that you will need to overwrite, hard and mercilessly, to avoid DQs on stages with complicated movement. Maybe focus on that, and then get to a match soon! Plenty of time to get good later. First, make sure you can stay in the game!
 
Radical suggestion: Practice moving around your house with a gun-like object (I used a drill so I didn't have to worry about pointing a gun at any family member or neighbors) while keeping it aimed at whatever direction you designate as "the berm." Lots of people coming into gun games DQ themselves by sweeping their body parts or breaking the 180 because they point the gun somewhere inappropriate during movement. In gun games, pointing the gun up or down are both flirting with a DQ and a big waste of time.... you need to learn to tie an imaginary string between your muzzle and the berm. Practice moving left, right, forwards, backwards... practice trailing the "gun" behind you with a left pivot (right arm stretched behind you) and with a right pivot (right arm crossed over your chest), and getting out of those trailing positions by turning back into the gun (not spinning it through 270 degrees, even if that's more natural).

Sounds like you already know how to shoot. And you may already have movement-with-gun stuff ingrained that you will need to overwrite, hard and mercilessly, to avoid DQs on stages with complicated movement. Maybe focus on that, and then get to a match soon! Plenty of time to get good later. First, make sure you can stay in the game!
I'm a little worried about my previous training kicking in and screwing with me. I just watched several videos and noticed the indoor guys have that gun way too close to their face when moving around. I understand not pointing to the sky cause what comes up goes down.. I did an amateur one last summer and they didn't like how i did barricades or hip shooting and it just got so frustrating i quit. Had a guy smart me off about this isn't a police range and pretty much everything I've learned was crap. He took points off cause i was either too far away from barricade shooting (how i was taught) around it like say a doorway or i wasn't out far enough left or right, (LINE OF FIRE FROM TARGET-AKA bad guy) My mind runs 100mph so always knowing where the muzzle is i should have no issue but this last vid i watched from a master and instructor he had the gun up like parallel with his chin while running i said yeah, trip and fall and you shot yourself in the head or body. Kind of hard to explain but kind of gangster style hold but inline with his jawbone or chin.

Is it like a do it our way or your out kind of thing? I get safety and 150% for it! Some of the vids i watched seems like if you don't barricade this way your dinged, if you don't hip shoot this way your dinged, if you don't rack the slide your dinged. Ive always heard its very rule centric but that's mostly google searches. I wonder if USPCA or what not would be better for me?
 
IDPA having various opinions and rules on "how" to do stuff is one of the biggest reasons I have never fooled with it. USPSA is freestyle, and lets you solve problems your own way. No BS about being too far or too close for a doorway.

All that said, sometimes there is some tension between the 180 rule in the games and police training on gun retention and movement. That's why I suggested practicing that, specifically, above.

But if someone is running with a gun pointing at their head and are not DQ'ed, then the RO missed the call.
 
I agree, IDPA has too many silly little rules. USPSA is basically "shoot targets as they become visible." However the 180 rule is just as well enforced. That is universal in any of the shooting games.
But I still suggest you try both. You won't know which you like better until you do.
 
Yep. No doubt moving fast uprange without breaking the 180 does lead to some body/arm/gun positions that look a little odd to outsiders.... but competitors use those because they work. And I have seen a lot of people fall while running flat out in those positions and keep the muzzle downrange without sweeping themselves. Saw it last week when a guy's reconstructed knee kinda gave out on him, despite a knee brace. Landed so hard that his race holster ended up full of gravel and dirt from the range... but he kept it safe, got back up, and basically hopped through the rest of the stage to finish.
 
The guys in the video where running backwards away from the targets to get behind cover so holding the gun weird might have been because of running way which doesn't make sense for safety IMO. I checked USPSA and they don't offer anything close to me but a lot of IDPA matches. I agree with the 180 thing. Ive been swiped a few times and its not a very pleasant feeling.
 
While I get tired of people telling me all the stuff I am doing wrong by shooting IDPA, there are flaws.
One major flaw is "tribal rules." Match staff mandating their opinions which are not to be found in the rule book.

IDPA rules were considerably revised as of 2017. There are now fault lines that define use of cover. You cannot be otherwise penalized for your position at a barricade if you are behind the fault line. You still must "slice the pie" to comply with "Tactical Priority."

"Hip shooting" is not defined. Shooting from retention is taken to mean that the forearm is against the body.

You must either shoot to slide lock or retain the magazine (even if it is empty but with a round still in the chamber.) Sorry 'bout that.

I take it that you are a sworn officer in some law enforcement capacity. If so, you don't have to wear a silly vest, you can compete in your duty gear.

Do not confuse competitive shooting with department qualifications. IDPA and USPSA value novelty, you will seldom see the exact same stage except for a few old Standards and Classifiers, you will never see the same match. Scoring is open ended, you can always shoot better and faster, I don't think anybody attempts par time any more.
 
Scoring is open ended, you can always shoot better and faster, I don't think anybody attempts par time any more.

Fixed time stages still exist in USPSA, though they are rare (a handful of rarely-used classifier stages, and sometimes an oddball stage at a major just as a change-up). They are also set with AGGRESSIVE times, with very few competitors able to complete the procedure while maintaining any kind of aim. They're kind of an interesting game unto themselves.
 
Dryfire draws (with concealment on if that's how you're going to shoot the match)
Dryfire reloads
Dryfire moving into and out of positions behind a wall or barricade
Dryfire basically anything you can think of you that might have to do in a match.

Do it with a timer set with a par time so you can track your progress.

It's not the worst thing to practice with different target types, but it does help to use the actual target you'll be using at matches so you know where on the body to aim when it's too far away to see the perf
 
While I get tired of people telling me all the stuff I am doing wrong by shooting IDPA, there are flaws.
One major flaw is "tribal rules." Match staff mandating their opinions which are not to be found in the rule book.

IDPA rules were considerably revised as of 2017. There are now fault lines that define use of cover. You cannot be otherwise penalized for your position at a barricade if you are behind the fault line. You still must "slice the pie" to comply with "Tactical Priority."

"Hip shooting" is not defined. Shooting from retention is taken to mean that the forearm is against the body.

You must either shoot to slide lock or retain the magazine (even if it is empty but with a round still in the chamber.) Sorry 'bout that.

I take it that you are a sworn officer in some law enforcement capacity. If so, you don't have to wear a silly vest, you can compete in your duty gear.

Do not confuse competitive shooting with department qualifications. IDPA and USPSA value novelty, you will seldom see the exact same stage except for a few old Standards and Classifiers, you will never see the same match. Scoring is open ended, you can always shoot better and faster, I don't think anybody attempts par time any more.
Not sworn officer (private metro housing authority) must pass yearly peace officer training commission mandated course. The match I shot last summer had a lot of youtube heros. I mean that by one guy telling me to watch some Israeli style shooting cause you gotta train like them incase they invade us. When I got all the points taken off I nicely inquired why and was told it was my style and I need to conform to their style. I explained my training and that's what I was comfortable with and was told too bad. I quit going after a guy threw a fit they called me before him and I was late. seemed too goofy for me.
 
noticed the indoor guys have that gun way too close to their face when moving around.
...he had the gun up like parallel with his chin while running i said yeah, trip and fall and you shot yourself in the head or body. Kind of hard to explain but kind of gangster style hold but inline with his jawbone or chin.
Can you elaborate on this? I can't quite seem to picture it.

We do pull the gun in while moving, as opposed to leaving it swaying on extended arms, but the muzzle shouldn't get close to sweeping the head or body.

He took points off cause i was either too far away from barricade shooting (how i was taught) around it like say a doorway or i wasn't out far enough left or right
I stand as far back as I can and still engage all the targets in an array. The only thing I can think of is this match was held under the pre-faultline rule and he was calling you for cover.

I can't even imagine how you could not be out "far enough" if you engaged all the targets

they didn't like how i did...hip shooting
We don't require "hip shooting", but we do have Shooting from Retention. That is usually defined as elbow touching side and not forward of the body's mid-line. If you are extending your elbow forward from your body, that is a penalty

Is it like a do it our way or your out kind of thing?
Nope, it is that some folks aren't completely familiar with how the rule book has changed

The guys in the video where running backwards away from the targets to get behind cover so holding the gun weird might have been because of running way which doesn't make sense for safety IMO. I checked USPSA and they don't offer anything close to me but a lot of IDPA matches.
That technique actually comes from USPSA
 
Can you elaborate on this? I can't quite seem to picture it.

We do pull the gun in while moving, as opposed to leaving it swaying on extended arms, but the muzzle shouldn't get close to sweeping the head or body.


I stand as far back as I can and still engage all the targets in an array. The only thing I can think of is this match was held under the pre-faultline rule and he was calling you for cover.

I can't even imagine how you could not be out "far enough" if you engaged all the targets


We don't require "hip shooting", but we do have Shooting from Retention. That is usually defined as elbow touching side and not forward of the body's mid-line. If you are extending your elbow forward from your body, that is a penalty


Nope, it is that some folks aren't completely familiar with how the rule book has changed


That technique actually comes from USPSA

1) I don't remember the exact video to link it. So say your right handed and your firing in front of you and now you have to turn and run to the area behind you but keep the muzzle pointed behind you he's got it kind of next to his left cheek and then another one he ran with it pointed strait behind him. Almost like he's trying to scratch his left shoulder with a right hand crossing over his chest. Video I watched by an instructor said gun cannot be pulled in while moving they want it pointed down range all the time not down or to the side. Might have been an old video. I watched several and cant remember which one I thought was goofy was.

2)They told me I needed to be out more and not "hidden"

3) They had us walk up to a target and load I think 9 rounds and you had to be like 2ft away or arms length and draw from the holster and fire 3 rds, run backwards and fire 3 and when you got like 10-15ft away fire 3rounds. We are taught basically rest your wrist on the top of the holster so you don't catch the back of the slide in the ribs. They wanted me to hold it higher almost like under my nipple (only way I could describe it) and the 2nd set of 3 hold the gun in your solor plexus area really tight. He hammered me on points off on this one. I guess I was supposed to hit it in the center with the first 3 and I'm taught lower body like belly button and groin.
 
Thanks for the response. It makes a lot more sense and I can actually explain them :p

1) Those are the two accepted ways of running quickly backwards ...in both IDPA and USPSA...because you have to keep the muzzle pointed down range.

The first is pointing the gun over your shoulder at the berm...obviously you are limited as to which direction you can turn when you get to you next shooting position. The second is to trail your gun behind you, usually upside-down, and rotating it up right as you arrive in your shooting position. Pointing it down or to the side often brings you very close to being DQ'd.

2) That's just stupid. The only semi-logical explanation would be that they were afraid you'd shoot the prop.

3) Resting your wrist atop your holster goes back to the days of the Speed Rock. That technique is pretty much obsolete in real world CQC as it is too easily countered. Current doctrine is to rest the butt of the gun against your body, at whatever height you clear the holster and cant the top away from the body to prevent fouling against clothing...that brings it pretty close to nipple level. It is a real world Retention position as opposed to the competitive Retention which has the pistol extended out

The second position sounds like they wanted you to shoot from Compressed High Ready. It is a position, in the real world, that is often used when clearing a building

He hammered me on points off on this one. I guess I was supposed to hit it in the center with the first 3 and I'm taught lower body like belly button and groin.
I don't think he hammered you because of how you shot it, just where you shots impacted the target. (You should have been taught to place your shots in the hip girdle)

I remember when LE training changed from COM hits to Lower Body/Pelvic Girdle hits. The explanation was that you'd have a more immediate effect on the bad guy, but the training rationale was it prevented trainees from shooting over the target. The reason for the change made as much sense as having trainees not bring their guns into their bodies during magazine changes
 
There are rules to the game. You can either play the game or do it your own way and eat the penalties, that's really the only two choices.

I'm not a huge IDPA fan but at the one or two IDPA matches I shoot a year, I follow their rules. The rest of the time I'm shooting USPSA.
 
ohihunter2014
I would suggest downloading the Rulebook and Match Directors Handbook, knowledge is power.
With that being said IDPA is a game and if your competitive then you will want to game the game or you will place poorly.
When I first started I was a full time LEO and had to play the game vs real world tactics, it wasn't hard, I just kept in mind this was a game and work was not.
As you know there are always other shooters that feel the need to give advise even if you don't want it, there are also Safety Officers (SO's) that like to interpret the rules a different way than any other SO.
I have gotten a few questionable procedurals through the years, early on I would ask for clarification and research it later, now that I am a SO I am much more familiar with the small nuances of the rulebook.

I encourage everyone to shoot some type of competition, no matter how you approach it you will be a better shooter.

Now that I have rambled on. . . .
My preferred practice on a square range is the 5X5 classifier.
When I'm on an action shooting range I practice shooting while moving (no longer required in IDPA) kneeling and the prone position.
Whichever one I'm on I pay attention to my draw to first shot time and the reload split time.
Always on paper IDPA targets, about .37 cents each

Larry A.
 
I remember when LE training changed from COM hits to Lower Body/Pelvic Girdle hits.

I saw a class at the local range working on that. First shot center of mass, second left pelvis, third right pelvis. It would take a lot of reps for me to quit putting that third shot in the head. Especially since both IDPA and USPSA have positive scoring zones for the head and not the pelvis.
 
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