Action Shooting question

[Nushif]

I was reading the IDPA rules and was looking at the categories, and I may have missed this, but specifically in IDPA styled action shooting is there even a niche for guns like the Kahr E/K9, Kimber solo, SR9c, G26 and the like?

I'm talking about single stack 9mm guns with mag capacities anywhere between six and ten.

They seem to fall right in between the service sizes and the backup gun category.

Seeing as they are pretty popular why would there not be a category? Am I just missing it?

 

[btg3]

I shoot a 9mm M&Pc in both the SSP division and in BUG matches (load limit = 5 rds).
The SSP division (and others) allow for lower capacity guns.
The rules encourage "revolver neutral" Course-of-Fire with primary regard to 6-rd capacity.

I think your point is you would like to see the guns that you listed compete on an even basis in their own division, rather than at a disadvantage against guns that load the SSP division full capacity. However, this would seem to necessitate separate divisions for each capacity, or perhaps limit those guns to the lowest common denominator of 6-rds which would be one round more than a BUG match and seems to split hairs. Did you have a specific solution in mind?

 

[Nushif]

I don't know enough about to sport to have a solution in mind, I was wondering whether the variety of guns I tend to be best with is feasible to use.

A load limit sounds pretty fair to me, tbh. It's not hard simply loading one less round for fairness sake, and when it comes down to a shoot, I doubt I'd be unhappy that I have two extra rounds. 8)

SSP stands for what, by the by?

 

[Sam1911]

"Stock Service Pistol."

Really, the answer is no. There isn't a separate class for "mid-sized" guns, and there are already five classes which most consider to be complex enough. After all, even at a big match, 80 shooters show up shooting Stock Service Pistols, 10 will be in CDP (1911s), 8 in ESP (xDs and 9mm 1911s), and then there will be two lonely revolver shooters.

(I once won Division Champion shooting a revolver at a State match. I think there were three revolvers shooting in the whole match and I wasn't directly competing against either of the other two!)

But you certainly can shoot those guns in SSP! If you want to measure your improvements over time, you will get a lot out of the exercise.

If you want to know how relatively fast and accurately you shoot the guns you carry compared to how other types of guns seem to do, that's good info as well. After all, you don't get to "compete" in a special class when drawing on a mugger or other bad guy just because your gun doesn't hold very many rounds.

If you want to bring home a trophy, well, you'll probably eventually find that the gun itself is keeping you from hitting your top performance. (Again, that's a good thing to know!)

I see Khars, compact Glocks, compact xDs, snubby revolvers, and all kinds of other non-competition-oriented guns in our practice sessions every week. Heck, we had a lady who shot with us for a while who used to shoot a vintage Colt Police Positive in .32 IIRC.

Show up with what you've got. Shoot as well as you can. Learn something. Have fun!

 

[Jim Watson]

Yup.
One of our guys, the pharmacist, was shooting his behind-the-counter S&W 3913 last time out.
Another is a senior FBI agent who joined while revolvers were still in use and he is normally seen with his Detective Special... or his .41 Magnum.

 

[Sam1911]

Actually, come to think of it, I shoot "odd" as well. My competition revolver is a 629. I shoot SSR with .44 Specials. I can't get the "good" speedloaders, my rounds are HARD to push to the bottom of the power floor*, and my gun is heavy. But I do ok.

(* Actually, with the change to 105 power floor for SSR, I have some bullets on my bench I could load that would only have to move out at 350 fps! 'Course I wouldn't actually do that, because I don't want to have to stand around waiting for the bullets to arrive at the targets so I can score and tape. I just load everything to make 165+ and then have a built-in excuse! )

 

[Matt-J2]

Just to note, the SR9c uses 10rd mags(or the larger 17s, if you want), as does the Glock G26(the G27 in .40 trails just behind at 9rds). So while some of the others are at a disadvantage in capacity, some aren't at all since IDPA limits you to 10rds per mag regardless of how many they can hold.

 

[Nushif]

As I mentioned in another thread ... I'll show up in Eugene when I can ... with my little E9 in tow. We'll see how it goes. 8)