IDPA - So Confused.

[Dryft]

Hey Folks,

So, I'd really like to start getting out and learning how to use my guns for more than target shooting. IDPA seems like fun, and there's a range reasonably nearby that runs shoots.

I don't understand the rules at all though. It seems like it started simply, and then more and more rules got added and confused it. Could someone, maybe, give me a brief primer on the pistols, and maybe a good standard gun for each? I have a 1911, but think I'd like to try this with a 9mm, so any suggestions/comments are more than welcome!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jim Watson]

I must agree the rules are not real well written.
The briefing by Capel English is more helpful:
http://www.gadpa.com/index.php/ipda/new-shooter-briefing/

You have the gun thing backwards. If you have something at all suitable (like a 1911, which is the basic CDP) start out with it. If you want to get a 9mm for cheaper ammo, less recoil, or because you like a particular pistol, that is fine, but wait until you are sure you like the game before you sink several hundred bucks into a dedicated gun.

 

[Hoth206]

If you're interested, just get the basic equipment (pistol, holster, ammo, and mag pouches) and go try it. If it's a club level event, they're typically VERY accomodating of new people as they're learning the rules. The first 30 minutes of the match will help you understand more about the rules than hours of reading the book.

 

[CatsEye]

Jim is right, go shoot the gun you have. Every local match I have ever been to had a briefing for first time shooters where they go over the basic rules and commands. It takes just a few minutes to get an understanding of the rules. For your first time out all you really have to do is be safe and have fun. Take what you have and go shoot.

 

[9mmepiphany]

IDPA is an interesting sport. It is seen in two different ways

1. one view holds that it was started by Bill Wilson so that folks had a place to be competitive with his bead-n-butter 1911s. The raceguns were evolving so quickly that they were almost obsolete by the time they reached their ownerss.

2. the other view saw it as an entry level shooting sport...shoot what ya brung...as a feeder to USPSA.

The major difference is that USPSA give you a problem and you figure out how to shoot it, while IDPA has rules about which order you need to shoot targets in and when you can reload...they are trying to teach tactics with rules rather than instruction.

CDP is the natural home of the customized with restraint .45ACP 1911...much like the USPSA Single stack class.

At the other end of the spectrum is SSP which includes most stock guns or at least 9mm chambering...this is where you'll find Glocks, M&Ps, Sigs Berettas, etc.

ESP is the in-between class, where SA pistols and more highly customized 1911s go...they offer a mag capacity of 10 rounds as opposed to the CDP capacity of 8...this class is populated by XDs and 9mm 1911s

There are exceptions and some guns can be shot in more than one class depending on how you want to compete...they also have revolver classes

 

[ny32182]

The rulebook is the best place to look with regards to gear rules, but, in general:

CDP = .45's (single and double action)
ESP = Single action 9mm or double action 9mm with more modification than is allowed in SSP
SSP = Double action 9mm with little modification

Then there are two revolver divisions, but I personally don't know what differentiates them.

Any gun that is SSP legal can be shot in ESP as well, but not the other way around.

I think that any gun that is CDP legal can be shot in ESP as well, but not 100% certain.

 

[9mmepiphany]

ny32182 that is really a pretty good description.

ESP is the catch all class, for guns that don't make CDP or SSP, as long as you're not using optics and you can make weight (I think 43 oz)

Revolvers basically are separated by how they are reloaded, moonclips or not, into Stock or Enhanced

 

[Dryft]

Wow. You folks are awesome.

Thanks for all the great information - time to start looking at holsters and pouches for the 1911 and go see what there is to see! Like every sport I've ever chosen, looks like I've found yet another one that could wind up being a big money suck!

Thanks again.

 

[Glennster]

IDPA is a great way to sharpen you skills and have some fun. Do it if you get a chance!

 

[earlthegoat2]

while IDPA has rules about which order you need to shoot targets in and when you can reload...they are trying to teach tactics with rules rather than instruction.

This is IDPA in a nutshell I have found. In an actual competition the rules dont make any sense. They just have to be followed to score high. Maintaining cover when it is tactically unsound and reloading from cover are two examples. Moral of the story is that IDPA will make you better with your gun but it is by no means training for a real world gun battle.

You have to take the rules seriously but dont take them to heart. They are just rules that have to be followed to compete in IDPA.

 

[ny32182]

IDPA is a sport, and sports have rules. Any connection or lack thereof to your version of "tactical" is entirely coincidental.

 

[Chasbo00]

I like shooting IDPA; it's a fun game. Some folks take it way too seriously though and don't think this video is funny. They need to lighten up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGgVY6Ref4I

 

[Sam1911]

This is IDPA in a nutshell I have found. In an actual competition the rules dont make any sense.

This is probably somewhat overstating the case. If the stages are written well and the rules are applied correctly, they usually make sense.

Unfortunately there are times when the stages aren't written with the rules in mind and so they get mis-applied. There are also times when the rules don't/can't completely address a given scenario so, again, they get mis-applied. As well we have to accept that these rules are administered by a huge variety of individual folks who may or may not really understand or interpret the rules very well.

And, of course, not every shooter who steps to the line really understands what the rules are trying to encourage him/her to do -- leading to unnecessary frustration and complaints.

All of these tend to give an overstated impression that the rules are disjointed and irrelevant to practical shooting.

The rules are supposed to be FIRST a guide to the Match Director to help him/her write stages which reinforce certain techniques and skills. If the MD is doing his/her job well, the stages will generally provide ample opportunity for the shooter to engage the threat targets in something like a "tactically sound" manner -- or in accordance with the desired skill set like shooting while advancing, moving laterally, or whatever. If that is the case, the shooter only gets "dinged" for doing something really unwise (shooting exposed to threats) or that doesn't follow the course description for that stage (not moving, etc.).

The problem comes when stages are designed, set up, or administered ambiguously and the rules then applied in a way that doesn't fit.

Hey, and some of them don't make any sense at all (like the 3 threats for each non-threat rule).