Sunday, March 15, 2009

IDPA Improvements

I have been serious about IDPA for about ten years now and while I may not be any good, I still think it a great sport. As a student of the game, I think we should rethink a few things.

First, I think we emphasize the quick draw from concealment a bit too much for a true reflection of defensive use of the handgun by non-military and non-police applications. We don't do a lot of room-to-room clearance work (or at least we should not) and we don't do a lot of traffic stops or felony warrant service. I know that the execution of a concealed draw adds to the "time pressure" of the game but who among us is actually going to draw against a BG who has the drop on us? Sure action beats reaction but I am probably going to run first. I am not a big fan of retrieve from the box but it is realistic.

I also think we should rethink the HNT or -5 (miss) a bit more. Not being covered by the legal concept of "sovereign immunity", as armed citizens we are going to be at least civilly liable for each round we cannot account for in court. DUSM always calls it the "little girl with the bunny rabbit" - you are done in that event. Our friends in NASCAR seem, in my experience, to encourage speed to an extreme they may well be unhappy with in the event. Let's put out lots more NTs like the mall!

Maybe, we should also formalize the BUG class. After all, for many of us (me too) it is actually the CCW that we wear most. Maybe in the upper echelons we can do pocket draws. If BUG is what we are armed with on a general basis, then that is what we should shoot. Yes and not because the only match I ever won was a BUG match either! An un-named local CCW instructor has reminded me that the G34 may not be the carry gun for the true IDPA competitor when they actually carry the G26 all the time. One former federal LEO we know goes about with a G22 in his belt most days but few of the rest of us actually "dress to the big gun"!

Movement - we do a lot of flat footed shooting at multiple targets. We need to "Get Off the X!" and move. Proximity negates skill and distance is the friend of the better shooter. Utilizing the distance specified in the Tueller Drill (7 yards), we need to practice evasive action a good deal more than we do. I am not talking about the sport run and gun stuff but a few quick steps to cover, backing away from the target or even just laterally.

Distance - I know that some of you MDs personally design these long distance courses of fire just to make me lose bad. But, if you think I am going to shoot at somebody at 35 yards without a rifle, I think you have me confused with someone else. I know it is hard but so is PPC and Conventional Pistol. It is not supposed to be about hard! I think we need to emphasize close in targets a bit more than we do.

SHO/WHO - I know someone who hates to do Weak Hand Only who I will not mention. A good IDPA match is going to test that skill and SHO as well. Most of us won't practice it either so putting in in a COF will do just that.

I hate a head shot. Some MDs put those in there just to make me crazier that I already am. Most of us will simply shoot them to the ground. If they are wearing body armor, then it just isn't my day! Like multiple mag changes, I think this a rediculous convention.

We need to cover the targets with shirts more than we do. It is a good thing to get away from counting little bitty holes in the target. I really liked that steel target that RRPC has that has the hole in it that reacts only when you hit it correctly. I would love to see our targets change in shape from the current to some sort of tactical theodore-like thing.

I would love to see more charging targets and lateral movers. We will get Cowboy Lou's lateral racer and I love shooting at that. How about more non-penguin shaped steel that falls? After all this is the Instant Gratification Homeland!

Your comments, brickbats and ideas would be appreciated. Anything I forgot?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree, HNT should cost more. Like, kill the match for you more. Months ago at CAV my hit on a non threat took me from 1st to 5th. Should have been worse for me.

BUG... There should be 2 subdivisions autos and revolvers. Barrel lengths should be Walther PPS and smaller for autos and revolver should be 5 shooters (.38 and up) and 6 shooters (.32) ONLY. The 3" revolver I won SSR with at the VA IDPA cup is considered a BUG. Come on now...no gun that would be issued as a primary to a Law Enforcement agency should be considered an IDPA BUG. There should be more than 5 rounds per string just to force us J frame carriers that live in denial exactly how ridiculously long it takes to reload those things. We should have to draw from concealment. For pocket holsters, you can start with your hand in the pocket on the grip.

More movement prior to engagement sounds great to me. I'm OK with the occasional longer distance shooting. Real life events have proven that it happens sometimes.

When I took the 4th level course at Practical Firearms Training in WV they had a cardboard 3D IDPA shaped target. It hung from a wire attached to a balloon placed inside at either the head, chest or pelvic area. You had to engage until the balloon popped and the target dropped. It was a neat idea but I suppose it would be difficult to score fairly.
Adam S

Anonymous said...

I must say I agree there should be a bug class. It is bull the concept of IDPA to shoot what you carry doesn't even have a class for the most widly carried guns. I too would like to see more real movement in a course of fire and targets that fall and not a set number of hits. Why can't we have more targets with outer areas that don't fall and down zero that do. Just my two cents worth... Roger L.