Competitive Shooting 101: IDPA and USPSA explained

[Aristotle13]

This is a thread I put together for another board for shooters that were interested in getting involved in IDPA and USPSA. I've seen a couple of people ask about it, and thought it wouldn't hurt to put it up on here.

I'd like to clearly express that I am hoping that some of the other experienced competitive shooters chime in with anything I may not have covered, or to reiterate anything they feel I could have emphasised more on.

Anyhow, here are a few chops of my other thread. Often times when I post, I'll make revisions down the road as I read and reread my responses.

First off, I'd like to get through a couple of misconceptions I hear from new shooters:

Misconception #1: "I'm not "good enough" to compete..."

I placed this #1 because this is about the most used reason I see when I am promoting IDPA or USPSA.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A BULLSEYE SHOOTER TO BE COMPETITIVE

A vast majority of our target arrays will be within realistic "defensive enagement lengths". So targets are normally set from 1 yard, to 10 yards. We have had COF's in the past where we had to shoot targets out to 35 yards prone with a handgun, but that's few and far between. For the most part, if you could put two shots in an 8" area from 5 yards, you are good to go.

Misconception #2: "Don't I need a race gun to be competitive?"

The "race guns" people that we often see or talk about, probably make up only 15-20% of the match. And for the most part, they only compete with other "race guns" aka "Open division guns" so you don't have to worry about them anyhow.

That aside, lets get to the meat and potatoes:

When you go to your first match let the registration guys know that you're a new shooter. Many clubs will have a brief "new shooter orientation", where they'll go over the range commands and expected responses, safety rules, and will look over your equipment to make sure it is safe. At our club, we'll usually try to squad newer shooters together with a couple of expereinced guys and will usually have them start off on one of the simpler courses of fire. This lets them get the jitters out before they need to worry about movement, motion targets or negotiating props. On the more complex courses of fire, the range officer can/will help you dissect the stage.

The other thing to remember is the USPSA & IDPA are volounteer driven, which keeps match fees very reasonable. At our club, a 7 stage, 150 round match that takes 4-5 hours to shoot is only $20. You will not have more fun for $20 anywhere. A small percentage of your match fee goes to the organizations (USPSA/IDPA) headquarters, and the rest gets pumped back into the club, to help pay for targets & pasters, props, and procurement & maintenance of reactive and moving targets, etc. If you really want to make friends with the match staff fast, show up early to help setup and stay after to help tear down.

What should I get involved in first, and how do I get involved?

I will often advise new shooters to try IDPA out first. I think it's better structured for new shooters getting into shooting dynamically.

As long as I lived in my state, I didn't even realize how many active clubs are in the area, and I'm fairly confident that once you dig into your area, you will also be surprised at how active they are.

I would simply do a "google search". And search for "insert your state" IDPA or USPSA matches / Schedules. If you don't get any hits there go to the two respective sites and they have a "locate a club near you" feature on both IDPA and USPSA's site.

International Defensive Pistol Association

USPSA

What equpment do I need to get started?

Because there's two disciplines, I'll break it down.

IDPA:

-Gun
-Eyes and Ear protection
-belt holster. I highly recommend Kydex holsters. But IWB holsters work, like the ever popular Milt Sparks, etc (not allowed: SOB holsters, ankle holsters, shoulder holsters, pocket holsters)
-a mag pouch that will hold two magazines on your belt. ( Uncle Mikes, Galco, Bladetech, Comp tach all make dual mag pouches )
-100 bullets a match
-Time

IDPA is where I always send new people because they are much less stressful and they're course of fires are much more "defined" meaning. They will tell you "exactly" how they want you to run the stage. Example of a regular "COF" for idpa would go something like this.

Standing in Box A, shooter must engage targets T1-T3 strong hand only while retreating behind low cover. From low cover, shooter must perform a reload and enage targets T4-T6 with two shoots each.

And they'll ususally precede the course description with the scenario:

You are standing in line at the ATM, when 3 assailants attack you. You must defend yourself and retreat with your SO. yada yada yada

USPSA:

-Gun
-Eyes and Ear protection
-belt holster depends on what division you want to compete in. Most beginners will be better of competing in "Production" division. Which is where most stock guns are, like Glocks, XD's, etc. For this division a OWB Kydex holster is ideal. For Limited, Limited 10 and Open you can use a "race holster".

Here are two examples of "race" and "production" rigs.

Race:



Production:


- Mag pouches. You will need upwards of at least 4 mag pouches. 6 if you want to come prepared. But I've competed plenty of times with only 4 mag pouches, and currently only use 5. You can buy two Uncle mikes kydex dual mag pouches on your belt. Or do the adjustable mag pouches like the CR speeds I run. Uncle mikes pouches: $10-15 for dual pouches. or a single CR speed adj pouches: $35 each CR's are a great investment even if your only shooting production for now because it offsets the pouches better, so it's easier to grab and if you ever decide (and you will) to play in Limited, you can mount it tilted on the front of your belt for easier mag grabs. (which is what I do)

-150-200 bullets a match
-Time

[Aristotle13]

Here's a break down of the various divisions within IDPA. And what is allowable modfications, as well as examples of the various pistols that would be used to compete in them.

Please NOTE: this list is not comprehensive. To be sure you are compliant, please refer to the IDPA rule book or feel free to ask me.

IDPA rule book: http://www.idpa.com/Documents/IDPARuleBook2005.pdf

Minimum caliber for all divisions is .355 aka 9mm and it must make a powefactor of 125.

SSP aka Stock Service Pistol divison:

This is where most Glocks, M&P's and Sigs compete in. allowable modifications are: Grip tape, after market "post and notch" style sightes, trigger work (as long as the pistol retains all of it's safety mechanisms). There are also size dimensions, and weight slot for this division. Please refer to the rule book for exact size and weight.

You must compete with only 10 rounds in the mag +1 in the tube. And your two other mags must have the same amount in them.

Not allowed: Stipling, grip reductions, slide lightening, aftermarket guide rods, extended slide release (unless it comes OEM), extended mag release (unless it's OEM) and NO mag wells.

ESP aka Enhanced Service Pistols:

This is more "race" than SSP. Everything that's legal in SSP is legal here. But you are allowed to do more things to your gun here. This is where you see the tricked out 1911 9mm's compete. Modified CZ's and Sigs are also big in this division. As well as Tricked out Glocks. XD's must compete in this divison because they're action is "defined" as being different than Glocks. "dont ask, its' one of those dead horses everyone debates"

CDP division aka Custom Defensive Pisol

This is the home of the 1911. This is where the more tricked out 1911 in .45 compete. You can also compete in this division with a XD in .45 or glock in .45. This is a .45 only division.

Rules are basically anything that's legal in ESP, is applicable in CDP. With the only big exception is you are limited to only 8 rounds in your mags +1 in the tube.

SSR or Stock Service Revolver division

As the name indicates, this is for stock revolvers in 9mm and up.

ESR or Ehanced Service Revolver

You can use moon clips, etc here. Smith and Wesson 600 series revolvers are king here.

[Aristotle13]

Here's a break down of the various divisions within USPSA. And what is allowable modfications, as well as examples of the various pistols that would be used to compete in them.

Please NOTE: this list is not comprehensive. To be sure you are compliant, please refer to the USPSA rule book or feel free to ask me.

USPSA rule book: Rules

Minimum caliber for all divisions is .355 aka 9mm and it must make a powefactor of 125.

Something also unique about USPSA is that there are two scoring factors within Limited, Limited 10 and Open depending on your ammo load.

There are "major" division, and "Minor" division. This is dictated by your Power factor. So in "limited" you can shoot " minor" or "major" in .40 depending on how your powerfactor is recorded over a chrono. The trade off is that by going minor, you are scored differently. A "B" hit aka "Bravo hit", shooting in Major is 4 points, and in Minor it's 3 points. So you may gain an advantage with a slightly less recoil, with the expense that your hits on the target are scored differently than those shooting it in "major" power factor. This can be good if you are accurate, bad if you are a run and gunner.

Additionally, at local level matches declaring your division and power factor is usually done on the honor system... meaning a local match will not typically have a chrono & scale to verify your power factor, nor will they inspect your gun to make sure it fits the division rules to a "T". At Level II & higher matches you can expect these types of procedures.
Production divison:

This is where you will find all "stock" pistols, from Glocks to Sigs. The allowable mods are basically the same as IDPA SSP division. With the exception that they are more strict on where grip tape is applied, amongst other small things.

You must also place your holster on your "hip bone" or directly under your arm pits. Your pouches should also not exceed this point on the opposite side.

Limited 10:

This division is where you can go nuts on your gun. You can do just about anything to your gun except for having electronic "red dot" sights and compensators. But you are free to do just about anything else to your gun, with only a few exceptions.

As for holster placement and mag pouches. You can arrange them in any maner that is safe and secure.

The big difference between Limited 10 aka L10 and Limited, is in L10 you are restricted to only having 10 rounds in your mags, but you can have up to 6 mags on your body or more. This was the division made for the Californians with their strict gun mag restrictions.

Limited: Same as L10 except you can have as many rounds as you can cram into a 140mm magazine. So Extended mags are key here. The theory is you won't have to reload quite as much. And when I compete in Limited, I only have 3-4 mags on me and I hardly dip into my 3rd mag.

Here is an example of my L10/Limited guns:



L10 with 10 rounders:




Open division:

Anything goes. If you can bring it to the line, we'll let you shoot it. Red dot scopes, full comps, weights, the whole nine yards. You can also stuff as much as 28 rounds in your 180mm mags. 9mm in Major and 38 super is king here because of the additonal rounds able to hold in a mag.

Single stack: Just as the name implies, this is where Single Stack 1911s in various calibers are shot in within the sub factors of "Major" or "Minor". The differense is that they are not allowed to use Race holsters, and the location of their holster on their belt, is the same as production and must be behind your hip bone. Mag pouch placement must mirror this on the other side and not be further than your hip bone. Depending on if you are shooting major or minor, the load capacity is also different:

Minor: 10 rounds in the mag
Major: 8 rounds in the mag

You are also allowed to do a few more things to your pistol like extended/larger dia mag release, pinned safeties, etc.

Revolver:

Just as the name states.

[Aristotle13]

What's the primary difference between IDPA and USPSA?

IDPA is built upon the spirit of IPSC/USPSA but with with more of a focus on Defensive shooting scenarios. The intent was to promote a sport that's less about your equipment, and more on the ability of the shooter to negotiate more realistic defensive scenarios.

It's within these parameters that all of the rules of IDPA are derived. From the laws of engagement using "tactical sequencing". The use of shooting from behind various barriers/cover. Using tactical priority shooting from said barriers/cover. To specific reloads to use in a defensive situation like reload with retention, and a tactical reload. And lastly the ability to engage multiple threats "on the move".

It's because of this, each IDPA course of fire has a very specific description of how a shooter "must" shoot the course, and do so within the rules of engagement set forth by IDPA rule. And the courses are also built, also has restrictions on total travel from array to array, as well as a bullet cap on each stage because in IDPA, you are only allowed 2 full mags on your belt, and a another in the gun with one in the pipe. We build the courses to not exceed that bullet count.

IPSC, it's basically, run and gun. DVC, Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas, which translate to Power, Speed and Accuracy sums it up nicely. It's not entirely realistic. But it's fun to shoot. Reloading multiple mags, long, complicated stages with up to 16 targets in crazy sequencing. It's basically, heres a course of fire with 16 targets, here are a bunch of puzzles in a form of a maze, stacked target arrays, swing and moving targets.... now shoot them all as fast as you can.

[The Knight Of Light]

My Production rig.

[Chapie+]

Originally Posted by The Knight Of Light

My Production rig.

Very nice looking rig.
Would you explain it to me?
What make is the belt, holster, mag pouches, sights on your XD, etc? What model XD do you carry? What modifications have you made to it? It really is a beautiful rig.

Learning,
Chapie+

[Enduroking]

Thanks for the info!!

[XDONBOARD]

Great thread, thanks. The IDPA XD info is discouraging though!

[tomfoolery]

Good info!!

The most important part is to have fun, if you can not go and have a good time then there is no point. Sure it is a learning experience, aimed to improve your skill...but have fun

I have shot IPSC and IDPA with my xd40 service, xd9 service, xd9 tactical, and this summer i plan on using my 1911.

[The Knight Of Light]

Originally Posted by Chapie+

Very nice looking rig.
Would you explain it to me?
What make is the belt, holster, mag pouches, sights on your XD, etc? What model XD do you carry? What modifications have you made to it? It really is a beautiful rig.

Learning,
Chapie+

The holster is a Blade-Tech DOH, the belt is by CR Speed as well as the mag pouches. The XD is a 9mm tactical and has a Springer Precision trigger kit and Dawson fixed FO sights