Q: Focus on front site or target?

[bbbass]

Great info, thank you guys. I really do appreciate it! A lot of good info a clearing things up.

FYI, there has become two groups/types that shoot IDPA. One is the group of dedicated competitors... they want to win. They train to get faster, more accurate, try new weapons, holsters, etc, in their effort to win. We have had a lot of USPSA shooters move to IDPA and they were pretty much race gunners in USPSA. They bring that same focus over to IDPA.

Then there is the group that wants to learn more about tactical techniques that can apply to real life situations. They believe that IDPA is providing them a source of info and training. These are a continuation of the original intent of IDPA.

 

[bbbass]

I'm not into telling war stories, about some things.

No, you're just about being difficult, aggressive, and superior. I sure hope you're not a LEO.

 

[ratchoke99]

FYI, there has become two groups/types that shoot IDPA. One is the group of dedicated competitors... they want to win. They train to get faster, more accurate, try new weapons, holsters, etc, in their effort to win. We have had a lot of USPSA shooters move to IDPA and they were pretty much race gunners in USPSA. They bring that same focus over to IDPA.

Then there is the group that wants to learn more about tactical techniques that can apply to real life situations. They believe that IDPA is providing them a source of info and training. These are a continuation of the original intent of IDPA.

That sounds great. I definitely fall into the second group.

 

[bbbass]

That sounds great. I definitely fall into the second group.

Me too. I can't afford to pay big $$$ to go to a class that may or may not be correct training. With IDPA, I get exposed to a lot of teachers, people from LE, etc. I've accepted the competitor types, but I really don't like to be on the same squad as them.

 

[KKG]

Yep, like I said, it's nothing more than a bunch of kids playing games with Guns. If IDPA was still being run the way it started it would be a different story, but the Money Kids got started and the whole idea is nothing but that - a game.

 

[ratchoke99]

Yep, like I said, it's nothing more than a bunch of kids playing games with Guns. If IDPA was still being run the way it started it would be a different story, but the Money Kids got started and the whole idea is nothing but that - a game.

Where do you recommend people get proper self-defense training/practice? I'm already scheduled to take classes at Seattle Firearms Academy, but I still need a place to hone and practice those skills I learn.

 

[KKG]

Where do you recommend people get proper self-defense training/practice? I'm already scheduled to take classes at Seattle Firearms Academy, but I still need a place to hone and practice those skills I learn.

Snohomish County Sheriff has a Reserve Unit and can provide you with real world training. Seattle Rifle and Pistol Association has a Range in the Lake Stevens area. You'll have to check with them about what you are allowed to do there. The SO Reserves isn't IDPA - they don't award prizes, if that's what you are looking for.

If you are attending a class at Seattle Firearms, then you should be able to shoot there.

 

[Certaindeaf]

5

That's a pretty lame assertion. By that logic all OB-GYN doctors should be female and everyone that believes in inequality has to be black, yada yada. sheesh

 

[RicInOR]

@ratchoke99

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Also, down below in Competitive Shooting, there are a number of discussions which I recommend you search.

 

[KKG]

That's a pretty lame assertion. By that logic all OB-GYN doctors should be female and everyone that believes in inequality has to be black, yada yada. sheesh

Another fully informed Source OR ...

 

[ratchoke99]

@ratchoke99

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Enter your Zip and find a club

View attachment 434811


Also, down below in Competitive Shooting, there are a number of discussions which I recommend you search.

Thank you for the source. I've reached out to them [IDPA] already. I'm holding off on signing up until i'm ready to try out a match. However, I do plan on going into Norpoint's next few IDPA matches to watch them live. That is the range I currently go to now.

 

[HB of CJ]

Respectfully ...

Different point of view. Snap shooting with a defensive handgun or rifle as compared to aimed fire. Very situational. At the range punching targets with a handgun you might be being taught wrong by the instructor? Maybe. Right for target shooting. Very wrong for snap shooting defensive pistol shooting?

Why? Well, for what it is worth, we, (I) were taught snap shooting or point shooting. Forget the sights. You eyes can NOT focus both on the sights AND on the lethal instant threat. One or the other. Not both. We were taught both eyes wide wide open. Total situational awareness. Total ongoing area scans.

Present. Scan. Identify. Decide. Point to center of mass. Squeeze the trigger. Repeat until the threat has ended. Again, both eyes open. Scan the entire threat area. Situational awareness. Targets. Not a target. Only good inside about 5 yards with a handgun. Very smooth. A old fashioned method indeed.

Different indeed from focusing upon the front site to center of mass target. If your eyes are focused upon the front site, they are NOT focused upon the target area. You can't do both. One or the other. Not focusing upon the threat AREA can kill you so dead in a pistol fight. A split second difference.

Same method at close range with a rifle. Present. Scan. Identify. Decide. Point shooting. Also called snap shooting. We were taught that in a fire fight one second is a God Send. Might make all the difference. Understand this only works at CLOSE RANGE. A combat situation. NOT FOR PAPER PUNCHING.

So .... what about this front site stuff? Dunno. It works for fun afternoons with the kids but it does NOT WORK in an instant "Green" ... "Yellow" ... "RED" shoot out? You will NOT have the time to focus upon that front site. Again this is old school. This method may be outdated. A Different Point Of View.

Respectfully ...

 

[RicInOR]

IDPA will let you shoot 1 match before you join.

I don't see any real value in watching. Contact the match director, let them know you are coming, and go shoot. Go Safe, Tell the SO you are new, and have fun.

Watching IDPA is like watching golf. You really can't know if you like the sport from being a spectator.

Good number of U-Tuby videos out there.


And Welcome to NWFA.

 

[bbbass]

I'm holding off on signing up until i'm ready to try out a match. However, I do plan on going into Norpoint's next few IDPA matches to watch them live. That is the range I currently go to now.

IMHO that's a great idea. Seeing as how it's not for everybody, and many locations have a different focus, feel, membership, and such. For me, if they seem unfriendly to new shooters, or are anal retentive, I would move on.

 

[41mag]

OP:
SASS 'Single Action Shooting Society' aka 'Cowboy Action' is another form of recreational shooting that originated from those previously highly competitive pistol shooters about 40 years ago. Their defensive pistol league rules had grown from more realistic roots that most of the members, former LEOs or nearing retirement, had faced in their careers.

As they slowed down from their competitive edge over their own advancing decades, they tried to find something that would satisfy their interest in the Shooting realm.

Early SASS rules were an attempt to adapt 1970s/80s standards into a framework using vintage firearms from the Western Frontier circa 1870s into the post WW1 era. It was a hoot for me to discover it about 1990, as it gave a more relaxed approach, and the basic techniques for accurate use of Single Action revolvers, lever action carbines & 1900 era shotguns while wearing B grade western movie gear, found tens of thousands migrating to a new 'discipline'.

Membership in SASS soared into the hundred thousand plus, and on any weekend across the nation, untold thousands more were buckling on their six guns.

As time went on, more rules evolved, equipment lists expanded, and the realization at least 3 different groups were trying to use the same targets on the same days. One group was more focused on socializing & playful garb, and more 'participants' ; one group was decisively far more competitive 'gamers'; and another group was hard-core historically-accurate or ELSE folks.
After about 15 years of having fun as the cowboy matches, my own physicality had changed enough I retired from even the gentler side of the game.

Still, many lessons from heroes and shysters of the past served to inspire and guide other cowboy action shooters. Whether any of it could be considered a practical training exercise had considerable discussion at times in the various posses as well as during lunch.

Good luck in your shooting hobby, OP. There's a lot more to it that I ever imagined.

 

[BroncoFan]

OP
One thing that I didn't see addressed here (I didn't read every post). IMHO sight pictures takes a backseat to your Firearm manilpulation, specifically perfecting the trigger squeeze. It doesn't matter how you've mastered your sight picture and sight alignment, if your pistol moves when you manipulate the trigger, your accuracy will suffer. If you can master the mechanics of transferring the energy in your grip and trigger finger into the trigger squeeze with a minimum arc of movement, you will hit anything that pistol is aimed at within the range of the weapon.

 

[Mistman]

OP
One thing that I didn't see addressed here (I didn't read every post). IMHO sight pictures takes a backseat to your Firearm manilpulation, specifically perfecting the trigger squeeze. It doesn't matter how you've mastered your sight picture and sight alignment, if your pistol moves when you manipulate the trigger, you're accuracy will suffer. If you can master the mechanics of transferring the energy in your grip and trigger finger into the trigger squeeze with a minimum arc of movement, you will hit anything that pistol is aimed at within the range of the weapon.

Sounds just like Leatham "Aiming is Useless". He say's don't even bother aiming until you've got the mechanics down. Basically pulling the trigger w/out moving the gun.

 

[BroncoFan]

Sounds just like Leatham "Aiming is Useless". He say's don't even bother aiming until you've got the mechanics down. Basically pulling the trigger w/out moving the gun.

I recently bought a MantisX. It's probably hands down the most effective piece of training equipment I've ever purchased and well worth the $100.

 

[ratchoke99]

I recently bought a MantisX. It's probably hands down the most effective piece of training equipment I've ever purchased and well worth the $100.

How about the i-Target?

 

[BroncoFan]

I've had the itarget/isniper software for a few years. They're fine and allow decent practice at home or in the classroom, but the X is a true diagnostic tool, it monitors your Shooting (dry or live), gives you a percentage score on your shot, then suggests what you might be doing or not doing to perfect the shot. Pretty humbling and accurate.