Lee has already posted about his inner battle with going 1st and how his mental preparations had allowed him to have a good stage, which he did, and he beat me for the day, but I feel pretty good about my shooting for the match too.
I finished 2nd in ESP Sharpshooter and got a match bump Expert.
For me this is a very big deal for a few reasons.
1) When I started shooting IDPA, I defined and acceptable level of competence with a pistol as IDPA Expert. This is why I don’t shoot my AR much, or shotguns, or really any gun but my carry gun. Until I reached that mark I felt I had more to learn.
Does that mean that I don’t think Marksmen or Novices are competent shooters? No. Many of them are far more accurate than me. That was my target.
2) I set a goal at the beginning of the year that I would make Expert this year. I could have done it in March if I hadn’t moved from SSP to ESP, so I made it a little tougher on myself.
3) I should have earned a match bump at the Carolina Cup, but I didn’t pay close enough attention during the walk-through and took 13 seconds of penalties on one target moving me from 4th (and getting a bump) to 10th (and getting a certificate suitable for framing).
For me this was a bit of demon and by coming back I feel pretty strong.
4) I did it with actual carry gear (Glock 19 in a White Dog Holster), wearing tennis shoes, plaid shorts and a vest I bought at REI. For me this is the true spirit of IDPA and it is something I really wanted to do.
So now what?
I reached a goal, but I still think I am a long way from competent.
- On stage 10, my plan fell apart when I missed my first shot, I dropped a mag when I should have done a tac-load and then I didn’t adjust to it the right way.
- On the same stage I DQ’d on earlier this year I capped a non-threat.
- I had 2 ‘mikes’ during the course of the match. I should really be able to hit a man-sized torso at 7 yards!
- My acceleration and deceleration between shooting positions needs to be improved.
- I missed High Junior/High Lady by 0.06sec, 18years and gender reassignment surgery… So I got beat by a 17yo girl. (Obviously she is a really good shooter, but more important she is a very nice young lady… it still hurts the ego though)
I am going to continue to work on these skills… likely in USPSA!
Ron is the Founder and President of When the Balloon Goes Up! He competes regularly in IDPA as an ESP/Expert, his focus is on concealed carry, home defense and analyzing equipment to find “Gear that Just Works!”
