Saturday, April 21, 2012

A Good Night at the Range

With the Double Action IDPA match on Monday, I wanted to brush up a bit and see how I was shooting.

OK, I'll be honest: I've been shooting every weekend and dryfiring several times a week. I'm slightly addicted to IDPA and really want to shoot really well. I was annoyed with my down-43 match last time and really wanted to improve. I'm counting on that if I slow down by about 5 seconds, I can cut that to down 25 or better. I'd love to shoot a down-0 match, but I know I'm not quite that patient.

I really needed to work in my reloads. In my last two matches, I managed to drop my partially loaded mag (which I had to stop and pick up to avoid a penalty) and eject a round from the chamber (even got it on video). So, I was working on reloads: I loaded 3 or 4 rounds in each magazine. I started with an empty in the gun. I'd bring up the gun to eye line, then start the drill. I'd eject the spent magazine, load a fresh one shoot three times, reload, then shoot it empty. When I put the last mag in, I had to look and see whether I was at slide lock or not.  I wanted to get used to figuring out exactly how I needed to reload and how I needed to proceed afterward.

My hits were decent, with most of then inside the #8 ring on the small silhouette targets I was shooting (my best group of 8 (including 2 reloads) was about 2"). They are not anything like the IDPA targets, but the indoor range I was using at French Creek does not allow full height targets any closer than 15 yards. I don't mind shooting at that distance to work on precision, but for IDPA it's a bit far. Plus, they are 5 for $1.

I'm definitely feeling ready for the match on Monday.

Mrs. Gun was shooting really well. She was more in a bulls-eye mood, so she was shooting slower and precise (maybe a shot every 2 to 3 seconds). She was shooting her CZ75 compact at 10 yards and, shooting 6 rounds at a time, progressed from a 3" group to one large ragged hole. She wants to get some more practice drawing from a holster at the outdoor range before she starts shooting IDPA. I think she'll get to a down-0 match before I do.

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