Our Club's Manager is putting on IPSC shoots once a month.

OK--here is my problem.
I'm all for doing this as a Club, because tactical shooting is the rage these days, and it will bring in money, and new shooters.
No problem there.

My problem is this. Everyone wants me to compete.
I have practiced in my reloading room changing magazines etc. and am doing it well.
I double tapped a couple of boxes of reloads shooting at a target set at 15yds, putting all shots into the head area.

I figured that I wasted 100 rounds of ammo.
I also have a hard time dropping my expensive Chip McCormick mags into the sand, and stepping on them.

Should I just continue with old farts Bullseye shooting, or stoop to shooting with the teenyboppers at 13 yards at a target as big as a basketball hoop?

I know that I can shoot straighter, and faster than these guys, but feel no need to prove anything.

Besides this, practicing for IPSC, I am sure to develop so many bad habits that I will end up like most of those guys who can't hit a bull in the ass at 20 yards.

Am I just getting old, or have I developed a real attitude being a Bullseye shooter.

Eric

Go shoot one match, embarrass them and they won't ask you to come back... Besides, you might have fun!

The next match is tomorrow, which is Father's Day, so I won't make this one.
I might shoot next month though.
It just looks too easy.
I see why it is so popular though.
A person can just pick up a gun and start competing.
No need to worry about correct breathing control, muscle control, or concentration. Just shoot fast.

Even the Bianchi Cup which I would love to attend, but don't have the time to do right now, is losing to IPSC.

I just worry that I have developed a bad attitude about actually being able to hit the X ring as a criteria to being a good shot.

If I do shoot next month, it will be with one of my 1911s in the straight stack division.

Eric

pocket your MT mags and shoot the eyes out of the target. go and give it a go you might even convert a few over to" the light side"

"I developed a real attitude being a Bullseye shooter."
Yep.
Now stop moaning and go and have some fun.
We have more hoops to jump through than a flea circus to shoot IPSC, I envy your lack of government interferrence.
Go and have a good time.

Thats what I figure.
Me being me, I figure to win though

Eric

Well Eric...back in the day when we could shoot big bore pistols and IPSC was in it's infancy out here in Australia, Service Pistol and Police and Service (very much like PPC I think) was all the rage. These matches are a combination of Bullseye, timed shots and instinctive point shooting. One of the best bits of advice I ever received was..."every shot you fire on the Standard Pistol and Centrefire matches (PURE Bullseye matches) will be to your advantage in the matches that require fast shots from the holster".

I took this advice and spent many hours honing my shooting skills... breathing, grip, sight picture (or Rule of Aim), trigger control (or Sequence of Firing a Shot), follow through...everything we need to know and use regardless of what style of shooting in which we participate. Only difference is, with Bullseye shooting we have the time to be exact and perfect these skills, to the point where they become second nature.

As Elvis says, put your Chip Mac mags away, break out your factory mags, then get out there and enjoy your shooting mate. Who knows, you might learn a skill that can help you on the Bullseye range.

Cheers, Vince

Give it a try, you might like it.

Not casting aspersions on your shooting skills, but back in the late '80s and early 90's I got talked into competing at a local club. Mostly "falling plate" and a modified PPC course. I always figured my toughest competition was forcing myself to get better, but I gave it a whirl. It turned out to be a lot of fun and created a new learning curve. I soon learned that when that clock is running, the pressure sets in. During the period of time I competed, I averaged 150 rounds per day (thankfully I only have to step out back to practice) under match conditions.

Again, no reflection on you or your skills, but we had a name for Bullseye shooters that came into the matches unprepared for the pace...it was "also competed". And I was one of those until I got up to speed.

Eric, I know guys that thought the same way you do and was completely left dumbfounded when they found them self's at the bottom of the list when the scores came out. Good hits alone are not enough to put you at the top.
Running and gunning is a different game altogether.

I do however understand your crossover concerns.
I use to shoot both IDPA and a local indoor PPC league with little issue.
I actually found they complimented one another and was helpful to the other.

As far as the mags......... get over it they make new ones !!!
They'll actually take more abuse than you think.
Most guys I know using them for double duty will rotate them for the appropriate usage.

Thanks guys.
You talked me into it.
Next month I will give it a try.

One of my best friends placed third Nationally in IPSC.
We shoot and reload together.
She said that I will have no problem placing well in these shoots as long as I don't stop to pick up my Chip mags on the way to the next station.
I think that "Cheap ass" came up in our conversations

Eric

I did have time after Church today to stop by the Club to see how things were going.
Seems like a bunch of good guys. Nobody strutting around. Just having a good time.

Eric

Eric,

The Bianchi cup is the top IPSC shoot in the world, I know Kiwis here that attend every time they can, actually a close friend has got as high as 6th (Enrico (Harry) Hoover) he's a good mate and a top shot nationally both long and short arms. He's tried on many occasions to win this one. It would be a great shoot to attend.

Be Brave - show the world, what have you got to loose

Radar