Bullet Boy on Shooting Sports

Over the past weekend I shot in a Tactical Rifle Match at steel city shooting sports association.   My team I shot with did well and had a member, White Feather, come in 4th place overall. My squad was made up of fantastic shooters.   I must admit my performance was sub-par even for me much less with experienced shooters.

With every match I improve. But, an area I need to improve most on is not repeating mistakes. I blame most of my time wasted on equipment failures. I had jams and double feeds on every stage. In practice I did not have a single mis-feed or jam. In competition they say that overcoming equipment failure is key. Well I had practiced in my basement how to clear mis-feeds and jams. Good thing because my clearing was clean and that of a professional. I should make a video of how to clear a jam. Jams did not keep me from finishing any stage as it did last time.

In addition to tweaking my AR-15 I need to work on my long range shooting. I timed out on the long range as I could not get my 4x Eotech magnifier in focus. I found the day before the match that my magnifier lenses or seal were broken. Instead of switching to iron sights like I knew I should’ve I stuck with what I know best optics.   I have contacted EoTech and awaiting a response from the customer service department.   I will keep you posted on the status of repair.

Next match I look to do much better.

Tonight I shoot my first IDPA match.   I shot in the Enhanced Service Pistol (ESP) class as an unclassified shooter.   The match was held at Steel City Shooting Sports Association with the Steel City IDPA.   This was considered a night match which was a new experience for me never having shot in low light situations.

For those of you who don’t know… the IDPA or International Defensive Pistol Association is a volunteer membership association dedicated to promoting personal and self defense primarily with pistol. There has been rumor that they may pick up and include some rifle/shotgun matches as well.

Before I get to much further… The folks over at Steel City and especially the IDPA members have been incredibly great teachers that have welcomed me in.   They are always there to ensure that 1st timers like me are safe and aware of everything going on.   The advice and tactics offered aren’t being given to better my time or score, but to better my pistol skills and techniques to become a better prepared firearm owner.   Every scenario we went over was explained as if a life simulated event of threats.   The Guys at Steel City IDPA are quick to help as they want to not only see a person do well but to go away a better firearm user.   Steel City and Steel City IDPA you have made a friend in me.

On to my experience.   After leaving my house a little late, having taken the afternoon off to reload and be there in time to setup, I realized that I had left my freshly loaded ammo at home, my own personal tested and tried ammo. I had to stop and pick up 100 rounds of factory loaded ammo.   Have you priced that stuff lately?   It is going up faster than gas prices.   So after scoffing at the prices I went with the cheapest ammo at Academy Sports, Monarch 180 gr FMJ.   Before tonight I had never fired Monarch Ammo and it went “bang!” The Monarch ammo was different than my Montana Gold 185gr JHP stacked on Tight Group.

My rig setup went like this.   XD(m) .40 S&W (new, not broken in), XD(m) factor holster (functional but not great), XD(m) factor double magazine holster, new 5 stitch Wilderness Tactical Belt (good for concealed carry), and 5 factory 16 round magazines.   For concealment I was ready with a polo shirt that I hoped would pass…   If not I was going to wear my pink Hawaiian Shirt (wouldn’t that have been cool?).

So I barely made it on time!   I got geared up, safety oriented, walked through, and was ready to shoot. The first stage started with a seated draw (never tried that before) and a double tap on everything in the scenario.   In the first stage I only had 1 miss and the other stages are in history and should stay that way.   I managed to only have a few procedural penalty’s called, no disqualifications, a couple failures to neutralize, and finished the course without anyone getting hurt.   Except that one guy with the Kimber 1911.   I bet his thumb is sore from all of those jams!

Results

I finished my first match the top of my class being the only person shooting ESP.   Out of the 7 or 8 shooters I was dead last.   I had hoped to bring home the gold but I will save that for next match.

Conclusion

My first IDPA match is in the record book,   met some great new people, and look forward to the next match where I will take the top spot and might skip an FOP range Steel Plate match to catch a Saturday Match.   My XD(m) performed great, I learned a lot, and can’t wait to get back to the range to practice up so the Bullet Boy is #1.

If you are interested to know more about how to show up or what to be ready for make sure to send me a message.   If you just want to shoot a few rounds with me let me know when.   Use the form on this page to e-mail me.