Mr WK and I shot an IDPA match Sunday morning. Brrr! It was literally freezing when we started to set up! Where is Algore when you need him!? Everyone was multi-layered, hatted, booted and gloved up. It rained quite a bit on Saturday so the soggy ground was frozen solid. By the time the match was over, it was a muddy mess. Mr WK shot his M&P 9L and I stuck with my XDm 3.8 9mm.
We had six stages and 13 shooters. The first set-up did double duty. I like those — half the work and two stages! We shot it the first time free-style which for most folks is 2 hands. The second time through for the second course of fire the targets which were the same at both ends of tall cover were shot with strong hand on one end and support hand on the other. The ending shot on both sides was a 6" plate at around 15 yards. Fun stuff! I did great on the first CoF even though the SO had to remind me to shoot the plate on the first end I went to. I didn't do as well on the second one. My support hand only shooting is usually more accurate than my strong hand only. I suppose it's because I'm right handed but left eye dominant. I shoot pistols, right handed and rifles left handed. I line up the sights on my left eye which might be why my support hand shooting is better.
The third stage was WICKED Good!!! and involved a new prop. It was two threat targets on either side of a non-threat, attached to a 'car' that slid down a taut cable between two posts. It was activated by a 'bear-trap'. The shooter held a weighted bag in their right hand and at the buzzer, dropped it onto the bear-trap which released a pin holding the 'car' with the targets attached. The 'car' slid down the cable away from the shooter and ended up behind cover. The shooter had to shoot [at] it while retreating then shoot some more bad guys through a gap between 'walls' then move down a hallway and take down a short popper that was behind cover. The sliding targets worked a treat!
The round chambered in my gun didn't fire* so I racked again and it banged! But by that time the bad guys were almost behind cover. I took the shots anyway. I got the first bad guy twice on the upper part of the arm farthest away and one round in the area between the center zero zone and the upper part of the arm farthest away on the second bad guy. And ...AND... I did NOT hit the non-threat between them! Shocked everyone, even me! To top it off, I got the short popper with one shot! We hates the short poppers!
* We looked at the round when we got home and just a light primer strike. No idea why. Never had any trouble the rest of the match. I took it apart (love kinetic bullet pullers) and Yep, it had powder so Mr WK took just the case with the ... um ... live primer, put it into his 9mm and yep, the primer WAS good. And I can reuse the bullet.
The fourth course of fire in the smallest bay was IDPA standards; 2 strings — first string was limited Vickers—the classic El Presidente drill. To the non-IDPA folks limited Vickers means if the directions call for two rounds each on each of three targets all you can shoot without penalty is six rounds. If you miss one you can't shoot it again without a penalty because that would mean you shot seven rounds, not six. So, two rounds at each of three threat targets in tactical sequence (in this case it was near to far), reload from slide-lock and shoot 'em all again the same way. This was at 15 yards. I did so-so on this one.
The second string was at 20 yards. From behind tall cover, 2 rounds each at the same three threat targets from both sides. This stage was similar to the first two strings of the third stage of the IDPA Classifier only backwards, no moving or kneeling and no tac reloads and the first string was Limited Vickers. This second string wasn't Limited Vickers but in this stage for this match you weren't allowed to top up your mags between strings. Kinda hard on the CDP guys who only had ONE extra round for this second string while the other folks had a whole three extra rounds to burn! I didn't do well on this one at all. I apparently need to practice shooting the 50 yard gong from cover.
Again for the non-IDPA folks, when you shoot from tall cover, you're not standing up straight in the Weaver or Isosceles or whatever stance. You're leaning out from behind a wall. 100% of your lower body is behind cover and 50% of your upper body is behind cover so you're all bent and tilted over sideways and maybe even a bit off balance. As the second string was also in tactical priority (slicing the pie), as you lean out a little you shoot the first threat target you see, which may or may not be the closest one but leaned out just a bit, it's the first one you see. After you address that one, you lean out a bit more, still keeping 100% of your lower body behind cover and take out the next one and so on. Sometimes, I have to shift my feet as I'm not only short but short-waisted and don't have as much upper body to lean out as some of the taller folks do. And if you're crowding cover (standing right up next to the wall), it's even worse. You have no room to do anything because the wall █isrighthere.
The fifth stage had elves rebelling against Santa — Occupy The North Pole! The 'story' was that they did all the work and Santa got all the credit. Maybe yes. Maybe no. Maybe no-yes. Santa was a hostage, you escaped and they were coming after you.
They had a regular IDPA target spray-painted up in a Santa suit, complete with a dripping white beard and red suit with a black belt and buckle topped off with a Santa hat. We used a lot of short sticks for this one as all the targets were ... um... short, except for Santa. There were 6 threat-elves including two on either side of Santa, holding his legs at gunpoint.
As they were all equal threats, this one was shot in tactical sequence; one round to each body first then shoot 'em all again — one more to each body and one to each head. On the shooter's second pass you could do one round to the body and one to the head (or two head shots—the head is a part of the body) or one more round to each body then back across and do the head shots. Everyone on our squad did it two passes.
You started the stage sitting on the ground behind a snowbank, facing uprange and at the buzzer you had to scramble around to your knee(s) and shoot 'em over the top of the 'snowbank'. That part sucked!
The final course of fire was ... interesting. You started out, seated at your desk at work. Your loaded gun and extra mags are in the desk drawer to your right. The desk was staked to the ground so the guys wouldn't pull the empty desk over pullin' the drawer out to get to their gun. At the buzzer while seated your pulled your gun from the drawer and fired at the threat target in front of you. Behind the threat target was a large popper connected to TWO drop turn targets a couple of yards in front of and a little to each side of that first target. They were maybe 3 yards apart and they were quick! Too quick. Many got at least one shot in one. A couple of our very best shooters got hits on both—two on one and one on the other but I don't believe any of those hits were in the zero zones, -1 and -3 zones, I think. Anyway, then you grabbed whatever mags you wanted from the drawer, stowed them and hopped up to deal with more bad guys down hallways hiding behind file cabinets. It was all good.
I was very tired and sore by the time we were done. I bowed out of the putting away. My boots were hurtin' my feet and I knew I had blisters on both heels. So I sat down with a plastic ammo box full of tap ammo, my UpLula and thumbed out the rest of the competition ammo and reloaded all six mags with tap ammo.
I took videos of our squad on all six stages. It'll take me a few days to make them all into videos and upload them but eventually they'll be up here.
blogging to: a quiet house
reading: The Inferno Collection by Jacqueline Seewald (a Kim Reynolds mystery)
Parting Shot: Was THIS why the elves rebelled?
We had six stages and 13 shooters. The first set-up did double duty. I like those — half the work and two stages! We shot it the first time free-style which for most folks is 2 hands. The second time through for the second course of fire the targets which were the same at both ends of tall cover were shot with strong hand on one end and support hand on the other. The ending shot on both sides was a 6" plate at around 15 yards. Fun stuff! I did great on the first CoF even though the SO had to remind me to shoot the plate on the first end I went to. I didn't do as well on the second one. My support hand only shooting is usually more accurate than my strong hand only. I suppose it's because I'm right handed but left eye dominant. I shoot pistols, right handed and rifles left handed. I line up the sights on my left eye which might be why my support hand shooting is better.
The third stage was WICKED Good!!! and involved a new prop. It was two threat targets on either side of a non-threat, attached to a 'car' that slid down a taut cable between two posts. It was activated by a 'bear-trap'. The shooter held a weighted bag in their right hand and at the buzzer, dropped it onto the bear-trap which released a pin holding the 'car' with the targets attached. The 'car' slid down the cable away from the shooter and ended up behind cover. The shooter had to shoot [at] it while retreating then shoot some more bad guys through a gap between 'walls' then move down a hallway and take down a short popper that was behind cover. The sliding targets worked a treat!
The round chambered in my gun didn't fire* so I racked again and it banged! But by that time the bad guys were almost behind cover. I took the shots anyway. I got the first bad guy twice on the upper part of the arm farthest away and one round in the area between the center zero zone and the upper part of the arm farthest away on the second bad guy. And ...AND... I did NOT hit the non-threat between them! Shocked everyone, even me! To top it off, I got the short popper with one shot! We hates the short poppers!
* We looked at the round when we got home and just a light primer strike. No idea why. Never had any trouble the rest of the match. I took it apart (love kinetic bullet pullers) and Yep, it had powder so Mr WK took just the case with the ... um ... live primer, put it into his 9mm and yep, the primer WAS good. And I can reuse the bullet.
The fourth course of fire in the smallest bay was IDPA standards; 2 strings — first string was limited Vickers—the classic El Presidente drill. To the non-IDPA folks limited Vickers means if the directions call for two rounds each on each of three targets all you can shoot without penalty is six rounds. If you miss one you can't shoot it again without a penalty because that would mean you shot seven rounds, not six. So, two rounds at each of three threat targets in tactical sequence (in this case it was near to far), reload from slide-lock and shoot 'em all again the same way. This was at 15 yards. I did so-so on this one.
The second string was at 20 yards. From behind tall cover, 2 rounds each at the same three threat targets from both sides. This stage was similar to the first two strings of the third stage of the IDPA Classifier only backwards, no moving or kneeling and no tac reloads and the first string was Limited Vickers. This second string wasn't Limited Vickers but in this stage for this match you weren't allowed to top up your mags between strings. Kinda hard on the CDP guys who only had ONE extra round for this second string while the other folks had a whole three extra rounds to burn! I didn't do well on this one at all. I apparently need to practice shooting the 50 yard gong from cover.
Again for the non-IDPA folks, when you shoot from tall cover, you're not standing up straight in the Weaver or Isosceles or whatever stance. You're leaning out from behind a wall. 100% of your lower body is behind cover and 50% of your upper body is behind cover so you're all bent and tilted over sideways and maybe even a bit off balance. As the second string was also in tactical priority (slicing the pie), as you lean out a little you shoot the first threat target you see, which may or may not be the closest one but leaned out just a bit, it's the first one you see. After you address that one, you lean out a bit more, still keeping 100% of your lower body behind cover and take out the next one and so on. Sometimes, I have to shift my feet as I'm not only short but short-waisted and don't have as much upper body to lean out as some of the taller folks do. And if you're crowding cover (standing right up next to the wall), it's even worse. You have no room to do anything because the wall █isrighthere.
The fifth stage had elves rebelling against Santa — Occupy The North Pole! The 'story' was that they did all the work and Santa got all the credit. Maybe yes. Maybe no. Maybe no-yes. Santa was a hostage, you escaped and they were coming after you.
They had a regular IDPA target spray-painted up in a Santa suit, complete with a dripping white beard and red suit with a black belt and buckle topped off with a Santa hat. We used a lot of short sticks for this one as all the targets were ... um... short, except for Santa. There were 6 threat-elves including two on either side of Santa, holding his legs at gunpoint.
As they were all equal threats, this one was shot in tactical sequence; one round to each body first then shoot 'em all again — one more to each body and one to each head. On the shooter's second pass you could do one round to the body and one to the head (or two head shots—the head is a part of the body) or one more round to each body then back across and do the head shots. Everyone on our squad did it two passes.
You started the stage sitting on the ground behind a snowbank, facing uprange and at the buzzer you had to scramble around to your knee(s) and shoot 'em over the top of the 'snowbank'. That part sucked!
The final course of fire was ... interesting. You started out, seated at your desk at work. Your loaded gun and extra mags are in the desk drawer to your right. The desk was staked to the ground so the guys wouldn't pull the empty desk over pullin' the drawer out to get to their gun. At the buzzer while seated your pulled your gun from the drawer and fired at the threat target in front of you. Behind the threat target was a large popper connected to TWO drop turn targets a couple of yards in front of and a little to each side of that first target. They were maybe 3 yards apart and they were quick! Too quick. Many got at least one shot in one. A couple of our very best shooters got hits on both—two on one and one on the other but I don't believe any of those hits were in the zero zones, -1 and -3 zones, I think. Anyway, then you grabbed whatever mags you wanted from the drawer, stowed them and hopped up to deal with more bad guys down hallways hiding behind file cabinets. It was all good.
I was very tired and sore by the time we were done. I bowed out of the putting away. My boots were hurtin' my feet and I knew I had blisters on both heels. So I sat down with a plastic ammo box full of tap ammo, my UpLula and thumbed out the rest of the competition ammo and reloaded all six mags with tap ammo.
I took videos of our squad on all six stages. It'll take me a few days to make them all into videos and upload them but eventually they'll be up here.
blogging to: a quiet house
reading: The Inferno Collection by Jacqueline Seewald (a Kim Reynolds mystery)
Parting Shot: Was THIS why the elves rebelled?
1 remark(s):
Wow, sounds like crazy fun!
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