Podcasts about in uspsa

This episode is a teaser for the 2018 Shooter's Summit.  For the past two years I've created a Shooter's Summit where I interview a group of firearms instructors to discuss various topics.  This year I decided to go very specific in the topic and we are talking about Making Grandmaster.   In USPSA, there are over 30,000 competitors and the top 5% are in the Grandmaster classification.  A lot of people want to make it to that level, but for whatever reason, find it difficult and think that it's an impossible task.   This year's Summit proves that anyone can make GM and through the interviews I get actionable ideas that sets competitors down the path. The Shooter's Summit is a free to watch from Nov. 25h through Dec. 1st.  In order to watch the Summit you must register first at www.shooterssummit.com and you'll get the email with instructions on how to watch it online. For today's podcast I'm sharing clips from two of the Summit interviews.  Casey Reed and Bob Vogel.  Casey is a GM in Production and has not been shooting that long but is dominating his division.  Bob is a world champion and has shot for a long time.  He was a former police officer in Ohio and now is a full time firearms instructor. Join the Nation!

5x5 Classifier Seems like the 5x5 classifier is causing some issues at IDPA matches. Something I hadn't thought of, but each shooter is putting 20 scored holes in the target with that drill, and that is a lot, especially with a bunch of shooters. Not sure how I feel about this. In USPSA rule 4.2.3 Paper targets must never be required to receive more than 12 hits before being scored and patched. I think that's a decent rule, because we get so used to only scoring 2 hits on the paper. Setting aside the idea of the shooters getting too used to only shooting 2 rounds only at targets, thinking only about scoring. We get too used to scoring the two best hits on a target. I've done it before on a stage that required more than 2 hits where I just went into default mode and scored the two best hits and ignored the others, and thankfully we had Practiscore to tell me that we hadn't scored enough hits on the target.  The other issue is that when you're shooting that many shots at one target, and then trying to score every one of them, it gets crowded. Especially after like 10 other shooters have shot at at and it's got pasters stuck all over it, pasters starting to peel, etc.  I can see it becoming a tough thing to score if the target isn't replaced every so many shooters. Which, since it's a classifier, maybe that's the right answer.  Clarification from Last Week: Wanted to clarify something I started talking about last week. Video podcasting would be an awesome alternative to YouTube, HOWEVER were not at a place where bandwidth is viable for doing good quality, decent videos just yet. As I was writing the notes for this, I was downloading a couple audio podcasts on works wifi and it was taking several minutes to get there. Had they been multiple gigabyte video files, my phone would have just died. USPSA RO Exam: The USPSA RO renewal exam used to be 10 questions, but it sounds like they've changed it to 20 questions to make each question carry less weight so that hopefully more people will pass the exam. Personally, I didn't have any trouble with the renewal last year. Here's a tip: have the .PDF rulebook pulled up, and use the search function to find what you need. Then, download the .PDF to your phone so you have it at matches, and you can use the search function right on the range to find the relevant rule quickly. You don't even really need a paper rulebook anymore. Mistakes experienced shooters make. 1. Not putting enough emphasis on live fire practice. I know a bunch of dudes who have been shooting for years who don't regularly live fire practice, or don't live fire practice in a place where they can actually get good practice for competitive shooting. For some reason, this has become a thing in the action shooting sports, but if we were to look at some of the other games, let's say long range PRS type stuff, I don't think anybody would expect to get good at those sorts of games without having a place to live fire regularly. 2. Sticking it out with junk gear for too long. I've been guilty of this a bunch over the years, and I've heard a couple friends talk about switching from a plastic fantastic to something that's more of a gamer gun talk about how they should have made the switch way sooner, and saw big gains from the move.  3. Not reading the rules. You'd think this was something that would apply to new shooters, but I see so many people who have been shooting for many years who still try to reference rules that haven't existed for several years, or they have a misunderstanding of basic rules that a simple reading of the rule book would clarify. That's not to say that I don't ever reference the rule book, I do it all the time, but reading the rulebook, and gaining an understanding of it will show you where to look when you have a question. I don't think if you're new you need to spend a bunch of time reading the rulebook cover to cover because if you've never shot a match you won't have a good understanding of what you're reading, but once you get serious about things, get a good understanding of things.  Q&A: Aaron: "So I have question in regards to coaching/ training. If there is range locally to you and were just getting going in shooting sports I've shot 2 indoor uspsa both 4 stages 1 qualifier each time. Do you think that it would be money a head to get a couple he of training in how to do things properly vs dry fire and live fire. I haven't had a lot said to me at either match besides I ran my gun dry on 32rd stage the ro came over and asked it it was first time." - I think if you feel like you need some additional training, you should probably get it. Especially in the beginning of your shooting career, there is SO much that you can learn and get a big boost from shooting.   A.J. "I'm shooting a little bit left on my new Glock 34. Is it bad gun handling or is there something about the gun that I'm not used to? And do you have any trigger upgrade recommendations for it as a production gun? Thanks!" - Probably gun handling. It's pretty normal for someone who is new to shooting Glocks to say that they're hitting left. I'd play around with your trigger finger either a little more or a little less and see if that doesn't get you straightened out. With that said though, my current Glock 34 got kind of messed up where it was legit shooting really far to the left. I was able to take the gun apart and could actually see where the locking block had wear on the left hand side which I suspect was causing the gun to shoot left. I replaced the locking block and slide lock (not the slide release) and it was good to go after that. Jake "Is shooting 1/2 scale steel targets for practice at 10 yards bad for competition I like the steel b/c I get results hearing it ring faster than walking up and looking at my hits and pasting. 2nd question is what power factor do I need or can have in production is there a minimum? Thanks Jake"Is shooting 1/2 scale steel targets for practice at 10 yards bad for competition I like the steel b/c I get results hearing it ring faster than walking up and looking at my hits and pasting. 2nd question is what power factor do I need or can have in production is there a minimum? Thanks Jake" - Shooting steel in practice can absolutely be beneficial, but if you're only shooting half scale targets at 10y in practice, I think you're leaving a lot on the table. Here's the downsides as I see them: - It's not a target that you'll ever see in a match. - They're not falling targets like you'll see in a match. - At 10y, static steel that doesn't fall, if it's all you shoot at, I think you could get into the habit of waiting to see your hit/hear the hit instead of calling your shot and moving on. If this is the only thin you're ever shooting at in practice, I think you could pick up some bad habits from it. With all that said though, I do bring static steel to practice. I've got a couple 8" plates, a 10" plate, and a MGM auto-popper that falls down and then resets itself that I use for practice instead of falling steel, because resetting falling plates in practice sucks. There was an episode of the Shoot Fast Podcast where they were talking about practice, and the guys mentioned not pasting between every run on a drill, but rather shooting the drill multiple times and looking for trends on where all the hits are. I haven't tried that yet, but it's a thing I want to try in the future. Power Factor: Power factor is pretty simple once you know what it is. It's the speed of your bullet in feet per second multiplied by the weight of the bullet in grains. So, if you're shooting 125gr bullets, and they're going 1000 feet per second, they would be 125,000 power factor (or just 125 power factor) Generally, I think most people load their Production ammo to around 130-135 power factor to account for environmental changes on match day, and to get a little more oomph on poppers which can screw over shooters at times. Power factor can be impacted by things like temperature and altitude depending on the powder you're loading with. Some are very sensitive to these things, and others aren't really all that sensitive at all. So, what happens is, when you go to a major match that has a Chronograph stage, they'll take some of your ammo, pull a bullet and weigh it, and shoot a few rounds over a chronograph. Then they'll do the math and figure out your power factor. If you're shooting Production you only have to make Minor power factor (because there isn't any Major power factor in Production). Plugs of the week: Latest episode of the Shannon Smith Shooting Show (Episode 35) - I enjoyed his talk with his RM buddy, and I liked hearing Shannon talk about match directing and rules and whatnot and not just shooting. The guy is a professional match director, so hearing him talk about that sort of stuff is great because he's such a wealth of knowledge on these sorts of topics (not that he's not good at talking about shooting, he is, but hearing him talk about match directing was really good too.)  

In the live chat for the last Triangle Tactical Q&A show, Austin asked "What's the difference between IDPA and USPSA?" I didn't have time to get to it in the Live Q&A show, so I thought I'd talk about it here on the main podcast.  Here's the rundown: Concealment: IDPA requires you to have your gun concealed. You'll generally see people using a vest to conceal their gun, but a vest is not required. USPSA does not require your gun to be concealed. Divisions: For the most part, the different divisions in each game are somewhat similar-ish.  In USPSA there are 7 divisions. This is really high level, but here's the breakdown: Production - This is the division I shoot. You'll want to shoot 9mm in Production. You're limited to 10rds in a magazine, and in this division you'll see a lot of Glocks, M&P's, CZ's and Tanfoglio pistols.  Carry Optics - This division is for pistols that have slide-ride optics. My advice here is to buy an optic with a GREAT warranty. I've seen a LOT of them break, and they're expensive. Pistol Caliber Carbine - Pretty self explanatory. You're generally going to see 9mm AR's, that sort of thing. Single Stack - This is a division for 1911 pattern pistols. Limited - You can basically do whatever you want to your pistol in Limited, except for have a compensator, optic, or weapon-light. You'll generally see .40S&W 2011 pistols in this division. Open - This is the division you probably think of when you think of a race-gun. 2011 pattern pistol, red-dot optic, compensator, chambered in .38Super or 9mm major.  IDPA has a few less divisions: Stock Service Pistol - Pretty similar to USPSA's Production division. Guns like the Glock 34, Glock 17, M&P, etc. will shoot in this division without many modifications.  Enhanced Service Pistol - ESP allows some more modifications than SSP, as well as single-action pistols. Custom Defensive Pistol - This is basically the 1911 division, but you can shoot other .45ACP pistols here too. Compact Carry Pistol - A division for the smaller guns that people actually carry concealed. It's basically for your S&W Shield sized guns, up to about the Glock 19 sized guns.  Back-up Gun - This is or the teeny tiny guns like the Ruger LCP, etc.  Stages: USPSA stages can have up to 32 required rounds. This means you'll need to make sure you've got enough magazines to shoot all that.  IDPA stages are limited to 18 rounds per stage, which means you need a little less ammo, and other gear to get started.  In USPSA, you're basically presented with a problem, and it's up to you to come up with a stage plan, and solve the problem yourself.  In IDPA, you'll be told a bit more about how to shoot each stage. "Start here, shoot these targets from here, those targets from there, etc." USPSA Classifier Updates Also in the live chat for the last Triangle Tactical Q&A show I had a few people asking me about my thoughts on the announced USPSA classifier updates. I read the entire thread over on Doodie Project, and honestly, I think the whole thing is a big nothing-burger. I think they should be updated frequently, and I don't really have an issue with how it's being done.  Plug of the Week: Jessica Nietzel wrote a FANTASTIC article over on the Shooters Mindset blog about subjectivity in RO calls in USPSA.  DQing new shooter SUCKS.  DQing you friends SUCKS.  But, sometimes it needs to be done. Go read it. 

If you're new to the shooting sports, don't settle on whatever shooting sport you decide to shoot first is. Go shoot a bunch of different disciplines.  The shooting sports are like high school cliques. If you go to IDPA, you'll hear people talk junk about those USPSA gamers. If you shoot USPSA, someone will talk junk about the tacti-fools at IDPA. If you shoot 3-gun, you'll hear someone talk junk about the guys that only shoot one match.  Here's the thing though, and I mean this: Each game has it's own merits. In IDPA, I like that I can be competitive with my concealed carry gun should I decide to shoot it. It's also got smaller gear requirements, shorter stages generally, and the rules allow for some interesting things that you can't really do in USPSA.  In USPSA, I like that it doesn't pretend to be anything but shooting fast and accurate. I'm really motivated by the classification system where after each match, I can see how it's impacted my overall classification score etc. At least in my part of the world, the talent pool tends to be a bit deeper at the USPSA matches too.  So, go dip your toes into a bunch of different types of matches, and draw your own conclusion. Know how guys who shoot Glocks tell you to shoot a Glock, and guys who shoot 1911's tell you to buy a 1911? It's exactly the same with the different matches out there too.  Call in Show: For a little while now I've been doing the occasional call-in show where I get your voicemails answering one question and make that into an episode. Well, I want to do another one: "What's the one piece of advice you wish you had been given before you shot your first match?" So, here's how to do it: Open your phone and find the voice recorder app (You might have to download one) Answer my question. Email the file to luke@triangletactical.net. Put the word "advice" in the subject line, so I can organize all of the emails better in my inbox. That's it. I'll play them all in a future episode, and I'm quite excited to see what y'all have to say. Q&A The Q&A question this week is about where your support hand index finger lands on the trigger guard when you're shooting. If you check out the picture above this post (which was taken by Bradley @Trigger_Pull on Instagram, go follow him) my index finger lands a bit further forward on the trigger guard.  However, I don't think it really matters. So much of the minutia of grip has to do with the size of the gun, the size of your hands, etc, I don't think you should look at the very exact finger placement of someone else and try to duplicate it. I'm no super ninja shooter, but I think the important things are getting your hands high on the gun, and gripping it as hard as you can without disturbing the sight picture. That's my $0.02.