The big thing that gets me is the tactical reloads. The idea is in a lull in a gunfight you can use that lull to top off your gun, but you’d want to retain all ammo in case you need it.
The IDPA and other high-speed-low-drag “operators” will do this finger-pretzel trick where the partial mag drops into their hand while they hold and insert the fresh one…but if its a lull in the fight why not just drop the mag on the ground like a regular reload, and if things are still quiet just pick it up.
If things aren’t quiet, you’ll have other things to worry about than that partial magazine….
Statisticaly, all citizen defense shootings use only what, 7 rounds? But military shooting is different. Many mags are used in a firefight, and you’re often shooting on the move. Your end of the firefight won’t last long once you run out of magazines. Your M4 is now a club.
You fight like you train. Stow the mags (tactical reload) so you’ll have them in the future.
Every time I read that, I hear Louis Awerbuck’s South African accent saying “What is this ‘lull’ that is supposed to show up during a gunfight? I’ve never seen a lull, but I always imagine it like some large bird…“
I was shooting with a friend and he shoots IDPA a lot. I’m Ex-Security Officer and Aux Police from St. Louis. The way I was trained, you dump the mag reload and move on, when I was carrying a revolver, it was dump the empties slam in a speedloader twist and close the cylinder drop the speedloader and keep on. When shooting with him he was following me around picking up my empty mags and and my speedloaders, telling me “You need to keep these.” Huh?! That is not how St. Louis County P.D. trained me. It was reload drop it and continue with the incident. Tactical considerations aside I doubt I will ever be in a situation that my life will be endangered by my not keeping an empty speedloader or magazine.
Yes it is 🙂
That video pretty much captures my impression of my first and only IPDA match.
I didn’t think it was funny at the time.
I had no idea it was that bad. I shoot USPSA. Of course it’s a game. You’re shooting paper targets that don’t shoot back.
CAPTCHA isn’t saving my comment when I miss and hit the back button. Nice.
The big thing that gets me is the tactical reloads. The idea is in a lull in a gunfight you can use that lull to top off your gun, but you’d want to retain all ammo in case you need it.
The IDPA and other high-speed-low-drag “operators” will do this finger-pretzel trick where the partial mag drops into their hand while they hold and insert the fresh one…but if its a lull in the fight why not just drop the mag on the ground like a regular reload, and if things are still quiet just pick it up.
If things aren’t quiet, you’ll have other things to worry about than that partial magazine….
Excellent. Thanks for sharing.
I’d be happy to build the giant blender.
Weerd, you can actually drop it. But you have to pick it up before you fire another round.
The rules are crazy and half of the time of an IDPA match is spent arguing over the rules, and the imaginary rules that an RO swears exist…
Here’s the Fox News version–Fair and Balanced (I think).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNIcqp_grYk
As long as they’re not shooting AT ME, they’re all good sports.
Statisticaly, all citizen defense shootings use only what, 7 rounds? But military shooting is different. Many mags are used in a firefight, and you’re often shooting on the move. Your end of the firefight won’t last long once you run out of magazines. Your M4 is now a club.
You fight like you train. Stow the mags (tactical reload) so you’ll have them in the future.
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“The idea is in a lull in a gunfight…”
Every time I read that, I hear Louis Awerbuck’s South African accent saying “What is this ‘lull’ that is supposed to show up during a gunfight? I’ve never seen a lull, but I always imagine it like some large bird…“
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Compared to the Byzantine rules of foil fencing the IDPA rules are models of clarity. Shooting stuff is still fun, though.
I don’t get it– Where are you going to find a giant blender?
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Pinky?”
“Yes, Brain, we can power the blender with a 350 Chevy engine.”
My friends, being mostly engineering nerds, I explain these pistol matches as “D&D with live ammo”.
I was shooting with a friend and he shoots IDPA a lot. I’m Ex-Security Officer and Aux Police from St. Louis. The way I was trained, you dump the mag reload and move on, when I was carrying a revolver, it was dump the empties slam in a speedloader twist and close the cylinder drop the speedloader and keep on. When shooting with him he was following me around picking up my empty mags and and my speedloaders, telling me “You need to keep these.” Huh?! That is not how St. Louis County P.D. trained me. It was reload drop it and continue with the incident. Tactical considerations aside I doubt I will ever be in a situation that my life will be endangered by my not keeping an empty speedloader or magazine.