Why I Don't Shoot IDPA

Why I Don’t Shoot IDPA Anymore

My opinion of IDPA came up this week a couple of times in a few different places, so I guess there is no real reason for me to keep it to myself anymore. The last thing I want to do is offend friends, though, and what I’m about to say is really just my point of view, I respect people wanting to get trigger time shooting IDPA, it just is not for me. I also realize that my point of view is shaped by my own experiences, and don’t represent IDPA across the U.S. so mileage may vary. Giving credit where credit is due, IDPA is how I got started with shooting sports.

I’ll start with the simplest one. To me, IDPA is as much or more a social club than it is a shooting club. I see people getting together to shoot, there is not a ton of competition, and my experience in watching a couple of weeks ago, is that I saw very little improvement from many shooters. I saw a policeman come in with his duty gear and his Kevlar vest. More power to him. People enjoyed the shooting, had a great time, but from my untrained eye, I saw very few people who seemed to have practiced since the last time I shot with them. I understand wanting to get out of the house, go have some fun, and hang out with friends, but if I’m going to invest my time, I want more than just going to the range to pull the trigger a few times. USPSA is competitive, more so than IDPA. When I was regularly attending Skills & Drills class, the attendees were mostly USPSA shooters. Mind you, I don't want this to sound like arrogance, but USPSA to me, is a more challenging and competition driven event.

The rule book is my next major offender. I took the time to read some of the IDPA rule book, both the old version and the new version that went into effect 10/1/13, and I’m convinced that the rule book was written to be confusing, and to allow Safety Officers as much leeway as possible. A few months ago I posted on Facebook, asking about the XDM with the Powder River Precision Trigger kit, asking what division I would be allowed to shoot the gun in. At first, the IDPA’ers jumped in telling me that it was always ESP, and I pointed out the changes in the new rule book that determine that the XDM has moved into SSP. I think that was tough for them to swallow, as they had their minds made up, based on the XDM being a longtime ESP gun. The topic of the PRP Trigger Kit was another moment that had me laughing. The IDPA’ers jumped in stating that it’s an internal modification therefore it has to be ESP again. They told me, correctly, that the only modifications that can be made are to items you can get on a factory gun. I then pointed out to them, that the PRP kit is an OEM part, and in theory, you can get a factory gun with those exact parts in it. In their minds, too bad, OEM or not, factory available or not, it’s ESP. So basically, I could go to a match and shoot it SSP as long as the Match Director agrees that it should be SSP, but I could go to a Major Match, and if the Match Director disagrees, be DQ’d for shooting out of division. This is a joke. Rules that don’t make sense and a governing body that won’t make a ruling for a popular gun and modification.  Hate saying it IDPA’ers, but your own rule book pretty much says if I can get it from the factory, then it’s SSP legal, so PRP kit has a pretty valid argument as being SSP legal.  I did hear from a couple of other MD’s, who had split opinions, one who I highly respect told me that he’d call it ESP, and gave me his reasons, and another that I respect told me he’d call it SSP.

                                                                       Russian IDPA?

There was another recent situation, which does not bear getting into, where a few local shooters traveled to a match, and the MD changed a SO call from a procedural to a Failure to Do Right, and announced it to the shooter not at the stage, but later on. It was a bad call, and it was handled poorly, but again, the IDPA Rule book is written to be unclear.

Anyone who shoots competitively has heard the phrase “It’s just a Club Match”, as a reason, or excuse to bend the rules. It may be common, but I find it far more common in IDPA than in USPSA. I've seen more illegal stages in IDPA than you would believe. There are some pretty firm rules regarding distance, amount of no shoot targets per regular targets, and rounds per stage. I think it’s a common occurrence for IDPA locally to disregard the rules they don’t like, and justify it saying “Our members like it, it’s fun, so it’s okay.” I totally understand doing things to have fun, but I’d respond with a fairly simple question: If your sport has to bend the rules in order to have fun, what the hell are you doing shooting it? Aren't you admitting that the rules as written are not fun enough?

Call it an Outlaw match, make your own rules, do whatever, but if I’m paying my money, and I go to a USPSA match in Florida, I expect the same USPSA rules to be enforced that my local club does. A club match should be a representation of the sport every single match, with no exceptions, and I don’t often see that as an issue with USPSA. It feels like a better structure, and that’s having shot at 5 semi-local clubs in 3 different states.

IDPA has its place, and I hope everyone who shoots it enjoys it. I’d remind any local member who reads this and is offended, that I was one of the guys there who helped move all your gear, in fact I was one of the few who did it, as there was not a lot of IDPA member help. (When our USPSA Club moved, there was a surfeit of help.) I helped because I think there are good people who shoot IDPA, and I like them, and whether or not I shoot it, I’d like to see it succeed. I’d recommend IDPA for people who are not sure if they want to get involved in a shooting sport, but want to try a match, but I’d also tell them that the minute they want to get competitive and improve their own skills, they really should make the jump to USPSA.

I hope the club, and the sport itself succeeds. They've got a bad rule book, but good people, so that’s at least something to start with. To me though, the only comparison that I can reasonably draw, is that IDPA is like a sandlot kids baseball game, and USPSA is the more organized, and professional sport, where you really do have to invest some time beyond a match in order to compete.  Enough said.

For me, Saturday dry fire practice was only 15 minutes since it was going to be an “off” day, but I wanted to get some more work, and keep the feeling I got from my Friday live fire session. I had some nice runs, and wanted to drill that home.

Sunday is a full 30 minute session, doing the exact same rotation of drills as I have been doing, with a focus on the front sight, and picking up some speed. Note the gear check for practice going forward. I'm doing anything I can to help!