Executive Gun

What I learned from my first official USPSA match...

I started to participate in matches almost a year ago. I was told that it will take my skills to the next level and make me a better concealed carrier and protector. That intrigued me because being the best concealed carrier and protector I can be is my primary objective as a gun owner.

I started at a local unsanctioned match. I wasn't a member of the USPSA, yet.
It was as eye opening as it was fun. I don't need to explain the fun part, do I? The eye opening part is another story.

It only took one match to realize what I'm good at and what needs work. I recorded each stage of each match and analyzed it. I picked the most urgent flaw I saw and started to work on it with one of the top competitors there.

I changed and improved my training routine both in dryfire and at the range. I started to watch more videos geared towards matches and the specific skills I was working on, and started participating in IDPA matches too.
IDPA is geared more towards concealed carry and defensive shooting.

I decided to join the USPSA and IDPA as a member and participate in sanctioned matches so I can eventually get classified at a certain level and work my way up.

And this past Sunday, I participated in my first sanctioned USPSA match. 7 stages over about 5 hours. It was hot and humid which added to the challenge, but it was the experience I needed to see what my last 12 months of effort could produce.

There were competitors of almost all ages (20s to 70s) and experience levels. Age made little difference as some of the older folk were quite impressive.

There is an art to competitive shooting and so much focus and concentration is needed. There's plenty of pressure; the crowd watching, the clock ticking, and getting good hits without forgetting any targets, breaking rules, and/or getting disqualified. It's certainly an adrenaline rush.

Some stages went better than others. Some were much longer and the shots were farther than I've previously experienced, and since I use my concealed carry pistol, a sub-cimpact, it makes long shots more difficult, and requires more frequent reloads than most competitors.
But since my objective is geared towards concealed carry I'll learn to deal with it and improve nonetheless.

The camaraderie is awesome. Everyone was encouraging, and willing to help, and I learned a lot from watching others plan their approach to each stage, their movement through it, and what to incorporate in my training so I can improve the areas that need improving.

I am excited to continue on this journey and share it with you. And, if you have the necessary skills to participate I encourage you to do so. If you don't, reach out and let's get you trained and equipped with those skills. You ought to have these skills anyway if you're serious about gun ownership and self-defense with a gun.

Train hard, often, and SAFELY!