My Sixth IDPA Match of 2020

These continue to be some of our least-read articles, but as I said last time, I will continue to write up at least something from each match just for my own personal reference.  And if I am going to bother to write something up, I may as well post it for all to see, right?

The Venue and Weather

This match was another held at the “newer” of the venues at which I typically shoot.  Nothing much to say about it.  Weather was quite chilly in the AM, around 40 degrees when I arrived at the range.  I layered up nicely and removed numerous articles of clothing as the sun rose and the temperatures warmed up a bit.

Gear

My usual here.  Generation 3 Glock 19 equipped with Ameriglo I-Dot Pro sights and otherwise modified as per this article.  I used a Bravo Concealment outside-the-waistband holster and my no-name kydex double magazine pouch.  I used Blazer Aluminum 124 grain ammunition. 

The Match

The match consisted of one “warm-up” stage (set up in each bay so we’d all shoot that first) followed by five total stages with a fair amount of movement involved in almost all of them.  I would participate in my typical Compact Carry Pistol (CCP) category, which limited me to 8 rounds per magazine (can start each stage with an extra round in the chamber unless otherwise specified). 

I need to mention here that, unlike my last match, my squad was basically awesome (the top four overall finishers were all in this squad).  Lots of experience among the nine of us, and even with two newer shooters, we proceeded quickly through each stage.  We were constantly nipping at the heels of the squad in front of us! 

Stage One—Warm-Up

This was a very simple stage.  Seven yards in front of a single IDPA target, gun holstered and covered with cover garment.  Start with firearm loaded with exactly six rounds.  On the beep, draw and shoot six shots to the body, perform a slide-lock reload, and shoot three more to the head.  I shot this clean in 8.83 seconds, good enough for 4^th of 43 overall, 2^nd of 6 in CCP.

Stage Two

The second stage involved us repelling some sort of “home invasion”.  We started at the barrel in the foreground of the photo and had to engage the target straight ahead, then maneuver around to shoot the other six targets (two shots each).  I finished this stage 4^th of 43 overall, 3^rd of 6 in CCP.

Stage Two (warm-up stage is off to the right of the frame).

Stage Three

I recall setting foot in this bay, looking at the setup, and thinking “this looks like a maze.”  Then we looked at the clipboard with the stage description, and it involved us getting into a battle inside a corn maze.  A lot of movement in this stage and shooting around “walls” simulating rows of corn.   Only six targets for this stage, arrayed in pairs with a non-threat between each pair.   I finished this stage 4^th of 43 overall, 3^rd of 6 in CCP.  Are we noticing a trend?

Stage Three. Saving lives in a corn maze.

Stage Four

The fourth stage involved us dealing with bad guys attacking us and our office-mates among our office cubicles.  There were a number of non-threats that had to be avoided on this stage.  Indeed, each of the three target arrays looked exactly the same (two “bad guys” with a non-threat between).  We started this stage seated at the desk but would stand and draw and then move around.   I finished this stage 4^th of 43 overall, 3^rd of 6 in CCP.

Stage Four. Saving my office mates.

Stage Five

This stage was going to be a blast.  Notice my wording there.  This was actually similar to the corn maze stage above, except this time we had to engage a distant target with two rounds to start, and then engage targets as they appeared behind walls to both our left AND right.  Unfortunately, my Glock suffered some sort of failure (to eject, I believe, though I “immediate-actioned” quickly enough that I never got a good look at it).  Losing a round while clearing the stoppage, it screwed up my stage plan and led to me having to make an extra reload later in the stage.  I finished this stage 28^th of 43 overall, 5^th of 6 in CCP.  Gulp!

Stage Five. What would turn out to be my nemesis. No fault of the stage, though!

Stage Six

The final stage was the only one on this day that involved a moving target.  We would shoot a single steel popper that would activate a swinging IDPA target.  Then we had to make some fairly tight shots amongst some non-threat targets from around cover (ubiquitous blue barrels).  I finished this stage 4^th of 43 overall, 3^rd of 6 in CCP.

Stage Six. All the shooting was done from behind the barrels (some shots from one side, some from the other).

Final Results

I finished the match 4^th of 43 overall, 3^rd of 6 in CCP (shocker, right?).  I shot the entire match down only two points, which I was happy with considering I was also shooting and moving pretty fast.  I finished just 5 seconds behind third place, but lost at least 10 seconds to my stoppage and then the additional reload during Stage Five, so third place was easily within my grasp.  Knowing the guys who finished ahead of me from prior matches, and knowing that they are better competitors than me, I am pretty happy with another fourth place finish.  I just need a couple of these guys to be missing one day to finally win a match!

I shot a total of 84 rounds during the match.  Along the way I eclipsed 14,000 rounds through this particular Glock 19.  Again, the ammunition shortage is real and the designers of this match had it in mind when they set up the stages.  In fact, next month they already announced that they will allow .22LR pistols in the match.

That’s about it.  As always, thanks for reading.  If you have any questions or comments, please post them below or on our Facebook page, as we always welcome civil discourse.