A) You and I both need to do a better job with insomnia.cbunt1 wrote:It's the best experience and opportunity to test your holster, handgun, carry methods and manipulation skills you'll ever get for the price of admission. Just remember that a shooting match isn't a gunfight, but a gunfight is a shooting match. By that I mean it's one more tool in the toolbox, but it's not a complete picture of defensive handgun work and skills.
B) I agree with everything you said. But the quoted bit is worth repeating. I think everyone needs to understand that IDPA (or any other practical shooting competition) is a fun sport and can be very good practice. But it is not training. It has to be popular to be sustainable, and that means clear sets of rules that can apply to all states (at least, under current laws), that provide an even, enjoyable playing field, and that do the best possible job of ensuring safety for both shooters and the host ranges.
If a shooter typically has access only to a standard, public range, then shooting IDPA compared to standing at a bench punching one hole in a static target every three seconds is the difference between driving a golf cart on the back nine and taking a Dodge SRT Viper out on a private track. Timed performance; draw from holster; moving shooter; moving targets; multiple targets; shoot/no-shoot targets; reloads; on-the-clock malfunction clearances; use of cover; almost infinite course of fire scenarios. All very, very good practice.
And if you enter into it understanding that it is a game with rules that have to be followed, and that sometimes those rules and CoF design don't necessarily mesh with what you'll learn in quality defensive shooting courses, all will be well.