With an eye on getting involved in IDPA I took the new shooters' orientation at Minnetonka Game & Fish Club. It was very informative, but could have used some hand-outs, especially on the do's & don'ts and the where to do's and where to don'ts.

After lunch we got to shoot. The thing I noticed is the very act of competing gets your adrenalin up. Anything and everything can go wrong and I suffered from losing round count and trying to pull the trigger on an open slide to double chambering after a tactical reload.

Not to boast, but I was complemented on my safety while shooting the courses, but then was repremanded when I absent-mindly pulled a charged magazine to throw into the range bag after I had cased my firearm in the "safety area."

So I have some newbie questions.
1) What specifically can you do in the safety area?
2) What can't you do?
3) Where can you gear up and gear down?
4) Where can you charge your magazines/speedloaders and where can
you unload them and return the ammunition to its box?

An observation. Holsters with retaining straps don't work if you can't re-snap as easy as you can unsnap. I'm thinking of a 511 for my Sig. Is that legal for IDPA?

Thanks for your answers.

Handle an UNLOADED gun not under the supervision of a SO



Anything involving ammunition



Gunleather, anywhere you wish. Anything that involves the gun, at the safety table. Anything involving ammo, somewhere other than the safety table.



Anywhere EXCEPT the safety table.



I don't know exactly about the 511 but both Bladetech and Blackhawk are popular, and the 5.11 is a blackhawk if I recall correctly. To be legal you cannot see daylight between your belt and the holster and it must cover the triggerguard.

check out the rules at IDPA.com

Have fun, shoot safe.

Thank you. I'll will commit these to memory.

I carry my Sig in a Safariland 568 Open top - Had a Bianci with a thumb break but with my crimson trace grips it alway took two hands to refasten the thumb break.

The holster can be seen <a href=http://www.safariland.com/product.aspx?pid=568>here </a>

I've noticed a lot of these holsters at the IDPA shoots I've been at. Comfortable, lines, stays on when you want it to and will a little work you can take it off when you want to also.

Safety table is simple - NO AMMO

Wanna touch your gun, do it at the safety table - wanna touch your ammo don't do it at the safety table - wanna touch your gun and your ammo - wait till the RO tells you to.

When you go to a shoot, admit you are new, the people I've met are very willing to answer questions, and offer suggestions.

Are you going to the shoot on Apr. 5th? I'll be there - I'll be one of the ones with a Safariland 568 with a Sig 229 in it! May have my 11 yr old son in tow (and shooting my M4 afterwards)


Mostly-

Yeah the safety table rule gets most newcomers. I catch a couple people every match just not thinking about it and stowing mags from their mag pouches into their bag at the safety table (been guilty of that myself).

Two simple rules:

1) Guns handled only on the firing line or at the safety table.
2) Ammo never handled at the safety table.

BTW, that goes for almost any pistol shooting sport. IPSC/USPSA is the same way.

Glad you did good safety wise.

The timer is a brain eraser, especially the first couple of times. You will learn to control it and it's a rush, but the first couple times running under a timer will definitely get your heart pumping

I take it you're coming next weekend? Match on the 5th I believe.

I want to come and will try to be there Saturday. I can only shoot on Saturdays or Sunday evenings due to my committments.

I need to get this embedded in my brain.

[Whine] Doing that and getting repremanded caused an otherwise great day to end on a downer.[/Whine]

I need to work through this and get my confidence back up.

Don't worry about it. One of the good things about IDPA is that safety is the highest priority, we wouldn't want it any other way. When you get to a match and something comes up that you do not understand ask questions, I have never run across anyone that was not more than willing to help a new shooter out.

rtk

Don't worry about it, and don't take it personally. We've all been scolded for something or other. Many good shooters have even been DQ'ed from matches for major lapses of safety without any lasting harm to them or their reputations.

IDPA safety rules are like the 4 basic rules of gun safety where you need to break more than one at a time to create a truly dangerous situation, but a good safety officer is going to be fussy about them at all times in order to protect the participants and the excellent safety record the practical shooting sports enjoy.

The 5.11 is Bladetech brand, its ok jac714 we know your leather all the way.........

Just to be 100% clear, the Blackhawk Serpa holsters are acceptable for IDPA shoots, correct? I just purchased one today, and while I will keep it regardless, it would be nice not to have to buy a second holster just for IDPA...

The standard Sherpa belt holster is IDPA legal.

Thank you.