My significant other/adult supervisor and I were just getting over nasty three-week colds. I was fed up with how depressing the upcoming gun legislation is looking. Much of the week before had been spent working on an officer-involved shooting trial, and most of the week before that had been spent on a murder case. The weekend suddenly loomed free, and the adult supervisor and I decided that some pistol competition would be uplifting.

On Saturday morning, we put half a dozen assorted Glock pistols in the car, along with several hundred rounds of ammo, and hit the road. Our Saturday stop was the First Coast IDPA club at the excellent public range in Jacksonville, FL (www.firstcoastidpa.com). Great bunch of folks, with 100 shooters at that particular event. IDPA, the International Defensive Pistol Association, is basically a “come as you are” party for folks who carry guns. You start most (but not all) stages with your handgun concealed, and it has to be a duty/carry type pistol or revolver. We ran down halls, we ducked behind stuff, and we even had to jump out of a pickup truck to get a gun, all under time. We shot two-hand, and weak hand only, and from all sorts of awkward positions. And of course, we all second-guessed ourselves and analyzed lessons learned. (Me: “Damn, Jon, I dismounted that truck like a sixty-year-old man!” Jon: “Uh, Mas, you are a, uh, you know –“ Me: “Oh, yeah…right…”)

Then it was off to Orlando, and a GSSF (Glock Sport Shooting Foundation) match (www.gssfonline.com), hosted by the excellent Central Florida Rifle & Pistol Club (www.cfrpc.com). Given the sponsorship and all, you can only shoot Glock pistols there, but they have events for every type of handgun that company makes. To simplify logistics, we were using 9mm Glocks for IDPA too, Gail wielding her pet G34 and me, a G17 that I’d shot in the last three prior matches at Jax. In Orlando, we shot Subcompact, she her pet carry gun, a 9mm G26, and me a .40 caliber G27 that has been with me as “traveling iron” from Hawaii to Switzerland in the more than a dozen years I’ve owned it. She shot her Generation 3 Glock 17 9mm in both Competition and Stock categories, and I used my old Gen 2 G17 for Master Stock. I went too fast and crashed and burned on points down with both of those pistols: a point down from perfect costs you twice as much penalty time added to your score in GSSF than it does in IDPA. I did better in the Major Sub category with my favorite Glock, the short barreled .45 caliber G30.

We came home cheerful and refreshed. We’d had a great time with old friends, and meeting new ones. A shooting match is a social event, and you do it as much for the conversation as the competition. At the IDPA event, we both got beat. My fox is the current Florida/Georgia Regional Women’s Champion, but on this day our close friends the Strayers whupped us both. Terri Strayer was top female, shooting a Smith & Wesson Military & Police 9mm, and her husband Jon handed me my butt on a platter, winning the Custom Defense Pistol division and the overall tournament with his fast, accurate handling of his Springfield Armory TGO .45. I wound up winning the Stock Service Pistol Division, and second overall.

Dunno yet how we did at the Glock shoot. The scores haven’t been posted yet. I’m told unofficially that there were some 360 entries over two days, and that’s a lot of tabulating to do. Rob Leatham, perhaps the greatest practical pistol champion of our time, has been known to say that “Winning isn’t any harder than losing, but it’s a lot more fun.” Well, I’ll buy the “winning is more fun” part, but I’ve found that losing is a whole lot easier than winning. Losing only takes one blast of cerebral flatulence.

Which leads us to my personal theory of why people like us find shooting so relaxing. Those who haven’t done it figure we’re burning off steam by imagining a hated boss’s face on the target as we fire. No, not at all. Because we have to focus so intently on safety with the deadly weapons we’re handling, it forces out extraneous thoughts. Mortgage situations, the economy, inimical political parties in office, all gray out into the far background when you focus on safely, accurately, and swiftly discharging firearms. It’s purging, really. I expect those who practice extreme sports such as rock-climbing are getting the same effect.

Sure, winning is better, but playing and not winning beats hell out of not having played.

And always remember, even if you place dead last, you still come in ahead of several thousand people who thought they were cool, but didn’t have the guts you had to stand and test your skills in public.

Which is why, for this curmudgeon at least, shooting a match now and then just rocks.

1 COMMENT

  1. “Sure, winning is better, but playing and not winning beats hell out of not having played.”

    The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . . who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
    ~Theodore Roosevelt

  2. Great column Mas! Your efforts to get folks out and to the matches / social events are much appreciated! And, sounds like ya done good, ya old curmudgeon! 🙂
    Blaze

  3. Pistol matches are some of the best socializing options out there. Getting a GLOCK to look presentable as a BBQ gun however is a royal pain. 🙂 It was a pleasure to have you visit us in Orlando as well as share your wisdom. Come back soon.

  4. For me shooting small arms of all kinds have been always relaxing but when my son was born my wife did not want any guns of any kind in the house.my son is grow any lives a few states away now 2 years ago she agreed i could onece again have guns in the house. i own 3 guns 1 is ataurua m605 this is my everyday gun .2 i have a PT1911AR .45ACP last is my M&P.40 i also have a CCW from my state of Georgia i carry all the time everywhere i can legely do so.i whis i could shoot every week but i am on afix imcome but i still shoot at least once a month.when i shoot all things troubling me i leave at the door.thank you for all of you insights in CCW and shooting i am readingyour book Concealed Carry. thanks again

  5. “And always remember, even if you place dead last, you still come in ahead of several thousand people who thought they were cool, but didn’t have the guts you had to stand and test your skills in public.”

    That’s a good one. I’ll have to remember it the next time someone comes up with all kinds of excuses for not wanting to shoot a match.

    Chris
    Central Iowa

  7. Great post Mas,

    Even though I’m a new shooter (and almost old enough to classify as an IDPA Senior), I shot my first sanctioned match in January and even signed up to shoot the Smith & Wesson IDPA Winter Nationals in a few weeks.

    I figured someone has to come in last, it may as well be me. I managed 3rd from last in January, but I had a lot of fun. (and someday when I’m a better shooter, the experience will come in handy).

    At this point, I’m not even paying attention to time, just trying to be safe and accurate, I was down zero in several stages, so in my mind, I already won. 😉

    It is a great sport, and I’m very happy with the friends I have made through it.

    -Mitch

  8. “Because we have to focus so intently on safety with the deadly weapons we’re handling, it forces out extraneous thoughts. Mortgage situations, the economy, inimical political parties in office, all gray out into the far background”

    I studied Aikido VERY seriously for 6 years, and the above was a huge plus. Think obsessively about your crappy day and you either get hit, or fall wrong and get hurt. It’s the fast path to living in the moment.

    I traded a G33 in on a Walther PPS, and fired the latter for the first time this w/e. The function was flawless, recoil was like a .380 and it pointed and fired true. The slimness offset the overall size compared to the G33, making it just as easy to carry front pocket. In all, a formidable everyday gun.

    I’ll keep my G17, but with the new gun control looming, I decided to dump .357 Sig as a caliber for logistical reasons.

  9. Mitch, I’m glad you’re enjoying IDPA.

    Your going to have a blast at the Midwinter Nationals tournament at Smith & Wesson. I’ve competed in that event several times, though I can’t make it this year, and twice had the privilege of being match director for the event. I can honestly say that I’ve never worked with a better trained, more fair, or more committed group of match personnel.

    Enjoy!

  10. Great blog Mas. I usually tell folks who ask why I like target shooting that it is just like golfing. What you do here makes a huge difference in where your ball or bullet lands down there. If your grip, stance, swing , or follow through etc is off then you will have a bad score. Of course, I find shooting much easier than golf overall. The other big plus is the skills learned may some day save my life. 🙂

  12. I love shooting my XD9 in comp. I’ve only been for about a year at a local range that has IDPA matches…. I still pretty much suck… LOL

    It’s great to be able to get out anytime to shoot anything.

  13. Mas
    As usual, great blog, wish we could have been in Orlando with y’all. Jax IDPA must be doing something right to have 100 shooters for a weekend match.

    JB

  14. Mas,

    Did you and Gail get the nasty three-week colds right after SHOT? I ask because my wife and I were at SHOT and we caught the same crud and it started a few days after the show.

    Pepper

  16. Hey Mas; The Florida IDPA state championship Steel Challenge Match will be held on Feb. 27,28 and Mar.1 at the Wyoming Antelope Club Florida Chapter, Pinellas Park, Florida, also we are hosting a free PCC match on March 28, 2009 to get interest in shooting PCC in the Tampa Bay area.
    Regards,
    Old Sarge ( John E. Gluck )

  17. Thanks for the invite, John! I think there may be a scheduling conflict for me at the time of your PPC match, but will be down for the IDPA shoot to defend my SSR title. Hope to see ya there.
    best,
    Mas

  18. Hi Massad, I recently purchased your book, ” The gun digest book of concealed carry” and want to thank you for such valuable information. I’m a relatively new shooter. I’m 65 years of age and now retired. Although I have three different firearms, 45 S&W, a Browning Buckmark, and a Taurus 38 wheel gun I am not considering any of them for ccw. I’ve spent hours on my I-Pad gleaning as much information as possible for different ideas about one reliable and truly accurate firearm, with great trigger pull in Stryker configuration. I am not a Glock fan. They remind me too much of Harley Davidson’s. everyone just has to own one. I’m leaning towards a Walther pp9 or ppq40 cal. Can you share your opinions on them? I highly regard your input. Thanks, Hoppy

  19. Hoppy, the Walthers are decent guns. If you’re looking for a slim, concealable auto pistol in a substantial caliber you also want to look at the Kahr series, the S&W Shields, and the recently-introduced Springfield Armory XDS pistols.