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CleverNickname wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote: Some of the process restrictions instill bad habits (starting with downloaded mags, no dropping of an empty mag when you have a round in the chamber, etc).

One could argue that a bad habit would be counting the rounds expended so you could make sure and drop an empty magazine and not incur a penalty. If someone's in a gun fight (which IDPA is supposedly trying to mimic to some extent), then there'd be plenty of other things to concentrate on besides counting rounds.

Downloaded magazines is to make more guns competitive and to force reloading. Otherwise with 18-round maximum in a stage the only way to be competitive would be to shoot a gun with a high-enough capacity where reloading wouldn't be required.

In a real gun fight, you probably are not going to need to count rounds if you have a gun that holds 15+ rounds in the mag. But if you have extra mags readily available, you may well want to reload even if you are not sure whether there could be a couple spare rounds in your mag.

I think there is a core conflict between the competition aspect and the training aspect. If the point was just to prepare participants for real world engagements, then you wouldn't need to have equipment restrictions (other than for safety reasons), and would never start with less than full mags +1. The powers that be are trying to achieve a balance between "real world" and "fair / engaging competition". I totally understand it, I just wanted to make sure I pointed out some of the impacts of this to the OP.

I guess if someone really wanted to just use IDPA as a pure training activity, they could shoot with a NFC gun, and incur procedural penalties by starting with fully loaded mags, etc. Just make sure to tell the folks running the event so they don't get so irritated that they kick you out.

Personally, I would love to see IDPA shift more toward "real world" and away from "competition". That is just my personal opinion and it is worth every cent you paid for it. I'm sure there are others who think the opposite way, and still others who think the current rules are a perfect balance. Either way, it is still better training than standing still and shooting at a stationary target on a range, IMHO.

I can't speak to this particular group for IDPA, but here are my thoughts on IDPA in general.

Pro's:
For a little more than most range fees you can get 2-4 hours of practice in real life scenarios. The training aspect alone is well worth the money, IMHO.

Camaraderie, the chance to meet and talk with like minded folks about guns and shooting.

Competition is fun.

Cons:
Unrealistic (at least to me) restrictions on gear. Most of the guns and holsters that I actually use for EDC are not allowed.

Some of the process restrictions instill bad habits (starting with downloaded mags, no dropping of an empty mag when you have a round in the chamber, etc).

Going to an IDPA event is less convenient than going to the range, at least for me. Both in distance and lack of flexibility on timing.