My First IPSC Match Scores

The scores from my first IPSC match have been posted.

I suck!

To keep things in perspective, this was my first time and so I was going slow because I don’t know how to play the game. Along the lines of not knowing how to play the game, there were learning experiences with Comstock scoring; say if I shot twice on a target and one shot was a clean shot to a no-shoot I could shoot again and that would have affected my score. So, I don’t take my scores from the match as any sort of gospel as to what sort of shooter I am. However, it is some degree of a snapshot and I want to analyze things to see where I need to improve.

So how well did I suck?

Since scores are somewhat relative to the top shooter, I’m going to list 3 things per entry: the #1 shooter, the #1 Production shooter, and then me. Note that all of this chart data is transcribed by hand so hopefully I didn’t make any errors. As well, the names are made up but stable. That is, the guy that came in first overall, who I’m calling “Joe”, also came in first on stage 4 thus the “Joe” listed on stage 4 is the same guy. And yes, my use of names from The Flintstones is typical when I need dummy names.

Combined/Overall

I told you I sucked. So 54 out of a field of 68. One (half-serious) goal was to not come in last, and I did that. Whoo!

Stage 1 (Classifier stage – Peek-A-Boo No-Shoots)

I just realized while writing this that if I care about my score I need to pay attention to it at the time it’s being scored. That is, everything moved so fast on our squad that I never walked around with my scorer. I should have, and then double-checked what was written on my sheet. Why? Because I see on the score sheet 1 miss (and no D) listed in the target tally area, but then in the Total Hits area I see 1 D and no misses. A simple clerical error, and it appears the sheet was properly checked and corrected at data entry time because I was assessed 20 penalty points (1 for the miss, 1 for a no-shoot). This was one of those cases where, while shooting, I need to pay attention to Comstock scoring: my hit on the no-shoot counted as a no-shoot penalty and because that only had “one good hit” on the target that also counted as a miss. The scoring situation isn’t a big deal as again this was a first match and score really doesn’t matter. But I went for the learning experience and this was an unexpected but good one.

Doing some math, if I didn’t have the 20 penalty points and take a conservative C hit, that would have given me a hit factor of 3.4388, which would have been a 40.65%. If it was an A hit, HF of 3.5763 and 42.28%. Just goes to show that penalties are harsh.

Stage 2

This was the first stage I shot. I actually can’t remember what the stage looked like (note to self: next time my iPhone will be working and I can take pictures of the stage diagrams). But because it was my first I know I was nervous and I went slow really focusing on good hits. And I got them. Of the 31 shots, 29 were A’s and 2 C’s. I did have one no-shoot but I was on the line thus I got the no-shoot but also got the hit. This stage demonstrates that 1. accuracy is important (in terms of raw points, there was only 1 shooter that had better points), 2. time is critical… look at how fast the other two guys shot it and how slow I was. Of course again, first stage ever. But still, things to learn towards improvement.

Stage 3

Ouch. Three no-shoots and 2 misses. One of those misses was a flat-out didn’t shoot. After I completed the course of fire the guy running the timer came up to me and asked “Is there any reason you shot that one target only once?” I just looked at him stunned because I had no idea I did that. I answered that I had no idea why, I just didn’t. I still have no recollection that I only shot it once, nor any explanation as to why. I do remember the last target of the match though was paper and I shot it once, pulled my gun back to a ready position, went “Oh shit, what am I doing I need to shoot it twice” and put the gun back out there and shot it the second time. So, there was obviously something odd going on in my head. Fifty penalty points suck.

Stage 4

Can you see a pattern emerging? My bullets seem to gravitate towards no-shoots. On Stage 2 I went slow because it was my first stage. Stage 3, I felt a little more relaxed and I know I went faster but somehow my brain was somewhere else. Here on Stage 4 I slowed down again and this was actually my second best stage of the day, but 2 no-shoots which again we’re back to the not understanding Comstock scoring thus it’s also 2 misses, and there we are.

Stage 5

No no-shoots! Biggest thing I remember about this one was needing to work on very longer distance accuracy.

Analysis

If I wish to get better at this game, here’s some things I can see:

• Improve accuracy at long distances
  • Most of my handgun work is oriented towards defensive pistol skills thus my primary focus tends to be on closer targets, and those I didn’t have a problem with. It was the longer range shots, over 15 yards, that really gave me trouble. Need to work on tight groups at long distances.
  • No-shoots hurt me because they wound up being a double-whammy in penalty points, both the no-shoot and the miss.
  • It’s minor scoring, so the only “good hit” is an A-zone hit. Even in my defensive pistol skills work, I should have only A-zone hits.
• Be faster
  • Shoot faster, but only as fast as it takes to ensure good hits.
  • I need to move faster and make better use of the clock.
    • Run
    • If I can shoot on the move, shoot on the move but again don’t sacrifice accuracy.
    • Timing of reloads with moving is good.
• Play the game
  • This doesn’t necessarily mean “game it” but to some degree it does. If I’m going to play this game well, I need to play the game. Doing things like reloading my own ammo so I have loads strong enough to make power factor but weaker than factory loads. Taking advantage of every possible modification I can do to the gun. Getting gear more appropriate to the game, like Comp-Tac’s The Beltfeed. But ultimately it’s not about equipment, it’s about me. Frankly I have a lot of personal improvement to do before investing the money in gaming it out. However, I do think before shooting too many more matches I should get a good mag pouch and OWB holster as using the XD Gear was OK but not that great.
  • Understand the scoring and the rules. Again, the Comstock scoring and thus things like no-shoots and misses hurt my score. Of course better is to strive for good hits and make this a non-issue.
  • Learn how to strategize each stage according to the game, for instance, when to reload.
• Miscellaneous
  • Bring more water than you think you’ll drink.
  • Expect the weather to be warmer or cooler than you think it will be.
  • Food is good, especially food you can eat without touching it. For instance, I bought my standby of Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds because they provide protein, fat, salt, potassium, all packed into a little package. Plus I can just empty the bag into my mouth so I don’t have to worry about whatever might be on my hands.
  • Bring a chair.
  • Travel light, but ensure you’ve got a bag for storing empty brass (squad in front of us left a lot of brass behind and I had a net gain for the day).

Is there anything I think I did right? Yes.

• I showed up. That was vital, and beyond the obvious. That I went out and opted to compete, to get humbled, and to want to learn from the experience.
• I didn’t really sweat things too much.
• When a stage required you to get lower to shoot (and us tall guys had it even worse), all I did was squat. I saw a lot of guys getting down on one knee. You have to do what you have to do, but going down to and getting up from one knee is slower than squatting. Let’s hear it for years of horse stance training!
• I liked being able to solve the stages in my own way, and it was cool to watch different people solve the stage in their own way. For instance, some target might be visible from this position but it’s also visible from that position. I went with a mantra of “if you can get closer, get closer; if you can get more stable, get more stable.” So sometimes I’d skip a target at some spot because I knew I’d have a better chance of getting an A-Zone hit if I shot from the other closer position. However, I’d also noticed that might throw off other factors like when to reload considering how many shots you might need for a string and with only 10 rounds in the magazine how things might flow. The problem-solving was good.
• I watched the front sight. Consequently, I knew when some of my hits weren’t good hits. As well, I know there were times I blatantly disregarded what the sight picture told me. I believe I did that out of time pressures, but I shouldn’t have. Still, I’m happy that I’m progressing well with shot-calling and it’s becoming “more natural” for me to do.
• I don’t feel I shot too badly, given the parameters I normally shoot within. This game demands higher and different standards tho, and I like that because I think if I allow myself to play the game it will lead towards me becoming a better overall handgun shooter.

All in all, I don’t want to over-analyze the numbers because that can be more harmful than helpful. But the numbers don’t lie and tell their undeniable story. I believe the first order of business is just to keep shooting and getting more comfortable with IPSC competition. After that, it’s focusing on the fundamentals. IPSC has a motto: DVC, Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas or accuracy, power, speed. Power isn’t going to change (sticking with 9mm), but certainly working on accuracy and speed with a nod towards accuracy (and any speed/clock/time gains will initially come from moving faster around the course).

If I want to set a goal for myself, becoming classified as a C-class shooter seems do-able. This does preclude me wanting to shoot this at a level and amount where classification matters, and that’s still to be determined. I do want to shoot again, but making it a regular hobby? Unknown.

And not forgetting to have fun and keep it in perspective.