First Match!

Since Meine Panzer arrived at the shop a few weeks ago, I have been looking for places to do more than simply stand at the range and slow fire from a static position. I found the Mid-Pacific Pistol League (MPPL) website and noticed that they had a Practical Shooting match coming up but according to their site, newcomers are to sign up for their introductory (101) course prior to entering any matches. On a whim, I decided to make the hour-long drive to the Koko Head Shooting Complex and see if my military experience would be enough to get me into the match without going through the 101 Class. After giving the staff a quick synopsis of my shooting background, they decided that I could shoot so I signed the waiver, paid my entry fee, and headed over to 2 other gentlemen that I saw setting up a stage and offered a hand. One of them was named David who is also in the military and has several years experience in the sport. I explained that I was new and asked if he minded if I shadowed him around for the day just to make sure I didn't miss anything or do anything stupid. He kindly agreed and was an enormous help throughout the day.

The match was called "Monster Match" and was actually a 2-day event. I opted to only enter the first day. I made this decision for several reasons: 1) This would completely eliminate any thought or worry of competition since I would only be competing in 3 of 6 stages. I thought this might give me a higher chance of moving slowly-the number one tip for new IPSC shooters. 2) This would leave me hungry for more and ensure that I didn't get burned out on my first day out.

Oddly enough, I happened to run into a guy from work who competes in the Open Class...I had no idea the guy was a shooter. He was kind enough to record all of my runs and post them on YouTube...I've already watched them several times and I'm sure I'll be watching them countless more time over the course of the next few weeks as I try to learn where I need to improve. It's getting late, so I'll be back tomorrow to provide my thoughts on each of the runs individually. Please fee free to critique any or all of my runs! (By the way, the videos are posted below in numerical order, however I started at Stage 3, then rotated to Stage 1 and then Stage 2 so you may choose to watch them in that order.)

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3