The First Shot

IDPA is a fun sport.  However, it is complex and fun can turn to frustration with a single shot.  That single shot is usually your first shot right after the buzzer.

If there is ONE shot to practice, it is your First Shot.  The first shot sets the tone for how well (or not so well) you shoot a Scenario Stage or a Skills Exercise.  If you blow your first shot, you will be behind the eight ball both mentally and "on the clock."

As Tom B. says, "Shooting is 90% mental and the rest of it is in your head."  There's something about missing that first shot that sticks with you for the entire stage and can actually affect your match performance as well.  Getting off decent first shots is very important in "The Game of IDPA."

Many Thanks to Pat D. for helping us load up a new batch of .45 ACP ammo Thursday and Friday.  THANKS,  Pat.  After finishing our reloading chores today we decided to both test some of the fresh rounds and also to being a new chapter of "focused practice."

Virtually all IDPA Matches require the use of a "concealment garment."  This is typically a button down shirt (worn open) that fully covers both your pistol and your magazine holder.  Many guys and gals I know in Idaho use Hawaiian shirts for their concealment garment.  Some matches look like some kind of Jimmy Buffet Party!

I use an old Forest Service shirt I bought at a thrift store in Challis, Idaho, for 50 cents.  I've added some embroidery to it to cover the unfaded area were the Forest Service emblem was once located.  There's a lot of debate about what constitutes a competitive concealment garment.  "Whatever works," is my motto.

We haven't been enforcing the Concealment Garment Rule at our Monday Matches simply because the danged shirt gets in the way and it can really cause people to goof up.  If you are new to the game, it can be a safety hazard as well.  We feel not using concealment garments both equalizes the playing field and increases match safety.

However.....since we're going back into The Real World of IDPA, we have to get back into wearing and using a concealment garment.  Clearing your garment is an essential part of your First Shot in IDPA.  If you can't clear the garment and get off a good shot, you're in trouble right from the git go.  No way to sugar coat it.

So, anyway, it's back to using a concealment garment from here out until the end of our Monday Match Season.  I have to use the garment all summer long up in Idaho so I might as well get back with the program.

OK, we have digressed a bunch here but you needed to know all that stuff to understand our shooting exercise here on the last day of February.

Initially, our main objective was testing the rounds we loaded today.  However we simply didn't want to shoot aimlessly just to test rounds.  That's how we invented this new one-man game called "The First Shot."

I stood next to the milk crate so the timer was somewhat close to how it would be in a real match.

We set up the timer behind us and set it to buzz at 3 seconds.  Three seconds is enough time to turn and be ready for the buzzer.  Then we set a target at 7 yards.  We buzzed ourself through 26 rounds trying to go as fast as possible.  We were really rippin' and snortin' with the concealment garment.

The rounds were all great and wonderful and we are pleased with the ammo but we shot terrible, actually.  Going into the last 10 rounds we had three straight MISSES!  That really stung straight to the shooting soul.
Anyway, we packed up the target stand and picked up our casings and drove home with our tail between our legs.

As we pulled into our driveway we thought about cleaning the pistol and then The Light Bulb went off.  DUH!  How could have we have forgotten such an important lesson so quickly????

Here's the lesson in a nutshell:  "It's better to take your time on The First Shot and get it right than to be super fast."

Bear in mind a miss is Five Points Down.  By IDPA rules, Points Down are divided by two and then magically become seconds.  So a miss is 2.5 seconds added to your score.  So, let's say I had a 2.04 time on The First Shot but The First Shot was a miss.  That means the first shot would be scored as 4.54 seconds!  YIKES!

Do you see where I am going with this?  You can S-L-O-W  Down and take longer to place the first shot and set the tone for your Course of Fire and avoid costly mistakes that add gobs of time to your net score.

So, I sat in the driveway debating whether to clean the pistol and give it yet another Good Old College Try.  Yeah, you know which one won, don't you?  I grabbed another 20 rounds and headed back out to reapply a lesson I already knew but forgot.

Naturally, the results were remarkable.  Yeah, my First Shot times were slightly slower but they were a WHOLE LOT more accurate.  After factoring the penalties, taking a little bit longer to place the shot, dramatically improved my net score on The First Shot.

Our of 46 First Shots only one was great than 3 seconds and that's because I got hung up with the concealment garment.  Remarkably, my fastest net time was 1.95 for the first shot.  It must have been a lucky one.

The fastest raw time was 1.65 but it scored a "3" so it's actual net time would be 3.15.

I had a 1.91 with a score of one but that equates to 2.45.

My basic "take away" from these two exercises today is that The First Shot is almost certain to be 3 seconds or less.  With that in mind, I might as well make those first three seconds count and avoid getting any penalties added to my raw time.

What are the odds of shooting a "ZERO" in under 2 seconds drawing from concealment?  Slim and None and Slim just left town.  Yes, it can be done but will it be done?  Not likely for all us normal shooters.  So, add a split second and slow it down and place the shot where it belongs.

That's the lesson.  Slow it down.  Take an extra split second to actually AIM!  What a novel idea!