Tell Me About Your First Match

Mine was about 6.5 years ago at Eagle1 in Raleigh. I stopped in to rent a lane and was told that the range was closed because they were having a match in an hour or so, but I was welcome to stay and shoot.

I remembered seeing some old episodes of ShootingUSA or something like that and I was in. I had a holster and mag pouches, and stuck around, met John Z and he gave me some pointers that I still pass on to new shooters today.

I came back again and again, then started branching out into IDPA and other matches, and the rest is history.
 
First was idpa in Clinton.....saw it posted on CSF......it was 6-7 years ago....ran an XD and had a killer time.....hate that I haven't made more time for it.....
 
September 15th 2013 CSOS

Found out on the old CSC site

Wanted to shoot other then static target shooting.
 
2009 ish, Meck Wildlife Club IDPA match. Found it online because I was getting bored with indoor ranges.

Showed up with a 1911 and a few mags, didnt know a sole there. Learned alot, more than I was expecting to learn. Thought that I was an ok shooter due to what I was doing at the indoor places. Found out real quick that what I knew was worthless (as far as matches go). Found out too that the holster and mag pouches were less than ideal. All in all, had more fun than one could have imagined with a handgun and cardboard targets.

Met some wonderful folks who gave tips, ideas and gear suggestions. Came back the following month from then on for about 2 years. Looked online to find other type matches for the rifle, and found PHA 2 gun thru Carolinas Shooters Forum post around eary 2010ish I believe.

Then around 2012, found out about USPSA, and have been dang near every weekend since.

I have grown to love the shooting sports
 
Back in the 80's, IPSC match ( yes before we had USPSA) shot that, IDPA, High Power, 3 GUN, 2 GUN, ICORE, NRA Bullseye and PPC back in the day, got tired of all the rules, 6+ years ago started ZSA and still love the shooting sports. Best thing I enjoy today about the shooting sports is getting new shooters into the SAFE and FUN sport we all love.
 
About two years ago. Similar to you I was just going to punch paper at personal defense and handgun safety center and the idpa match was about to start.

I only had a remora holster and one extra mag!

didn't shoot anybody or myself...I considered that a win.

Interestingly I find shooting to be a lot like golf (and sex). I'm not very good at it, you can never be perfect at it but it's a lot of fun!
 
First ever match was in March 2013 at the Range up in Oxford with JohnZ & crowd.

I was just "getting" into firearms and thought I'd go try it out.
It was cold, but no matter.
A zombie match! :)
All of the RSOs and other shooters were extremely helpful and didn't make me feel like such a newbie.

At that time, I was shooting 7 & 8 round 1911s.
That was hard, due to the round count per stage.

Ended up getting an SR9 for the less recoil and more rounds in each magazine. :)

I was hooked, for that year, on going to matches & shooting.
I've sorta backed off on matches now because, at the time (back in 2013-2015), I got tired of my whole Saturday being taken up by shooting.
With only 2 days off each weekend, I just got tired of it.

With 4 day weekends every other week, I may start to get back into shooting some matches.

Zombie matches are always super fun and safe! :)
 
Tarheel Three Gun four years ago. I had no idea what I was doing and somehow ended up in "Open" class with the USMC Combat Shooting team. I left that match with PTSD, and was scared to ever shoot a match until trcubed talked me into IDPA this spring.

:p
 
My first match was an extremely small IDPA event in far west Tennessee. I think we had 8 shooters...but I was hooked.

ETA: around 1999 or 2000, I think.


fieldgrade;n14698 said:
Tarheel Three Gun four years ago. I had no idea what I was doing and somehow ended up in "Open" class with the USMC Combat Shooting team. I left that match with PTSD, and was scared to ever shoot a match until trcubed talked me into IDPA this spring.

:p
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And you've taken to it well. I think you said somewhere else that you'd shot 28 matches since then.
 
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trcubed;n14745 said:
My first match was an extremely small IDPA event in far west Tennessee. I think we had 8 shooters...but I was hooked.




And you've taken to it well. I think you said somewhere else that you'd shot 28 matches since then.
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Not that many, but I lost count.
 
fieldgrade;n14698 said:
Tarheel Three Gun four years ago. I had no idea what I was doing and somehow ended up in "Open" class with the USMC Combat Shooting team. I left that match with PTSD, and was scared to ever shoot a match until trcubed talked me into IDPA this spring.

:p
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Lol, that's quite the place to get started.
 
PHA 2 gun. 2013 maybe 14.

Saw it on another forum, hadn't even found a range yet after moving, and wanted to shoot, preferably something other than just stand and shoot. Did Gene's intro class, shot the match a month or two later. Came in somewhere in the upper third.

Eventually started focusing more on pistol. Started USPSA this summer.
 
Shot on a pistol team in the Air Force back in the 80s when we first got the M9. I shot a couple of IPSC matches in central Arkansas after buying my own Beretta. Moving around separated me from the sport for a long time (but still shot a lot). Living just north of Santa Barbara back in '08-'09 I started shooting again at the local match. Slow and steady, shooting for all "A"s at first was my mantra. Would like to get better at "the game" but other life priorities keep me from being "all in". That's okay with me.

Oh, and I still love the Beretta!
 
Every time I see this thread in my notifications I see, "Tell me about your first wartch."
 
wolfpack65;n14688 said:
First ever match was in March 2013 at the Range up in Oxford with JohnZ & crowd.

I was just "getting" into firearms and thought I'd go try it out.
It was cold, but no matter.
A zombie match! :)
All of the RSOs and other shooters were extremely helpful and didn't make me feel like such a newbie.

At that time, I was shooting 7 & 8 round 1911s.
That was hard, due to the round count per stage.

Ended up getting an SR9 for the less recoil and more rounds in each magazine. :)

I was hooked, for that year, on going to matches & shooting.
I've sorta backed off on matches now because, at the time (back in 2013-2015), I got tired of my whole Saturday being taken up by shooting.
With only 2 days off each weekend, I just got tired of it.

With 4 day weekends every other week, I may start to get back into shooting some matches.

Zombie matches are always super fun and safe! :)
Click to expand...

We would love to have you back out!!! This Friday night ZSA at 37PSR, night shoots are a hoot!!
 
Forget the year but it was probably 8-10 yrs ago. Friend invited me to the IDPA match at DWRC (or whatever the acronym is). I enjoyed it but not overly. The RO was good but some of the competitors weren't all that friendly and the club definitely made me feel unwelcome. Went back three or four more times but it never improved, so I stopped going.

Got into Ruger 2 gun later (I believe kpic24 talked me into it) and loved it. But life got into the way after a handful of matches and haven't been to another match since (at least 5 yrs). I will be correcting in 2017 and will be bringing my 16 yr old daughter with me.
 
fsj80;n14933 said:
Forget the year but it was probably 8-10 yrs ago. Friend invited me to the IDPA match at DWRC (or whatever the acronym is). I enjoyed it but not overly. The RO was good but some of the competitors weren't all that friendly and the club definitely made me feel unwelcome. Went back three or four more times but it never improved, so I stopped going.

Got into Ruger 2 gun later (I believe kpic24 talked me into it) and loved it. But life got into the way after a handful of matches and haven't been to another match since (at least 5 yrs). I will be correcting in 2017 and will be bringing my 16 yr old daughter with me.
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Is Kevin here yet? I haven't seen him.
 
First match was CSOS uspsa match in 2013. Pushed a friend to go with me so we could make an ass out of ourselves together. FatboyFlash Remember that one?
I was scared to death. Goals were simple. Not hurt anyone,myself or piss off the RO. Mission accomplished.
Fellow shooters were fandamntastic in helping us out. Inspiring to say the least.
Since that match, Met a metric shit ton of cool peeps along the way. Always encouraging me to do better.
I still suck as a shooter, But that is my own Mea Culpa.
I love doing this.
 
Dr 'Dre;n15067 said:
First match was CSOS uspsa match in 2013. Pushed a friend to go with me so we could make an ass out of ourselves together. FatboyFlash Remember that one?
Click to expand...

So it was your fault....
 
My first match was 3 years ago the PHA tactical match. I heard about it on that other forum before it took a dump. I wanted to shoot it because I like competition in anything so it seemed fitting that since I had just built my first AR and didn't have a tactical shotgun I should try a 2 gun match.
 
Shot a steel challenge a few months back in Columbia. Loved, learned alot. Used my Ruger 22/45. Shot at my local club the next month ( ccsc I think). Placed pretty good( 2nd in my devision if I read the score card right). Loved it. Haven't been in 2 months dew to schedule issues but look forward to shooting more!
 
FlatFender;n14974 said:
Is Kevin here yet? I haven't seen him.
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Not that I am aware of. Of course, I don't think he was active on CSC for the last year or so either
 
My first match was August 12 3013, a ZSA pistol match at FLD. Had an awesome time, everyone was so friendly. Followed up with ZSA 2/3 gun matches and a gauntlet match. John Z. runs a great match with challenging but fun stage designs. I have also shot 4 or 5 IDPA matches at PDHSC in late 2013 - 2014. Did several A.A.S 1/2/3 gun matches at FLD 2014-2016, Paul likes to make you stretch out on the rifle stages with targets out to over 400yds. In November I attended my first IGL match at 37PSR, it was great time. The 360 shoot-house is incredible.

My New Years resolution is to hit the IGL match on first Saturdays and another 2 or 3 gun on third Saturdays. I be attending the ZSA 2 Gun this Friday, going to run a Beretta ARX100 SBR in prep for Jan IGL.
 
PHA 2 gun, about 5-6yr ago when it was only 2 stages.

I thought i was was a pretty good shot but figured I'd see how I stack up against others, not shooting from a bench. I had a lot of fun, wish I could make it out more often!
 
Official sanctioned match?

'97 Hawks Ridge NC 1000yd Club
 
1st match had to be 9-10 years ago. GSSF Match somewhere... I can't remember which one. I shot a bunch of them back then before I found IDPA and other matches I liked better. Met Tarowah there. That was before I was on CSF even...
 
IDPA, The Range, Oxford, sometime in '97 or '98 (had to be after Frank started running IDPA there obviously but before I left NC in early '99). and for me personally it was a real dumpster fire.

It was my one and only IDPA match, the first organized match I ever shot, and the Worst match experience I ever had, and the only pistol match I ever started but failed to finish. I was 20 maybe 21 with no formal firearms training which lead in part to a few but not all of the following few little points...
  • my gear and gun was borrowed from my father (not a match shooter), was poorly thought out resulting in suckage. example: an early Ruger P95 with the push forward mag release + uncle mike's sack holster resulted in "Draw, bang, oops there goes the mag!" (the edging of the holster caught the mag release)
  • I was insufficiently trained as far as things like "Up is NOT a safe direction"
  • scoring, match procedures, etc were not adequately explained (I was the only newbie, there may have been other factors leading to this lapse it been close to 20 years). looking back on it I can't remember if anyone told me at the time that hearing "Zero!" while scoring IDPA was a good thing, I was confused....
  • and on the 3rd or 4th stage (the house Bay) I had a squib. which rattled my father to the point where he wouldn't shut up long enough to let me calm down and properly reload my mags (ie download the two over 10rd ones) to reshoot the stage. which is the point that I gave that day up as lost and we left.
looking back on it I think that it was good for me that my first taste was leavened with a taste of disaster.

took me another 10-12 years to shoot another pistol match (at least one affiliated with an actual sanctioning body), and then it was USPSA. Which I now shoot as often as I can given time and ammo budget.

I repeatedly looked into re-approaching IDPA while I was living in Texas (haven't had time/opportunity since I came back to NC). but each time that I showed up to a match or "practice night" at the local indoor range, I saw or experienced something that sent me walking the other way. be it SOs with the "I'm here to find a way gig you!" attitude, shooters with the "Oh you shoot USPSA? go away heathen/gamer" (or simply bad mouthing anything not IDPA), or as at the last two places giving a guy a pass on bad gun-handling/range etiquette b/c "he's a cop" :rolleyes: (two different baby LEOs, each equipped with his issue/reg Glock in a Serpa style holster, fiddling with their rig/partial drawing, to the point the holster latch sounding like a slow morse-key! I was about to come out of my skin).
 
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1st club match was Personal Defense and Handgun, then shot an IDPA classifier at Drake before they pulled the plug on it. 1st couple of years of IDPA was spent at Caswell and The Range, sprinkled with some Clinton matches. H2O opened up and pretty much have been staying there. I've gotten to where I enjoy a good club level IDPA match over a major. In fact the last major I remember shooting was The Carolina Cup, 2013 I think. Made it to master in that match so I suppose I ended my major match career on a high note.
 
I still haven't shot my first match... but I'm really looking forward to it! I was going to break the ice at PHA this past Saturday but it was cancelled.
 
Shot mine a couple weekends ago - it was the DPRC rimfire 2-gun steel challenge. It appealed to me because there was no need for holster or mag pouches, as everything is shot from the low ready. I also already had the 22 pistol and rifle, so the only thing I bought was a few extra magazines.

I had been wanting to try some type of shooting competition, just to give myself a measurable way to improve my shooting skills. A friend's brother runs the match, so we went and shot a few of the stages before the match to ease some of the nerves. I had a blast and can't wait for the next one.
 
Mike Overlay;n14668 said:
2009 ish, Meck Wildlife Club IDPA match. Found it online because I was getting bored with indoor ranges.

Showed up with a 1911 and a few mags, didnt know a sole there. Learned alot, more than I was expecting to learn. Thought that I was an ok shooter due to what I was doing at the indoor places. Found out real quick that what I knew was worthless (as far as matches go). Found out too that the holster and mag pouches were less than ideal. All in all, had more fun than one could have imagined with a handgun and cardboard targets.

Met some wonderful folks who gave tips, ideas and gear suggestions. Came back the following month from then on for about 2 years. Looked online to find other type matches for the rifle, and found PHA 2 gun thru Carolinas Shooters Forum post around eary 2010ish I believe.

Then around 2012, found out about USPSA, and have been dang near every weekend since.

I have grown to love the shooting sports
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Same time and place for me. A friend convinced me to go and I was hooked on day 1. I also found out real quick that my choice for EDC was not a good one. OTOH I got real good at clearing malfunctions on the clock.
 
I moved to a new town that had a club which I joined. They hosted pin shoots which sounded like fun, so I entered.

Six tables with five pins each, eight second timer for each table. Max score is thirty.

First table; Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Table cleared. Everyone else on pin 3 or 4.

"This is going to be easy," I thought. I thought wrong!

Best score ever was 26 (I probably went to 8 or 10 shoots). Several guys would shoot 30 every time they showed up.

Humbling.

That first match, captured for posterity forever. I am second from the right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-UDutuBVm4
 
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Steel challenge at ant hill circa 2011 or 12. Truly stock Glock 17, only three mags, but finished third in production. Older guys there were a ton of help. Great club and great match. Steel challenge is still my favorite game to shoot.
 
Detritus said:
IDPA, The Range, Oxford, sometime in '97 or '98 (had to be after Frank started running IDPA there obviously but before I left NC in early '99). and for me personally it was a real dumpster fire.

It was my one and only IDPA match, the first organized match I ever shot, and the Worst match experience I ever had, and the only match I ever started but failed to finish. I was 20 maybe 21 with no formal firearms training which lead in part to a few but not all of the following few little points...
  • my gear and gun was borrowed from my father (not a match shooter), was poorly thought out resulting in suckage. example: an early Ruger P95 with the push forward mag release + uncle mike's sack holster resulted in "Draw, bang, oops there goes the mag!" (the edging of the holster caught the mag release)
  • I was insufficiently trained as far as things like "Up is NOT a safe direction"
  • scoring, match procedures, etc were not adequately explained (I was the only newbie, there may have been other factors leading to this lapse it been close to 20 years). looking back on it I can't remember if anyone told me at the time that hearing "Zero!" while scoring IDPA was a good thing, I was confused....
  • and on the 3rd or 4th stage (the house Bay) I had a squib. which rattled my father to the point where he wouldn't shut up long enough to let me calm down and properly reload my mags (ie download the two over 10rd ones) to reshoot the stage. which is the point that I gave that day up as lost and we left.
looking back on it I think that it was good for me that my first taste was leavened with a taste of disaster.

took me another 10-12 years to shoot another pistol match (at least one affiliated with an actual sanctioning body), and then it was USPSA. Which I now shoot as often as I can given time and ammo budget.

I repeatedly looked into re-approaching IDPA while I was living in Texas (haven't had time/opportunity since I came back to NC). but each time that I showed up to a match or "practice night" at the local indoor range, I saw or experienced something that sent me walking the other way. be it SOs with the "I'm here to find a way gig you!" attitude, shooters with the "Oh you shoot USPSA? go away heathen/gamer" (or simply bad mouthing anything not IDPA), or as at the last two places giving a guy a pass on bad gun-handling/range etiquette b/c "he's a cop" :rolleyes: (two different baby LEOs, each equipped with his issue/reg Glock in a Serpa style holster, fiddling with their rig/partial drawing, to the point the holster latch sounding like a slow morse-key! I was about to come out of my skin).
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"...looking back on it I think that it was good for me that my first taste was leavened with a taste of disaster."

--- In the few matches I've shot it seems I have learned more when things go wrong than anything else. I try to be safe while I puts hits on target as fast as possible without mistakes. Score doesn't as much matter to me as accomplishing the shots without gun or user malfunctions.
 
I pew'd my first pew at hawkeye 1 year and 8 months ago. I sucked and it was so much fun. Haven't stopped the pews since.
 
Cool to see so many CSOS people here! I need to get out and join you guys more often. I met a few of the 'regulars' but I can't place names and faces with screen IDs here very well.

The Statesville USPSA match was the first handgun competition I ever entered. To be completely honest I don't remember the specifics of that match, it was about 5 years ago and I can't hardly remember yesterday :eek:

I do know that I was welcomed as a complete novice and enjoyed it enough to go back again. Being able to shoot so many shots in varied positions was one of the main draws for me. Even though I don't shoot good enough for bragging rights, I appreciate having a score to measure my performance.

Since then my first 3-gun was at Duncan's outdoor range in North Wilkesboro in April 2013. Once again my memory fails me since I can't remember group's name I visited with but I do fondly recall the event. I shot OK-ish, but was thrilled to get to transition from one gun to another so even if I had missed every target it was just fun making noise. The camaraderie was phenomenal though, everyone was very nice, helpful, and patient with me. They served me an unexpected lunch after the event, and did a little celebratory roll call as they read off top scorers in each division. I was the only person there that shot with irons on the rifle so I won my division :)

Then perhaps my favorite yet was the first(and so far only) run and gun / handgun and carbine match I did in April of this year at Carolina Guns & Gear. I enjoyed the extra physicality aspect of so much dynamic movement. We got to shoot out to 300 yards, run a long stage through their 270° 'bowl' complete with a pistol jog through a wooded hallway, and then a couple CQB stages. Everyone was cool here too, but it was definitely a more advanced type of event so people were more concerned with their own game than anything else. I appreciated the challenge and have made changes to my training and equipment accordingly so I can do better the next time I get to do one of these type of matches.

Most recently I shot a round of sporting clays for the first time in the group Bailey Boat put together a couple weeks back. I didn't even have the right gun for the game, but had a good time anyway thanks to the people I got to shoot with and another type of firearm sport I think I've quickly become addicted to.

It's all fun, my biggest problem is that I don't have enough time to do it all! For those of you that are still on the fence... get out there and do it! Be safe and don't expect too much of yourself, especially the first few times, and you'll have a great time!
 
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