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USPSA vs IDPA

newportri said:
There are clubs in MA that do both every month (New Bedford and Harvard, and possibly others), and they throw in a Steel Challenge once in a while on top of that.
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There are, but as Jar mentioned, they didn't go from zero to all of that at one time. It takes time to build a core group of volunteers, get them trained as SO's, and work through what it takes to run a match, and attract a following to their matches. The rules are different for each sport, and each one has its own safety officer training.

Harvard was running USPSA for many years before the MetroWest Tactical guys started running IDPA at Harvard (and they had already been running at Riverside for a year or two before they moved to Harvard). MWT had been running at Harvard for a number of years before Harvard started running Steel Challenge.

Crawl, walk, run. Pick one sport and start with it. If it ends up doing great after a few years and you have a bunch of folks interested in trying another sport, only then should you organize for that sport. If you try to start all three at once, you and your volunteers may get overwhelmed and you may crash and burn.
 
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Come to New Bedford Rod & Gun in North Dartmouth we have all you could ask for and more [wink]
 
jar said:
The other option is to shoot in ESP.
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I was wondering when someone was going to say that. That's what I do... only because I'm too lazy to take out the metal guide rod!

I've missed this thread till now and I happy that things appear to be quite civil and many of you bring up great points.

I enjoy and compete in both- there is nothing like being able to run and gun and these are best for that. I think there is a lot of benefit of each for a shooter. As far as rules... well I will be the first to tell you that IDPA needs some fixed for sure. USPSA has had some goofy rules- but seem to "fix" them quickly. There is some subjectivity and ambiguity in both but IDPA is more subjective, esp wrt cover for sure.

Bottom line is both can be a blast and in some cases it just depends on the club and people running the matches. Fortunately around here- shooters have so many options it is just awesome. I know another club around here that does a hybrid model- that is great as well. Around here USPSA matches are usually on Sundays and IDPA matches are usually on Saturdays... what more can one ask for?
 
Dan S said:
Don't forget, that 9x21 shoots both games.
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Not so much since he got his new Brazos Open gun!! I think he's in love.

Does the OP have any more questions? Hopefully he/she got the answers they needed. Ironically the Marshfield range was less than a mile away from where I used to live years ago. Hope they give action shooting a shot!
 
Dan S said:
Don't forget, that 9x21 shoots both games.
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I dabble in the dark arts as well.

(Lugnut I hope you know I was kidding in the original response. Just poking fun at the excitable boys on the forums)
 
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We have a pretty active shooting program but it is limited due to the size of our range. We will be building pits in the future and I like the idea of alternating IDPA one month then USPSA the next until we have enough interest to run both each month, that is our ultimate goal. Thanks to all for the imput, its has been suprisingly civil and informative. Now when we get going COME AND SHOOT WITH US!

[party] [mg]
 
Jbarila said:
We have a pretty active shooting program but it is limited due to the size of our range. We will be building pits in the future and I like the idea of alternating IDPA one month then USPSA the next until we have enough interest to run both each month, that is our ultimate goal. Thanks to all for the imput, its has been suprisingly civil and informative. Now when we get going COME AND SHOOT WITH US!

[party] [mg]
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The problem is, you have to be affiliated with the organization to run an "IDPA" match or a "USPSA" MATCH. If I remember, there is also a minimum number of matches you must run a year as an official club. (The original MAShooter or Rob B can fill this part in)

The perfect way to see if the interest is there is to run an action pistol match. Use your own name and do not use the rule book of either due to the infringement part. Basic safety rules from either or combined from both and go from there.

Check out Independent Sportsmen in Foxboro. Unaffiliated with any organization but a good match every month. I hope to make it back there soon.


The short of it is, if you develop a stable program of good matches every month on a set day of the month and get the word out there,you will most likely succeed.
 
IDPA requires a minimum of 6 matches per year to be an affiliated club. The cost to run official matches is only the annual affiliation fee ($100 first year, $60 renewals) plus at least one club member must be an IDPA member and IDPA certified Safety Officer. There are some upcoming safety officer classes, see the pistol competition forum.

To be a USPSA affiliated club, you have to hold 8 matches per year, though there are special dispensations available (BUAS for example only holds 4 matches due to only running in the winter). Affiliating with USPSA requires 10 USPSA members to sign your application. I'm not sure if there's a club affiliation fee or not. Each match, you pay $3/shooter to USPSA if your match includes a classifier, $1.50 per shooter otherwise. There's a USPSA level 1 Range Officer seminar coming up soon in New Bedford. If you have a big enough core group, USPSA will schedule a seminar just for your club.

I think you should pick one discipline to stick with the first year. Trying to get your staff and shooters to learn two different rulebooks at once seems like a recipe for confusion. I think Gary's advice is good. Pick the rules and scoring system you like better and run a few unaffiliated 'action pistol' or 'defensive pistol' matches to see what the interest is. I'm certified both as an IDPA SO and a USPSA RO, and I'd be happy to help you with your first match.
 
I remember, there is also a minimum number of matches you must run a year as an official club. (The original MAShooter or Rob B can fill this part in)
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8 for USPSA, but exemptions are generally available if you are constrained by thew weather. As mentioned, BUAS runs 4, and AFS runs 3.
 
We have been in contact with the national USPSA & IDPA orgs. They have helped us a great deal and we should have no problem with exemptions. We hope to be affiliated for the 2013 season.
 
Jbarila said:
We have been in contact with the national USPSA & IDPA orgs. They have helped us a great deal and we should have no problem with exemptions. We hope to be affiliated for the 2013 season.
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Awesome, post here when you're ready to start planning your first match and I'm sure you'll get plenty of help offered.
 
https://apextactical.com/store/product-info.php?pid54.html

FSS-Trigger-kit-web-600x400.jpg
 
Awesome! I joined USPSA 10 days ago and still havent gotten my info packet yet so I guess that proves how busy they are. I missed my first classifier today at Hopkington . Do I neeed to shoot a classifier before I shoot in a USPSA match? PS..Thank you all again for being so helpful..
 
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shootermike508 said:
Awesome! I joined USPSA 10 days ago and still havent gotten my info packet yet so I guess that proves how busy they are. I missed my first classifier today at Hopkington . Do I neeed to shoot a classifier before I shoot in a USPSA match?
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No, just show up at any match.
 

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