Suggestions for an IDPA Holster

[synergy]

Originally Posted by jofreder

Yes, and I intended to use it but being new to competition I would like to learn as easy as I can. Started to practice and find that I often miss or do not press the retention button correctly.

If your not hitting that release 100%...don't carry in that holster!

Getting your gun out to defend yourself with should be more important to you than another .5 secs on your time at a match, from fussing with your holster.

Shoot with what you carry. That's the point of IDPA. If you want to blast away with fast gear....there's always USPSA.

[Lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by synergy

:.

Shoot with what you carry. That's the point of IDPA. If you want to blast away with fast gear....there's always USPSA.

Well, being a old IDPA MD and SO and an USPSA RO........I think that a very narrow perception. Of course, I also feel USPSA fosters better gun handling skills at the upper levels......jmho.

IDPA is a competition. It branched off from USPSA to allow unmodified guns to compete as well as to allow common carry gear to compete.

To say that the purpose of IDPA is only to use your carry gear is somewhat narrow minded. From that standpoint you imply that the only people to shoot IDPA are those who carry for protection.....which is not so.

I practice with my carry gear a lot, but I'd be giving up a huge advantage using it in an IDPA competition....so I don't.

For a Master class shooter the difference in gear starts to matter less, but for an IDPA/USPSA newcomer small improvements make the game more enjoyable......and anything enjoyable tends to be repeated.....and improved upon.

At some point the skills begin to generalize. That means you can make adjustments in gear and technique easily without significant prior practice, because certain fundamentals remain the same.

For $30, I still say just go with a dedicated competition holster.

LycanIDPAISN'TTRAINING....right?....or is it?....thrope

[synergy]

Not saying that people who don't carry shouldn't compete...but I think that's what gives IDPA that appeal it has.

From their website http://idpa.com/dps_info.asp

What are the goals of IDPA?

1: Promote safe and proficient use of guns and equipment suitable for self-defense use.

2: Provide a level playing field for all competitors to test the skill and ability of the individual, not their equipment or gamesmanship.

3: Provide separate divisions for equipment and classifications for shooters, such that guns with similar characteristics are grouped together and people with similar skills compete only against each other.

4: Provide shooters with practical and realistic courses of fire that simulate a potentially life-threatening encounter or that tests skills that would be required to survive a life-threatening encounter.

5: Offer a practical shooting sport that is responsive to the shooters and sponsors, with unprecedented stability of equipment rules.

6: Offer a practical shooting sport that allows the competitors to concentrate on the development of their shooting skills and fellowship with other likeminded shooters.

To me, that's what separates IDPA from IPSC. I always thought the goal was to re-enforce good tactical habits, to shoot with a rig you would/ could carry, and to focus on the shooting rather than the gear.

I don't have anything against shooting it for fun...but at the same time, it's setup to avoid the "gaming" aspect.

I just feel like your taking away from the point of it by doing stuff you wouldn't do in a gunfight...eg: wearing a holster which offers a speed advantage but doesn't conceal for you....reloading in a faster but riskier fashion.

If you want to shoot for fun, cool. But if you're only interested in chasing a time, why not shoot in the league which promotes that...rather than the one which tries to emphasize realism over pure speed?

I enjoy shooting for time, too...but I wear my carry gear, and use the same techniques as I do when I train to shoot for keeps.

just my .02

[Lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by synergy

I just feel like your taking away from the point of it by doing stuff you wouldn't do in a gunfight...eg: wearing a holster which offers a speed advantage but doesn't conceal for you....reloading in a faster but riskier fashion.

If you want to shoot for fun, cool. But if you're only interested in chasing a time, why not shoot in the league which promotes that...rather than the one which tries to emphasize realism over pure speed?

I enjoy shooting for time, too...but I wear my carry gear, and use the same techniques as I do when I train to shoot for keeps.

just my .02

I think that's a fallacy brought about by biased proponents of the game. I've been a member of both disciplines for years and I really have no dog in the hunt.

IDPA uses a timer too. "Chasing time" as a facet of just USPSA is ridiculous. A low hit factor stage in USPSA tends to be much more challenging in terms of accuracy than typical IDPA stages.

I also find tac reloads terribly slow......and most people do shoot to slide lock in a gunfight...of course a slidelock reload is significantly slower than a "speed" reload......

IDPA is not pure realism. No where near it.

What competition DOES teach..........is learning how to handle the gun to make accurate hits at speed while moving in awkward positions.

Competition (particularly USPSA style) does not teach you tactics nor does it teach you to clear a house.....BUT...it does help teach you the skills to hit targets while hauling ass out of town to save your life with no cover. ...the worse case scenario. Also the type of shooting that that majority of self defense shooters are horribly poor at.

Use competition as the tool that it is.

Lycanshootsbothbecausethinkingisthebesttacticthrop e

[wheelgunner1911]

hello all first post here
just my 2 cents on an idpa holster
Go with Comp-Tac a little extra money but very high quallity plus thay send you candy wit your order. I like that n ice personal touch.

As for IDPA being an exercise in a real life gunfight my opinion is that is total BS it is a GAME.

[RONNIE77]

I just got into IDPA and have been in a few comps. I have an XD as well and I was using the XD gear that came with it and was not satisfied with the holster. I have used a friends Blade-Tech sting ray holster and it is very comfortable I am going to get one myself. They are about $62.00 and are IDPA approved, they make it for just about every handgun on the market. They also have mag pouches.

[Mtbkski]

Use what you carry unless your really getting into the "game" side of it. I compete in both IDPA and USPSA with an XD subcompact, inside a Crossbreed Supertuck. My speeds usually kill me when it comes to scores. But I actually out shoot a lot of the other shooters, and that makes them crazy since I am shooting the subcompact. (Now if I could only get that darn STAR down. It kills me every time they have it Damn you Dan!) I used my full size XD with the XD holster for the first year I shot. Not the best set up. But it worked and I did fine. Now I use my carry rig. I just love playing the game, and so should you.

I do think that USPSA is a bit more "game" orientated (sorry Lycan). But they both are still games. IDPA tries to keep it a bit more realistic. I enjoy both tremendously. I like the high shot count that the USPSA offers (Heck last week it took 32 rounds to finish one stage, if you didn't miss anything). I like how IDPA limits your shots and makes you draw your weapon from cover. Like I carry it every day. Don't knock either one. They both will improve your shooting and gun handling. Like Lycan said, they both are a lot of fun, and will help you.

[Jailkeeper]

Is that the same star used in Cowboy Action Shooting?

One of my co-workers showed me a video of the star, just wondering if it is the same one!

[Mtbkski]

Originally Posted by Jailkeeper

Is that the same star used in Cowboy Action Shooting?

One of my co-workers showed me a video of the star, just wondering if it is the same one!

Since they do the Cowboy Shots at this range on different days. I wouldn't doubt it one bit that they are one in the same.

That darn Dan actually had the thing rigged up with a bungi cord and when you hit a metal popper, it pulled a piece of wood that let the bungi pull on the star and it started spinning before you even got to it. This eliminated the theroy of hitting certain targets first so it doesn't move much as you knock them off. (Some of the guys still kicked butt on it. But I sure wasn't one of them.)

[RobW]

Originally Posted by Lycanthrope

Last I heard it was the belt holsters.....the paddles were legal.

Yup, all paddle holsters are IDPA legal, all IWB's and "virtually" all pancake styles. Belt holsters are the "ugly ducklings" that get all the scrutiny and bizarro rulings. And are, of course, the fastest and least concealable, at least in theory.

My .02 - Fobus paddle hosters, for the gun and the mags. Cheap, quick, and I carry with them once in a while ... I just set up a new M&P .40 for IDPA, and I went with Fobus E2 stuff, very slick.

--Rob W.