I shot a local USPSA match on Saturday.
My match recap from Saturday:
Stage 1 - Way too complicated for first thing in the morning (thanks, match director!). It actually wasn't terrible, it just seemed daunting at first because of the number and placement of the targets and the requirement that all reloads must be done from the table. I'm pleased with my stage plan, but I spent so much time figuring out which targets I was going to shoot between which reload, that I didn't pay close enough attention to my positioning and footwork. I ended up shuffling too much (especially after the first reload) when I could have positioned myself to shoot all the targets from one spot. My hits were pretty good, but I pulled 2 into the hard cover. They would have been close C's, so I guess I just need to focus a little more on my sight picture on those targets.
Stage 2 - Classifier - My draws could have been a touch faster, but I'm pleased with my transitions. I pulled the last shot into the D zone, which made me mad. The good thing is that I called it as a D shot. The bad part is that it was a Virginia count stage, so I couldn't pick it up. Should be a B class score.
Stage 3 - A friend and I designed this stage, much to the chagrin of a few folks. I called hits on the first shot on the mini popper and the first two shots on the star. I wish I could tell where those shots went from the video, but I can't see any dirt splash. Luckily the 2nd plate knocked the 3rd one off, so I was spared from squirting even more bullets at the darn star. My hits were good, considering the partials. Got a production win and was one of the 6/30 to not have any penalties on that stage.
Stage 4 - Great hits on this stage (all A's), minus barely catching the NS on the last target. I picked up an extra shot (upper A zone), but it turns out that it wasn't needed. I came dangerously close to breaking the 180 when my arm got caught on the wall moving out of the first position. Either the RO didn't see it, or I didn't break the 180.
Stage 5 - I either didn't seat the mag fully at the start, or the mag release was pressed when I sat the gun on the barrel (barrel start). Either way, the mag wasn't seated when I started the stage and that cost me quite a bit of time. I had the most points in Production, but my time was the slowest by far. Can't complain about too much on this stage other than the start.
I had problems with my mags not falling freely throughout the entire match. I was originally thinking that my my mag catch was pinching the magazine on the right side, above the hole, but now I'm not so sure. One of my shooting buddies noticed that the first round was pushed forward in those mags that wouldn't fall free. At first, I figured that it happened after they hit the ground, but research has shown that sometimes the bottom of the slide (CZ SP-01 Shadow) can push the top round far enough forward that the nose catches the feed ramp when ejecting. There are a couple ways to fix this, so I'm going to tinker with it this week to get the problem solved before the IDPA classifier in a couple weeks. Overall, fighting those mags probably cost me a few seconds over the match.