Friday, May 4, 2012

Holy crap, I've never shot left handed before!!!

....  but i did last night....

Yes, last night, I went to IDPA and shot for the first time last night.  All I can say is win win win win!!  I haven't had that much fun since......  well okay, since the Dallas blogshoot a couple weeks ago.. but still!!

IDPA is really great for honing in on and learning new skills for survival under certain situations.  You're timed and a miss adds to your time.  Last week I went and just watched, this week I shot.  This morning I am joining the IDPA and the shooting club where I shot and will be shooting every Thursday night that I can.

So, first scenario.....    you have to sit down at a table (oh shit! I've never shot my pistol sitting down before!), your pistol is in a wooden cigar box on top of the table and there's a rope.....    the buzzer sounds, you pull the rope which engages a swinging target........  (but wait, I've never shot a moving  target before with a pistol much less while sitting down!)... and you open the box, grab the pistol and shoot.  Now, in addition to the swinging target, there are 4 standing targets all about 10 to 12 yards away....  You have to put three shots in each target.

Buzzer sounds.... I pull the rope....   too much slack so I lost time having to take up the damned slack in the rope... oh well no big deal, I wasn't worried about time, but rather worried about shooting well.  I fired, it was hit and miss, but it wasn't awful......     and that moving target?  I put two holes in the middle of the target for full credit!  Yay!

Second scenario......    I thought I was going to faint....  

There are six targets and you are standing about 6 or 7 yards away and your back is to the targets, you have to turn, draw and shoot with both hands, all six targets, and make two passes down the line.....  The targets are shaded in various areas on the target and the shading represents cover, so a shot in that is a miss.  After you make your two passes... you holster your gun, time stops...... then you set up for the second string...........  
Second string is two passes.... first one with your strong hand... second with your weak hand..........   (WTF???  I have NEVER shot one handed before and certianly not left handed!)  Fortunately, the guys (I was the only lady shooter there last night) gave me some good pointers about shooting single handed and shooting with my non-dominant hand.
So, the way that I did the first string, I reloaded after 10 rounds and shot the last two shots from that magazine.... I had enough ammo to complete my right handed pass so that I could drop the near empty mag and reload quickly for the left handed pass.......
Right handed pass.....    I did very well....    left handed pass.........   not as well, but hey!  I shot left handed!!!!    I hit the target... I might not have hit in the specific area for full points.... but the bad guys would have been toast just the same!  YAY!

Third scenario....  again feeling queazy and a little nervous...

So, there is a hostage situation and you are saving a baby, getting it to cover while shooting bad guys....(Damn it! I have to shoot one handed AND while moving????   crap!).  you hold a duffle bag in your non-dominant hand which reprents the baby in an infant carrier....(geez this is insane)...  three shots in each target....  two targets while you're on the move...   two more after you get to cover.

So, buzzer goes off.... I have to shoot first bad guy without hitting the hostage which is blocking 1/2 of the bad guy....    I have the duffle back in my left hand (heavy baby) I draw and shoot three times...  full credit (okay that's not so bad)  then I remember to move...    so I walk slowly (not worried about time)....   put three more shots in next bad guy....  for full credit......   Get the baby to cover.....   only I drop my muzzle to the floor and saftey person yells... (MUZZLE!) I'm thinking... "shit you dumbass you know better!"  But I'm a little shaken at this point....   I put the baby down and am shooting from behind cover, but I'm out too far so safety yells....(COVER).....  geez......   so I take cover and finish up....    not a great round, but hey!  I shot while moving....  was pretty darn sweet.

Last scenario was just so crazy difficult that to describe it is impossible.  8 targets... one of which is swinging waaaaaay in the back......    you're shooting from behind cover....   Not my worst round, but certainly not my best.....

When I got home I was pumped up and excited....   Kx says that he's going to go pistol shopping this weekend...  he wants in on the fun.  I say, good on him!

All I know is that it took ages for me to fall asleep last night, I was so revved up and excited...  but the best part is.........   I learned new skills.... I learned that I can do things that I didn't even know that I could do....   and the people were absolutely fabulous and helpful... it was so much fun, I'm counting the seconds until next week!

Ah......   shooty goodness!

3 comments:

  1. As I AM left-handed, I'm familiar with shooting that way. I also train right-handed. In fact, many years ago, I was the 'go-to' guy on my security co. pistol team for weak hand stages, because NONE of the righties could shoot left!
    Keep it up! Sounds like you had a terrific time!
    gfa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like you had a good time.

    ReplyDelete

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