[jlw]

I shot in an IDPA match today and decided to shoot the issued Kimber Tactical Entry HD II. I previously have only qualified with this pistol and gone through a judgmental course of fire with it. On the quals course, everything is loaded to six to make it revolver neutral, and this proved to be key to the match.

The mags I was using were eight round Kimpro Tac-mags. These mags are virtually brand new mags. I had a little trouble getting them to seat when fully loaded and the slide forward. This bit me a little on the tactical reloads as I had to make extra certain that the mags seated rather than just running on instinct. I had one instance where the slide locked back with one round left in the mag. I may have accidentally pushed the slide stop up. Other than the time it took me to realize what was happening, this one didn't cost me much though.

I did have one instance on the last stage where I just didn't grip the pistol well on the draw and didn't deactivate the grip safety.

On the whole, I didn't shoot as accurately as I have been doing of late, but I did cut loose a few times and push this pistol somewhat. By the end of the match, I was getting pretty good with it.

I think I'll load these mags up and keep 'em loaded. Maybe the springs will relax a little bit.

 

[TheLaw]

Did you shoot the indoor match today? I didn't know you were going.

 

[sfguard]

Don't know what to say except, that it sounds like you had the problem worked out by the end of things. Granted too late for the match but at least things did work out

 

[TheLaw]

I will point out that this is a great lesson for everyone that carries a firearm, or uses one for home defense. One should never buy a gun of any kind, load it up and stick it in the drawer or a holster. Test fire your firearm and shoot/train with it as much as you possibly can. Imagine if a similar situation would have happened to someone carrying a firearm and they needed to use it in a self defense situation. Things could have gone bad really quickly.

Train, shoot, shoot train, and then train and shoot some more....

 

[NWGlocker]

a match is not the time to try out new equipment

...Test fire your firearm and shoot/train with it as much as you possibly can....Train, shoot, shoot train, and then train and shoot some more....

+1, gentlemen. Great words to live by. I'd also add not to try out new ammo. I usually shoot 115 gr but bought some Winchester 147 gr cartridges. For some reason I decided to use it in an IDPA match-- different feel, different recoil and it changed up my pace not in a good way.

 

[VolGrad]

Trying new equipment or ammo in matches is prob not the end of the world but not ideal if you are the really competitive type ... like I know the Chief to be.

In fact, a match might actually be a good time to work out issues. A better time would be on the range or in a class setting but a match is better than real life.

TheLaw and PistolCompetitor both made excellent points. I recently posted in another thread very similar thoughts. Recall, I felt my Gen4 G19 was running well (and I tested it too) until attempting to use it in class where it choked like it swallowed a mouthful of hairballs. I'm glad it had issues on the square range before I trusted it for carry.

I know way too many people that carry a brand new gun home from their FFL or the gun show and load up whatever ammo the guy behind the counter sold him, stick it in their sock drawer then forget about it until they really need it. They trust it will work. That is a bad assumption ... even for a GLOCK.

 

[DWinter]

I know way too many people that carry a brand new gun home from their FFL or the gun show and load up whatever ammo the guy behind the counter sold him, stick it in their sock drawer then forget about it until they really need it. They trust it will work. That is a bad assumption ... even for a GLOCK.

That fact always mistified me. To me it just doesn't make sense to have it and not use it, unless maybe if it's a true collectible. It's like putting in a pool to sit beside.

 

[tedbeau]

See my last post in my "My first competition" thread. I couldn't figure out why my new mag loader wasn't working properly.