Race/Competiton Guns?

[Shadowrider]

For IDPA:

Auto - XD, Glock or M&P in 9mm.
Revolver - S&W K or L Frame would be hard pressed to beat, though a 4" GP100 would be no slouch.

For USPSA:

Auto - XD, Glock or M&P in 9mm.
Revolver - S&W 625s dominate period! For revolver division you are limited to firing 6 shots before reloading. If you bring your 627 and fire a 7th round without reloading you get kicked to Open division. The only place a 627 makes sense is in Production division and you are still disadvantaged 2 rounds to the autos.



I said 9mm for the autos because it's cheaper to shoot, gives no scoring disadvantage in Production and it's also a great round for steel challenge which is a great way to get your feet wet shooting comps and a hell of a lot of fun.

 

[Rod Snell]

I can see where you would think there was misinformation here, however, its not misinformation at all. Mr. Shooter and I were discussing "limited" division, not "production"... Hence the talkig of SSS magwells, dawson and Taylor freelance basepads, trigger jobs etc. All of which are not allowed in "production "

Oh really? Then why did you include IDPA? Your post:

If you're serious about competing, you definitely need a 5" barrel and .40 caliber for uspsa, idpa,

 

[Ignored Member]

Oh Hell. I did post that, my mistake.
For uspsa though, you need a .40 in limited or open.

 

[Rod Snell]

Oh Hell. I did post that, my mistake.
For uspsa though, you need a .40

I shoot a 9mm M&P Pro in USPSA Production because I already had one from IDPA.

For Limited 10 or Limited I shoot .40 (poorly).

Just wanted to make sure the neophyte got the whole picture of the options available other than Limited and Open.

 

[Ignored Member]

Thanks for that. I don't shoot production so I never think about it.

 

[Maverick21]

Tactical Hi-Point FTW

 

[Roarak]

If you have more IDPA in your area, read the rules for SSP or ESP division, most ppl shoot a 9mm Glock or M&P in SSP, or that same with the addition of the CZ's in ESP.

If you have more USPSA, you need to figure out if you want to shoot Production or Limited. I have heard of a lot of ppl starting out in limited now and not worrying about reloading as much. In limited you can shoot a bare bones Glock 35/M&P 40 or a $3k 2011... It all just depends on how competitive you want to be, and how much you want to spend.

I think the most important thing is to figure out what matches you have in your area to decide the game, then look at your budget and decide what division you want to shoot. And dont just budget in the gun and upgrades, you need a decent belt/holster/mag pouches/eye pro/ear pro etc etc.

Just show up with what you have, most anything else can be borrowed. The club level guys ive shpot with are some of the best ppl ive met.

And have fun!

 

[jcarpenter]

+1 on getting out there and shooting. Its just too much fun not to.

 

[JaredC]

I know absolutely nothing about competing besides what I see on TV, but I was curious to know why you dont see any H&K or FNs mentioned?

 

[AtomicTango]

I started shooting competition in June and only have a few matches under my belt, so I am quite new to this too. My tid bit of advice from the new competitor stand point is to just grab whatever gun you have now, a few mags and get yourself to the next game. You'll start getting a feel for how things work, what kind of gear people run, how it feels to shoot under pressure ect ect. The competition community is friendly and like to welcome new people to the sport. Most will help you, because once upon a time they asked the same questions you are.

Its easy to get caught up in the guns and gear aspect (cause its really fun) but you will be much better suited to purchase a dedicated competition gun once you get into the fray a bit and decide what game you want to start with. Trust me, I've already eaten some cash cause I got too gear happy.

I've been shooting Steel Challenge at USSA and Oil Capitol and its been great! I really encourage any competitor, new or experienced to come to shoot steel with us, its boatloads of fun. I'd love to see more people out there shooting.