Cavalier IDPA Match

The monthly IDPA match at Cavalier Rifle and Pistol Club was held this past Sunday. This month's match kept  the "winter hours" and didn't start until 10:00 so I even got to sleep in a bit on Sunday morning.

The first stage of the match had us sitting on a cooler under a low canopy. The unloaded gun and all mags were in a smaller, deep cooler between our feet. There were five targets arranged in a triangle to be shot near to far. All except the furthest had hard cover covering half the target. Getting the gun, and the reloads, out of the cooler gave an interesting diversion to the stage. 

Next up was a stage with two strings of fire. The first string was shot while seated, with the loaded gun and mags on the table. All of the three targets behind two non-threats had to get two body shots, before returning for a head shot on each. For the second string, we moved behind some stacked barrels to engage two targets from cover. We then moved to engage an open target the move, ending at a final  target behind a wall. 

The third stage was quite interesting and the fault line placement meant some hard leans around cover to hit the targets. Starting behind a wall of barrels, there were three targets visible from the right side, and single target visible around the left. After shooting those, we retreated up range, where a steel - paper - steel combo was mirrored on both sides of the bay.

The final bay had two stages that were shot back to back. Stage 4 presented a number of options around magazine staging and reloading. The course of fire started with all magazines on the table. The unloaded gun started in an open box, with the slide locked back. At the start the gun had to be loaded from the table, and we had the option of picking up and stowing a mag, or picking it up as we later passed by the table. After loading and engaging targets on either side, I opted to do a tactical reload, pocketing the partial mag from the gun and grabbing my reload off the table as I passed by on the way to the next shooting position. Four more targets were engaged from two locations to finish the course.

The next stage started where we finished the previous stage. At the start we moved to engage a low target over a wall. There were targets to be engaged from four more positions to finish the stage. This is where the Match Director made interesting use of fault lines. Between the walls used and the fault lines, four distinct positions and directions of fire were contained in a small space, with movement between each. It required a bit of thought or planning, but made for an interesting stage. I wish I had taken a picture of the end of the course as I found it to be an interesting use of the new fault lines.

As usual, the match was a lot of fun, with interesting and challenging courses of fire. Match Director Chris has a knack for coming up with unique twists. I always walk away thinking, "That was different." The matches run smoothly and quickly. Our squad this month was smaller than usual, so we did end up frequently waiting for the group ahead of us to finish, though not for long. On top of the fun shooting, the weather was delightful; it's been many months since I wasn't using a fleece jacket for a cover garment.

I was mostly pleased with my shooting, finishing 14th of 35 overall, and 5th of 15 in the SSP division. For an old guy with bad knees and deteriorating eyesight, I can accept that. I did end up with one miss and one hit on a non-threat this time, which affected my score significantly. But the enjoyment of spending time shooting with fun people made up for those minor disappointments. Now I'm looking already forward to next time.