It is important to have the minimum equipment, so have at least a carrying bag, gun, two magazine or speedloader pouches, three magazines or two speedloaders, and a good holster that covers the trigger guard If you aim to shoot USPSA, you will need approx. two more magazines and pouches.
Most clubs will put the new shooters through a quick course on range safety and then test your response to shooting commands. You can better prepare yourself by practicing a few commands. IDPA/USPSA shooters love a safe shooter.
Before you start any of these practice exercises take your gun and Make sure it is unloaded Any live ammunition should not be in the same room as you. I'm serious here. Have an empty gun and no live ammunition nearby. I use Pachmayr snap caps and some orange plastic dummy ammo for practice. They are a good idea, but you do not need them right away.
Before you pick up your handgun, lets talk about a few rules. I am assuming that you are familiar with the basic rules of gun safety. Here are some Action Pistol rules of safety. The first rule is the 180 rule. Imagine a 180 degree line that runs parallel to the backstop and stays just in front of your body. This is the 180 line. If the muzzle of your gun breaks this line, you will be disqualified from the match and some scared and mad shooters may yell at you. So never point the muzzle behind you or towards any other shooter or spectator. The 180 rule is a little hard to describe but very easy to illustrate at the range.
You also do not want to "sweep" yourself with the gun. When drawing, holstering, reloading, etc, you never place your body or arms in front of the muzzle. It is easy for you to cover your off hand with the muzzle of the pistol when drawing. Be mindful of this.
When dryfiring, always make sure the gun is unloaded and that what you are dryfiring at is capable of stopping a bullet if something unthinkable happens.
I assume no responsibility for what you do with this information as it is provided for informative purposes only and does not represent real training. If you are able to get formal training in this, it is time and money well spent.
Okay, lets begin with the exercise. If you master these few easy exercises, you will be on the road to safe shooting. Practice these exercises at home in a dryfire mode and you will reap the benefits at your first IDPA/USPSA match.
Okay, it's your first time at the match, you are on the line with your unloaded gun and full magazines. How do you get ready safely?
When it is your time to get loaded up, Range officer (R.O.) will say "You may load and make ready." Slowly draw your gun and keep it pointed down range. Take a loaded magazine and insert it into the handgun. Rack the slide. If you want the full magazine capacity plus the loaded round in the chamber, the safest (and best way) is to (keep the gun pointed downrange) remove the mazazine, and insert a second magazine. Set the safety and holster the gun. This requres a third magazine.
Some shooters like to 1) load the gun. 2) eject the magazine, 3)holster the gun, 4)top off the magazine, 5)draw the gun, 6) insert the magazine, and 7) holster the gun. This complicates matters and when anything is made more complex the possiblity of error is increased. This is nowhere near as safe as the standard preferred method and many clubs forbit eject-top off method.
This first exercise is called "Unload and show clear". At the end of a stage, or if some problem develops, the RO will want you to empty your gun. This is how you do it.
Keep the muzzle pointed down range. When the RO says "unload and show clear". Eject the magazine and pocket it. Pull the slide back and allow the loaded round to fall to the ground. Allow the RO to see into the chamber. (He'll look over your shoulder) When he tells you to, release the slide, aim the pistol at a safe backstop, and press the trigger. He will then tell you to holster the arm. This is a stressful time for RO's so be sure to do it slowly, and on command.
Some people like to catch the loaded round instead of allowing it to hit the ground. Many RO's do not like this as some accidents involving lost fingers and such have occured. It is best to let the cartridge to fall to the ground. I segregate that cartridge from my match ammo and it gets fired in a practice session.
Anyone out there who has comments, additions, or deletions; your input is most welcome.
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updated: 5/5/2008