Gunfighter

M.W. · Joined: 12 Jul 2007 Posts: 136 Location: inside the loop

Appreciate the nudge Brian,been meaning to get the ball rolling on this subject so here goes...

** Before I get started,it was thru IDPA that I met Wayne Lim back in 1998. Wayne was the first person to make the Hoffner's Elite Pistol Team and he turned me on to the Hoffner training classes. I have taken Tac-Pistol I,Shotgun I, and Team Tactics and the ideas/techniques Brian taught in those classes back then I use constantly today in my defensive thinking. I am looking forward to more of his instruction soon.**

The background for me is that in 1997 I happened to meet some shooters at a now defunct gun range who invited me to join the IDPA. Bill Wilson and his BoD had just introduced it as a breakaway shooting format from the USPSA. I was told that the focus was shooting shorter more real-to-life scenarios with normal CHL carry gear,stock service type guns,proper use of cover,concealment garments,and lower round counts per stage. This appealed to me because there was no need for expensive race guns,scopes,out-rigger holsters, and lots of magazines on the belt to get started.
(BOTH IDPA and USPSA are fine organizations and I never get into "which is better" debates and that is not the purpose here please.)

My name is Mike Willis, I am a Safety Officer and my member number is A00502. I currently shoot with Thunder Tactical Shooters in Conroe but visit other local clubs for matches from time to time.
Anyway,with the help of Dale Hunnicutt,Johnny VanEtta,Gary Burris and several others we formed the first IDPA club in Houston back in 1998 at what is now the Memorial Oakes Shooting Center on Witte Rd.
Gary still has a club there that meets on Tuesday evenings,with a ladies only IDPA club on Thursday nights. (See the local club links below)
To make a short story long, I was involved for about 2 years,got burned out and hung up the pistols for 5 years,then came back about a year ago.
With special thanks to Dale,a 4-gun IDPA MASTER,competition trainer and long time IDPA friend, for LOTS of his patience,personal coaching,and his modifications of my weapons... I am just now back up to speed with my shooting skills. (Though they are modest about it,Dale,Gary and Johnny have trained at one time or another dozens of the IDPA shooters here in Houston and almost certainly the folks who are currently running the local clubs. Gary has been to Italy, all expenses paid of course, to train the Italian IDPA Safety Officers,and Dale is going there this year to be the lead instructor for their Competition teams. They are good people to get to know.)

I would encourage anyone interested to check out the links below,do some research and visit some matches that are convenient for you.

Lastly here are a few of my thoughts,(NOT complete list of course,and I hope others on here will join in with feedback and opinions so that we all can keep learning and growing.) about how this type of shooting has helped me and maybe could help some of you.

>Is this real training? :My answer is No it is not,but it IS a most excellent type of shooting practice. There is no substitute for quality tactical instruction as often as possible,but weekly and monthly trigger time at matches in the IDPA style will help you retain techniques and improve your reaction motor movements faster than going to ocassional classes alone.

>Is it a game? :My answer would be Yes but that the shooting skills you are able to perform in the matches would be very helpful in a real-life defense situation.
Engaging targets on the move,from cover,combat or as we call them slide-lock reloads and tac-reloads,clearing malfunctions,realistic ammo limits,etc. If I were a bad guy I sure as heck would not want to take on even a mid-level competitive shooter with his or her carry equipment ready. My odds of survival would be very low.
(Btw, Thunder Tactical boasts the Top Lady IDPA shooter in Texas for this year and last year too I think, Donna Vandermolen. She thumps lots of us guys routinely.)

>What else is good about it? : Well,for me it has been a relatively inexpensive chance to regularly test myself and my equipment under simulated stress conditions, with the strictest supervision and safety procedures possible. Think of it this way...the targets are not shooting back,for the most part they are stationary,the only real pressure on you is a timer and your own feeling of performing with people watching how well you do the same course of fire they are doing. Come give it a try, /smile, the tactical engagement order mistakes,shooting non-threats,missing targets completely at close range, and malfunctions of guns that people think are so great is common place.
I learn also just from being around these kinds of people,they are very friendly (some folks are a little full of themselves like all walks of life,lol)
and helpful to the newer members. After all,we were all beginners once too.

The quote "There is no greater opponent in life than your own potential" is never more true than in competitive shooting.

Hope to see some of you out there at the matches!!

IDPA National/International -
www.idpa.com

Houston local -

www.tacticalshooters.com (Myself,Gary,Johnny,Dale and Monico are in the pics)...then click on the links for other Houston clubs websites

kdhgl · Joined: 11 Jul 2007 Posts: 2 Location: Tomball

Thank you Mike for the kind words. IDPA can be what you want from it. You can strictly practice tactics or [game] or a combination of both. For me it's really about the people. Getting to shoot is a definite bonus. Dale

Semper_Fi

kdhgl,
Thank you for the invitation to train with you and the Tomball area IDPA group. I look forward to next Wednesday's shoot and I trust that IDPA training will complement Brian Hoffner's techniques and mind set.

Hoffner techniques have proven to be no BS and highly effective in the field as pistol, rifle and shotgun techniques use many of the same muscle memory patterns that become "automatic" over time.

Liam · Joined: 10 Jul 2007 Posts: 86

If you were not aware of it the 3G matches and the Carbine matches held at the Impact Zone on the 2nd and 3rd Saturdays respectively are run under IDPA rules. So, you might want to check them out, too. See you there.

LP

M.W. · Joined: 12 Jul 2007 Posts: 136 Location: inside the loop

Thanks Liam for that info...

We also have Carbine (sometimes pistol transitions) matches out at Thunder Gun Range every 1st and 3rd Sundays.

We use IDPA scoring as well,maybe if you miss a Saturday match you can come join us on a Sunday. Or...do both days!,no such thing as too much shooting right?

www.tts-idpa.com for our club info

www.thundergunrange.com for directions

Semper_Fi

Thank you Dale and the Conroe IDPA crew for a great time at Thunder Gun Range this Wednesday.
IDPA shooting/moving/reloading mechanics do complement Hoffner training practices.