Texas State IDPA match

[MegaWatt]

When the MD is walking around "cocked and locked" on a cold range and some "SO's" are wearing their Police badges, you know you have walked
off the deep end.

what he said! And when it takes the SO 10 minutes to explain how he's going to call your cover PEs and the scorekeeper is on a knee behind you with one eye squinting at the corner of the wall, you know what you're in for.

[MegaWatt]

I was considering becoming involved in IDPA but this thread has convinced me otherwise. It is ashame that egos and internal politics always seem to rule the day.

Don't judge IDPA by this match. They're fun, good practice and for the most part, without politics.

[Cedar Park Dad]

I was considering becoming involved in IDPA but this thread has convinced me otherwise. It is ashame that egos and internal politics always seem to rule the day.

Don't judge IDPA by this match. They're fun, good practice and for the most part, without politics.

IDPA night matches are epic cool. I've also had a match where we had to carry some sort of carebare thing as a baby. You ever try to shoot one handed while the "baby" is singing "I love you!"

[thatguy]

I was considering becoming involved in IDPA but this thread has convinced me otherwise. It is ashame that egos and internal politics always seem to rule the day.

Please don't let our well founded venting deter you from future matches. I have considerable respect for most all of the shooters and SO's some whom I consider friends and I hope this is an isolated incident...

[LTUME1978]

James,

First, I did not get a cover call. However, that was because I saw some really good (and really anal about the rules) shooters get calls that they should not have received. Because of that, I got so conservative that I spent way to much time looking at the ground to see if I was ok on cover. Like others, this was not my first major match and I have a very good idea of what cover should look like (I SO as well). I shot one very deep cover target by looking through the mesh wall at the target rather than getting in position to see the sights to keep from getting a cover call. On the stage where the score keeper was on his knee watching cover, I lined up behind him and watched a few shooters. He gave out cover calls that did not look like violations. Then I watched one shooter be out of cover by close to 12 inches and he did not flag him. What gives with that? One thing I did learn is that I need to not worry about cover calls and shoot the match. If I get them, that is the way it goes. I won't have a mesh wall to look through to see a target if I am in a real world event.

I will be writing to headquarters on this. This game is to help us with skills we can use to defend ourselves. If we spend too much time watching our feet for cover calls, we will be developing bad habits for the real world. If I am allowed to have a part of my upper body out of cover so that I can shoot (where my vital organs are located), why should headquartes be so anal about having an inch or two of my toe out of cover. If I have half of my lower body out, then yes, that is an issue. If we lean over so far (to stay in cover) that we end up falling, how does that help us with real world situations? I have watched Bob Vogel's videos on IDPA and he even advoces leaning so much to stay in cover that he is falling as he is taking his last shots and then jumps out of cover to catch his balance. This is very much contrary to the intent of this game. I realize headquarters may not care but they need to hear from all of us on this rule (and the other crazy rules like not reloading on the move).

Editing for something I forgot. If local matches called cover the way it was done at Cresson, there would soon be very few local matches and almost no new shooters. When I am serving as an SO at club matches and I have a new or fairly new shooter that blows cover, I will be saying cover and then talking with them about what cover looks like just as soon as the range is safe. I have to really question anyone that says they call cover as strickly at club matches as they did at Cresson unless their club is made up of nothing but very experienced shooters and they send all new shooters to some other club to shoot, grow and develop. rant off.

[jbmac]

I shot this match. I know the rules regarding cover. I finished 8 in ESP sharp shooter class. I only received one cover call (early on) for the 12 stage match but several of the guys on my squad received multiple cover calls. One guy (an experienced IDPA shooter) received three calls on one stage. I ended up shooting from 4"-6" inside the actual cover line to be safe given the numerous cover calls I observed. I agree local matches frequently do not call cover as tight as they should. Additionally at the local match the SO will frequently call "cover" to warn the shooter. The SOs at a match at this level expect us to know what cover is . In any event the rule is simple... cover is a line extending back from the MIDDLE of the target to the edge of cover an on to infinity. You need to have 100% of your lower body and at least 50% of your upper body behind the line when you break the shot. All of the shooters on my squad and everyone else I spoke to thought the cover calls were a bit excessive, BUT THE CALLS WERE CONSISTENT. On several of the stages the SOs warned us in advance and pointed out potential cover call spots. Otherwise it was fun match with challenging stages. It was very well run.

[Cedar Park Dad]

I shot this match. I know the rules regarding cover. I finished 8 in ESP sharp shooter class. I only received one cover call (early on) for the 12 stage match but several of the guys on my squad received multiple cover calls. One guy (an experienced IDPA shooter) received three calls on one stage. I ended up shooting from 4"-6" inside the actual cover line to be safe given the numerous cover calls I observed. I agree local matches frequently do not call cover as tight as they should. Additionally at the local match the SO will frequently call "cover" to warn the shooter. The SOs at a match at this level expect us to know what cover is . In any event the rule is simple... cover is a line extending back from the MIDDLE of the target to the edge of cover an on to infinity. You need to have 100% of your lower body and at least 50% of your upper body behind the line when you break the shot. All of the shooters on my squad and everyone else I spoke to thought the cover calls were a bit excessive, BUT THE CALLS WERE CONSISTENT. On several of the stages the SOs warned us in advance and pointed out potential cover call spots. Otherwise it was fun match with challenging stages. It was very well run.

Indeed. If they are being consistently severe to everyone then I am ok with it. Whatever the standard is, consistency is the key.

[canvasbck]

I shot this match. I know the rules regarding cover. I finished 8 in ESP sharp shooter class. I only received one cover call (early on) for the 12 stage match but several of the guys on my squad received multiple cover calls. One guy (an experienced IDPA shooter) received three calls on one stage. I ended up shooting from 4"-6" inside the actual cover line to be safe given the numerous cover calls I observed. I agree local matches frequently do not call cover as tight as they should. Additionally at the local match the SO will frequently call "cover" to warn the shooter. The SOs at a match at this level expect us to know what cover is . In any event the rule is simple... cover is a line extending back from the MIDDLE of the target to the edge of cover an on to infinity. You need to have 100% of your lower body and at least 50% of your upper body behind the line when you break the shot. All of the shooters on my squad and everyone else I spoke to thought the cover calls were a bit excessive, BUT THE CALLS WERE CONSISTENT. On several of the stages the SOs warned us in advance and pointed out potential cover call spots. Otherwise it was fun match with challenging stages. It was very well run.

Do you think it is consistant when one shooter gets a reshoot over a cover call because the SO didn't point out where, on the ground, he was going to be calling the shooter out of cover and another shooter eats a cover call because "your foot was in cover but your hip came out"? That is a direct quote from the SO. Or is it consistant when the MM who shoots early on a squad gets courtesy calls, then an expert purposely waits at each shooting position for a fraction of a second to hear the courtesy calls (since he heard them being given to another shooter) and none are given, just penalties assessed?

[Rhino1]

I've been shooting IDPA for over 5 years, have shot several sanctioned matches, and am a certified SO. I thought this was a well organized and run match with good, challenging stages. I do agree with these comments about excessively tight cover calls and resulting PEs. This is not sour grapes as I recall having one cover warning and no PEs. I do recall several instances of watching others get cover warnings or PEs that I thought were well within cover.
That said, the rules are the rules. This is a game, not tactical training. When I SO, I demonstrate where I will call cover on the walk though. 100% of feet and 50% of body behind cover. Not 95% of feet