Whenever the subject of sport shooting comes up around the tacticool friends they inevitably start ranting about how United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) and/or International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) aren’t realistic. I think Miguel’s posts covering such criticisms expresses my feeling perfectly:
“But IDPA is not Real Life!”
But it is more useful than your whining.
While USPSA and IPSC are games they do offer useful practice for skills that are good to have in a self-defense situation. The biggest of which is operating your firearm under the influence of adrenaline. All the standing range practice in the world isn’t going to help you deal with elements involved in a self-defense situation such as a pounding heart, adrenaline, tunnel vision, selective hearing, or firing on the move. Both USPSA and IPSC allow you to understand the affects of these elements and practice under their influence.
Sure it’s unlikely that I’m going be sitting on the shitter when a cadre of thugs comes busting down my door requiring me to grab my conveniently place and loaded gun but the adrenaline rush is going to be similar regardless of the scenario’s likelihood. The first time I shot a USPSA match I was shocked how poor my shooting became when outside stresses such as a timer and audience were introduced. I’m not done with my second season of USPSA (along with several three-gun competitions) and my shooting under stress has greatly improved. I don’t even want to know how poorly my shooting in a self-defense situation may have been had I not fired under stressful conditions before.
Sure USPSA and IPSC may not be real but they’re far more useful than any number of statements regarding that fact.
Word. I need to start doing competition shooting.