Does anyone know when and where there next handgun target shooting competition is near Evansville? I am very interested in going and learning about the rules and regulations. Also, the pistol that I have is a Walther CCP. Is this okay for the competition or do i need something else?
Owensboro USPSA 3 Saturday of the month.
Silver Creek USPSA 2nd Sunday of the month
Silver Creek IDPA 1st Saturday
South Central USPSA 1st Sunday
Riley USPSA 3rd Sunday
Redbrush and WSSC as mentioned above.
Lots of steel matches available also.
The next Steel Challenge at Red Brush Rifle Range will be April 12. We would be glad to have you come out and shoot the match with us. The match will start at 10:00 AM local time. Please arrive early enough to attend the new shooters meeting at 9:30 AM.
Eye and ear protection is required. You can get by with at least two magazines for your Walther CCP if you bring someone to quickly load your empty mag as you are shooting the next string. Five mags would be best ! You don't need a holster if you don't mind a three second handicap added to each shot string. Having a holster would be best! You will need a minimum of 25 rounds of ammo for every stage and we usually set up four or five stages, meaning you would need 100-125 rounds if you never miss a target. You will miss a few targets so bring lots of extra ammo. Be sure to tell the Range Officer of your squad that it is your first time shooting the match so they can put several shooters ahead of you to show how it is done before your turn to shoot.
Barring any more weather interference Red Brush should have their next IDPA match the first Saturday in April. Sign up starts at 9, new shooter's meeting at 9:30 with squading and start time around 10 am. West Side Sportsman's Club holds theirs the 2nd Saturday of the month and their times are 10, 10:30 and 11:00 am.
You will need a pistol that is safe and that you are comfortable and familiar with in addition to a safe and serviceable holster carried on your gun-hand side. (no cross-draw, small of the back or shoulder-holsters are allowed in any of the shooting sports). As many magazines as you can muster would be great but you can get by with 2. A carrier of some sort for those mags but a back pocket will do in a pinch until you see if you really enjoy shooting this type of sport...once you've shot a few matches, talked to a few competitors and had a chance to observe what gear they are using and possibly talked about needed equipment then you'll be better prepared to hit the stores and pick up what you'll need to delve further into the different shooting sports. Also, for IDPA, you'll need some sort of shirt/vest/jacket that covers your weapon since most courses of fire start with the competitor drawing their weapon out from behind or underneath concealment.
I agree with the recommendation that steels matches are maybe the best intro to shooting, but observing a USPSA or IDPA match might be interesting and a lot of folks have started with these matches.
New folks who start slow and cautious and place 1st 2nd and 3rd priority on the 4 rules of gun safety (4th is accuracy , 5th is speed) are always very welcome.
Other thing, it is always a bad idea to bring a gun that you haven't shot enough to know that it is reliable or to be very comfortable with.