Into the Glare of the Morning Sun

After a fine Thanksgiving, I decided to top it off with a day of fun before heading into my weekend of home repair and improvement tasks. Up early and on the road by 7, I sped down I-95 amidst a windshield full of morning glare to get to the Northern Virginia Gun Club by 8:30 to help with setup of their IDPA match. Hitting this match was a very last minute decision on my part, but a certain somebody said they and another somebody would be showing up. Ahem!!!

So there I was, no moral support from the "muse brothers" with a pistol I'd never shot in a match before and two and a half years distance between me and the last time I'd heard one of those "shooter ready" calls. BUZZER TIME!

Stages 1 & 2

All things considered, I sucked but somehow managed to be pleased with my shooting. For the most part my shots were accurate and I wasn't that slow. In fact, I was too fast and couldn't keep all those damn IDPA rules straight. "Ok I have to do a tactical reload right here. Why? Oh yeah, there's two bad guys around that corner. How do I know that? Cuz the match director walked us through the stage and even though this is competitive training for real life defensive pistol use and I'd never know otherwise two bad guys are just around the corner, I've been told to do a reload right here on this spot."

Stage 1, steel plates behind a swinging "no shoot" are the finale.

I know. I know. The rules are there to make it interesting. Or infuriating, take your pick. I'm perplexed about the "no airgunning" rule especially since we are walked through every stage.

Still, it was fun. This match was my first outdoor IDPA match, and my first with all the wizbang props like swingers and moving targets. And since I shot it with my EDC, I have lot more confidence in my concealed carry -- the ultimate goal I had in mind when I hit the road at 7am in spite of a face full of sunshine.