I am providing a forum for voicing your opinions.  I claim no 
responsibility for any opinions expressed here.



THE INTENT OF IDPA

Here are my thoughts on this stuff that is discussed over and over.

One thing that is lost in all this banter back and forth is Bill
Wilson's "INTENT" of the game! 

I honestly meant to interview Bill at the nationals this year (with
his consent of course) for an article in the Tactical Journal.

I have no idea how Bill saw IDPA advancing. I do think that he didn't 
want the extremes of either the tacticians or the competitors. 

I suspect is was something more on the line of, "a place to test your 
every day carry equipment and/or shooting skills with it in a 
competitive environment".

We throw banter back and forth about how its intent was "tactical" 
but if you're honest with yourself the "rules" don't support that 
position. We do the same with "competing" but the "purpose" doesn't 
support that position either. 

All that leads me to believe that the "intent/purpose" was to be 
somewhere in the middle of the two. So I think when we push either 
side we are moving IDPA away from what was "intended" by the Board
of Directors at the time. I think Bill's intent was for everyone to
have a good time above and beyond all else. If in doing that you find 
that you are a better shooter with a two pound trigger in a 1911 in a
kydex holster under a funky vest, so be it. If you find you're S&W 
640 ain't all its cracked up to be, so be it. If you find out that 
Uncle Mikes IWB pouch is not the way to carry GREAT!

If you watch the general attendance of an IDPA match (around here 
anyway) you will find people that are there to have a good time for 
the most part and they really don't care how well they "score" as 
long as they are having a good time with friends, be they tacticians, 
competitors or both, it doesn't matter. Most of them will never win 
anything because they have no desire to. They hold no ill will 
towards either competitors or tacticians and they ask questions of 
both equally and learn from both when possible. 

This and other shooting lists are made up of the most die hard 
shooters of any group, the attendance of this and any other list is 
small compared to the membership. 95% of the membership of IDPA or 
other shooting sports couldn't care less about some stupid list on 
the internet that discusses the ins and outs of IDPA or any other 
shooting sport. They do it for fun. They drive an hour or more a 
month to shoot IDPA (or whatever) and have a good time with it. They 
for the most part do it to get away from the daily grind of life as a 
hobby or passtime a lot like Golf. They don't take classes on how to 
shoot faster or more tactical. Most assume that their skills are far 
above 99% of the criminals on the the street. They are there to learn 
a little about how to shoot and learn very basic handgun skills maybe 
some basic tactics, but above all to have a good time. Somewhere we 
hardcore types lose that in our extremes. 

If you want tactics there are avenues for that. PS and NTI and many 
classes come to mind. There was once a sentence in IDPA rulebook that
said if you want tactical training go to a school! I have heard the
they are great and I hope to attend one at some point.

If you want pure gun handling at top speed IPSC is a great place to 
be. IPSC will teach you a LOT about handling a gun at speed. It can 
also be used for tactical testing, in some cases better than IDPA 
because their CoFs are pretty much freestyle, do what you want stuff. 

It's also supposed to be FUN I think, at least at the local level that 
I have shot it is supposed to be.

If you want something in between, where you "can" use some of what you 
have learned with CoFs, and in some cases, equipment more on the 
realistic side than IPSC, and a tactical side a bit less than PS, or 
just to shoot for fun and competition using equipment that is for the 
most part carry friendly, then IDPA is it. 

If you want to play dress up and shoot old guns shoot cowboy matches! 

Best of all you can shoot them all and get what YOU want out of it, 
who cares what joe blow is doing if you're having a good time? 

IDPA is not real life, the hard core on both sides (Competitive and 
Tactical) live and breathe it and in doing so I think we often lose
sight of the "intent" of any sport. 

If you're not smiling and having a good time at an IDPA match, for 
whatever reason, or if you let the opinions of others or how they 
play give you an ulcer, or if the rule changes are not fast enough
or upset you greatly to the point of the aforementioned ulcer because 
they do not agree with your views, I think "you" miss the INTENT! 

Regards 


Larry Pogue