For the past eight years, I have been teaching a once-monthly class in "Introduction to USPSA" (United States Practical Shooting Association) at my local gun club.
This month, I resigned from the teaching staff at my club. I'm in my 70's, my eyesight is failing, the rules of competition have grown exponentially, and I no longer consider myself either physically nor experientialy qualified to teach the course.
USPSA has grown from six divisions to ... I'm not sure how many; but I can't teach a discipline which I have not experienced. And many of the new shooters are disinterested in the pistol course; they want to compete in "Pistol Caliber Carbines", just to mention one new division.
When I started teaching, the divisions were Limited, Limited 10, Open, Revolver, Production and Single Stack. All of them were restricted to pistols only.
(I've shot at least one match in all six of these divisions.)
Since then, USPSA has included the divisions of Pistol Caliber Carbine and ... well, I'm pretty sure that by the time this article is published there will be at least 1 more division. I'll still shoot that PCC match, although I need more practice before I'm comfortable with the ergonomics. But I'm now resigning myself to the fact that new divisions will soon be added and I can no longer speak authoritatively.
If this sounds as if I'm complaining ... I'm not.
One of the more exciting aspects of this sport is how it has grown exponentially over the past decades. I shot my first match in 1983, no "divisions", and they were thinking about adding a new division to separate folks who were shooting 1911 frames with 7-round magazines from 1911 frames with 11-round magazines! (Yes, 11 round single-stack magazines were rare and expensive, and unreliable; but when they ran "right" they were an advantage!)
Today, it's more expensive.
The equipment I used in my first match (gun, magazines, ammunition, web-belt, holster, magazine carriers .. all army surplus except for my self-reloaded ammunition) cost LESS than the ammunition, and magazines I used in the last match I shot.
Time flies, when you're having fun.
3 comments:
Remember when the first optic sight showed up? Locally it was a "C" class shooter and he won the match. Next match optics were very much in residence.
Super Seniors are a necessary part of USPSA.
Carry optics is the answer to elderly eyeballs. You need to give it a try, and you can shoot a 9mm in carry optics which is inexpensive to shoot and low in recoil. Basically CO is production with an optic.
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