2014 Winter Nationals - IDPA

I've had the fortunate ability to be able to compete in the Smith and Wesson Indoor Winter Nationals for a couple years now and I have to say the stages are getting better and better every year. This match has been held at Smith and Wesson's indoor shooting facility for 17 years now. Being an indoor match brings new challenges to competitive shooting due to the environment. And having big named, highly decorated shooters like Bob Vogel and Nils Jonasson to compete against, I knew having the right equipment paired with challenging practice time would be the key to success. 

When preparing for a match like this, you have to adjust your training regiment. Your not shooting outdoors in 75 degree sunny daylight. So I try to imagine being the match director and being faced with limited space, limited movement, and only (1) direction to be able to shoot in. If you were the match director, what would you do to bring this match to a National level? I personally would make the lighting conditions challenging, have lots of tight shots, movers, and make the shooter do other things besides shooting (open doors, pick objects up or shoot with objects in their hands.) So based on that information, I found ways to practice under those conditions. 

Having shot the match prior, I knew lighting would be a big challenge. My eyes aren't as young as they once were and I have to be able to see my sights in any lighting condition under match speed conditions. I'm a huge Warren Tactical supporter and shoot all his sights on my pistols. I even have a set of night sights that he makes, however this match called for something different. Using my logbook, I found that I was loosing anywhere from .3 to .8 seconds on my draw alone during low light conditions. This was way to much time because of my inability to see the front sight.

In a competitive environment, I want the best accuracy with the fastest time. Now, they don't allow for weapon mounted lights like we would run in an operational setting and using a hand held light has the potential to slow you down. I needed a set of sights that (1) I could see under any lighting condition, and (2) gave me an option to run without a light if the stage allowed for it. So, I decided to work with the TRUGLO TFO's. These sights are fiber optics's with Tritium built into them and man do they glow! You can see in the picture what they look like. No enhancements were made and thats taken with my Iphone in complete darkness. 

These sights were perfect for this match. Whether you were in a well lit area, just in front or behind the lights, or darkness I had no problem seeing my sights. Going back to my logbook, I found using these sights, I was no longer loosing so much time. My draw times came back down to 1.10 - 1.40 (concealed draw from 10 yards). So mission accomplished!!! Now would I run these sights all the time, NO. I like these sights for indoor scenarios, but nothing else. I personally like having a very small, thin front sight with a red fiber in it and a plain black rear sight. The TFO's are 3 glowing green dots and the front sight is bigger than I like. 

Once the sights were in place, it was time to hit the range. Mini IPSC targets were used in very low light conditions. These smaller targets forced me to slow down and use my sights. I wanted to train in the toughest environment so I would feel confident with what ever IDPA had to throw at us. I believe it worked out for me as I was able to claim my second Winter National title.  I was also able to give Bob Vogel a run for his money. When it was all said and done, Bob and I finished first and second overall with just under 3 seconds between us. This was Nils first time at this match and if I had to guess, he will be prepared next year. ESP look out !!!

Now some of you might think that TRUGLO just gave me these sights as a sponsorship and I'm doing them a favor in posting about their stuff, WRONG. I bought these sights off the Internet because I felt they were the right tool for me to accomplish "this" job. I plan on keeping them on the slide should anymore indoor matches come up. I would advise looking into a set of these if you compete at indoor matches. I found them on Amazon for around $75, totally worth it. You might consider seeing if they offer a color change from the front sight and the rear sight.

I wrote this article to make you think a little more about the equipment you use and how it applies to your match. Different style matches call for different setups on your guns. Is there something that you could buy to enhance your shooting ability? Have you taken the proper steps to prepare yourself for your match? Is your practice getting you ready for the match your about to shoot? Having the right equipment paired with a regimented practice is crucial in being successful.