Jump to content
Pizza Bob

Great Solution for IDPA Space Challenged Club

Recommended Posts

I can't take credit for this - a well-known match director in Eastern PA/Western NJ came up with this at a match we had yesterday.

The club where the match was held has a small indoor range and an outdoor range. Matches there usually consist of 8-stages. Two indoor and two outdoor with two squads rotating between the two ranges. Then teardown and set-up four more stages, and repeat.

Yesterday's weather was not conducive to the outdoor portion of the match, so he set-up two stages, as usual, indoors. One a speed stage and one with movement, walls, doors etc. Again, two squads rotated between the two stages. Then we shot the same two stages again - IN THE DARK. Flashlights being the only source of light and, of course, under IDPA rules, hand-held only. Indoor range, no windows - the darkness was Stygian.

Then set-up two more stages, simply modifying the placement and quantity of targets and props, and repeat the light/dark cycle of shooting. Eight stages in the space for two with only one teardown and reset.

It was great for comparative purposes and a lot of fun. Much good-natured grousing, especially by those that did not do well on the stage when it was lighted. Surprisingly, a lot of the participants were more accurate, albeit somewhat slower, on the dark stages.

A lot of fun and a terrific use of available space.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That's awesome.

 

I love shooting in the dark. The dark monster will bite you if you are not competent. It's a great test of unconcious-competence level tasks.

 

What kind of differences did you observe in shooter ability between light and dark? Were most shooters consistent or was there a pretty distinct difference in scores/times?

 

Anyone have manipulation (reloads, malfunctions) difficulties when shooting low light?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

HE:

 

It was surprising that a great many people shot better in the dark stages than the light. I think that can be attributed to several things. We shot all the stages in the light first - meaning we were more familiar with the stage and were able to correct procedural errors made during the light stage, before shooting it dark.

 

Most were slower, but that may not have been necessarily slower shooting, just slower getting into action - eyes adjusting to the darkness, turning on the light, obtaining the proper grip with the light, aligning the light on target - once that was done, the actual shooting speed was pretty consistent with the lighted stage.

 

Not many malfunctions and those that did happen were dealt with pretty quickly. Can't say that the dark caused any of those malfunctions (except one - mine) and most were of the tap/rack variety to clear.

 

I shoot a revolver and strong hand load, and yesterday I was using one that required speed loaders (as opposed to drop & forget moon clips). Manipulating the revolver, speed loader and flashlight is a challenge. Since both the flashlight and revolver are in the left hand, you are loading blind with your right. I inserted the speed loader slightly cocked and before I realized it, released the cartridges - some fell on the floor, some were partially in the cylinder, some were entirely in the cylinder. Dumped the whole mess and reloaded from a new loader. If the stage was light, I would have caught the fact that it wasn't aligned and avoided the mishap.

 

The sight picture obtained by having the target only illuminated with a flashlight is amazing. Very crisp and well-defined BLACK. Made for better accuracy. Tried night sights in the past - not a big fan. Have no idea how weapon-mounted lights work as I'm a gamer and the rules stipulate hand-held lights with no assists (finger loops, lanyards, etc). I use the cigar method - light held between the index and middle finger of the support hand.

 

It was great fun. The MD there has a rather twisted mind, so his stages are always a challenge. I just thought this was a great solution given the constraints of the venue and weather.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great idea Bob.  While it does not meet IDPA walk-through requirements, I would like to "see" a "blind" stage.  What I mean by this is a stage where the shooters are told there are targets and non-threats behind a wall but don't get to see it until the buzzer goes off.  Perhaps you could shoot the stage that way, then shoot it normal, and then shoot the same stage in low or no light.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Excellent! Thanks for the feedback PB.

 

One last question -

 

Low light shooting can be a nightmare to monitor for safety. How did the RSOs follow the shooter and watch them in the dark? Did they have their own lights (which would provide more light to the shooter) or did they use the ambient light from the shooters handheld light to observe (which may not put the light where they wanted/needed to see)?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Excellent! Thanks for the feedback PB.

 

One last question -

 

Low light shooting can be a nightmare to monitor for safety. How did the RSOs follow the shooter and watch them in the dark? Did they have their own lights (which would provide more light to the shooter) or did they use the ambient light from the shooters handheld light to observe (which may not put the light where they wanted/needed to see)?

Generally low light stages are done with little if any movement and when there is it is lateral to avoid safety issues.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great idea Bob.  While it does not meet IDPA walk-through requirements, I would like to "see" a "blind" stage.  What I mean by this is a stage where the shooters are told there are targets and non-threats behind a wall but don't get to see it until the buzzer goes off.  Perhaps you could shoot the stage that way, then shoot it normal, and then shoot the same stage in low or no light.

 

Blind stages are a royal pain in the ass and a terrible thing for a competitive event. They are fine tool for training, but every competitive event that has tried has ended up dumping the idea, for many reasons. It is not competitively equitable, slightly dangerous for new shooters, anyone who hears about how the stage is laid out form their buddy has an advantage, etc, etc.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

@Howard - We had one of those at an indoor IPSC match back in the mid-80's at the Firing Line in Philly. Led each competitor into the dark range. Hit the start signal and have at it. It was fun, as I recall - and everybody went home with the same number of holes they came in with.

 

There was a full range of movement over the course of these stages - lateral as well as forward and back.

 

@HE - Monitored very carefully by the ambient light from the shooters flash light. SO's did carry their own lights and in the event of a catastrophic or unusual malfunction would have turned them on. It wasn't necessary to do so yesterday. This MD does not allow "new" shooters. He wants them vetted first by either being classified in one of the action handgun sports or proof of having taken an NRA  safety course. He calls the rules "tight". You are right - tough to monitor and not something to be undertaken by a first-timer.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The MD seems to get great enjoyment in not only running night stages, but throwing in a lot of tac-reloads, no-shoots, movement, opening doors and cover on top of the total darkness.

Very good practice to really nail-down the flashlight technique that works best for you.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...