Quest for Master Class: Gun parameters

I was exchanging emails with a reader about the upcoming/ongoing “Quest for Master Class” series, where my goal is achieve IDPA’s 5 gun Master class award.  He asked what guns I was planning on using to get the “master class” ranking in the 5 divisions of IDPA, and while I thought I had previously answered that question, he made a good point.  The question was “why use ‘competition’ guns for this, wouldn’t using the kind of pistols that the average guy buys make more sense?

I thought about that for a while, and I actually agree.  The goal of the entire series isn’t for me to take a $2k 1911 and shoot it, but rather to show people that these are achievable skills with practice and their carry guns.  So after some thought, I’m making some specific rules for me to help keep this series true to the spirit of IDPA and relative to the average CCW permit holder.

  1. No 1911s – I know that’s going to be controversial, but the 1911 platform is absurdly easy to shoot when it’s well made.  Using a 9mm 1911 for the Enhanced Service Pistol master class score is almost like cheating.
  2. No Glock 34/35 model pistols or M&P Longslide guns.  Not that these are not great guns, but you don’t see a whole lot of 5 inch Glocks riding around in CCW and LE holsters.
  3. Use “carry gun” style sights only.  Most carry guns come from the factory with 3-dot sights, or Heinie straight-8 sights, so that’s what we’ll use.  In fact, in all cases but for 2 we’ll use the factory sights.  Those two exceptions are my S&W 625, since I already have my Enhanced Revolver Master card, and I won’t use the factory sights on any Glocks that may get shot because those plastic sights tend to break.
  4. No action jobs – these guns should have factory triggers.

Again, the point here is to show people that with their guns and carry gear they can get out and shoot IDPA, and with a little bit of practice they can truly excel at the sport.  June is  a busy month – I’m shooting wheelguns at three majors through June, but come July I’m making the switch back to semi-auto pistols to go for the “big double”: Stock Service Pistol and Enhanced Service Pistol.  I’ll use the same gun for both divisions.  Stock Service Pistol is the “easiest” to get in to, and Enhanced Service Pistol is considered the most difficult.  July will be a fun month!

1 Comment

  1. I don’t see *all* trigger-jobs as cheating; the M&P comes with a trigger that benefits remarkably from an hour of do-it-yourself, and in some states (Massachusetts, cough cough) it’s really mandatory due to a state-mandated 10+ pound factory pull.

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