Replies

I'm a member of USPSA. I'm right in the middle of Class C (50%) which means that I'm average for a USPSA shooter. (We are rated by percentage comparison against all members that shoot against "formal" target set ups.) I have also shot a couple of times in IPDA. They're both fun, but, as stated, they are apples and oranges. Since I have a Texas CHL, I would say that IPDA would be better "practice" since cover and concealment are used more realistically in IPDA. However, I shoot USPSA almost exclusively. I started in USPSA and I'm used to it. Bottom line, they're both great sport, loads of fun, and both develop rapid target identification and accurate placement.

BTW, the regular shooters at my club consist of 2 elementary school teachers, an electrical engineer, a professor of psychology, a gunsmith, a pest control company owner, and 2 lawyers. I'm a software developer. Just a bunch of Texas red necks...

We are rated by percentage comparison against all members

I'm primarily a USPSA shooter also, one of my favorite aspects of USPSA is the classifier system.

USPSA classifiers are much more diverse than IDPA's, with about 100 different stages, each with a "par" 100% score set by top competitors.

Like a golf handicap, with USPSAs classification percentage, you always know how good you are relative to the best in the world. Conversely, you also always know just how much work you have left to get anywhere near that level...

A 100% score on a USPSA classifier is a good approximation of the highest level of performance attainable.