Shooter Ready: Jeremy Grab Your Gun

An IDPA Newbie’s Journal

Hi, my name is Jeremy and I’m a shooting addict.

I’m a lifelong shooter, starting with a BB rifle & pistol growing up and moving into pistol / shotgun / rifle in college.  In 1994 I joined the Army, which added much in the way of personal and crew-served weapon systems training.  I routinely qualified expert grenade, sharpshooter / expert rifle, and sharpshooter pistol.  But post-Army / post-college, my shooting dried up.  I tried to make an annual range run with a friend or my wife, but often went a couple of years between shootings.

Cast of season 4 of History's "Top Shot". Photo courtesy of http://www.history.com/shows/top-shot.

Last fall I watched the first 3 seasons of History’s Top Shot.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s a Survivor-styled reality show that pits two teams of eight contestants each against each other in elimination challenges.  The contestants are various shooters from around the US, from military to law enforcement to competitive shooters to amateur plinkers.  They live together in a house in California and shoot 3-day episodes, where each episode has a theme (i.e., “The Long Shot”), a team challenge, and an elimination challenge for the losing team.  There is the typical reality show drama, but the shooting challenges and the weapons featured make the show interesting.  By the end of the season, you see some very impressive shooting.

This gave me the itch to hit the range again in a big way.  Shortly afterwards my brother and I hit Wade’s in Bellevue over a couple of lunches.  We stayed with 9mm (cheaper than .45!) and shot USPs, Sigs, Brownings, S&Ws, Berettas (hello, old friend!) and Springfields.

I wasn’t satisfied – the itch grew.

I dug into competitive practical shooting – both International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) and US Practical Shooting Association (USPSA).  I watched a year’s worth of the PowerFactor Show, a video podcast hosted by three local practical shooter gurus – Rick, Steve, and Caleb.  I bought a holster, mag holder, and went to West Coast Armory for their Tuesday night IDPA pistol league.  I had no gun of my own yet at this point, so I rented an M&P 9.

I was hooked.  I trolled various forums, read blogs, pestered experts with questions… I thought about shooting when I woke up and when I went to bed.  Hooked?  No, I was addicted.

My M&P9 Pro

So here we are in 2012.  I’m running a Smith & Wesson M&P 9 Pro in IDPA’s Stock Service Pistol division.  I shoot Thursday night USPSA league (even though I’m an IDPA focused shooter – Tuesday nights don’t work for me) and usually warm-up in the member bays with some drills.  I also dry-fire at home to augment my trigger time and build physical coordination.

We test it all soon; my first IDPA match is Renton Fish & Game Club’s January match.  I can’t wait to set the baseline and see where this year takes me.  I’ve got my sights set on two matches per month all the way until the state championship match in July.

My name’s Jeremy and I’m an addict.

Jeremy Snook is a resident of Seattle, Washington and works in the video games industry.