The International Defensive Pistol Association recently conducted their 2016 IDPA National Championship at the Triple C Tactical Range in Cresson, Texas. Match Director Brian Erhler and Assistant Match Directors Phil Torres and Rick Lund did an outstanding job in spite of Mother Nature's best efforts early on.

The Triple C Tactical Range is a nice facility centrally located in Texas that hosts several IDPA sanctioned matches every year. IDPA offers some different shooting tests, and the nationals offer some challenging stages for all skill levels. If you are planning to go next year, here are several observations and tips you may find helpful.

Equipment and clothing

One question you must ask yourself concerning equipment is just how much you wish to carry or haul around.

The minimum you need is your hydration, ammunition, a cleaning kit and a folding chair or stool. Many competitors use small folding sport or gardening wagons available from a variety of sources to carry their equipment. I've found these to be particularly handy and worth the expense.

Pistols used in competition occasionally break — typically at the least opportune moment. If you can afford one, consider a spare pistol with the same or substantially similar configuration as your primary pistol (ensure it is division legal). If that's not possible, bring critical spare parts (exactly what spare parts depends on your particular pistol).

You should also have a spare holster, magazine carrier and extra screws/nuts for your carry equipment. Bring extra magazines as well.

Bring at least 100 rounds of ammunition on top of what the match requires to ensure you have enough to cover reshoots. If you reload your ammunition, ensure they make power factor for your division. Examine every round of ammunition and ensure there are no obvious flaws.

It is also a good idea to remove the barrel from your pistol and drop every round into the chamber to ensure it headspaces properly. This could prevent a time eating misfeed in the middle of a stage.

Never make any changes to your equipment at the match unless you are absolutely forced into the change due to an equipment malfunction. Make any equipment changes you wish at least 3-4 weeks prior to the match. If you make changes, then practice, practice, practice so you absolutely have the changes wired into your pistol manipulation skills well before match day.

I once decided that a great way to carry a flashlight was in a dual, magazine/flashlight belt pouch. I then proceeded to shoot some local matches with the new equipment configuration and tried to reload with the flashlight rather than the spare magazine several times. It took quite a bit of dry practice before I absorbed the new changes.

In the middle of a stage, the sudden realization that your front sight is no longer on the pistol can be disconcerting. Between stages or during a break in the match, go to the safe area and recheck your equipment and brush out your magazines. I've had front sight screws and holster screws loosen that were easily found and remedied before they caused any problems.

Dress for success. Proper clothing is part of your match equipment, and you will shoot a better match if you are comfortable. Don't forget to pack your concealment garment or vest. It's part of your equipment and required for shooting the match.

The IDPA will conduct the Nationals regardless of weather conditions, so bring your rain gear and something to protect your range bag if rain is forecast. The central Texas weather for the 2016 Nationals provided both rain and shine with temperatures well into the 90s. Stage 2 had a low-light segment that was dark enough to cause a lot of problems for the shooters who shot the stage later in the day or when it was overcast, because many competitors did not have clear glasses or flashlights in their gear bag.

Stage planning

Stage planning is one of the most important skills for a successful IDPA competitor. The 2016 IDPA Nationals offered challenging, yet achievable stages for shooters at all skill levels.

IDPA rules permit a group walkthrough of the stage where all competitors are allowed to examine vision barriers and points of cover for each target and learn criteria that the safety officers will use to assess shooter's cover use during the stage. During the group walkthrough, shooters can view each target from every shooting position including kneeling or prone positions.

As you do the walkthrough, count the targets and determine exactly where they are located with respect to each shooting position. Some stage designs require you to follow a specific path and shoot from specific positions; others do not.

This is the beginning of your stage plan. Determine where you must physically go in order to shoot all the targets and continue building your plan.

For example, at the Nationals Stage #2 (Collapsed Mine) the shooter entered a door and then had the option of entering the mine (moving to the right) or going to the left and addressing those targets.

Given the target layout, the optimal approach depended upon in what division the competitor was shooting. For revolver shooters, clearly the best course was to enter the mine first, then reload en route to the first window. Shooters in SSP and ESP found going initially to the left was the best approach.

Plan your entry, identify cover points, and plan your exit for each shooting position. I don't like trying to determine where my feet need to be when I stop as I am running to a shooting position. I plan for this and set visual clues for each position's cover points during the walkthrough so I can stop at the proper point.

Practice getting into positions and leaving positions and being ready to fire an accurate shot. If you are only moving a few feet, then keeping the pistol in a firing position (i.e. mounted) is fine.

If you must move more than a few feet, then dismount the pistol (muzzle awareness at all times) and run normally to the next position mounting the pistol as you cover the last few yards. This enables you to enter the position with the pistol ready without the additional time spent if you had waited until you came to a complete stop to bring the pistol onto the target.

Plan your shots, know when your pistol will run dry, and plan your reloads during the walkthrough. Know how many targets you must engage from each position and where you can reload in preparation for engaging the next set of targets. Many shooters run dry and then waste a second or more pulling the trigger before realizing their slide is locked open then starting their reload.

IDPA rules require shooters perform all reloads from behind cover with a few exceptions. In image below, you see me performing a reload on the run to the next shooting position. The stage design designated the low wall as contiguous cover.

If you can perform your reload (retention or slide lock) while moving along a single contiguous piece of cover to the next shooting position, then doing so will save time. However, this must be done with your on-demand skill level in mind while being aware of the muzzle direction at all times.

When you have your plan developed, quickly walk the stage as many times as you can while visualizing each action you must take at every shooting position and the movement and actions you must take as you transition to the next position. As other competitors begin shooting the stage, continue to visualize your plan and confirm its viability as you see the other competitors' performance.

If you realize your plan requires slight modification, then once again mentally review your plan with the modification. By the time you are the on-deck shooter, ideally you should have the plan nailed down to the point that you can mentally walk through the stage with your eyes closed.

Taking your shot

As you step up, take some deep breaths while you are making ready. If you have visualized your plan effectively, you can probably shoot the stage almost on autopilot without conscious directed thought. The conscious mind should be detached and observing without judgment.

If you make an error, correct it and move on. Don't try to change your plan as a result of an error — instead get back on track and continue with your plan.

I've frequently seen shooters who try to speed up to make up the lost time after they have made a mistake on a stage. That rarely works; more often the shooter ends up dropping more points (and thereby adding more time) than he would have if he had simply continued shooting the stage according to his plan.

Learn to trust your sights and call your shots. When you finish shooting a target, don't stand there and admire your hits — move on to the next target. If you must engage targets on the move, typically it's faster to move slowly as you leave a shooting position and engage the targets then sprint to the next shooting position. The stage layout may dictate otherwise.

For many stages, you do not have to be at arms length from cover to shoot around it. You can often engage a target when standing much farther back and shooting without moving to the cover.

This is often more efficient when you have to go to another shooting position because you didn't waste time moving forward to cover and then retracing those steps as you move to the next shooting position. The cover line runs all the way to the back of the stage so you don't have to be against the cover to shoot from it.

Try not to extend your pistol past the cover or through openings. The time you spend pushing your pistol past cover is also spent pulling it back as you leave the shooting position.

Don't duck back behind cover during a reload for the same reason. If you are correctly using cover to shoot, then you can reload from the same position.

Efficiency and props

Occasionally, stages require the competitor to deal with an object or prop at some point. In the 2016 Nationals, five of the 17 stages required the competitor to deal with a prop at the beginning of the stage.

Big Rocks of the Pecos (Stage #11) required the shooter to start with a full-size pickaxe held in both hands. Competitors had to drop the pickaxe, draw and move forward to engage targets. The manner in which they dropped the pickaxe was each shooter's option as long as they did not hit an SO.

Dropping it on your path of travel was not a good idea, so some shooters tossed it forcefully off to the side then drew their pistol as they moved forward. Shooters with a better plan held it on their holster side with one hand near their holster and simply dropped it then drew their pistol.

The difference between the techniques is the extra time spent extending your arm to throw the pick then retracing that path as you move your hand to the holster to draw. I recorded several competitors, and the time difference on average was .50-.75 seconds between the two techniques.

Please look at the images below as a competitor was shooting Stage #7 (Gold Rush).

The shooters had to start seated on the bucket with the gold pan held in both hands with thumbs on the pan. This competitor extended his arms as he tossed the pan forward rather than dropping it or tossing it to the side with his left hand.

Extending his arms took .20 seconds to complete before he began reaching to draw his pistol. These fractions of a second don't seem like much, but over the course of a match, this extra time will add up.

Closing thoughts

You should shoot a local match the week prior to the Nationals to ensure your equipment functions and set yourself mentally. The IDPA Nationals are just another match, but a big difference for many people between a major match and a local match is their mindset.

Some competitors get themselves worked up, which results in a mistake. Then, they mentally screw themselves into the ground and carry the mistake to the next stage. This can start a downward mental spiral.

You must be able to recover from a mistake and maintain a positive attitude throughout the match. If you have a problem on a stage, go to the safe table, remove your equipment and take a short break before you move one to the next stage. Then, put your equipment back on and move on. This helps you to mentally reset, put your mistake behind you and get a fresh start for the next stage.

Shooting the IDPA Nationals is a great experience. You get to see some of the best shooting talent in the world, shoot some of the best stages in the shooting sports, meet wonderful people and ideally learn something as well.

If you have never participated in the IDPA Nationals, I highly recommend it.