Allow members to practice for the pistol matches? After dues are paid, can a guy or a group, setup the targets and get the basics down before a match? Or is it strictly trial by fire?
If it helps, I have 4,6,8,10, and 12" AR500 3/8" plates, if that is the concern. I just need the basics on the course and how to run them....
One of the fun things about USPSA is that there isn't a "known" course of fire---each stage is different, and each month we have different stages. It makes it interesting! The downside is that we can't just give you a course of fire and tell you to practice it, like can be done for GSSF, Steel Challenge, Bianchi, or many other disciplines.
That being said, if you are a member of ENGC, when you go down to shoot in the pistol bays, once you are on a bay what you decide to practice is up to you. As such, if you have the materials, you can set up as complicated of a stage as you like, and practice all sorts of things.
If you don't know what kinds of things to set up as stages, one of the things you can do is download the Classifier Book from
http://www.uspsa.org/classifiers/NCCB_4ed_2012.pdf"Classifiers" are specific stages that are used for national classification purposes. (You don't really need to worry about what exactly that means at the moment.)
The point is---most classifier stages are very simple to set up, tend to require minimal props, and really tend to test/work the shooting skills that are fundamental to doing well in USPSA. They tend to be very specific about what you need to do, and will give you an idea of what sorts of things to expect from USPSA stages. The Classifier book will give you precise stage diagrams along with specific directions for shooting that stage.
That being said---most stages from an actual match tend to be considerably more complicated than classifier stages. This doesn't mean "don't do it," it just means that working some classifiers will give you an idea---but nothing substitutes for 1) coming and watching a match to see how it runs, what is expected of the shooter, what the rules are like, and how safety is handled (and what "safe gun handling" entails); 2) then trying a match after you know what you are getting into.
The rulebook itself for USPSA can be downloaded at:
http://www.uspsa.org/rules/2010HandgunRulesProof3web.pdfIt isn't small.
...in general, coming and watching a match, listening to the new shooter/safety briefing, and asking lots of questions is a REALLY good idea.
For practice, though---as long as you are being safe, what you practice on the bays at ENGC is up to you. You will have to bring your own targets and such (which is true for all members) as the ENPS materials are locked up and not available to the general membership, but you can set up as complicated a stage as you like, and do all sorts of practice.
