First USPSA Match: Tough Lessons Learned

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
As I heard that exclamation from the RO, my heart sank. I knew exactly what I’d done. For the past four weeks leading up to my first USPSA match, I kept reminding myself: “Don’t DQ.”
And now I had just DQed.

I broke the 180.

To make matters worse? I was the only DQ in the entire match. I knew the rules. I had one goal. One job. And I flubbed it.

But mistakes are only bad if we don’t learn from them. Everyone was incredibly kind. Thankfully, when I broke the 180, I had instinctively lowered my muzzle toward the ground so no one was flagged. But still—broken is broken. The worst part? I was only ten rounds into my first stage. Just like that, I was done for the day.

So what happened?

It was my first stage of my first match. The course started with targets behind the starting position—not unheard of, but definitely more advanced. I didn’t turn around to shoot them (I knew better). Instead, when the beep sounded, I drew and fired at the targets in the window directly in front of me. Then I turned slightly right and began moving backward to engage two more targets to my right. No problem there—I got both.

To make things more mentally challenging, the next shooting position was a 6-inch “balance beam” you had to stand on while shooting through a narrow port. That had me nervous—I’d never shot from anything other than a stable, upright stance. This wasn’t something I expected, and despite watching plenty of USPSA videos, I hadn’t seen anything like it.

And that is where I made my mistake.

Instead of turning left toward the balance beam position, I turned right—and the gun went right with me. That’s when I broke the 180.

Later, when I was explaining it to my son, he grinned and said, “So you’re Zoolander.”
Not because of my style choices—but because I couldn’t turn left.

So what did I do after the DQ?

I stayed. I watched. I helped tape targets and even helped tear down when the match ended. I started building camaraderie with my squad. They were all encouraging—many thanked me for staying, noting that most DQs just pack up and leave. One guy even said, “Squad with me again next time.”

I was on a squad with some of the top shooters in my area—several finished in the top third overall. The experience of watching them, even after I was out, was invaluable.

Like I said—mistakes only matter if you don’t learn from them. So here are my five big takeaways from my first USPSA match:

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1. Slow Down

I was surrounded by elite shooters—some with world championship experience. After watching them shoot, I got hyped up and tried to run before I could crawl. I’m still new to shooting overall, and I severely overestimated my ability. I should have gone slow and steady.

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2. Walk the Stage with Full Movements

I tried to emulate my squad mates and walked the stage, but I felt self-conscious doing full-body rehearsals. That was a mistake. These walkthroughs are where you build muscle memory. The less thinking you have to do mid-stage, the more you can focus on shooting clean.

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3. Tunnel Vision Is Real—and Dangerous

When I heard “whoa,” it snapped me out of a fog. I had been so focused that I forgot my surroundings. Situational awareness is critical—not just for safety, but for success.

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4. Practice Transitions

I’d done some basic dry fire and limited movement, but nothing complex. That hurt me. I’m now adding an airsoft pistol to my training so I can run drills outside, practice reloads, and simulate stage movement. I’ll still hit the range when I can, but I need more reps on transitions.

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5. Have Fun and Stay Humble

My goal was to finish the match clean and just have fun—but somewhere along the way I started trying to impress people. Now I’m “that guy who DQ’d on his first stage” instead of “great first match” guy. The silver lining? I stayed, helped, and learned.

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Next time will be different.

I’m planning to shoot the same match next month, and I’ll come in with a better mindset, more practice, and a little more humility. I even desinged and ordered a custom Tech Tee with an image of Zoolander as a reminder to turn left—and to laugh at myself a bit.

I’ll get my redemption run.

And next time, I’m showing up as Magnum.