1st place: Glock 34 with Fiber optic sights, "drop-in" competition trigger, six mags, comp-tac holster.
2nd place: M&P Pro 5" with fiber optic sights, Apex Trigger, six mags, comp-tac holster
3rd place: Cz75 or 75B or SP-01 with fiber optic sights, Competition hammer/trigger, six mags, blade-tech holster
4th place: Springfield XD/XDm with fiber optic sights, trigger upgrades, six mags, comp-tac holster
5th place: STI GP6 with fiber optic sights, six mags, blade-tech holster.

17% of all shooters at the IDPA National Championship shot Glock 34's as well as the SSP champion.
33% of all shooters shot Glocks
M&P Pro is growing in popularity around the circuit winning over many
I own and shoot a Glock 34 and an Cz75 Shadow and they are both great guns for competition.
The Springfield XD can be as good as the Glock in the right hands
The STI has the shortest reset on the trigger and really an incredible trigger.

Good Luck with your decision. If you like Glocks, get the 34. If trigger is really important, get the Cz with the right hammer/trigger job or the STI.

CC

You wont be marrying it for life so get what you can afford today and in a year or two you will have a much better idea what you realy want. Ammo is going to cost significantly more than the gun so keep that in mind. 9MM is, of the prime calibers, the most cost effective for someone just getting in to the game.

Enjoy your new hobby.

My understanding is the G34 and XDm 5.25 are ESP, not SSP and certainly not open.

for steel you can use a 22 and cf and compete for steel champ.

for some competitions 40 and 45 is a sep class from 9mm

OK, that wasn't helpful at all I know..only made for more things to consider.

The Glock 34 can be shot in IDPA SSP and ESP and USPSA Production Class, but no mag wells, stippling, etc.
The XDm can be shot IDPA ESP (wierd rule about the striker) and I think is legal for production class in USPSA. (check)
The M&P can be shot in IDPA SSP and ESP and if .45, CDP. I am sure it is ok for production class in USPSA.
The Cz75 is IDPA legal SSP and ESP, and the SP-01 is legal ESP and with lightening grips and guide rod, SSP.
The STI should be legal SSP, ESP and Production.

I am an IDPA competitor so not as familiar with USPSA. Please check with both web sites to get lowdown on legal modifications.

For $1200 there is no gun that I know of that would be considered open-class. Open-class is such a custom-class...hard to make a recommendation there. If I had the money, I would get a Czech-Mate from Cz custom: $2999.

I don't think you can go wrong starting with any of the guns I listed. Only the XDm can't be shot in IDPA SSP.
CC

so you guys think that i should buy a polimer type pistol then? Or should i look into buying a 1911? also say i was to buy an xdm 5.25 would you recommend buying a .40 .45 or 9mm? Thanks guys sorry for all the questions i just dont want to spend my money in the wrong place or show up to an event and be the guy who brought a catchers mitt to a football game. thanks and peace

The XDm 5.25 is a polymer pistol. So if you want one you will be buying a Poly gun. the XDm 5.25 is a pretty nice gun. Accurate and has a long site radius. The standard fiber optic front site is nice. It is a normal XDM with a couple do dads glued on. I have only shot it in 9mm and like it.

I would certianly suggest looking at the CZ line not Poly not 1911 but oh my do they shoot nicely. The 75B is the mainstay of the line and comes in 9mm and .40. If you are new to competition, well when I was new to competition I shot 9mm because it was less expensive and I needed to practice alot. i still do. You loose points on anything but Alphas in USPSA with a 9. I found practice and less recoil more then made up for the points I lost. I still use a 9mm and I am better then I used to be. I shoot the CZ SP-01 and love it. TOF is right you aren't married to the gun and you will probably get a different one in a couple years. you may not get rid of the one you have but a new gun will find it's way into your swag bag. 1911's are great guns and there are many many quality companies to look at when considering.

Good luck and enjoy.

Be safe.

RCG

ok guys i went to a gun show today and got a feel for a lot of the guns listed above. And im sold on the xdm 5.25 so thats a good thing that i have decided that. Im still not 100% sure on caliber still. Im thinking i will mainly be shooting IDPA esp would a 9mm or .45 be better for this? And just curious why does the USPSA penalize you for using a 9mm? and is this in the production class?? thanks for all the help again and il keep you guys posted on whatever i decided to purchase

There is no major/minor in USPSA's producition division so there is no "penalty" for the "lesser" caliber. In IDPA you'd be better off with 9mm or .40 unless you want to load 8+1 and go in the CDP division.

Awsome thanks for the quick reply, so if i was to move up to the limited division of USPSA because of modifications would i be at a bad dissatvantage with a 9mm?

So how do you get involved in these IDPA and USPSA competitions? Only heard about them on this site. Been to the range half a dozen times or so but it's an indoor range, I'm not a member of thier club and I don't think they have competitions because I havent seen any signs announcing anything. I think there is a club with an outdoor range that is listed on the IDPA web site at Aurora Gun Club that's close to me and looks reasonably priced to join. (Only $150 a year) Just hang out there and ask folks I guess?

I have the 92FS, the SR22 and the 686 six inch barrel. Would one or all of those be something that would be good to shoot this kind of stuff or would I need to buy something else. Honestly, if what I already have wont do I cant play. Just going to watch might be fun, but watching just aint shooting. I don't like watching golf either.

So much depends on your area, your club, etc.
My club is a shooting club - we have jr rifle for kids (cmp rimfire sporter), a trap league that shoots twice a week and shoots at other clubs. We had a bullseye league, have a summer PPC league, shoot IDPA once a month in the summer, have had groundhog shoots (rifle), patrol rifle a couple of times (IDPA with an AR), CMP Garand once.

Our club (and all clubs that I know of) have websites and list contact people on them. Email and ask a few questions. Find a match and go watch, ask questions.

For example - I know CMP Garand is shot at camp perry, but I want some local ones to practice at. Canton does official CMP garand. Millvale and Mt Lebo do modified CMP matches (our PPC league is modified as we shoot the 50 yd part from the 25 yard). These mods make it easier so more people participate - BUT if you are after national points/titles/ranking you need official matches only to accrue points.

So today I shot my first IDPA at the lawrence county club. From the looks of the place (My first visit) they do junior trap, trap and skeet, sporting clays and rifle. Based on the size/condition of things that I saw pistol there is the red headed stepchild but their shotgun area is impressive as all get out.

Anyway, I asked and 4 clubs around here shoot IDPA - us, them, youngstown and hankock. the guy things he knows of one place that shoots USPSA but nobody shooting steel challenge.

You should be able to find out where things happen from the main websites - International Defensive Pistol Association for example.

For PPC the 6" 686 is ideal. For idpa 90% of those I saw today (ok, all but one person) was shooting semi auto so your 92 works. The 22 pistol isn't something that is used much at this time for competition other than steel challenge.

I shot two 'rounds' of IDPA today, the first with my XDm that I"m very familiar with and the second with my MP9 with new sights - had the gun about 3 weeks and the sights, well, first time today using them. I did much better with the XDm. These guns fit into different classes. How did I do??? I have no idea! Not sure how IDPA is 'scored' - you have a total time (faster is better) but misses add to that time. Then you have procedural faults (I had 3 but being new they only recoreded one of them). These are shooting targets out of sequence,not being behind the barricade enough, dropping a loaded mag, too man shots (on stages that have a limit), etc. Very mentally challenging.

Thanks for the positive feedback. I think I will look a little further into this as a way of meeting people and improving my defense skills. Went to that gun club but they were closed today. ah well. It's kinda cold out anyway.

The more exposure I get to the sport the more comfortable I will feel.

Yes, experience counts.
I've shot 30 some PPC matches over the summer with 2 different handguns.
So today at the IDPA I had no 'fear' or stress about much of anything. I"m confident in my gun handling, holstering, loading, clearing, etc.

But there were many new challenges - drawing while wearing a jacket, accessing spare mags with a jacket on, 'retention' reloads, NOT hitting something (the 'innocent bystander'), shooting while moving (walking backwards for example), engaging multiple targets in 'tactical order' -I"m SOOOO used to shooting at ONE target, not 5! "Thinking" about what to shoot and when slowed me way way down. Should I shoot head or chest? Keep shooting or stop now? Shooting FAST or perhaps going slower to be more accurate?

Yeah, I"ll be back for more IDPA!

Thanks again Prof. That sounds like so much fun to do and it has 'for real' applications. Training with purpose so that if it is actual life / death having the experience and fear management to actually defend, put in practical use. And it sounds like every match is different but realistic. I havent been shooting very long but I do enjoy it and 1 target, even at a variety of distances, is still just 1 standing still. From what I hear the BG's don't do that very often. This sounds like next step to me, keeping it very interesting and useful at the same time.
Looking forward to finding somewhere that has this kind of activity. Hope I can get in to that Aurora Gun Club next weekend and see thier setup. Meanwhile I will search the web and see if I can find others nearby. Think this is the tip of the iceberg. I never knew there was so much more to shooting than just holes in paper, but I'm learning.

My preference

S&W M&P 5" Pro



XDm 5.25" Competition



Sig Sauer P226 X 5



Glock 34




All of these guns shoot better than I do.

How would a beretta px4storm full size or an fn fnp9 work for a beginning competition gun?

glock 34

What is wrong with your current pistol?
I compete in IDPA regularly. I use my carry gun. M&P9c for SSP &ESP. M&P 45c for CDP.
If you shoot it well, take some of your funds for ammo/mags etc and shoot that for now. If you reach a point where you need a competition gun, by then you should have a better idea of the features you want

Far be it from me to try to convince someone to not buy a gun, but the above is the approach I would take.