2024 Panhandle Putdown WV State IDPA Championship Match - Ruger GP100 Match Champion Revolver REV/SS

Video of the West Virginia State IDPA Championship - the 2024 Panhandle Putdown. An awesome match with 12 great stages including a nice little shoothouse stage.
Shooting a Ruger GP100 Match Champion .38/.357 revolver using .38 special in the REV/SS division/classification for this match.
Had a nice clean match - no PEs, no non-threats, no misses but it was not enough to get a win.
It was very humid early on so other revolvers and I had some empty case extraction issues but those cleared up pretty quickly on the day.
The real issues were three mental errors that cost me - Stages 5, 8, and 12.
Stage 5 - did not need the extra shot makeup, should have kept going.
Stage 8 - started to step out before engaging all targets from the fault line, realized it, bumped barrel, stepped back.
Stage 12 - I had a great stage plan, but things were a tiny bit different than I expected, so I had to engage the targets a little differently and got lost on what targets had been engaged and what had not. Stopped, ran back, checked, then moved forward again.
Hancock County WV Sportsman's Association is a fantastic club that hosts a wonderful match. The stages were lots of fun and great tests of skill. The grounds are really nice and of course the food was amazing. They run monthly matches - if you are up in the northwestern panhandle of WV - give them a look!

[@JerrySobotka]

Lee, great match. Congratulations! Thank you for the kind words and we look forward to having you back in the Panhandle for another Putdown.

[@RootinTootinRevo]

Thanks Jerry! You guys put on an absolutely fantastic match - the stages are well designed and fun, any questions during the match are answered quickly, water on hot days is constantly available, the SOs and people working the match are all friendly and helpful, the club grounds are well taken care of and the bays are perfectly sized for the stages, and of course the food is absolutely fantastic. I will for sure be back!

[@jasestrong]

Nice , great job , you do a great job with a Wheel gun . I shoot IDPA too, so far SSP and CDP. I want to shoot wheel guns but I don’t have a proper wheel yet. Years ago as a LEO I was a firearms instructor and law enforcement, we carried Glocks , but our corrections officers carried revolvers , so as instructors we had to be proficient in them , I always had fun with it . I also carried a S&W 340 SC as a backup for 9 years till they made me transition to a G26.

[@RootinTootinRevo]

Thanks! I started with SSP and then migrated to CO. I tried REV on a whim and was pretty much hooked from the start. It is by far one of the most rewarding - and frustrating - competitive shooting things I have done. Once you work out kinks in your gun and gear setup, the frustration goes down and it is very much a mental game. Investment is not too bad to get started and the competitive revolver shooting community is very welcoming - one of the friendliest groups I have been around. A 340 SC is a fantastic backup!

[@jasestrong]

@@RootinTootinRevo I was thinking of a SW 686 , 6 shot with moon clips , I can’t remember what the regulations on barrel length is? My wife Carries the 340 now in her purse or pocket .

[@RootinTootinRevo]

@@jasestrong Barrel length for revolver in IDPA is 4.25". You can shoot under that but over that is not allowed (for big matches). If you wanted to run a longer barrel at a local match, I am almost positive that they will allow you to run whatever you would like. A local club I shoot at has had a guy running a 5" barrel 625 at several matches. IDPA revolver is broken up into 2 sub categories - Stock Service Revolver (SSR) and Enhanced Service Revolver (ESR). SSR is for speedloader guns only, 43oz or under, stock cylinder release, and a comfortable 105 minimum power factor on your ammo - examples here would be a GP100 or S&W 686 shooting .38 Special. ESR is for moonclip (mainly) guns, 50oz or under, allowed to have a modified cylinder release, with a more stout 155 minimum power factor on your ammo - examples here would be a GP100 in 10mm shooting .40S&W or a S&W 625 shooting .45ACP. Your choice comes down to do you want harder/slower reloads but less recoil or do you want faster reloads but harder recoil? I have tried both and for me personally, I prefer the lighter recoil for major matches but run ESR guns at a lot of locals.

[@jasestrong]

@@RootinTootinRevo thank you so much ! I really appreciate the information .

[@travispowell2471]

Ur pretty slick with a wheel gun. I don’t have the guts to shoot revolver. Bug is a tough as I can handle. Much respect for you wheel gun guys tho.

[@RootinTootinRevo]

Thanks! It is a labor of love and frustration - it takes a lot of practice, a lot more than I ever did with semiautos but I recommend everyone give it a try. You might just get hooked. BUG is a tough division too - I have tried BUG-R at a match with an SP101 and it made for a long day. I have had so many folks come up to me at matches and say "I have this (GP100, 686, 66, etc) at home, I would love to run it for IDPA." It is kinda scary at first but you just have to go into it knowing you are not going to be fast and you can't go at semiauto speed. Be safe, make your hits and practice some reloads and see what you think. Investment - if you already have the gun is not that much. Safariland speedloaders are 20 some bucks each and you would need 4. A Speedbeez holster and 3 speedloader carries would be around 200 bucks. An unintended bonus I have noticed so far is that when I go back to a semiauto it is like shooting it on easy mode. The long/heavy revolver trigger pull makes everything else just seem amazing.

[@b237940b]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@RootinTootinRevo]

Glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching!