first ever match is tomorrow, any suggestions advice are welcome,
Can take my match 1911 45 but maybe the p226 Sport 9mm would be easier to shoot with first timer pressure,
what do you experienced guys and gals think. I plan to have fun regardless.tx.

Shoot safely, and only as fast as you can keep all of your shots center-of-mass.

Excellent advice. Make each shot count. Speed comes with practice, so don't worry about it. Make sure you have good centered shots.

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John Caradimas SV1CEC
The M1911 Pistols Organization
http://www.m1911.org

Shoot what you want to shoot. I used a Springfield GI .45 last time and it was the first time I ever shot the pistol (oh yeah, don't use the GI .45--the small sights are a killer).
I have a match today that will re-enact the Miami shootout of 1986. Mas Ayoob is coming down and setting it up for us--should be a hoot.
If you shoot your 9mm, it will be a differnt class but you will be shooting with the same group of folks, so shoot whatever gun you think will be the most fun. Don't worry about scoring, it really doesn't mean anything unless you are qualifying.
Like Rick and John said, biggest thing is keep your shots on paper. A few points down is no big deal, but a "failure to neutralize" is pretty stiff (something like 10 sec penalty).
Just don't sweat the small stuff. Last time out, there was a senario that had a hostage, and we were supposed to shoot the bad guy in the head (which from our angle was a tough shot to get past the hostage), like I said I was using the SA for the first time. My first two shots, right into the hostages head
All I could say was, "Hey, it was quick and painless."

__________________
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Rick
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." Thomas Jefferson

Thank you all, it is raining at the moment, so hopefully the event is still on, the rain wont stop me. I think I will take the 45 out and have lots of fun. Here we go.

Fasttarget,

Be ready for a great learning experience and a lot of fun !

well, it was lots of fun, my wife was along and the only woman there, she had a great time. Took my Kimber gold match, shot very accurately but had a few ftfs, that is ok, learned to react to that, it needs to finish be broken in or the mag is causing it.
It rained and was cold, we left all wet , cold but with big grins , had to stop and get Michele a speed loader for her 9mm.

Glad you had fun!
Are you hooked now?
I shoot Glocks in ESP division so I never have FTF problems.

yes,the glocks are pretty reliable. the gold match was not well broken in , the problem turned out to be a magazine that needed a hard hit to seat. Still had plenty of fun anyway. The glocks are great guns, I just cant seem to like the looks of them for some reason.