Rumbler's just trying to fire me up. Competition teaches shooting skills, not tactics. I would forward the premise it is impossible to replicate the level of stress of a match when practicing shooting skills alone. I've seen some folks who shoot, move, and reload as smooth as silk when on the range with a few friends absolutely lose their minds when the buzzer goes off at a match.

That experience of tunnel vision, forgetting the plan, and stuff going wrong is extremely valuable, I think, in the tactical realm as well. Everyone who EDC's a firearm should allow themselves to feel that at least once.

Of course, there is no rule that says you have to do all the things Rumbler says about the match. You can shoot it as slowly and methodically as you like, taking advantage of available cover, reloading while stationary, slicing pies, keeping muzzles out of windows (but there are times, both at the matches and in real life, you do have to get in the window to get to your target), and so forth. You probably won't do as well in the match as someone who is only paying homage to the clock with all the appropriate race gear, but if that isn't important I think it is a great opportunity to test yourself and your gear on a course you didn't design, on the clock, with a bunch of strangers watching.

So, it appears Rumbler did, in fact, provoke me to post longer than I intended when I should be doing other stuff!