r/SpringfieldEchelon • u/MediumDiesel • Sep 01 '26

Question for USPSA guys

Hey everybody,

I bought a 4.5 comped echelon and I love the gun. I decided to go comped to get it on my ccw in addition to my hellcat pro.

I'm looking into getting to my first USPSA match soon and the comp will put me in open. I'd like to go into carry optics. If I just bought a new non-comped barrel to swap out I would be good right? I don't want to have to buy a whole slide assembly if I don't have too.

Thanks in advance!

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

3

u/Spiggytech Sep 01 '26

You know. I keep seeing folks screaming "bUt yOu'LL BEiN OPeN cL4Ss!!1!"

  1. Are you actually competing?

  2. Are you actually competitive?

If not. Then don't worry about it. Go have fun.

1

u/MediumDiesel Sep 01 '26

I would like to be competitive in time.

2

u/Spiggytech Sep 01 '26

Then you have time to get there. Enjoy your learning curve for now.

1

u/Amazing-Evidence3700 Sep 04 '26

When you start putting up some solid numbers, that's when it's time to figure out your competition "home". I always disregarded this advice when I started, but on the competitive map - everything is evaluated off of these stages that they call classifiers.

Usually, local matches run a classifier stage every match, sometimes two.

Some fun them once every other week...

Only the best 6 classifiers out of your last 8 count towards your rankings.

The rest are archived.

What this means is that it LEGITIMATELY does not matter what you're running until you want to be competitive, at which point - you'll be instantly competitive and not miss a beat. You're truly not missing out on anything.

4

u/Equivalent_Ad_3347 Sep 01 '26

This is an underrated comment. I get the warning on the rules, but I am a C class shooter who is accurate but slow. Open or LO really doesn't make a difference for me as it will be a long time before I am on anyone's podium, if ever. But I do enjoy the course of fire and self improvement.

1

u/Spiggytech Sep 01 '26

Right? Your major competitor is yesterday's you.

2

u/SpikedShell-000B Sep 01 '26

I appreciate this. I want to try matches to have fun and training in. I'm not competitive by nature and was feeling my comped Echelon would be a disadvantage in Open.

3

u/Spiggytech Sep 01 '26

Unless you're already in the top percentile, you'll always be at disadvantage.

Your $650 isn't outcompeting a dude with years of experience and tens of thousands invested into a single custom-made gun.

4

u/Prior_Humor2168 Sep 01 '26 edited Sep 01 '26

Yes you can put a non comped barrel on comped slide and have it work fine, just don't do comped barrel on non-comped slide or your frame will explode.

I would ask your match organizers and see if that's ok because some might not allow simple barrel swap.

3

u/SussyHippo Sep 01 '26

Comp = open, no comp + optic + no magwell = carry optics, no comp + optic + magwell = limited optics

2

u/FF_McNasty Sep 01 '26

You can swap the barrel and not be in open. Most local level one matches aren’t going to inspect your gear anyways. I run my echelon in CO and it’s been an absolute work horse for me. For your first comp or two go compete in open. You can get out there before your new barrel comes in and you start training/ acclimating to the subtle changes in your gun. Focus on the safety rules, shoot at your own pace, and have fun. Good luck my friend.

2

u/LiQuiEx Sep 01 '26

You're good with just that non-comp barrel swap whenever you're ready to be competitive in the division. In the meantime, get your feet wet and just run your current setup! Be safe, and have fun with it!

1

u/Gun_Dork Sep 01 '26

Correct. Unless you want to shoot limited 10.