All kidding aside, I featured a couple of familiar faces in article that was published in USCCA Magazine back in January. You might recognize these dudes - Caleb
I snagged the photo of Bill during the IDPA Tri-State Regional match; Gary's photo I got during a USPSA match at ACC. The article itself is focused on getting non-competition shooters into the three most recognizable shooting sports.
Also, if you're not a member of the US Concealed Carry Association, I recommend joining...and not just because they pay me to write stuff.
If you're one of the many Americans who have made the choice to carry a firearm for self-defense, you've also probably realized that just buying the gun and carrying it around on your hip isn't enough. You need something more, and that something is training. One option is to go to "gun school," where top instructors will provide you with the fundamentals and advanced skills necessary to deploy your firearm during a life or death situation. But gun schools can be expensive, and often involve travel, two factors which can often rule them out for the average gun owner and shooter. However, there is another option that's available to many people. That option is competition, sometimes called practical pistol shooting.
Practical pistol shooting got its start back in the '70s, when a guy named Jeff Cooper (you may have heard of him) and some friends decided that they needed a way to test the fundamental skills of defensive shooting against one another. Since shooting at each other was out of the question, practical pistol competition was born. Since then, it has grown into multiple pistol sports with their own sets of rules and equipment, but all tied together by the common thread of a shared ancestry. While each sport may differ slightly from another in terms of certain rules and regulations, each one, from Steel Challenge to International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) and even bowling pins, holds some benefit for the concealed carry holder.
What are the "practical shooting sports?"
United States Practical Shooting AssociationUSPSA is probably the most widely known of the practical shooting sports, being the US sanctioning body of the International Practical Shooting Confederation that was originally founded by Jeff Cooper. USPSA is the most "run and gun" of the shooting sports, as the stages tend to have higher round counts and more movement than its closest competitor, IDPA. USPSA represents itself as "solving shooting problems," where the competitor is presented with a course of fire, and is given great leeway to solve the problem as they see fit, provided all safety requirements are met.
International Defensive Pistol AssociationIDPA was founded by former USPSA/IPSC shooters who felt that the game had drifted too far from its origins as practical pistol, and had become too much of an equipment race. IDPA courses of fire range from 1-18 rounds of ammo, and generally incorporate less movement than USPSA stages. IDPA is designed to simulate defensive situations, where the competitor is required to draw from concealment, make use of available cover, and engage targets in order of greatest to least threatening to the shooter. At the sanctioning level, IDPA emphasizes defensive shooting. The rule book itself states that a certain percentage of shots in main match stages should be fired weak hand, on the move, and so on.
Steel ChallengeSteel Challenge is known as "the fastest shooting sport on earth." Unlike IDPA or USPSA which use different stages at the match level, Steel Challenge uses the same set of stages for every sanctioned competition. This has allowed top level shooters to gain much repetitive practice on the stages, creating unbelievably fast times. Each stage involves engaging five steel targets at various ranges, against the clock. The shooter draws from the holster and fires until all targets have been hit, reloading as necessary. While Steel Challenge is possibly the shooting sport that has the least direct application to concealed carry and self defense, the same basic skills of drawing, acquiring a sight picture, and making precise hits at high speed form the bases for Steel Challenge.
Why should I compete?
The biggest reason to compete in the practical shooting sports (using IDPA as the primary example) is that they reinforce the skills used in a defensive pistol encounter, and allow you to practice those skills in a simulated stressful environment. While shooting against a timer or buzzer in IDPA isn't the same as fighting for your life, teaching your brain and body to perform the complicated movements necessary to draw and fire a gun under stress--any stress--is a good thing. Additionally, the repetition provided by regular competition shooting and practice allows you to build muscle memory, another key factor in self-defense shooting.
Competition reinforces and develops some of the most important skills in your arsenal, such as drawing your firearm from concealment. In IDPA shooting, the competitor is required to wear a concealing garment, such as a photographer's vest or light jacket, and wear the gun in such a way that it is concealed by the garment when competing.
During a course of fire, the shooter will have to draw the firearm from concealment
and engage the targets. The drawstroke is one of the most critical aspects of self-defense, and often the most overlooked. Many shooters tend to focus on what to do once the gun is already out, and not on the act of drawing and deploying their firearm. A top competition shooter can draw and fire a shot in less than a second, a skill that would be extremely useful in a defensive encounter.
Another fundamental skill that you can train in competition shooting is the fast follow-up shot. Statistics show that defensive encounters where the gun is fired quite often involve firing more than one round; a reality which is reflected in practical shooting. IDPA and USPSA courses of fire almost universally involve firing more than a single shot at a target, with the occasional rare exception in IDPA. It goes without saying that delivering fast, accurate hits is a skill that concealed carry permit holders should seek.
What do I need to compete?
Surprisingly, you can compete in all three of the major practical shooting sports with some of the most common carry guns in use. For example, if you carry a Glock 19 (9mm compact), you'd find a home in USPSA's Production Division, IDPA's Stock Service Pistol Division, or Steel Challenge's Production Division. Fans of the 1911 compete in the Single Stack Division in USPSA, Custom Defensive Pistol in IDPA, or Custom Defensive Pistol in Steel Challenge. In all three sports, there are also competitive divisions for 6-shot revolvers, so fans of the wheelgun can have a home as well.
Beyond your firearm, in order to compete, you'll also need a good holster, lots of spare magazines or speed loaders, magazine or speed loader carriers, and the usual safety items such as glasses and hearing protection. The most valuable item to bring to a practical shooting match is an open mind--that way you're always learning something new and useful.
Ultimately, the greatest advantage of competitive shooting to the average concealed carry permit holder isn't the practice and trigger time gained, but it is the environment in which those skills are practiced. Practical shooters, like many in the shooting sports, are generally welcoming and helpful to newcomers, and more than willing to share their knowledge and experience with new shooters. The fun and friendly environment created by that attitude allows us to hone our defensive skills, while at the same time enjoying the company of our fellow gun owners.
Caleb Giddings is the author of GunNuts.Net (www.gunnuts.net) and the host of Gun Nuts Radio (www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts) as well as being a competitive shooter and the current Indiana State Steel Challenge Revolver champion.
I snagged the photo of Bill during the IDPA Tri-State Regional match; Gary's photo I got during a USPSA match at ACC. The article itself is focused on getting non-competition shooters into the three most recognizable shooting sports.
Also, if you're not a member of the US Concealed Carry Association, I recommend joining...and not just because they pay me to write stuff.