Founders: Bill Wilson, John Sayle, Ken Hackathorn, Dick Thomas, Walt Rauch, Larry Vickers, and Aaron Licourt
The International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), founded in 1996, is an organization based in Bogata, Texas that governs a practical shooting sport (IDPA), which is based on defensive pistol tactics, everyday carry equipment, and full-charge service ammunition, to solve simulated "real world" self-defense scenarios. Competitors (shooters) are required to use handguns and equipment (holsters, ammunition carriers) that are suitable for self-defense, and wear a concealment garment tha conceals the handgun and associated equipment from view of bystanders.[1]
The sport came about as a response to the perceived shortcomings in competitions organized by the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) and its migration away from the use of common, un-customized handguns.[1] It was decided by the founders of IDPA (Bill Wilson, John Sayle, Ken Hackathorn, Dick Thomas, Walt Rauch and Larry Vickers), that USPSA competitions had become too far removed from the reality of defensive shooting situations, using extensively modified guns, handmade ammunition, and speed-draw holsters that were impractical for self-defense. The IDPA founders believed that USPSA matches had become "equipment races", which were heavily dependent on a shooter's gear rather than their ability.[1][2]
In order to keep the sport in line with its founding principles, allowable alterations to the competition gear (including pistol or pistol caliber carbine) are carefully regulated in IDPA. Ammunition capacity is limited compared to some other action shooting sports in order to keep the playing field level for competitors from states that ban higher capacity magazines.[3]
Competition
An IDPA match consists of one or more stages. A stage presents a course of fire for the shooter to complete. A course of fire consists of one or more strings of fire. A string of fire is a timed segment in a course of fire. The time to complete a string of fire begins with a start signal (typically audible) and ends with the last shot fired. Time is measured by a shot timer, which provides the start signal and records each shot fired.
There are two types of stages: Scenario and Standards. A Scenario stage represents a self-defense situation that could happen in real life. A Standards stage tests shooting fundamentals.
Scoring
IDPA uses "Time Plus" scoring. "Time Plus" means the time it takes to complete a stage plus time added for points down and penalties. For a stage, the string times (raw time) plus points down time, plus penalty time are added to determine total stage time. For a match, the total time of all stages is added together. Match placement is based on total time. The lower the time, the higher the placement.
Points Down
The official IDPA target is made of cardboard and has a vaguely humanoid shape consisting of a "head" and a "body". Scoring zones are perforated onto its surface. A "neck" perforation demarcates the "head" from the "body."
There are 5 distinct scoring zones on an IDPA target: -0 head, -0 body, -1 head, -1 body, -3 body. The "head" is a 6" square with a 4" circle centered within it. The circle is marked "-0". The area outside of the circle is marked "-1". The "body" has an 8" circle in the high-center chest, which is marked "-0". A polygonal area surrounding the circle is marked "-1". The remainder of the body is marked "-3".
Only the required number of hits are scored. If there are fewer hits than required, the missing hits are scored as misses, which are "-5". If there are more hits on a target then required, the best of the required number of hits are scored, subject to the scoring method used (see below).
Scored hits in each zone are added to the total points down. For example: if a target requires two hits, a hit in the "-1" zone and a hit in the "-3" zone would be scored as "-4" and called as "down-4" (or simply "4").
One second per point down is added to the total time taken to shoot the stage.
Scoring Methods
There are two methods of scoring: Unlimited and Limited. Scenario stages must use Unlimited scoring. Standards stages may use either method, although Limited scoring is commonly used on Standards stages.
Unlimited Scoring
Unlimited scoring means that the shooter may fire more than the required number of shots at a target. The best of the required number of hits on the target are scored. Extra shots (makeups) are beneficial if they remove more points down than the time it takes to fire them.
Limited Scoring
Limited scoring means that the shooter may NOT fire more than the required number of shots at a target. Firing extra rounds on a limited stage will earn a procedural penalty. In addition to the penalty, for each extra shot fired at a target, the highest scoring hit will be removed (taped over) prior to scoring the target.
For example: a Limited Scoring stage calls for two shots per threat target. The shooter fires one round into the -0 zone and one round into the -1 zone. The shooter then fires an extra shot, hitting the -1 zone. First, the shooter is assessed a PE. Second, the highest scoring hit on the target, i.e.: the -0 hit, is removed, leaving two -1 hits. The final score on the target is "down 2."
Penalties
Procedural Error (PE)
A procedural error is a 3-second penalty given for violating the rules of IDPA or failing to follow the stage procedure of a course of fire.
Procedural errors may be assessed by the Safety Officer for infractions such as:
Faulting a cover line while engaging a target at a Point of Cover.
Not engaging targets in tactical priority.
Failing to follow the stage procedure.
Leaving loaded loading devices behind after performing a reload.
Hit on Non-Threat (HNT)
Targets identified with two open hands are considered "non-threat" targets. A hit on a non-threat in any scoring zone will result in a 5-second penalty for each and every hit.
Flagrant Penalty (FP)
A flagrant penalty is a 10-second penalty given in place of a PE when the shooter knowingly commits an infraction and gains a competitive advantage that outweighs the 3-second PE penalty the infraction would normally earn.
Flagrant penalties may be assessed by the Safety Officer for infractions such as:
Shooting with two hands when the procedure requires for one-handed shooting.
Engaging an entire array of threats while faulting cover.
Loading more rounds than allowed in the shooter's division.
The examples provided in the rule book should not be considered automatic. The Safety Officer must use judgement to determine if the infraction warrants a Flagrant penalty.
Flagrant penalties must be approved by the match director.
Failure to Do Right (FTDR)
A failure to do right is a 20-second penalty given for "gross unsportsmanlike conduct".
"Gross unsportsmanlike conduct" includes unacceptable behavior as well as intentional gross violations of the course of fire.
FTDR penalties must be approved by the match director.
Equipment
Firearms
IDPA currently recognizes nine divisions of competition, with each division having different limitations for the firearms. The Revolver (REV) and Back-Up Gun (BUG) divisions are further divided into two subcategories each.[4]
In the following table, note that "Max Rounds Loaded" is a general maximum for all competitions. Instructions for a stage may require a lower round count for that stage. In the semi-automatic divisions, this refers to the maximum number of rounds allowed to be loaded in the magazine. Unless stage instructions state otherwise, shooters may start with an additional round in the chamber. Also note that "Other Firearm Restrictions" only lists the most significant firearm restrictions for a division. See IDPA rulebook for an exhaustive list of rules.
″Passive Optics (MRDS) must be attached directly to slide between rear of slide and ejection port, and may not be mounted to the frame in any way.″ Lasers can also be used as long as the firearm meets all other division criteria.
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms and bows/crossbows.
The .38 Super, also known as .38 Super Auto, .38 Super Automatic, .38 Super Automatic +P , .38 Super +P , or 9×23mmSR, is a pistol cartridge that fires a 0.356-inch-diameter (9.04 mm) bullet. It was introduced in the late 1920s as a higher pressure loading of the .38 ACP, also known as .38 Auto. The older .38 ACP cartridge propels a 130-grain (8.4 g) bullet at 1,050 ft/s (320.0 m/s), whereas the .38 Super pushes the same bullet at 1,280 ft/s (390.1 m/s). The .38 Super has gained distinction as the caliber of choice for many top practical shooting competitors; it remains one of the dominant calibers in IPSC competition.
Practical shooting, also known as dynamic shooting or action shooting, is a set of shooting sports in which the competitors try to unite the three principles of precision, power, and speed, by using a firearm of a certain minimum power factor to score as many points as possible during the shortest time. While scoring systems vary between organizations, each measures the time in which the course is completed, with penalties for inaccurate shooting. The courses are called "stages", and are shot individually by the shooters. Usually the shooter must move and shoot from several positions, fire under or over obstacles and in other unfamiliar positions. There are no standard exercises or set arrangement of the targets, and the courses are often designed so that the shooter must be inventive, and therefore the solutions of exercises sometimes vary between shooters.
Combat pistol shooting is a modern martial art that focuses on the use of the handgun as a defensive weapon for self defense, or for military and police use. Like most martial arts, combat pistol shooting is practiced both for defense and for sport.
Jerry Charles Miculek Jr. is an American professional competition shooter known for his achievements in 3-Gun and speed shooting. He holds five officially sanctioned world records in revolver shooting and over 15 unsanctioned records with firearms ranging from 9mm semi-automatic pistols to the .50 BMG Barrett M107 anti-material rifle. Additional accomplishments include rapid-firing 12 shots from a six-shooter in 2.99 seconds, fast-shooting six shots in .98 seconds from a handheld Barrett M107, and a 1000-yard off-hand shot with his 9mm Smith & Wesson revolver.
The International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) is the world's largest shooting sport association, and the largest and oldest within practical shooting. Founded in 1976, the IPSC nowadays affiliates over 100 regions from Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. Competitions are held with pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns, and the competitors are divided into different divisions based on firearm and equipment features. While everyone in a division competes in the Overall category, there are also separate awards for the categories Lady, Super Junior, Junior, Senior, and Super Senior.
A racegun or race gun is a firearm that has been modified for accuracy, speed, and reliability. Often a semi-automatic pistol, raceguns are used primarily in practical shooting competitions and are modified to function best within a certain set of rules, such as weight, size, and capacity requirements.
The United States Practical Shooting Association(USPSA) is the national governing body of practical shooting in the United States under the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC). Its over 35,000 active members and over 500 affiliated clubs make USPSA the largest practical shooting organization in the United States and the second largest region within IPSC after the Russian Federation of Practical Shooting. USPSA publishes a monthly member magazine called Front Sight.
The modern technique is a method for using a handgun for self-defense, originated by firearms expert Jeff Cooper. The modern technique uses a two-handed grip on the pistol and brings the weapon to eye level so that the sights may be used to aim at the target. This method was developed by Cooper into a teachable system beginning in the 1950s, based on the techniques of shooters like Jack Weaver, Mike Rousseau and others, after experiments with older techniques such as point shooting. The method was codified in book form in 1991 in The Modern Technique of the Pistol by Gregory B. Morrison and Cooper.
The Steel Challenge is a speed shooting competition governed by the Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA) that consists of eight standardized stages with steel targets in three sizes; small circular, large circular and rectangular targets. Competitors are scored solely by the time it takes them to complete each stage, and the match winner is the competitor with the lowest overall time.
ActionAirgun was a commercial action shooting sports game where competitors use standardized airsoft shooting kits to shoot special courses of fire and keep track of their scores online. It is a trademarked name of ActionAirgun LLC. As of November 23, 2016, the domain for the sport, actionairgun.com, has expired.
Power factor (PF) in practical shooting competitions refers to a ranking system used to reward cartridges with more recoil. Power factor is a measure of the momentum of the bullet, which to some degree reflects the recoil impulse from the firearm onto the shooter.
Cowboy mounted shooting is a competitive equestrian sport involving the riding of a horse to negotiate a shooting pattern. Depending on sponsoring organizations, it can be based on the historical reenactment of historic shooting events held at Wild West shows in the late 19th century. Modern events use blank ammunition instead of live rounds, certified to break a target balloon within twenty feet (6 m).
The fourth season of the History channel television series Top Shot premiered on February 14, 2012.
Robert "Bob" Gordon Vogel is a professional marksman, competition shooter, and National/World champion. He is the only Law Enforcement Officer ever to win World and National Championships in the Practical Pistol Disciplines of IPSC and USPSA.
Dynamic Sports Shooting Norway (DSSN), NorwegianDynamisk Sportsskyting Norge (DSSN), is the Norwegian association for practical shooting under the International Practical Shooting Confederation. It was constituted in 1979 as Norges Forbund for Praktisk Skyting (NFPS), and changed its name to Dynamisk Sportsskyting Norge in 2013.
Cowboy action shooting is a competitive shooting sport that originated in the early 1980s, at the Coto de Caza Shooting Range in Orange County, California. Cowboy action shooting is now practiced in many places with several sanctioning organizations including the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), Western Action Shootists Association (WASA), and National Congress of Old West Shooters (NCOWS), and Single Action Shooting Australia (SASA).
Multigun, Multi Gun or Multi-Gun, often also called 2-Gun or 3-Gun depending on the types of firearms used, are practical shooting events where each of the stages require the competitor to use a combination of handguns, rifles, and/or shotguns Multigun has a lot in common with ordinary IPSC/ USPSA single gun matches, and matches generally have courses of fire where the shooter must move through different stages and engage targets in a variety of different positions.
Action Air is an airsoft shooting sport based on practical shooting under the International Practical Shooting Confederation. The sport enjoys popularity in countries and areas such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and Japan, where civilian ownership of real firearms are either illegal or extremely difficult to obtain, but it is also used by some owners of real firearms as an affordable and easily available training tool. Action air is restricted to handgun, and is not included in the IPSC Tournament structure.
Shooting competitions for factory and service firearms refer to a set of shooting disciplines, usually called service rifle, service pistol, production, factory, or stock; where the types of permitted firearms are subject to type approval with few aftermarket modifications permitted. The terms often refer to the restrictions on permitted equipment and modifications rather than the type of match format. The names Service Rifle and Service Pistol stem from that the equipment permitted for these types of competitions traditionally were based on standard issue firearms used by one or several armed forces and civilian versions of these, while the terms production, factory and stock often are applied to more modern disciplines with similar restrictions on equipment classes.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
International 
