THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE UNITED STATES PRACTICAL SHOOTING ASSOCIATION / IPSC 2017 ANNUAL VOL. 34 | NO. 1A LEARNING THE RULES FOCUS ON THE DIVISIONS BIG COMPETITION EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOWISSUE ABOUT USPSA ANNUAL ANNUAL 2017 ISSUE GET INVOLVED. SEE WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MISSING. 2017 ANNUAL VOL. 34 | NO. 1A THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE UNITED STATES PRACTICAL SHOOTING ASSOCIATION / IPSC FEATURES 4 .............................................................................................Inside USPSA by Mike Foley 6 ..............USPSA=SPEED, POWER, AND ACCURACY 10 .................................................................................. Learning the Rules by Troy McManus Bill Emberton and Alan Matthews 12 ............................................................................... Association of Clubs 14 ..................Focus on Divisions: Which Guns Do We Shoot and Why? 18 .......................................................................................Steel Challenge 22 ..................................................................................... Multi-Gun Basics 26 ...........................................................................Updated Classification 27 .........................................................................Promoting Your Matches John Vlieger by Jake Martens 28 .................................................................................... Women of USPSA 30 ....................................................................................Meet a Champion Ashley Rheuark 32 ............................................................................................. Young Guns Area 8 Junior Camp Danyela and Danny D’Angelo Photos by Carole Bryant. DIRECTORS Area 1 ......Bruce Gary [email protected] Area 7 ......David Bold [email protected] AND OFFICERS Area 2 ......Jerry Westcott [email protected] Area 8 ......Kevin McPhee [email protected] Area 3 ......Sherwyn Greenfield [email protected] DNROI .....Troy McManus [email protected] Area 4 ......Mike Pinto [email protected] Pres. .........Mike Foley [email protected] Area 5 ......Rick Steele [email protected] DFO..........Gary Nash [email protected] Area 6 ......Bruce Wells [email protected] Vol. 34, No. 1, January/February 2017 Duplication of contents in full or part is pro- Publisher - USPSA/IPSC, INC. hibited unless prior authorization has been obtained by writing to USPSA/IPSC. President – Mike Foley FRONT SIGHT (ISSN 0889681x) is published bi- monthly for USPSA members by: USPSA/IPSC Inc., Vice President – Sherwyn Greenfield 1639 Lindamood Lane, Burlington, WA 98233. EDITORIAL STAFF Annual Membership dues (U.S. and its posses- Editor – Jake Martens sions) $40, Foreign $50. $18 of dues goes to- ward a one year subscription to FRONT SIGHT. Associate Editor – Troy McManus Art/Design – Steve Ruml ([email protected]) Periodicals postage paid at Burlington, WA, Project Manager – Roger Maier and additional mailing offices. Advertising – Staci Pulver POSTMASTER: Send change of address Contributors – USPSA MEMBERS forms to: FRONT SIGHT, 1639 Lindamood USPSA OFFICE Lane, Burlington, WA 98233 1639 Lindamood Lane, Burlington, WA 98233 Copyright © 2017 The United States Practical Shooting Unless an advertisement in this publication contains Phone – (360) 855-2245 Association/ IPSC, Inc. a specific endorsement by USPSA, it has not been All rights reserved. tested by, approved by or endorsed by USPSA. There- FAX – (360) 855-0380 fore, if you purchase goods or services advertised in email us – [email protected] FRONT SIGHT and the goods or services are not sat- isfactory or as advertised, USPSA, its officers, agents find us online – www.uspsa.org or employees disclaim all liability for any consequen- Office hours - 8 am to 5 pm Pacific tial injuries or damages. USPSA.ORG 3 ///// INSIDE USPSA INSIDE USPSA By Mike Foley, USPSA PRESIDENT [email protected] INTERESTED IN USPSA SHOOTING? elcome to the most fun you can test your skill on an unlimit- as you progress through the system. you can have with fire- ed number of courses of fire with many Again, welcome to USPSA. arms! Inside this Annu- different types of guns in our 6 USPSA W al Issue, our welcoming sports divisions, our new provisional di- Hope to see you on the range, publication for new members, you will visions, our USPSA multi-gun divisions, find everything you need to know to and Steel Challenge. We have the fastest get started competing in USPSA! Our and safest shooting sport in the world, sport was born in 1976 from a collec- with something for everyone. One thing tion of combat shooting matches around that sets us apart from the others is our the world. Today we are approximately classification system. You can see where 25,000 members strong in the US alone! you rank among the best shooters in the Mike Foley, We have over 400 local clubs where world, and track your own improvement USPSA President 4 ANNUAL 2017 MIKE FOLEY Flat Dark Earth Rifle & Shotgun Stocks Speed Holster Gear Bags & Competition Belt HandALL® Beavertail Precise Fit Rubber Grip Sleeves USPSA.ORG 5 ///// USPSA Marty Toy USPSA= SPEED, POWER, AND ACCURACY 6 ANNUAL 2017 PHOTO BY JAKE MARTENS. SPEED, POWER, AND ACCURACY New At Taylor's! Matt Hopkins PHOTO BY JAKE MARTENS. JAKE PHOTO BY Rock Island Magwell: Twice lend those three elements, and you have got the the size of stock! most dynamic shooting sport ever devised – USPSA! Practical shooting was established as IPSC in 1976 B to organize the various independent efforts to build shooting skills and train for self-defense. The early days of the sport can be traced back to the 1950’s, with the quick-draw “leather slap” matches popular in the desert southwest. USPSA was incorporated in 1983, and has grown to 27,000 members in 2016. Early practical shooting challenged the standards of technique, PCC Special! training practices, and equipment. IPSC pioneers developed sce- Glock 41+1 kit nario-based competitions to accurately measure the effectiveness Black Delrin or Red of their own shooting techniques and equipment. The rapid, Aluminum shooting-on-the-move stages gave birth to the term “run and gun” so commonly used to describe the sport today. In keeping with its roots, USPSA strives to offer divisions that use state-of-the-art firearms and support equipment. Everything from revolvers to the classic 1911 auto pistol, modern service pis- tols, custom race guns, rifles, shotguns, and carbines can be found in the hands of USPSA competitors. SCORING USPSA shooting revolves around a “points per second” concept called “hit factor.” To get a hit factor, we take into account three factors: Speed, Power, and Accuracy. Each competitor shoots the course of fire against the clock. When finished, the S&W Shield +1. Adds one shot and range officers record SCORING locks the 8-rounder's sliding collar for the shooter’s time USPSA shooting revolves around a quick reloads! Patent in process. (speed), and record “points per second” concept called where the shots im- “Hit Factor”. Here is how to determine pacted on the targets your Hit Factor in competition. Need Something Special? (accuracy). They re- cord any penalties We're doing a PMAG +6 for the and then forward Hit Factor = Points - Time Zombie Apocalypse 3-Gun, +5 that information up HK 140s for the Border Patrol. example: to the stats shack, 20 points / 10 seconds = 2.0 Hit Factor Need something? Call TF! where points are as- WWW.TAYLORFREELANCE.COM . (360) 391-1551 . ///// USPSA Justine Williams PHOTO BY CORA MAGLAYA. JOIN THE CONVERSATION www.facebook.com/USPracticalShootingAssn twitter.com/uspsa_Shooting signed to the hits based on your ammuni- “A” hit on the target (we score A, B, C, your pistol must remain in the holster, tion (power). (.40 S&W and larger scores D) earns 5 points. For each MISS, you unloaded, the entire time. Breaking this as “major,” 9mm, .38 Special, and some will be penalized 10 points. So not only rule leads to immediate disqualification. light .40 S&W loads score as “minor.”) do you not get the 5 points possible, you Pointing a firearm (empty or not) at The resulting point total is divided by the LOSE a further 10. Hits on penalty tar- yourself, at another person, or anywhere time, and voila! We have a points per sec- gets are worth a further 10-point penalty. uprange of the firing line also leads to ond score, or “hit factor.” Do the math, and you will see that the immediate disqualification, and two range Most local club matches involve from need for accuracy in USPSA shooting is officers watch you as you shoot. The same four to six short courses called “stages,” very real. applies to a half-dozen other safety rules, all and a shooter will end up with a separate of which work in concert to give USPSA its “hit factor” for each one. MUCH MORE THAN “SHOOTING” exemplary safety record. Scoring officials will later compare the hit USPSA competition involves more than just As a rule, USPSA shooters are intolerant factors on each course, and give the maxi- “shooting.” Shooters are required to draw, of unsafe gun handling — they expect to be mum points to the shooter with the high- move, reload, negotiate obstacles, analyze able to compete in a safe environment, and est “hit factor.” Other shooters are award- the course AND shoot. The timer doesn’t sloppy gun handling puts everyone at risk. ed points based on how their hit factor stop until you’ve finished doing all those That