Practical Shooting attempts to
measure the ability to shoot rapidly and accurately with a full
power handgun, rifle, and/or shotgun. Those three elements - speed,
accuracy, and power - form the three sides of the practical shooting
triangle. By design, each match will measure a shooter's ability in
all three areas.
If shooting has an "extreme" sport,
USPSA-sanctioned practical shooting is it. Competitors move,
negotiate obstacles, run, speed-reload, and drive their guns through
each of several courses (stage) as fast as their skills will allow.
The typical stage will require a
shooter to draw his gun from a holster and then move through the
stage engaging paper and steel targets. The shooter will have to
reload his weapon during the movement through the course. The
scoring system measures points scored (minus misses and penalties)
divided by the time taken to finish the course of fire. A competitor
that has the balance of accuracy and speed will place high in the
match.
USPSA offers competitive divisions
for most handguns, from revolvers, to scope-sighted,
recoil-compensated "race guns" developed just for our sport. Each
division has 6 classes for the different skill levels of the
competitors. Even though you could be shooting in a squad with
individuals in the higher classes you will only compete with
shooters in your class and skill levels.
Pistol Match- 1st Sunday of the
Month
The monthly pistol matches consist of 4 courses of fire all shot
with a handgun as described above. These four courses are added
together for the competitors score for that days match score. The
courses will be from 6 to 40 rounds per stage.
3 Gun Match
The 3 gun matches have 1 stage each for pistol, rifle and shotgun.
The total score for these three stages are added together for the
match score. Pistol and rifle courses are typically 30-40 rounds
each. The shotgun course is typically 12-25 rounds each. Bring some
means of carrying enough ammo to finish the course of fire. There
are three divisions for 3-gun with 6 classes in each division so the
competitor still only competes against those with similar guns and
skill level.
Steel Match
The Steel matches consist of 4 courses of fire with 5 static steel
targets. Each stage the competitor will draw his gun from a holster
and engage the 5 pieces of steel as fast as possible. The competitor
will run each course 5 times, remove the slowest run and then the
scoring system will record the 4 fastest runs. The total of all runs
(5 stages, 4 runs) will be added up for a total time. Fastest total
time for each class and division wins.