I like to shoot in IPSC matches. I'm not very fast so I never place that high in the standings. Other younger, faster, smarter, richer people tend to do a lot better. When you have to run, it helps to be young and in good shape. When you can think about a lot of things at once, it helps keep track of targets, things to do on a stage, etc. If you have a lot of money, you can buy a "race gun" that's more accurate than what the rest of us own or carry. I don't object to any of this, because the reason I shoot in IPSC matches is to get closer to the conditions I might have to deal with someday in a life threatening situation. IPSC deals with accuracy, speed, and power, and more often than not I just try to achieve accuracy with a powerful load like the 10 mm. If there are "no shoots," I don't just hope to miss them. I miss them because in the real world you must not hit a bystander. Every time I go to an IPSC match I gain more appreciation for the mental aspects of shooting. Anyone can learn the basic skills. Learning and appreciating situational awareness is far more important and IPSC competition helps with this learning process.

Even so, there are times when shooting in IPSC competition that I wish we were using more practical techniques like real everyday holsters, real reliable guns, being able to shoot outside of a box behind a barricade, and being encouraged to reload behind cover and using tactical rather than competitive reloads (where you just drop magazines and keep going). It turns out I'm not the only one thinking this way. There is a new organization called the International Defensive Pistol Association that is set up to encourage a return to the practical aspects of shooting. I won't give you a lot of history on the IDPA. You can check out their Web page at www.idpa.com to learn more about IDPA, print out a set of the rules, etc. It's a pretty good Web site.

Because the NRA range likes to present a lot of different shooting sports, it was just a matter of time before an IDPC match got scheduled. I went to the classifier match on September 30. The setup was great. Four shooters were scheduled each hour. There were three stages and two sets of targets and obstacles so that as soon as one person had shot the stage, another one could do the same thing on the other side of the range. This made things move right along. It's no fun to go to a match and stand around most of the time - as is often the case at an IPSC match.

All three stages used the same targets. The IDPA target is different from the IPSC target, not in size or layout, but in terms of the scoring areas. An IDPA target has a circle in the middle which reflects the optimum aiming point. Shots in this circle get the highest score. Shots outside the circle, but still near the "center of mass" also get a decent score. I don't remember the number of points for each area, and don't care what the numbers are. The point is to shoot for the middle of the target. In IDPA, if you hit in the middle, you do ok. In the classifier match, the left hand target is set at 6 feet high. Two yards to the right is another target at 4 feet. Two more yards to the right of that one is the third target set at 5 feet. This makes you shift your aim up and down as you move across the targets.

During the first stage, you get to shoot two shots to the center of the target and one to the "head," then shots to the "head" and then some weak and strong hand strings. These strings represent most of the combinations you might see with three targets at 7 yards range. All strings start with the gun in the holster, by the way. IDPA is realistic. The holster has to be on an approved list and has to be worn as it would be for concealment. Magazine holders have to be worn the same way. Unlike IPSC, where you can have the pistol and magazines at convenient spots on your belt, in IDPA all the equipment has to be where you'd wear it on the street.

I did pretty well on the first stage. The targets were at 7 yards and anyone who shoots on a regular basis should be able to hit the center of a target at that distance. In a real world encounter, this is as close as you can let someone approach who has a knife. Closer and you don't have time to draw and fire.

The second stage was fired from 10 yards. This time we all had to walk toward the targets while firing and then on another string we walked back away from the targets. You weren't allowed to stop and take careful aim, but instead had to shoot while moving - another realistic setting.

Then we moved to 20 yards and shot from behind a barricade. Reloading had to be done behind the cover of the barricade. This stage also involved moving forward to take cover behind a 55 gallon drum which for some reason was called a "barrel." The barricade made sense, but I don't see that many barrels on the streets these days. Whoever thought of the barrel must live in a different part of the country.

I like IDPA a lot. I recommend it to anyone who wants to get the kinds of defensive shooting and thinking skills you pick up from participating in IPSC matches. IDPA lets you use regular guns, holsters, and magazine holders. IDPA is set up so that there cannot be an "equipment race" to see what sort of rule bending gadgets can be attached to the pistol. In fact, I think they've got a rule that says the rules won't be changed for at least two years. There's just one part of this that I don't like at all. I cannot use the Glock 20 with ghost ring sights because ghost ring sights are not allowed in IDPA. The reason I have ghost ring sights is because my eyes aren't as good as they used to be, but no set of rules is perfect and no set of rules is going to make everybody happy all the time.

Check with the NRA range for the dates and times for the next IDPA match. Go and participate. If you've read this and are thinking you can't because all you have is a revolver, then I've got good news. Unlike IPSC where a revolver isn't competitive, in IDPA there is a separate category for revolver shooters. Once again, this reflects the way things are in the real world. Revolvers may be carried for defensive purposes more than semi-autos.

Try IDPA. I'll bet you like it a lot.