IPSC is a game played with loaded
handguns and so there is an element of physical risk. Similarly, sky
diving is a game played without wings and it too has risks. As does
NASCAR, baseball, football and most any other sport.
In IPSC, as in these other sports, the risks are controlled by a rigorous
application of time tested Safety Rules. Violation of any of these rules
results in immediate cessation of your shooting for the evening and match
disqualification.
The rules are for everyone's safety, including your own. GPSL does not
compromise on enforcement of the safety rules, before attending one of our
matches, please read and understand these basic safety rules.......
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Safe Area
At an IPSC match there is always one or more designated
"Safe Areas". These are areas where
Unloaded
(make sure it is unloaded before getting to the range),
guns may be removed from holsters, bags etc and handled,
for the purposes of transferring from bag to holster,
inspection, repair, dry fire etc.
A Safe Area conforms to the norms for firearms safety in
that it presents an impenetrable surface at which the
gun must be pointed when handling. At GPSL, the
impenetrable surface is a brick wall; at outdoor match
locations it is usually an earthen berm.
Ammunition MUST NOT be handled in a Safe
Area.
Handguns MAY ONLY be handled in the Safe
Area, unless on the firing line under the direction of
the Range Officer.
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Ammunition Handling
Ammunition may be handled anywhere except
in the Safe Area. You can load your magazines wherever
convenient - tailgate of your truck, table, bench etc.
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| Range Officer (RO)
An experienced club member acts as Range Officer
(RO). Only one RO is designated at a time, although the
RO may change over the course of evening and will be
assisted by a back up RO who is also the scorer.
The RO runs the shooter through the course of fire.
Most obviously, the RO issues the commands to the
shooter to load the gun, begin shooting, and clear the
gun at the end of the stage. Most importantly, the RO
monitors the shooter for safe gun handling practices and
will warn the shooter if getting close to an infraction
of any safety rules and will stop the shooter should violations occur or appear
to be about to occur. In such cases the RO will call
"Stop!", at which time the shooter must
immediately cease shooting, point the muzzle in a safe
direction downrange, and await further direction from
the RO.
Note that it is the shooter's responsibility to
manage the gun at all times, not the RO's. The RO is
there to monitor and assist if requested, not instruct
or direct.
There is a USPSA certification program for RO's which
club members are encouraged to take. |
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At the Firing Line
The Firing Line is the place to which the shooter is
called when it is time for him or her to shoot. The
Range Officer ensures that the downrange area is empty
of persons in front of the shooter before enquiring of
the shooter "Do you have any questions?",
then , if not, gives the shooter permission to "Load
and make ready".
At this time and at this time only the
shooter may remove the gun from the holster and, keeping
it pointed in a safe direction, may load the gun.
Note that the shooter is given "permission",
not "instructed". It is always the shooter's
responsibility to decide to load the gun and he should
not if he has any question about procedures, or the
stage description, or any concerns about the shooting
area.Once loaded the RO's will confirm if the shooter
is ready, the shooter does not have to confirm (but a
head nod is a good indication of readiness), if the
shooters is motionless for a full second or two it is
understood that the shooter is ready. At this time the
RO will give the command "Standby" the RO will
then wait 1-4 second at which point he will start the
timer which emits a high pitched and loud beep/buzz,
this is the indication to the shooter to draw and engage
the course of fire within it description.
While most stages begin with a loaded gun in holster,
other starting positions are possible. For instance,
loaded gun on table; loaded gun in bag; unloaded gun on
table/bag/holster. The shooter must be sure to
understand the starting position and understand the
requirements of safe gun handling for that position. The
RO is there to assist as needed. |
The '180' Rule
While handling the gun on the Firing Line, continuing
throughout the course of fire, and while clearing the
gun and returning it to the holster at the end of the
course of fire, the shooter Must Not point
the muzzle of the gun rearward, whether it is loaded or
not.
"Rearward" means at an angle of more than 90°
to the designated down range orientation.
At the Bull's Eye indoor range, that is an obvious
location - the range is rectangular and the 180° line
is perpendicular to the side walls. At outside matches,
with irregular shaped shooting areas, the 180° line may
be more difficult to discern. The RO should point out
the 180°, but it is the shooter's responsibility to
know where it is.
The RO will warn a shooter if the muzzle comes close to
the 180° plain by shouting "Muzzle", to which the
shooter must pay heed and return the muzzle to a safer
direction (down range) the RO may also physically direct
the shooters arm/shoulder if deemed necessary,
however muzzle control is always the shooter's
responsibility. The RO will immediately
command the shooter to "Stop" if the 180° line is
breached.
Everyone else in the range is behind the shooter; if the
gun muzzle never points other than downrange, nobody
gets hurt in event of an accidental discharge. At Bull's
Eye the side walls are plated in steel so we make sure
all impact with the side walls (if any) is kept to a
minimum and at an angle that does not endanger any one
in the range, understanding the fact that muzzle control
at all times is of utmost importance's and the
responsibility of the shooter!! |
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Terminating the Course of Fire
At the conclusion of shooting a stage or whenever the RO
commands "Stop", the shooter must immediately
cease firing, bring the finger outside of the trigger
guard, maintain the muzzle pointing down range and await
further instructions from the RO. At this point the
timer has stopped and the following should be performed
in a slow and thought manner!
The RO issues the commands:
- "Unload and show clear" -- the shooter
removes the magazine and reverses the slide to eject
any chambered round. The shooter holds the
slide open allowing the shooter and the RO to visually inspect the
chamber to ensure there is not a live round still in
the gun.
- "If clear, hammer down"-- again the
RO is asking the shooter to be sure the gun is clear
(If?). the shooter
releases the slide and points the gun in a safe
direction (down range) and drops the hammer by
pulling the trigger.
- "Holster "-- the shooter must return the gun to
the holster before doing anything else.
- "Range is clear" -- the shooter, RO and other
members may proceed downrange to inspect and tape
targets.
Even though the RO inspects that the gun is clear, it is
always the shooter's responsibility to make sure the gun
is empty. If the gun goes "bang" on the
"Hammer down" command, it is considered
an accidental discharge and the shooter will be
disqualified from the match.
Some guns such as S&W semi-autos have a magazine
interlock which requires that a magazine be in place in
order to drop the hammer by pulling the trigger.
In this case the shooter should insert an empty magazine
into the gun in order to drop the hammer, then remove
the magazine before holstering the gun.
Note that the trigger must always be pulled even if,
like some of the Sigarms semi-autos, the gun has a
de-cocking device. This ensures that no unfired round is
accidentally left in the chamber. |
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Sweeping
The shooter must not point the muzzle of the gun (loaded
or unloaded) at any
part of his own body. This is termed "sweeping".
Sweeping can happen when a shooter attempts to draw the
gun from the holster and uses the free hand to assist in
releasing the gun. It can also happen while returning
the gun to the holster or clearing a gun malfunction. It
can also happen if a shooter disgustedly drops his arms
to his side at the end of a course of fire, and sweeps
his foot or leg. On some course of fire involving
manipulation of props (e.g. opening a door) the shooter
also needs to be mindful of where hands, arms and legs
are in relation to the muzzle else sweeping occurs. |
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Finger off Trigger
During a course of fire, the shooter must keep his
finger off the trigger except while targets are being
engaged.
For example:
- IPSC shooting frequently involves movement of the
shooter between shooting positions, often running.
During the course of fire, the shooter must
keep his/her finger outside the trigger guard during
movement unless targets are visible, he has an
active sight picture on the targets and is actively
engaging them.
- IPSC shooting frequently involves changing
magazines. While the shooter is changing magazines,
the trigger finger must be outside the
trigger guard.
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Downrange
The shooter must keep the gun pointed in a safe
direction at all times in accordance with the 180 rule;
this is "downrange".
Note that this is not "at the floor" nor
"up in the sky". Keep the up gun in font of
your face where you can see it at all times, that way
you Know where it is pointed, because you can see
it, it is also easier to acquire an aim point on a
target that way too!
The practice of pointing a gun up/down as seen on TV
when not shooting criminals may be fine when carrying a
loaded gun in a crowd of people - the only
"safe" direction is up or down (assuming you
are not upstairs). On a dedicated shooting range the
only safe direction is downrange, pointed at the berm or
backstop. |
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