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2010 Michigan State Championship

IDPA
SKSC

The Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Shoot IDPA

The 4 rules of Gun Safety

1).  The gun is always loaded!
2).  Never point a gun at something you are not prepared to destroy!
3).  Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target!
4).  Always be sure of your target and what is behind it!

     If these simple rules were always followed, firearm accidents would never happen.  Pay particular attention to rules 2 and 3.  When shooting IDPA your finger should never be inside of the trigger guard until you are on target and ready to shoot.  Always get your finger out of the trigger guard before moving.  Always be aware of your muzzle’s direction and keep it pointed safely downrange.  Pointing a muzzle up or down is not safe, always keep it pointed at the back stop.  Certain IDPA courses of fire may test your skills of keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.   Be mindful of your muzzle and trigger finger placement, and you will always shoot safely.

Walk Through

     The walkthrough is read to all shooters on the stage at the beginning of each stage.  This information is the description of what is to be performed during the course of fire.   Questions will be answered after the walkthrough is read.  If there is anything about the course of fire that you don’t understand after the walkthrough is read, please ask.

Range Commands

Load and Make Ready     When this command is heard, you will take the handgun out of your holster and load it according to IDPA division capacity.  Then, safely place the gun back into your holster.

Shooter Ready     This is a question to determine if you are ready to begin the course of fire.  If you are ready, nod your head yes to let the Safety Office know and prepare yourself mentally to begin.

Standby     At this point, the Safety Officer will press the timer button which will sound the beep after a random delay of one to three seconds.  At the signal, you will draw your firearm and shoot the designated course of fire.  After you are finished you will hear...

Unload and Show Clear     At this time you should remove your magazine from the gun, pull the slide back and hold it open for the safety officer to visibly check your chamber.  Don’t be concerned where the live round goes as it leaves the gun, we will help you find it when it is safe to do so.  For revolvers, simply open the cylinder and remove the cartridges in the cylinder, but leave the cylinder open to be inspected.

Slide Down or Cylinder Closed     Allow the slide to close, or for revolvers, close your cylinder.

Hammer Down     At this point, you should actually dry fire the gun, while pointing at the backstop.  If your gun has a decocker, please do not use it.  Please dry fire the gun.  This is one last effort to make sure the gun is empty.  Revolvers are exempt from this procedure.

Holster     At this command, return your firearm to the holster.

Range is Safe     At this point, we will all go down range and score the targets, then paste and reset the targets. 
Everyone, except the next shooter, is expected to participate in this part of the process

Additional Range Commands that you may hear:

Finger     This command is called if the Safety Officer cannot see a clear trigger guard, when the shooter is moving with a loaded firearm.

Muzzle     This command is called if the muzzle is nearing a dangerous angle.

Cover     This command is called if the shooter's body is not behind cover appropriately.  Cover is defined as 100% of the lower torso, and 50% of the upper torso.  Generally, when cover is called, the shooters leg is "hanging out" in the open.

Stop     Anyone can call the STOP command.  This may be called for a safety issue, or violation.

For complete IDPA rules, the IDPA Rule Book (4.5 MB file) can be viewed at the IDPA web site.