International Practical Shooting Confederation

United States Practical Shooting Association

In 1976 an international group of enthusiasts, interested in what had become known as ‘combat shooting’, met in Columbia Missouri. From that meeting came the foundation of the International Practical Shooting Confederation. IPSC now consists of 82 Regions or chapters in 67 nations.

In 1984 the United States Practical Shooting Association was incorporated as the U.S. Region of IPSC. The USPSA headquarters is located in Sedro Woolley Washington.

Practical shooting measures one’s ability to shoot rapidly and accurately with a full power handgun. The three elements; speed, power and accuracy form the three sides of the practical shooting triangle. By design, each match measures a shooter’s ability in all three areas. To test these abilities, shooters take on obstacle laden shooting courses, called stages, which require anywhere from six to thirty shots to complete. Competitors move, make speed re-loads, negotiate obstacles, and generally drive their guns through each of several stages as quickly as their skills will allow.

Safety is seriously emphasized. It may seem, to the uninitiated, that chaos reigns. In fact, the matches are governed by a very strict set of rules which are adhered to by all competitors under the supervision of trained Range Officers.

Shooters are ranked by performance and compete at the level at which they are ranked or classified. The classifications run from novice to Grand Master. So, while you will be amazed at the skills of a Grand Master and be shooting in the same match, you will be competing with others at your skill level. This holds true whether you are in a local match or competing in the USPSA Nationals or even the IPSC World Shoot.

We are thrilled that you are interested enough in Practical Shooting to explore how to best get started. You are about to take the first step on an exciting journey to a new world of safe, fair family fun with some of the greatest people you will ever know.

Contact Jake Nelson(email link for Jake Nelson) for more information about Practical Shooting. You may also want to check www.ipsc.org and www.uspsa.org

Here is a link to view upcoming events scheduled at Klamath Sportsman's Park.