About IPSC |
What is IPSC?
To promote, improve and advance the sport of IPSC shooting worldwide and to cultivate the safe, recreational use of firearms by persons of good character.
History
The art of shooting can be traced back as far as the Middle Ages but it wasn't until the 19th century that shooting actually developed into a sport. In the 200 years since, shooters have come together at the local, national, and international level to practice and compete in a variety of shooting disciplines.
IPSC-style competitive shooting developed in southern California, U.S.A. in the late 1950's and quickly spread throughout the shooting world. As the sport attracted more interest, participants sought a more structured format and competition environment. As a result, in May of 1976, the International Pistol Conference was held in Colombia, Missouri where sportsmen from around the world participated in determining the structure, organization, and future of IPSC marksmanship. A constitution was established and the Confederation was born.
Excellence in Shooting
IPSC was established to promote, maintain,
and advance practical marksmanship.
Accuracy, power, and speed were recognized as the quintessential elements that have become the foundation of IPSC. The motto -DVC- Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas (Accuracy, Power, Speed) was introduced to reflect these balanced elements. Safe gun handling skills, as well as procedures and rules for competitions were also adopted.
Sport
IPSC athletes must blend accuracy, power, and speed into a winning combination. Handgun targets are 75 centimeters by 45 centimeters with a 15 centimeter center representing the "A zone" or bullseye.
Most shooting takes place at relatively close distances, with rare shots out to 50 meters. Hitting a 15 centimeter zone might seem easy to an experienced pistol shooter, but in IPSC only full power handguns are used (9mm or larger).
Mastering a full power handgun is considerably more difficult than shooting a light recoiling target pistol, especially when the competitor is trying to go as fast as possible. Time is a key factor. Scores are divided by the time taken to achieve them, adding to the challenge.
Handgun shooters may enter any one of five Divisions depending on the style of firearm they use.
IPSC is not restricted to handguns. There are three disciplines; IPSC Handgun, IPSC Rifle, and IPSC Shotgun.
Shooting all three disciplines can be
seen as the pinnacle of marksmanship
and shooting skill.
Rifle and shotgun disciplines are similar to handgun but differ in many details. The differences are found in their respective competition rules, but only a detailed comparison will show how different they are.
Shooting all three disciplines can be seen as the pinnacle of marksmanship and shooting skill. IPSC Tournaments are where we bring all three disciplines together for score to calculate overall tournament results. Each discipline is a stand alone match and the individual match scores are used to determine the overall tournament results.
Multiple targets, moving targets, targets that react when hit, penalty targets, or even partially covered targets, obstacles, movement, competitive strategies, and other techniques are all a part of IPSC shooting to keep the athletes challenged and the spectators entertained.
Although the roots are martial in origin, the sport matured from those beginnings, just as karate, fencing, and archery developed from their origins. IPSC shooting is an international sport, emphasizing safety and safe gun handling, accuracy, power, and speed, in high-level competitions around the world from Argentina to Zimbabwe.
Contact IPSC
| IPSC Canada P.O. Box 51032 RPO Rockignham Ridge, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3M 4R8 Tel: (902) 455-5483 |
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