Welcome New Shooters




This section of the website is designed to provide new shooters with information about Practical Shooting, USPSA, and the INAS philosphy. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with this informaiton before you attend a INAS Match.



What is Practical Shooting?

"Practical Shooting" is a fun, fast-paced, action shooting sport, using realistic courses of fire and scenarios that challenges your mind, body, and equipment. The only restrictions on course designers pertain to safety and standardized targets; beyond that, the sky's the limit! Practical Shooting Matches are realistic and diverse. Multiple targets, moving targets, partial targets, knock-down steel targets, no-shoot targets that cover or obscure "shoot" targets, barricades, doors, windows, walls, tables, cars, boats, motorcycles - all these and other props are mixed together by course designers to create constantly changing situations which challenge the competitor to shoot and think!  As Practical Shooting is freestyle, you provide the solution to the shooting problem, and both your score (points) and speed (time) are factored.



What is IPSC/USPSA?


"IPSC" stands for "International Practical Shooting Confederation," which is the world governing body for Practical Shooting (a sport now practiced in nearly 40 countries). The United States Practical Shooting Association, or USPSA, is the governing body in America . The terms "IPSC"(pronounced ip'-sick) and "Practical Shooting" are used interchangeably. "DVC" (diligentia, vis, celiratis) is the IPSC motto; it stands for "Accuracy, Power, and Speed," and symbolizes the challenge of the sport. How fast can you shoot? How accurately? Can you find the right mix of speed and accuracy to solve the shooting scenario before you?



Safety First, Foremost, and Always!

Owning a gun doesn't make you a safe shooter any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician. In fact, it WILL make you a dangerous one if you're not willing to learn how to safely control the force at your fingertips.

Firearm safety is ultimately a matter of personal responsibility and self control, two key qualities stressed in Practical Shooting. The shooter is always responsible for his or her actions and safe gun handling. The basic principles of safe gun handling are expressed in the Practical Shooting Code of Ethics --

Practical Shooting Code of Ethics

  1. I will treat every firearm as a loaded one
  2. I will never point a firearm at anything I am not willing to destroy
  3. I will be sure of my target and what is behind it before firing
  4. I will keep my finger off the trigger until my sights are on my intended target

Violations of this Code of Ethics, as defined in the Practical Shooting Rule Book, are considered severe safety violations, and will lead to disqualification from matches. The careless will find other shooters intolerant of sloppy gun handling; they expect to compete under safe conditions. Like rock climbing, white water rafting, or sky diving, Practical Shooting contains a remote element of danger. Unlike virtually any other sport, though, the "disaster factors" are all under your direct control.

Practical Shooting is SAFETY IN ACTION:

SAFETY is the watchword of the entire USPSA program! Practical Shooters instinctively practice safe gun handling under pressure, and they demand the same of others: USPSA-affiliated clubs always check new shooters to insure that they have the skills needed for safe participation. Consequently, before you are allowed to compete in any USPSA/IPSC match or organized practice, a Practical Shooting Safety Check is always required -- always. SAFETY COMES FIRST AND FOREMOST!.

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