Irish Practical Shooting Association - IPSA

Castlebridge Invitational Pistol club sanctioned IPSC match
Pat Murphy

Wexford was the first venue in 2008 to hold a sanctioned IPSC match this season. The very well equipped range at Castlebridge was the ideal venue for Level II match of 5 stages. Thankfully rain stopped before shooting started & stayed away until the prize giving. 26 competitors from all over Ireland, both north and south of the border descended upon the Model County on Saturday 15 March 2008. Following registration there was some very competitive comments among the shooters (probably the most polite way to mention the comments that were flying around. All in good sport of course!). Once all rigs & gear were put on the match got under way just after 10am. We had 15 shooters for standard division, 8 for production and 3 for open division. All the popular types & makes of guns were present, STI’s, SVI’s, Glocks, Sigs, CZ’s, HK’s, Tanfoglio’s. Of particular interest was the fact that Glock pistols were represented in all divisions. A truly versatile sporting firearm!

The first stage of the day was a 32 round long stage. Longest shot distance was 20m. The second section of this stage consisted of 6 mini plates. The plate size was the smallest legal size allowed in IPSC (blame John Fitzgerald for bringing these along). These were set up in a way that forced you to move from left to right while shooting them. A lot of ammunition was used to knock these little demons!! Times for this stage ranged from 30 seconds to 108 seconds to complete. Those who shot the plates cleanly with few misses did well on this stage. This stage was a nice example of the balancing act that’s required between speed & accuracy.

Arranged beside the long stage we had set up a medium course of fire with 6 targets. Shooters upon the start signal had to shoot one round at each target, perform a mandatory reload and shoot another round at each target. Times for this stage ranged from 7.85 seconds to 24.91 seconds. A smooth magazine change for this stage along with not scoring any delta’s was the key to a solid score here. Those who practice their reloads while dry firing were rewarded on this stage.
The range crew did a fantastic job of getting shooters through these two stages as quick as possible. The competitors also gave a hand in patching targets to ensure there were no delays.

Following a break the range was re-organised and the remaining 3 stages were built. A medium stage with 16 rounds and 2 short stages with 8 and 9 rounds each. For the medium stage you had to place your gun (fully unloaded) and all magazines on a table. The start position was sitting in a chair hands behind your head, legs outstretched and crossed. On the start signal shooters had to get up, retrieve their gun and magazines and then engage 7 targets and 2 plates through various apertures and shooting positions. Times for this stage ranged from 18.59 seconds to 52.10 seconds. Your strategy for retrieving your mags from the table could gain you a significant competitive advantage here. Some choose to carry the spare mag in their support hand, others stood at the table and after shooting their first string of shots, changed mags by picking up the second mag form the table before moving away to the next shooting position. I think this may have been the best technique for those with magazine capacities of 15 rounds or less. The remaining two short stages were fast & furious. One required you to keep your feet within a restricted area while leaning around a barricade to shoot the targets. The other required you to have your back to the target before the start signal. The winning technique here was to turn into your gun i.e. if you’re right handed you turned clockwise. That way you cleared the safety angle quickly. This allowed you to get a quicker draw and fast sight and target acquisition. Times for these stages ranged from 4.07 seconds to 28.95 seconds. A lot of quick triggering was on display but if you’re hitting penalty targets or missing targets then you’re in trouble. It’s dangerous to compromise too much accuracy for wicked fast times as some competitors found out.

A fantastic fun day was had by all shooters & range crew. Competitors shot the match extremely safely. Some great shooting was seen by those who had just retuned from a Level III competition in Austria. Obviously some of those guys were still in “the zone.” For some this was their first IPSC match. A special well done to them as they completed the stages and adhered perfectly to the safety requirements. From the huge smiles on their faces it’s clear that they enjoyed the day & like the rest of us are now hooked on IPSC.

A special thanks to Castlebridge Pistol club for hosting the shoot. A great facility. Thanks to Dick, Ronnie & the rest of the lads who were great hosts. Also thanks to the range crew and our master of stats. Finally to all the competitors. Thanks for coming to shoot. I hope you enjoyed the day. As our RD has been known to say the odd time “We’ve never had a bad one yet!”

Results
Congratulations to the following winners in each division who received IPSA’s equivalent of a president’s medal. A custom hand made crystal 40S&W cartridge.

Standard Division: David Thompson

Production Division: Keith Duggan
Open Division: Pat Cooke

For stages of the match please click here