Handgun Discipline
Director:  
John Caloia 









There are a number of handgun sports. Below is a short description of the most popular:

Bullseye competition:  

The most popular form of pistol target shooting in the US.  Competitions are held in every state, outdoors in the summer and indoors during colder/snowy months.  The National Championships are held every year (usually July) at Camp Perry,  Ohio. 

A competition consists of 3--90 shot matches using the 22, center fire, and 45 Cal. pistol  Open sights or dot/scope sights are allowed and one may use either a revolver or semi-automatic.  There are 5 classifications from High Master to Marksman so that each shooter will be competing with shooters of similar ability.  Numerous categories also divide the shooters into military, senior, junior, women to mention a few.  The following web sites give detailed information on this type of target shooting

www.bullseyepistol.com        www.NRA.org     Video - Bullseye Competition    Video2 - Bullseye shooting

International or Olympic-style Bullseye Competition:
USA shooting is the governing body for International competition in the U. S. The Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs is the home of the US Shooting Team.  The 50 meter indoor range will accommodate 29 shooters and when used for Air Pistol  about 70 positions are available.  The course of fire for Air Pistol (first pistol ) is 60 shots--10 meters--time 1 3/4 hours. 

The Free Pistol (second pistol) is shot at 50 meters--60 shots--2 hours.  Other international events are Center Fire pistol, Rapid Fire pistol, and Standard pistol.  There are categories for men, women and Juniors.  More information can be obtained from www.Pilkguns.com  and www.NRAHQ.org .

Silhouette:

Shooters fire at steel silhouettes of animals placed at a distance of 40 to 100 meters. A typical match consists of 10 shots each of the four silhouette types for a total of 40 rounds. American handgun silhouette competition is sanctioned by the NRA and by the International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association (IHMSA).

Video - 2007 Grants Pass West Coast Championship

Focused on defensive shooting such as drawing the pistol from the holster, movement, fast target acquisition and multiple targets.

NRA Action Pistol and the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) are two of the best known practical pistol sports. Other practical pistol sports include Defensive pistol, bowling pin shooting, and Steel Challenge shooting.

Video - COSSA Practical Shooting 2008

Video 2 - Bowling Pin Shoot

Video 3 - Steel Challenge Shoot

Video 4 - Action Pistol Match

Click on the red activity title for more detail. For further information, please contact John Caloia or Larry Wang.